(2) Work and status of residence
First of all, when you want to become employed in Japan, you need to check whether you can do a particular job according to your status of residence (please refer to A Status of residence, 1 Confirmation of status of residence). If it falls outside the scope of activities permitted by the status of residence, and is to be done to obtain compensation etc., you will have to acquire a permission to engage in an activity other than that permitted by the status of residence previously granted from your regional immigration bureau. Casual part-time jobs without such a permit constitute illegal labor (please refer to A Status of residence, 2-6 Permission to engage in an activity other than that permitted by the status of residence previously granted) ●List of types of status of residence
Status of residence which permits work (16 types)
| Status of residence |
Activities which may be undertaken in Japan (for example, types of employment permitted) |
Period of stay |
Work |
| Diplomat |
Activities of a member of a diplomatic mission or consulate of a foreign government to the Japanese government, or a person granted the same prerogatives and exemptions as a diplomatic mission by a treaty or international institution, or a member of the family of such a person constituting part of his or her household (ambassadors, ministers and general consulates of foreign governments, and their families) |
Period when "diplomatic activities" are undertaken |
○ |
| Official |
Activities of a person authorized by the Japanese government to carry out the public duties of a foreign government or international organization, or a member of the family of such a person constituting part of his or her household (excluding activities which come under the category of "Diplomat") (employees of foreign governments and their families) |
Period when "public activities" are undertaken |
○ |
| Professor |
Activities of researching, leading research or instructing at a Japanese university, organization equivalent to an institution, or collages of technology (university professors, instructors etc.) |
Three years or one year |
○ |
| Artist |
Activities of music, fine arts, literature or other artistic activities for earning an income (excluding activities which come under the category of "Entertainment") (painters, composers, writers etc.) |
Three years or one year |
○ |
| Religious activities |
Missionary work or other activities undertaken by persons of religion dispatched to Japan by foreign religious bodies (missionary priests etc. dispatched by foreign religious bodies) |
Three years or one year |
○ |
| Journalist |
Coverage or other activities undertaken based on a contract with a foreign media organization (journalists, camera operators etc. belonging to foreign media organizations) |
Three years or one year |
○ |
| Investor / business manager |
Foreigners who start the management of trading companies or other businesses in Japan, or who invest in such a business and carry out management, or who are engaged in the administration of such a business or who start managing such a business in Japan (includes foreign corporations. This also applies in the following items). Alternatively, activities for the management of the business or the administration of such a business carried out on behalf of a foreigner who has invested in such a business (excluding activities for the management or administration of businesses which may not legally be carried out unless they come under the category of "Legal/accounting services") (company managers and administrators) |
Three years or one year |
○ |
| Legal/ Accounting Services |
Activities relating to work duties relating to law and accounting which are to be undertaken by lawyers in foreign law, foreign public certified accountants and persons possessing other legal qualifications (lawyers, public certified accountants etc.) |
Three years or one year |
○ |
| Medical Services |
Activities for work duties relating to medical services, to be undertaken by doctors, dentists or other persons possessing legal qualifications (doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses) |
Three years or one year |
○ |
| Researcher |
Activities for work duties for undertaking research, based on a contract with a Japanese public or private organization (excluding activities which come under the category of "Professor") (researchers at governmental organizations or companies) |
Three years or one year |
○ |
| Instructor |
Activities of language education or other education at elementary schools, junior high schools, high school, schools for the blind, schools for the deaf, schools for the disabled, vocational schools or other types of schools and educational organizations which are equivalent in terms of facilities and structure (language instructors etc. at elementary, junior high and high schools etc.) |
Three years or one year |
○ |
| Engineer |
Activities for work duties requiring technical skills or knowledge pertaining to physics, engineering or other natural sciences, undertaken based on a contract with a Japanese public or private organization (excluding activities which come under the categories of "Professor," "Investor/business manager" the categories between "Medical services," and "Instructor" and the categories between "Intracompany transferee" and "Entertainer") (engineers such as mechanical engineers) |
Three years or one year |
○ |
| Specialist in Humanities / International Services |
Activities engaged in work duties undertaken based on a contract with a Japanese public or private organization pertaining to the areas of law, economics, sociology and areas of the humanities, which require knowledge, and work duties which require thought or sensibility with a base in foreign cultures (excluding activities which come under the categories of "Professor," "Artist," "Journalist," the categories between "Investor/business manager" and "Instructor," and the categories of "Intracompany transferee" and "Entertainment") (company language instructors, designers, interpreters etc.) |
Three years or one year |
○ |
| Intracompany Transferee |
Activities which come under the categories of "Engineer," or "Specialist in humanities/international services" in this list which are undertaken by an employee of a place of business, being the main office or branch or other place of business, which is a public or private organization in a foreign country, when the employee concerned is transferred to a place of business in Japan for a stipulated period of time (Employees transferred from a foreign place of business) |
