Japan highly demands of foreign workers to fill in the needs of different industries. Thus fueled the desire of foreign nationals from different countries to work abroad in Japan. However, you cannot be employed directly in the “Land of the Rising Sun” without getting the required visa, which is the working visa.
This article will detail the working visa for Japan, including working visa categories, requirements, and the steps for the application.
What is Japan Working Visa?
A work visa is a document indicating a non-Japanese individual having permission to work and stay in Japan for a specified period of time. It is a form of stamp marked on the passport.
You can obtain this visa in two forms:
- Applying for the visa at the Japanese Embassy or consulate in your country, which you will need an employer in Japan to sponsor your visa.
- Applying for change status of residence, from other types of visa to work visa while in Japan.
FAIR Inc. will give you information about the various types of visas in Japan, including the application process, requirements, and more. Please don’t fail to watch our new videos by subscribing to our new Youtube channel, here.
Japan Working Visa Categories
Specialist in Humanities / International Services Visa
Period of Stay: 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, 4 months (only for the Business manager) or 3 months
Occupations under this type of visa:
Accounting, Economic Analyst, Financial Analyst, HR (Human Resources), Legal business, Trading business,
Teacher and foreign language Instructor, Interpreter, Copywriter, Designer, Translator, Fashion designer, Interior designer, Product development, Overseas transactions, Copywriting
Artist Visa
Period of Stay: 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, 4 months (only for the Business manager) or 3 months
Occupations under this type of visa:
Composers, Songwriters, Artists, Sculptors, Craftspeople, Photographers, etc.
Skilled Labor Visa
Period of Stay: 5 years, 3 years, 1 year or 3 months
Occupations under this type of visa:
Chefs, Architects, Sports Instructor, Wine Sommelier, Jewelry Processor, Animal Trainer, Mining Engineers, and Marine Geologists.
Religious Activities Visa
Period of stay: 3 years, 1 year, 6 months, 3 months, or 15 days
Occupations under this type of visa:
Religious people (monks, bishops, missionaries, etc.) sent by religious organizations from a foreign country. Documents from the religious organization certifying the duration of stay, position and the remuneration of the applicant, their position and career history are needed to be provided.
Journalist Visa
Period of stay: 3 years, 1 year, 6 months, 3 months, or 15 days
Occupations under this type of visa:
Newspaper Journalists, magazine Journalists, Editors, news Cameramen, Announcers, etc.
Professor Visa
Period of stay: 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, 4 months (only for the Business manager) or 3 months
Occupations under this type of visa:
University Professor, Assistant Professor, Assistant, etc.
Instructor Visa
Period of stay: 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, 4 months (only for the Business manager) or 3 months
Occupations under this type of visa:
Teachers, etc. at elementary schools, intermediate schools, and high schools.
Medical services Visa
Period of stay: 3 years, 1 year, 6 months, 3 months, or 15 days
Occupations under this type of visa:
Physicians, Dentists, Pharmacists, and other Medical Specialists certified in Japan. This does not include caregivers, social welfare workers or home helpers.
Among the criteria, you will be receiving a salary not less than a Japanese national would receive for a comparable job. The employer should provide documents that show the outline of its organization and must certify that the applicant is qualified to do activities under this status of residence.
Legal/Accounting services Visa
Period of stay: 3 years, 1 year, 6 months, 3 months, or 15 days
Occupations under this type of visa:
Registered foreign lawyers, Certified Public Accountants or Specialists with other legal qualifications who wish to engage in a legal or accounting business.
*A certificate of the license obtained will be required.
Intra-company Transferee Visa
Period of stay: 5 years, 3 years, 1 year or 3 months
This field involves people transferred to the Japanese branch (head office of the same company, etc.)
Entertainer Visa
Period of stay: 3 years, 1 year, 6 months, 3 months, or 15 days
Occupations under this type of visa:
Musicians, Actors, Singers, Dancers, Sportspeople, Models, etc.
Technical Intern Training Visa
Period of stay: 1 year, 6 months or a designated period of less than 1 year
Occupation under this type of visa:
Technical intern
Specified Skilled Visa
Period of stay:
SSV1: 1 year, 6 months or 4 months
SSV2: 3 years, 1 year or 6 months
Occupation under this type of visa:
Work-ready foreign nationals who possess certain expertise and skills in certain industrial fields. Please refer below.
Japan Working Visa Application Steps
1st Step: Prepare the preliminary requirements
- Resume, C/V
- Documents which certify your educational background such as University
- Diploma, Certificate of Graduate
- Certificate of Employment issued by your previous employer
- JLPT Certificate
2nd Step: Prepare the supporting documents
Evidence for the applicant’s job in Japan and the terms and conditions:
- Documents to show your occupation, type of work/job and monthly salary for the job in Japan like the Employment Agreement issued and signed by the employer)
- Data from the host company/organization:
- Company Brochure
- Certificate of Company Registration (Touki Jiko Shomeisho).
