Applying for Japan Work Visa

Due to immigration reform, certain changes in visa requirements have changed for Japanese work visas.

There are many work opportunities in this country, and if you are interested, you should know and learn the procedures of applying for a Japan work visa.


To find out more about career opportunities in Japan, Contact Us.

Visa Application

To apply for a Japan work visa, applicants need to apply personally in the embassy or the consulate. Proxies or representatives are not allowed to execute application procedures for a Japan visa.

When applying at the embassy or the consulate, the documents to be submitted or shown vary according to the purpose of the visit. It is important to make inquiries with the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the embassy in advance before coming to apply with the required documents.

Applicants may also be requested to provide documents in addition to those acquired in research or previous inquiry. Keep in mind that application for a Japan work visa might not be accepted if documents are insufficient.

Japan has seven kinds of visas, which include two types of visa for short-term stay and are issued for 14 statuses of residence. In cases of landing permission, no visa is really necessary. Purposes for coming to Japan are divided into those requiring short-term stays like tourism and the other type is work that requires long-term stays.

Japan Work Visa for Long-term Stays

If you are a foreigner coming to Japan for interests aside from those considered for a short-term stay, you will need another type of visa such as diplomatic visa, official visa or work visa. Foreigners who acquired a Japan work visa will be able to work in Japan.

Employment in Japan usually includes the long-term assignment to Japan by a foreign company, employment in Japanese companies to utilize the foreigner’s knowledge and experience, entertainment activities for concerts, sports and theater and educational activities like foreign language instruction.

Long-term stay visas can also be allowed for certain activities such as Japanese university or college education as well as company training. However, work is not officially permitted in these cases.

Permission for long-term residence is also granted in cases of spouses of Japanese citizens and for others who settled in Japan. For foreigners with a history of stable employment and verifiable passport information, a permanent visa is also available. This permanent visa is not based on your language ability in Japanese, and if you can provide references from your community in Japan is easily obtainable in most cases.

For advice on how to secure a permanent visa in Japan by successful entrepreneurs that have already done it, contact us.

If applying for long-term stay visas as well as a Japan working visa, it is advised that applicants first apply for a Certificate of Eligibility. Providing this requirement along with the required visa application will allow you fast approval of your visa in a much shorter time than those without a certificate.

Foreigners can still apply for a visa even without a certificate of eligibility in cases of long-term stay. However, if the purpose of the application is to acquire a work visa, the application documents may be sent to the regional immigration authority of Japan to be examined. Here, applicants for Japan work visa are advised to expect a longer waiting time for processing of their applications.

However, foreigners may opt to find a job in a company willing to sponsor their work visa. When you finally get your work visa, it may have a validity of one to three years, but you won’t really know until you it is issued to you, as it is sometimes up to the discretion of the immigration officer in charge of your document at the time.

You must also realize that your work visa is only valid until you leave the country. You must apply for a multiple entry permit to make your Japan work visa last its full period even if you travel out of Japan. This multiple entry permit is easily acquired by filling out the appropriate request form at the immigration office, and is granted on the same day as the request.

Most successful foreign business owners in Japan have either a permanent visa or a spouse visa, but there are cases of business owners running side businesses with other types of visas.

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