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Part-time work on a student visa: the 28-hour rule

International students in Japan may work part-time — with permission, up to 28 hours a week, and not everywhere. What the permission is and how to get it at the airport, how the 28 hours are counted, which jobs are off limits, what happens if you go over, where to find work, what it pays from October 1, 2026, and what changes after you graduate.

Get permission first

Permission to work part-time

Checked against the websites of the Immigration Services Agency and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on October 7, 2026 · Student taxes and insurance · Student visa

A week, all jobs together, during the school term28 hours

A day during your school’s long vacations8 hours

Minimum wage an hour in Tokyo from October 1, 2026¥1,280

National average minimum wage an hour¥1,177

In short

Part-time work for students in six lines

  • You need permission. On the Student status of residence (留学, ryūgaku) you may work only with part-time work permission (資格外活動許可, shikakugai katsudō kyoka). It is free and can be granted at the airport when you arrive.
  • Up to 28 hours a week — all jobs together, counted from any day of the week. During the long vacations set by your school’s rules, up to 8 hours a day.
  • Only while you study. The permission works while you are enrolled at your school. After you graduate, part-time work on it ends.
  • Off-limits workplaces — businesses licensed under the adult entertainment law (風俗営業): pachinko parlors, hostess bars and similar — even if you only clean there.
  • The same rights as Japanese workers. Minimum wage, the night premium, paid leave and accident insurance at work apply to a student’s part-time job too.
  • Taxes and insurance are close to zero on a small income, but the paperwork is still needed — see student taxes and insurance.

Step 1

Get part-time work permission (資格外活動許可)

Under the Immigration Control Act a student may work only with permission to engage in an activity other than that permitted. Working without it is a crime under the Immigration Control Act — up to 1 year in prison or a fine of up to ¥2,000,000 (Article 73), more if the work has clearly become your main activity (Article 70) — and it can mean deportation and a refused extension of your period of stay.

1. At the airport

When you enter Japan with a new student visa, ask at the immigration counter for the application form for permission to engage in an activity other than that permitted. Fill it in and hand it over — the permission is stamped on your residence card on arrival, free of charge. This works at the 10 airports that issue residence cards (Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka and others) if you are granted a period of stay of more than 3 months.

2. At an immigration office

If you did not apply at the airport, apply at your regional immigration office with your passport, residence card and the application form. Processing takes 2 weeks to 2 months, and there is no fee. You may not work until you have the permission.

3. Renew with your visa

The permission lasts until the end of your current period of stay. When you extend your student status, apply for the permission again — usually together with the extension. Changing schools: ask the immigration office whether you need to apply again. After an extension check the back of your new residence card: the permission must be there. If it isn’t, ask immigration and do not work until you have it.

How the 28 hours are counted

  • All jobs together. Two part-time jobs of 15 hours each are 30 hours — a violation.
  • Any 7 days in a row. The limit must hold whichever day of the week you start counting from, not only from Monday.
  • Vacations by your school’s rules. Up to 8 hours a day applies only during the long vacations set in your school’s rules. Short breaks between classes are not vacations.
  • Your school is watching. Schools are required to monitor their students’ part-time work: the permission, the employer, the kind of work and the hours. Keep a contract with your hours and pay.

The application, forms and processing times: permission to work part-time. All the rules of the Student status: Student visa for Japan.

Allowed and not allowed

Where students may and may not work

Allowed

Where you can work

  • Convenience stores (FamilyMart, 7-Eleven, Lawson)
  • Cafés, restaurants, fast food (kitchen, floor)
  • Food delivery (Uber Eats, Demae-can, Wolt) — as a self-employed courier under a platform contract you need individual permission (below)
  • Warehouses, parcel sorting
  • Cleaning hotels, offices, shopping centers
  • Teaching your native language (English or another)
  • Translation and freelancing online — only with individual permission (below)
  • IT development and design — on an employment contract with recorded hours; as a freelancer only with individual permission

Not allowed

Businesses under the adult entertainment law (風俗営業)

  • Pachinko parlors, gaming halls, betting shops
  • Hostess bars and cabaret clubs (キャバクラ)
  • Host clubs, snack bars
  • Any part of the sex industry (風俗)
  • Massage parlors licensed under 風俗営業
  • More than 28 hours a week
  • Work without part-time work permission
  • Work on a short-term (tourist) status

Freelancing needs individual permission

A student’s normal permission is a comprehensive one (包括許可, hōkatsu kyoka): it covers up to 28 hours a week for any employer. But the Immigration Services Agency states that if you work as a sole proprietor (個人事業主, kojin jigyōnushi) or your working hours cannot be checked objectively, the comprehensive permission does not cover it. You need individual permission (個別許可, kobetsu kyoka) for that specific work.