- Financial Statement as of the last fiscal year-end.
*For a newly established company that cannot provide the financial statement for the last fiscal year, must provide a business plan for 1-year, notification of the establishment, - Payment slip for Withholding Tax (for the past 3 months before the application) or Application for
- Payment of Withholding Income Tax on a Semiannual
- Records for Salary Payment and Withholding Tax for the last year (Hotei-chosho-gokei-hyo).
3rd Step: Apply for COE( Certificate of Eligibility)
A COE or certificate of eligibility is a document issued by the Japanese immigration authorities. It certifies an Applicant’s eligibility to undertake specific employment in Japan – in this case, the job associated with the Visa application.
COE required documents must be submitted in person at a regional immigration office in Japan. The COE application cannot be submitted by mail or at a Japanese embassy outside Japan. Therefore, the hiring company will apply on your behalf at the Japan immigration office.
Wait for the approval from the embassy and be patient. The processing may take 1-2 months after you get the result.
4th Step: Take the COE and apply for the actual working visa
Convert the COE to a work visa at the Japanese embassy or consulate in your country of citizenship or residence. The result of your visa application typically takes a few working days. Once you received the visa, you can commence working in Japan.
Requirements for Visa application:
- Passport
- Visa Application Form
- A photograph
- Certificate of Eligibility
For more details, you can visit the official website of the Japan Embassy.
What’s new?There is a new visa category for foreigners that will be implemented this year. It is called specific skills visa or tokutei gino visa 特定技能 which the Japanese government believes this would be a proper solution for the continuing workforce crisis in Japan. The tokutei gino visa has two types, specific skills visa 1 and specific visa 2. The specific skills visa 1 requires a foreign applicant to have enough Japanese language skills and specific skills. Anyone who has this type of visa can stay in Japan for 5 years. While the specific skills visa 2 requires a foreign applicant to have enough Japanese language skills and must be highly skilled from any of the 2-sectors (shipbuilding and construction). Unlike the specific skills visa 1, this visa permits a foreigner to bring his family in Japan and possibly to apply for indefinite residency. The two types of visas have qualifying tests for language and skills that will be set after the implementation this April. Of course, there will be a different test in each sector. What specifically these sectors are? The sectors for specific skills visa 1 are Construction, Industrial Machinery, Shipbuilding, and Marine, Raw Material Industry, Automobile, Maintenance, Food Service, Aviation, Food and Beverage, Agriculture, Nursing Care, Accommodation Industry, Building Cleaning. The sectors for specific skills visa 2 are Aviation, Construction, Automobile, Maintenance, Accommodation Industry, Shipbuilding, and Marine. If you have any skills from any of the sectors mentioned above, then this is your chance to apply for this new type of working visa. To learn more information about the new specified skills visa, then this article will help you Japan’s New Specified Skills Visa in April 2019. |
How to increase your chances of finding a job in Japan?
Aside from having a bachelor’s degree or diploma in Japan or over ten years of working experience in the same business field, do you know that a Japanese Language skill is necessary in order to get a working visa?
In Japan, most companies demand fluency in the Japanese language or must achieve at least N2 proficiency. Obviously, because many Japanese cannot speak English, so passing the JLPT is indeed important.
Speaking fluently in Japanese can’t be acquired through self-study. Nevertheless, you will enroll in a language school and get a JLPT certification. The advantage of getting them beforehand is your higher chances of working abroad, in Japan.
So if you’re planning to get a working visa, start it by learning the Japanese language. We at FAIR, Inc. Japan will be glad to help you in finding a Japanese language school in Japan.
If you want to learn how to study Japanese, please feel free to contact us by filling out the form below.
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Hello sir/madam
My name is Nisham
I am from India
I am looking for job in Japan
Thank you for taking time to read the article.
For your inquiry, please contact us at the following link.
https://studyjapan.fairness-world.com/introduce/contact-form
I’m looking for a part time job in Japan I’m a taxi driver and I’m good to teacher English language and I’m willing to work any places
Hello sir/Madam I’m Isaac Montfort from South Africa in Johannesburg I’m looking for a job in Japan I’m also a taxi driver and I’m good to teacher English language and I’m willing to work any place.
Please contact us by filling out the contact form here – https://studyjapan.fairness-world.com/introduce/contact-form
Thank you!
Hi Farida,
Unfortunately, we do not offer jobs for foreigners from overseas.