Home/Visa/Procedures/Part-time work permission

Procedure · 資格外活動許可

Permission to work part-time in Japan

Students and family members may work in Japan only with permission from immigration. Officially it is called “permission to engage in an activity other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted” (資格外活動許可). Who needs which permission, how many hours you may work and where you may not.

Forms and documents

All procedures

Checked against the Immigration Services Agency of Japan on 28 September 2026 · Student visa

Comprehensive permission28 h a week

Students in long school holidays8 h a day

FeeFree

Processing time2 weeks – 2 months

Who needs it

Work outside your status only with permission

Each status of residence allows its own activity. Under the Immigration Control Act (Article 19), any paid work that your status does not cover needs this permission. Students and dependents cannot work at all without it.

Permission needed

Who applies

Not needed

Who does not need it

Two kinds of permission. Comprehensive permission (包括許可) — up to 28 hours a week in any allowed job; you may change jobs. Individual permission (個別許可) — for one specific job when the comprehensive one does not fit: immigration states where and what you may do.

Rules of comprehensive permission

How many hours and where you may work

The conditions are set in the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Immigration Control Act (施行規則, Article 19).

  • Up to 28 hours a week for everyone with comprehensive permission. Hours in all your jobs are added together.
  • Up to 8 hours a day in long holidays — students only, and only during the long breaks set in the school rules (学則). Ask your school which dates these are.
  • Only while you study. A student’s permission is valid only while you are enrolled.
  • Prohibited businesses. You may not work anywhere run under the Adult Entertainment Business Act (風俗営業): hostess bars, pachinko, mahjong, game arcades, night clubs after midnight, the sex industry — not even washing dishes or cleaning. The only exception, from 1 October 2026, is for Dependent (家族滞在) holders: individual permission for pachinko, mahjong and game arcades (see the FAQ).
  • Noted on your residence card. The permission is written on the residence card — this is what you show an employer.

Schools check. At ISA’s request Japanese language schools ask their students every 3 months whether they have permission, where they work, what they do and how many hours a day. If an employer makes a student work more than 28 hours a week, ISA asks schools to report it.

Students: at the airport. On first entry with the Student status you can apply at immigration control at the airports that issue residence cards — unless you were granted a 3-month period of stay.

If you break the rules

Penalties for working without permission or too many hours

The consequences are set in the Immigration Control Act (入管法). Immigration and the courts decide the measures case by case.

Permission

It can be canceled

If you break the conditions — for example the hour limit or the ban on entertainment businesses — immigration may cancel the permission (Article 19). You then cannot work at all.

Criminal law

Fines and prison

Working outside your status without permission: up to 1 year of imprisonment, a fine of up to ¥2 million, or both (Article 73); a prison sentence under this article is grounds for deportation. If such work has clearly become your main activity: up to 3 years, up to ¥3 million, or both (Article 70), and also grounds for deportation (Article 24).

Your status

Refused extension

At extension and change of status immigration looks at your conduct (素行). In practice, working more than 28 hours a week is one of the most common reasons students are refused. More: extension of period of stay.

Forms and documents

How to apply: forms and documents

One application form covers both kinds of permission; a filled-in example is on the ISA website. For comprehensive permission nothing else needs to be attached.

The first two tabs are the permission itself: comprehensive permission for students, family and job-hunting graduates, and individual permission for other cases. The third is the Certificate of Authorized Employment (就労資格証明書), in which immigration confirms which work you may do.

Comprehensive permission (包括許可) — up to 28 hours a week in any allowed job

For the Student (留学) and Dependent (家族滞在) statuses, Designated Activities (特定活動) for job hunting or waiting to start a job, and family members on Designated Activities. The permission is not tied to one employer: you can work anywhere except prohibited businesses. Students can apply at the airport on first entry. You apply yourself, or through a school staff member, an administrative scrivener (行政書士) or a legal representative.

Application formPDF · moj.go.jpApplication formExcel · 資格外活動許可申請書 · moj.go.jpApplication formExcel · 資格外活動許可申請書（留学生が新規入国する場合） · moj.go.jpFilled-in examplePDF · moj.go.jp

Files open from the website of the Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA). Forms are in Japanese and English; links checked 6 Oct 2026.

Documents

  1. Application for permission to engage in an activity other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted 資格外活動許可申請書For comprehensive permission ISA asks only for the application form: no document about the job is needed. Students entering Japan for the first time use a separate form (“留学生が新規入国する場合”), which is among the buttons above.
  2. Residence card — show it 在留カード（提示）
  3. Passport — show it 旅券（提示）If you cannot show your passport, a written explanation of the reason.
  4. If someone else applies for you — their proof of identity 身分を証する文書（申請取次者の場合）

Immigration may ask for other documents too. Full list: on the ISA procedure page.

Where to apply
The regional immigration services bureau for your address. Students on first entry: at the airports that issue residence cards (unless you were granted a 3-month period of stay).
Fee
Free
Processing time
2 weeks – 2 months
Online
Only together with an application for change, extension or acquisition of status
Documents for my caseYour list for your category and family — with checkboxes and a PDF

Individual permission (個別許可) — for one specific job

When comprehensive permission does not fit: a student internship of more than 28 hours a week, self-employment or contract work where the hours cannot be checked, or a work-status holder whose side job belongs to a different work status. From 1 October 2026 also Dependent (家族滞在) holders working at pachinko, mahjong parlors and game arcades. The application names the job, the place and the conditions; immigration decides each case individually.

Application formPDF · moj.go.jpApplication formExcel · moj.go.jpFilled-in examplePDF · moj.go.jp

Files open from the website of the Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA). Forms are in Japanese and English; links checked 6 Oct 2026.