In practice this means freelancing under an independent contractor agreement (業務委託, gyōmu itaku): translation and design jobs on platforms, lessons through online platforms, food delivery as a self-employed courier. A job on an employment contract, where the employer records your hours, is normal part-time work within the 28 hours.

From October 1, 2026, individual permission for work at pachinko, mahjong and game halls can be granted only on the Dependent status (家族滞在). For students these places stay closed.

If you go over 28 hours

Why a few extra shifts can cost you your visa

Extra hours look like easy money, but they are checked — and the price is your status of residence.

  • A refused extension. Immigration checks your work when you extend your period of stay. Your income shows in the resident tax certificate and your employers’ records: pay well above what 28 hours a week can earn raises questions. Working over the limit or in an off-limits business is a high risk of refusal.
  • Revocation and deportation. Serious or repeated breaches — work becoming your main activity, work without any permission — can lead to the permission being revoked, a criminal penalty and deportation.
  • The next status is at risk too. A record of illegal work counts against you when you change to a work status or apply for permanent residency later.
  • Employers can be punished as well — up to 3 years in prison or a fine of up to ¥3,000,000 for letting foreign nationals work illegally (Article 73-2) — so careful employers ask about your hours at other jobs. Tell them the truth.
  • Long vacations are not a loophole. 8 hours a day applies only during the vacation periods in your school’s rules — not in the weeks before or after.

Already over? Cut your hours at once so that every 7-day period stays within 28 hours, and keep your payslips. If you are unsure whether a job or a contract is allowed, ask the immigration office before you start — or the free Foreign Residents Support Center (see below).

Remote work for an employer abroad

Working online for a company back home

Many students keep working remotely for a former employer. For Japanese law this is work in Japan, just like a shift at a convenience store.

  • You need the same part-time work permission — without it, remote work from Japan is a violation, even if the company and the money are abroad.
  • The same 28 hours a week — together with any job in Japan. Remote hours must be visible: a contract, timesheets, reports. If the hours cannot be checked or you work as a freelancer, you need individual permission (see above).
  • Tax in Japan. Pay for work you physically do in Japan is Japanese income, whoever pays it and wherever. A foreign company withholds no Japanese tax, so you usually declare the income yourself — a tax return when tax is due, and a declaration to the city for resident tax.
  • Extending your status. Immigration looks at what you live on and how much you work: income well above what 28 hours a week can earn may raise questions.

Taxes for students with remote work: student taxes and insurance. Which statuses allow remote work at all: remote work from Japan.

Step 2

Where to find a part-time job

Townwork (タウンワーク)

The largest part-time job site in Japan, with filters by station, pay and schedule. You need about N4 Japanese to read the ads.

Baitoru (バイトル)

Another big site, with video ads. Look for the label 外国人歓迎 (“foreigners welcome”).

GaijinPot Jobs

An English-language job site for foreign residents. Fewer offers, but written for people who don’t read Japanese.

Hello Work (ハローワーク)

The public employment service — free, with Employment Service Centers for Foreigners in large cities. More: Hello Work for foreigners.

Your school’s job board

Most language schools have their own board: the employers know their students speak N5–N3 Japanese and are ready for that.

Friends and classmates

Many students find their first job through other students. Still check the contract, 28 hours and the type of business yourself.

Beware of “easy money”. Ads like “earn in a day, just pick up a parcel” recruit people for fraud and robbery (闇バイト, yami baito). Taking part means a criminal case and the loss of your visa. If you have been drawn in, call the police consultation line ＃9110. An honest agency never charges a job seeker: placement fees from workers are prohibited by law.

After school: how to find a job in Japan.

Free help

Questions about your job or status? Ask for free, in English

Not sure whether a job is allowed, or your employer does not pay as agreed? These public services help foreign residents free of charge.

  • Telephone Consultation Service for Foreign Workers (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare): English 0570-001-701, Monday to Friday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (closed noon to 1 p.m.); the consultation is free, a call charge applies. Pay, hours, dismissal.
  • Foreign Residents Support Center (FRESC), Yotsuya Tower, Tokyo: 0570-011000, weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Status of residence, work and legal questions in many languages.
  • Your rights at work and more places to ask: your rights at work.

Realistic pay

What different jobs pay

Tokyo rates — elsewhere expect about 85–95% of them. Night shifts (10 p.m. to 5 a.m.) pay at least 25% more.

Convenience store: ¥1,280–1,400 an hour

Starts at Tokyo’s minimum wage; night shifts up to about ¥1,750. Japanese: N5–N4. Flexible hours, often near your school.

Kitchen and floor: ¥1,280–1,500 an hour

Izakaya, restaurants, cafés. Dishwashing (洗い場) needs almost no Japanese; serving needs N4 or better. A meal is often included.

