When you change jobs, which status of residence do you need to change?

【日本語版はこちら　➡　転職をする際に変更申請が必要な在留資格は？】

I’m Takashi Akeyama, a representative of the Niseko VISA & Immigration Support Centre. As the only administrative office in Hokkaido specializing in VISA & Immigration and tourism, we help foreigners living in Hokkaido, mainly in Niseko, Otaru and Sapporo areas, to apply new or extend VISA, to change the status, such as working visas and spouse visas etc….

When a foreigner with work-related status of residence changes jobs, he/she may have to apply for a change of status of residence and obtain permission to change jobs, or he/she may not be required to go through such a procedure. This is determined by the status of residence and whether or not a change of status is required. Especially if you cannot change jobs without changing your status of residence, you must complete the change procedure before joining a company, so you need to be careful about the application procedures. In this article, I will explain the cases in which a job change is not possible without a change of status of residence.

Introduction; Regarding Status of Residence

There are 29 statuses of residence in Japan, and mid- to long-term residents in Japan have “only one” status of residence. This status of residence defines the activities and status during the stay in Japan. For example, for a work-related status of residence, there are detailed regulations on the job duties that you can engage in, the types of work you cannot engage in, and the conditions under which you can be given a status of residence. Some status of residence specifies not only the job description, but also the name of the company where you will be working.

Check the name of the company you work for on the designated letter attached to your passport.

If your status of residence specifies the name of the company where you work, you will need to change your status of residence when you change jobs. The following procedure is used to check it.

① Check your resident card: In the column of “Restricted or not restricted to work”, it should read “Only work activities specified in the designated letter are permitted”.

②Check the ” designated letter” attached to your passport: If the “company name” is written in the letter, along with the job description you can engage in, you cannot change your job without changing your status of residence.

So, which status of residence do people generally need to change when changing jobs?

Status of residence indicated by the name of the company you work for on the designated letter attached to your passport.

= Changing of status of residence is required when you change jobs, even if the job description is the same.　

■Highly Skilled Professionals=高度専門職

■Specified Activities No.46＝特定活動46号

■Specified Skilled Worker＝特定技能

Due to the characteristics of these three statuses, it is assumed that if you change the company you work for, you will need to be examined with regard to the company.

When the name of the company is not specified on the designation letter, but you need to be careful when changing jobs

Even for similar jobs, the status of residence may differ depending on the company (or institution) where you are employed.

For example, “English teacher”,

If you teach at an elementary, junior high, high school, or secondary school, your status of residence is “Education“.

If you teach at a university, graduate school, or other institution of higher education, your status of residence is “Professor“.

If you teach at a language school or English conversation school operated by a company, your status of residence is “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services“.

In the case of “Researcher,”

If you work at university and graduate school as a researcher, the status of residence is “Professor”.　　　　

If you are a researcher at a private company or a public/private research institute, the status of residence is “Researcher”.

Please note that there are cases where the status of residence is divided according to the type of employer, even if the job description is similar.

When performing a completely different job description

If you change jobs to do a job other than that defined in status of residence, you will naturally need to go through the procedures for change of status of residence.

If you have the status of residence of “Engineer/Humanities/International Services” and you want to work as a ski instructor utilizing your qualification, you need to change your status of residence to “Designated Activities No.50”. Also, a system engineer with “Technical/Humanities/International Services” status needs to change his/her status of residence to “Management/Administration” if he/she wants to start and run a company.

　If you understand the principle that your status of residence basically defines your duties, it is easy to understand that you need to complete the procedures for changing your status.

In Conclusion

Whether or not you are allowed to work in Japan and what kind of work restrictions you are subject to are indicated on your “Residence Card” and ” Designated Letter” (attached to passport). When you wish to change jobs, you must first check whether the name of the company you will be working for is listed on the ” Designated Letter”. In addition, the human resources manager of the company must check “Residence Card” and the original “Designated Lette. This careful check is very important in order to appropriately employ foreign employees and to avoid being caught for encouraging illegal employment.” attached to passport at the time of hiring.

The Niseko VISA & Immigration Support Centre help and support foreign nationals who are trying to overcome language, cultural and custom barriers and live as a member of Japanese society. If you have any questions or enquiries about this article, or getting working visa, please feel free to contact us by phone or via the ‘Free Consultation Form‘ on our website.

If you wish to read Japanese version, please check this article.

日本語版はこちらからご覧いただけます。