Documents

  1. Application for permission to engage in an activity other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted 資格外活動許可申請書
  2. Document about the work: what you will do, how many hours and for what pay 活動内容、活動時間、報酬等を説明する文書（任意様式）Any format. A document from the company or a contract also works if it contains this information.
  3. Students on an internship of more than 28 hours: a document from the host company or the contract, a certificate of enrollment and a record of your credits 受入れ機関の証明書・在学証明書・単位取得に関する資料Undergraduates in their final year who have already earned almost all credits needed to graduate; master’s and doctoral students in their final year. ISA also allows more than 28 hours for practical training required for credit or closely linked to your major.
  4. If you hold a work status: consent of your main employer 所属機関の同意ISA requires your main employer to agree to the side job. ISA gives no form for this — in practice a letter of consent is attached.
  5. Residence card and passport — show them 在留カード・旅券（提示）
  6. If someone else applies for you — their proof of identity 身分を証する文書（申請取次者の場合）

Immigration may ask for other documents too. Full list: on the ISA procedure page.

Where to apply
The regional immigration services bureau for your address
Fee
Free
Processing time
2 weeks – 2 months
Online
Only together with an application for change, extension or acquisition of status
Documents for my caseYour list for your category and family — with checkboxes and a PDF

Certificate of Authorized Employment (就労資格証明書) — which work you may do

Optional but useful: immigration confirms in writing which paid work your status allows. People usually get it when moving to a new employer, to check in advance that the new job fits, and show it to the employer. You apply yourself, or through a company staff member, an administrative scrivener (行政書士) or a legal representative.

Application formPDF · moj.go.jpApplication formExcel · moj.go.jp

Files open from the website of the Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA). Forms are in Japanese and English; links checked 6 Oct 2026.

Documents

  1. Application for a Certificate of Authorized Employment 就労資格証明書交付申請書filled-in example · PDF
  2. Permission to engage in an activity other than that permitted, if issued as a separate document — show it 資格外活動許可書（提示）
  3. Residence card and passport — show them 在留カード・旅券（提示）
  4. If you changed jobs: documents about the new employer and what you do there 新たな勤務先や活動内容の詳細がわかる資料For example, the employment contract or notice of working conditions and a company profile.
  5. Fee payment form with a revenue stamp 手数料納付書The revenue stamp (収入印紙) is bought in cash; you pay when the certificate is issued.download · PDFdownload · Excel

Immigration may ask for other documents too. Full list: on the ISA procedure page.

Where to apply
The regional immigration services bureau for your address
Fee
¥2,000, online ¥1,600 — paid on issue. The fee does not change on 1 October 2026; for online applications filed from that date you pay at a convenience store or bank instead of with a stamp, plus a ¥220 payment charge (¥1,820 in total)
Processing time
Same day; if you changed jobs, 1–3 months
Online
Yes
Documents for my caseYour list for your category and family — with checkboxes and a PDF

FAQ

Part-time work permission questions

Can’t find your question? Write to us — a real person replies. All procedures: immigration procedures in Japan.

Ask us a question

How many hours can I work on a student visa?

With comprehensive permission, up to 28 hours a week. During the long holidays set in your school’s rules, up to 8 hours a day. Without permission you cannot work at all.

No. During long holidays a student may work up to 8 hours a day; immigration rules have no 40-hour limit. Holidays here mean only the long breaks in the school rules (学則); in ordinary weeks with weekends and public holidays the 28-hour limit applies.

Yes, if you enter Japan for the first time on the Student status at an airport that issues residence cards (Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka and others). Not if you were granted a 3-month period of stay. The permission is noted on your residence card. If you miss it at the airport, apply at the regional bureau for your address.

In businesses covered by the Adult Entertainment Business Act (風俗営業): hostess bars, pachinko, mahjong, game arcades, night clubs after midnight and the sex industry — not even washing dishes or cleaning. From 1 October 2026 Dependent (家族滞在) holders can get individual permission for pachinko, mahjong and game arcades: up to 28 hours a week across all jobs, with written pledges (誓約書) from the business and the worker. Students and job-hunting graduates cannot; hostess bars and the sex industry stay closed to everyone.

Yes, with comprehensive permission, up to 28 hours a week. To work more, or to run a small business of your own as a sole trader, you can ask for individual permission; for work over 28 hours it is given for no more than half of your period of stay. The Business Manager status (経営・管理) is needed only if you set up a company, hire staff or rent business premises. If work in fact becomes the main purpose of your stay, immigration requires a change of status.

If the side job is the same kind of work your status allows, no permission is needed — it is required only for work outside your status. If the side job belongs to another status, you need individual permission and your main employer’s consent. A Certificate of Authorized Employment (就労資格証明書) helps you check in advance.

Immigration can cancel the permission. Working outside your status without permission breaks the law: up to 1 year of imprisonment, a fine of up to ¥2 million, or both — and a prison sentence under this rule is grounds for deportation. If the side work has clearly become your main activity, that is also grounds for deportation. In practice, working too many hours is a common reason why students are refused an extension.

For a student, only while you are enrolled. After graduation you may not work on the Student status. If you move to a job-hunting status (特定活動), you apply for the permission again — again up to 28 hours a week.

Work in Japan

Part-time work: the rules after the permission

All topics: Work in Japan — the full guide

Sources

Where this information comes from

Facts and document lists were checked against the website of the Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA) on 28 September 2026. Form links come from a register of ISA files that our server refreshes every week: when ISA publishes a new version of a form, the button opens the new file.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Immigration decides each application and may ask for more documents. Where a rule is known only from practice, we say so.

Planning to study in Japan? We’ll handle the paperwork.

Free help to choose a language school, prepare the CoE documents and get your student visa. The school pays us, not you.

Apply free
Students in yukata at a Japanese language school

Free for students