Getting a job offer is only half of the process. Before you can start full-time work, you must apply to the Immigration Services Agency (ISA) to change your status of residence from Student to a work status. For office and professional jobs, the most common one is Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services. If you want to start work in April, ISA asks you to apply between December 1 and the end of January, which means you will usually file while you are still a student.
What this status covers
ISA describes the status as work, under a contract with a public or private organization in Japan, that requires technology or knowledge from the natural sciences (such as engineering) or the humanities (such as law, economics or sociology), or that requires ways of thinking or sensitivity based on a foreign culture. ISA's own examples include mechanical and other engineers, interpreters, designers, language teachers at private companies and marketing staff. The periods of stay are 5 years, 3 years, 1 year or 3 months.
Whether a specific job fits is decided by ISA case by case. ISA's guideline on changes of status and extensions of stay (last revised in June 2026) says the planned activity must fall within the status, and the landing permission criteria must in principle be met. Other typical factors include whether you actually carried out the activities of your current status (for students, actually studying), good conduct, enough means to support yourself, proper employment and working conditions including part-time jobs, payment of taxes and similar obligations, and filing the notifications required under the Immigration Control Act. ISA notes that it may still refuse after weighing everything, even if each factor is met.
How the process runs for an April start
- Job hunting and offer: confirm the start date and the actual job content with your employer.
- December 1 to the end of January: file the change of status application with the documents on the checklist for your employer's category.
- After the examination: for applications made at a counter, ISA sends a postcard. It may arrive before your studies end. Go to the immigration bureau only after your Student activities are over (after you receive your graduation certificate), bring the required documents, and collect your new residence card. If ISA instead asks you to come on a set date and time, follow that.
- April: start work under your new status.
- Later: if you keep working in Japan, apply to extend your period of stay before it expires.
ISA's reason for the December–January window: April-start applications pile up from January to March, and missing documents or late filing can push the result past your start date. ISA also says it cannot answer phone questions about the progress of individual applications.
One exception: if your Student status expires on or before January 31 and you will still be studying after that, ISA asks you to renew your Student status first rather than file in this window.
Documents depend on your employer's category
Required documents vary with the employer's category:
- Category 1: for example, companies listed on a Japanese stock exchange, national or local governments, and incorporated administrative agencies.
- Category 2: for example, organizations whose total withholding tax on salaries in the previous year's statutory report was 10 million yen or more.
- Category 3: organizations that submitted that statutory report but are not in Category 2.
- Category 4: all others.
Everyone submits the application form and a photo and presents their passport and residence card. Category 3 and 4 applications need more, such as a document showing working conditions, documents proving your education, the company's registration certificate and financial statements.
Changes in 2025–2026
- Since December 1, 2025: for a change from Student to this status (or to Researcher), you may submit the lighter Category 2 document set if you graduated, or are expected to graduate, from a Japanese university (including graduate schools and junior colleges); if you graduated from an overseas university ranked in the top 300 of at least two of the QS, THE and ARWU rankings; or if the employer already employs someone who changed from Student to a work status and has renewed once there. You must attach ISA's explanation form, and dispatched (haken) employment is excluded.
- From April 15, 2026 (Categories 3 and 4): a declaration about the organization's representative is added. If your job mainly uses language skills with people, such as translation, interpreting or hotel front desk work, you also need proof of CEFR B2-level ability in the working language. For Japanese, ISA treats JLPT N2 or higher, a BJT score of 400 or more, or graduation from a Japanese university or a vocational school's specialized course as meeting B2.
- Fees from October 1, 2026: counter application fees now depend on the period granted, from 10,000 yen (3 months or less) to 33,000 yen (1 year), 64,000 yen (3 to under 5 years) and 75,000 yen (5 years or more). Applications received by September 30, 2026 pay the previous 6,000 yen. Fees are paid with revenue stamps; online applications follow separate rules.
Practical checklist
- For an April start, apply between December 1 and the end of January.
- Submit Japanese certificates issued within the last three months, and attach Japanese translations of foreign-language documents.
- File at the regional immigration bureau that covers your address. ISA lists counter hours of 9:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 16:00 on weekdays.
If your new job is in a different city, a furnished monthly rental can cover the weeks between graduation and finding a long-term apartment near the office.
ISA's page on employment for international students also links to related routes, such as Designated Activities for people with a job offer who are waiting for their start date, and for graduates who keep job hunting. We cover job hunting after graduation in another article in this series.
Sources
- 出入国在留管理庁「在留資格「技術・人文知識・国際業務」」(checked 2026-10-04)
- 出入国在留管理庁「在留資格「留学」から就労資格への変更申請を予定されている皆様へ」(checked 2026-10-04)
- 出入国在留管理庁「在留資格の変更、在留期間の更新許可のガイドライン」(checked 2026-10-04)
- 出入国在留管理庁「留学生の就職」(checked 2026-10-04)
- 出入国在留管理庁「在留資格変更許可申請」(checked 2026-10-04)
This article was created by OHAYO Stay based on the sources above (edited, reorganized and translated). It is not an official publication.
Rules and dates can change. Always confirm with the official source before you apply.