Three years or one year |
○ |
| Entertainment |
Activities related to entertainment such as theater, performing arts, performance and sports, or other artistic activities (excluding activities which come under the category of "Investor/business manager") (singers, dancers, actors, professional sports players etc.) |
One year, six months or three months |
○ |
| Skilled Labor |
Activities engaged in work duties which require proficient skills in a specialist production field, to be undertaken based on a contract with a Japanese public or private organization (foreign cuisines chef, metalworker in precious metals, pilot etc.) |
Three years or one year |
○ |
Status of residence which does not permit work (6 types)
| Status of residence |
Activities which may be undertaken in Japan(for example, types of employment permitted) |
Period of stay |
Work |
| Cultural Activities |
Non-income earning academic or artistic activities, or activities to conduct specialist research in culture or arts peculiar to Japan or to learn such culture or arts through specialized instruction from a specialist (excluding activities which come under the category of "College student") (researchers in Japanese culture etc.) |
One year or six months |
× |
| Temporary Visitor |
Activities of tourism, recreation, sports, visiting relatives, observations, participation in study courses or meetings, business communication and other similar activities to be undertaken over a short-term stay in Japan (tourists, short-term business visitors, persons visiting friends/relatives etc.) |
90 days, 30 days or 15 days |
× |
College Student |
Activities of obtaining education at a Japanese university or equivalent organization, specialized courses at a specialized training collage, an organization undertaking education for the purpose of entering a Japanese university to persons who have completed 12 years of education in a foreign country, or at a college of technology. (Students at universities, junior colleges or collages of technologies.) |
Two years or one year |
× |
Precollege student |
Activities for obtaining education at Japanese high schools, or the high school departments of the schools for the blind, schools for the deaf, or schools for children with intellectual disabilities, physical disabilities and health impairments, general courses and upper secondary courses of specialized training colleges, or miscellaneous schools.(excluding organizations which are designated in the category of "College student") Or other types of schools and educational organizations which are equivalent in terms of facilities and structure (students at high schools, general and upper secondary courses of specialized training colleges etc.) |
One year or six months |
× |
Trainee |
Activities for learning technical skills, skills or knowledge through being taken on at a private or public organization in Japan (excluding activities which come under the category of "College student" and "Precollege student") (trainees) |
One year or six months |
× |
Dependent |
Everyday activities undertaken by spouses or children who are dependents of persons who are staying in Japan and who possess the qualifications of categories between "Professor" and "Cultural activities," or who are staying in Japan and who possess the qualifications of "College student," "Pre-college student" or "Trainee" (dependent spouses/children of working foreigners etc.) |
Three years, two years, one year, six months or three months |
× |
Status of residence which may permit work depending on the permission given to the individual (1 type)
| Status of residence |
Activities which may be undertaken in Japan(for example, types of employment permitted) |
Period of stay |
Work |
| Designated Activities |
Activities which have been specially designated by the Minister of Justice to an individual foreigner (employee of diplomat, working holiday, amateur sports player, skill apprentice) |
1. Three years, one year or six months
2. Period designated by the Minister of Justice for the individual foreigner within the scope of no more than one year |
○ |
Status of residence based on rank or position (4 types)
| Status of residence |
Activities which may be undertaken in Japan(for example, types of employment permitted) |
Period of stay |
Work |
| Permanent Resident |
Persons recognized as permanent residents by the Minister of Justice (persons who have been granted permission from the Minister of Justice to stay in Japan permanently) |
No limit |
◎ |
| Spouse or Child of Japanese National |
Person who is a spouse or child of a Japanese nation, an adopted child under the Special Adoption System according to Provision 2 of Article 817 of the Civil Law (1896, Code No. 89), or a child born in Japan to a Japanese person (spouses or children of Japanese nationals, biological children adopted children under the Special Adoption System) |
Three years or one year |
◎ |
| Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident |
Person who is a spouse or child of a person possessing a permanent resident’s status of residence, or of a special permanent resident as stated in the “Persons who have been recognized according to the Special Law on the Immigration Control of, inter alia, those who have lost Japanese nationality on the basis of the Treaty of Peace with Japan. ” (hereafter referred to as “permanent residents”) or a person born in Japan as the child of a permanent resident and, following this, continuing to live in Japan (spouses and children of permanent residents or special permanent residents, or biological children born in Japan and continuing to live here) |
Three years or one year |
◎ |
| Long-Term Resident |
Person for whom the Minister of Justice has stipulated a set period of residence in view of special circumstances (refugees from Indochina, conditional refugees, third-generation Nikkei, biological children of foreign spouses etc.) |
1. Three years or one year
2. Period designated by the Minister of Justice for the individual foreigner within the scope of no more than three years |
◎ |
| NB: Symbols in the “Work” column have the following meanings: |
| |
◎：No restrictions on work
○：Work is permitted within certain limits
×：Work is not permitted
|
Source: List of Types of Status of Residence, Tokyo Employment Service Center for Foreigners
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