study-work · 2026-05-07

Work Visa Basics in Japan

Common work residence statuses, renewal timing, the 2025 fee change, student work permission, 14-day notifications, and why some people receive 1 year while others receive 5 years.

Japan does not have one single work visa category. The Immigration Services Agency, ISA, divides status of residence by permitted activity, and the contract has to match the status, job content, application timing, and notification duties. A 2025 renewal can still be refused when the employer wants to keep the employee but the activity and paperwork no longer match.

Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, often called 技人国, covers many foreign white-collar employees: engineers, translators, overseas sales, marketing, design, accounting, and HR. It usually requires a university degree related to the work, or professional experience of 10 years for technical or humanities work and 3 years for international services.

Highly Skilled Professional uses a point table for education, income, age, research record, Japanese ability, and other factors. A score of 70 or more can qualify; type 1 is issued for 5 years, and type 2 can remove the period limit after meeting conditions.

Business Manager is for running or managing a company in Japan. In practice, immigration checks capital around ¥5,000,000, a real office, staffing, business plan, and operational substance. Specified Skilled Worker covers designated fields such as caregiving, construction, food service, lodging, agriculture, fishery, manufacturing, and vehicle transport, with Japanese and skills tests.

Source: Immigration Services Agency: Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, Highly Skilled Professional, Specified Skilled Worker.

Renewal window, fee, and forms

For a status period of 6 months or longer, renewal can usually be filed from 3 months before expiry. Filing after expiry creates overstay risk, so the practical safe line is to prepare tax certificates and employment documents at least 1 month before the deadline.

Typical documents include the Application for Extension of Period of Stay, form 別記第三十号の二, one 4 x 3 cm photo, residence card, passport, employment certificate, resident-tax taxation or non-taxation certificate, tax payment certificate, withholding tax slip, and employer documents depending on category.

From April 1, 2025, the fee is ¥6,000 for counter filing and ¥5,500 for online filing. Before the revision, many applications used the old ¥4,000 fee, so older blog posts and office handouts can be wrong.

Source: Immigration Services Agency: Extension of Period of Stay, Immigration Services Agency: 2025 fee revision.

Student work permission is separate

A student status is not a work status. A student who wants a part-time job needs 資格外活動許可 before the first shift, either at airport entry or later through a regional immigration bureau.

The limit is 28 hours in any continuous 7 days. During official long school holidays, the limit expands to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. Calendar-week shift planning is not enough because immigration can read any 7-day window.

Prohibited work includes entertainment-business areas such as pachinko, hostess or host clubs, and sex-related businesses. Violations can affect renewal, cancellation, and later applications; employers can face illegal-work facilitation penalties.

Source: Immigration Services Agency: Permission for activities outside student status, Immigration Services Agency: Activities outside status.

Changes that must be reported within 14 days

Address changes are filed at the new municipality through moving-in or moving-out procedures, and the resident record connects back to immigration systems. Delays may surface at renewal even when the city office itself does not issue a clear fine.

Name, nationality, sex, or date-of-birth changes are reported directly to immigration. A lost or stolen residence card must be reissued through the immigration bureau with jurisdiction over the address within 14 days of noticing the loss.

School or employer changes also require notification. A 技人国 holder who changes companies does not automatically need a new status when the activity remains within scope, but the affiliated-organization notification is still mandatory within 14 days.

Source: Immigration Services Agency: Notification concerning affiliated organization, Residence card reissue, Residence card record changes.

Why the period can be 1 year or 5 years

Immigration looks at the employer category, contract period, stability of duties, salary, tax records, and whether the applicant has kept notification duties. Large listed companies, public bodies, and stable category 1 employers are more likely to lead to 5-year periods.

Category 2 employers often have 50 or more employees and submit withholding-tax summary records; 3-year periods are common. Smaller companies, new businesses, short contracts, missing tax certificates, late notifications, or unstable duties can pull the result down to 1 year.

A 1-year employment contract makes a 3-year residence period harder because immigration reads the contract as the practical work horizon. Renewal history improves only when tax payment, employment documents, job content, and notifications remain consistent.

Source: Immigration Services Agency: Extension documents and category tables, Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services.

Common mistakes

Relying on old blog posts with the JPY 4,000 fee causes underpayment after April 2025. Check the current JPY 5,500 online fee or JPY 6,000 counter fee before renewal.

Forgetting 14-day notices for address, employer, school, or lost residence card creates record gaps at the next renewal. Put the notification date on the calendar when a job change or resignation date is fixed.

Judging a job change by yourself is risky when duties move away from the current status. If 技人国 scope is unclear, use a Certificate of Authorized Employment before the renewal window.

Useful terms

在留資格: status of residence
技術・人文知識・国際業務: common white-collar work status
別記第三十号の二様式: renewal application form
資格外活動許可: permission for work outside status
所属機関等に関する届出: affiliated-organization notification