How long is the permission normally granted for, how is it renewed, and what longer-term residence direction exists if officially stated?
SSW(i): each grant is a period designated individually by the Minister of Justice within a range not exceeding 3 years; to keep doing the same activity, an extension application must be filed before the granted period expires; total SSW(i) stay is capped, in principle, at 5 years (SSW(ii) has no such cap). Permanent residence: one requirement is 10 or more years of continuous residence including 5 or more years with a work or residence status; time in SSW(i) or Technical Intern Training does not count as work-status time and SSW(i) stay is at most 5 years, so changing to Permanent Resident is difficult, whereas time in SSW(ii) counts. SSW(ii) is for workers with proficient skills, higher than SSW(i), confirmed by tests; it does not follow automatically from SSW(i). SSW(ii) accepts foreign nationals in 11 of the 16 SSW(i) fields, excluding nursing care, automobile transportation business, railway, forestry and wood industry.
See recorded sources