Food delivery: ¥1,500–2,200 an hour

Paid per order; you need a bicycle or e-bike. Flexible, but no insurance from the company — and as a freelancer you need individual permission.

Warehouse and sorting: ¥1,300–1,600 an hour

Physical work with little Japanese. Often night shifts with the premium and free transport.

Teaching: ¥2,000–4,000 an hour

English or another language, tutoring online. Platform lessons usually count as freelancing — individual permission needed.

IT freelancing: from ¥2,500 an hour

Development, design, translation on sites such as Lancers or CrowdWorks — only with individual permission.

Minimum wage from fall 2026

The minimum wage (最低賃金, saitei chingin) applies to every worker, a student with a part-time job included. It depends on the prefecture where you work. Until the new rate takes effect, the old one applies.

Prefecture Minimum an hour From
Tokyo ¥1,280 October 1, 2026
Kanagawa ¥1,279 October 1, 2026
Osaka ¥1,231 October 1, 2026
Saitama ¥1,196 October 1, 2026
Chiba ¥1,195 October 1, 2026
Kyoto ¥1,180 November 16, 2026
Hyogo (Kobe) ¥1,172 October 1, 2026
Miyazaki (lowest) ¥1,085 October 24, 2026
National average ¥1,177 —

Your rights in a part-time job

  • Labor law applies to foreign workers and part-timers too: wages are paid in money, in full, at least once a month, on a fixed day.
  • Night work from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. is paid at least 25% more: in Tokyo at least ¥1,600 an hour. More: working hours and overtime.
  • Paid leave applies to part-time jobs too: after 6 months with at least 80% attendance — for example 7 days a year if you work 4 days a week. More: paid leave and sick leave.
  • Injured at work or on the way — treatment is covered by Workers’ Accident Compensation Insurance (労災保険, rōsai hoken), with no premium from you. More: injured at work.
  • Average salaries and jobs: salaries in Japan.

Money reality

What is left after costs

Income

Pay at 28 hours a week

Tokyo’s minimum wage (¥1,280) × 28 hours × 4 weeks:

≈ ¥143,000 a month

  • Night shifts at a convenience store: up to about ¥160,000
  • Food delivery: up to about ¥180,000
  • IT freelancing or teaching (with individual permission): ¥200,000 or more
  • Long vacations (up to 8 hours a day): up to about 40% more that month
  • Income tax withheld: about 1% with the dependents form (扶養控除等申告書) at your main job; more without it. If your salary for the year is up to ¥1,780,000, the withheld tax comes back.

Costs in Tokyo

Where the money goes

A basic student budget in Tokyo (without tuition):

≈ ¥120,000–150,000 a month

  • Housing (dormitory or share house): ¥40,000–70,000
  • Food: ¥30,000–40,000
  • Transport (commuter pass, 定期券): ¥6,000–12,000
  • Phone and internet: ¥3,000–5,000
  • National Health Insurance: ¥1,500–2,500
  • Other, going out: ¥20,000–30,000

Part-time work helps, but it cannot carry everything: immigration does not accept a plan to pay for school and life only with part-time work. When you apply, you need a sponsor or savings. See what is left of a salary in the take-home pay calculator.

Taxes and insurance

What is deducted from a part-time job

The full guide with limits and an example: student taxes and insurance. Here — the essentials.

  • The form for your main job. Give your main employer the Application for (Change in) Exemption for Dependents of Employment Income Earner (扶養控除等申告書, the dependents form). Then no income tax is withheld from monthly pay under ¥105,000. Without it, and at a second job, 3.063% is withheld even from small amounts — you get the extra back with a tax return.
  • Income tax for 2026 is not charged while your salary for the year is up to ¥1,780,000. 28 hours every week at Tokyo’s minimum wage comes to about ¥1,860,000 a year (28 × 52 × ¥1,280) — a little above the limit, so a small income tax is due (about ¥3,200 for the year by our calculation on student taxes); count your own income.
  • Resident tax (住民税, jūminzei) is charged the next year on last year’s income; there is none in your first year in Japan. In Tokyo’s 23 wards and other large cities there is none on a 2025 salary of up to ¥1,100,000.
  • Company Health Insurance and Employment Insurance usually do not apply to daytime students in part-time jobs. You join National Health Insurance (国民健康保険, kokumin kenkō hoken) at the city office.
  • Pension: from age 20, National Pension (国民年金, kokumin nenkin), ¥17,920 a month. Students of universities, junior colleges, specialized training colleges (専修学校) and miscellaneous schools (各種学校) with a course of 1 year or more — and, since April 1, 2024, Japanese language schools accredited by the Ministry of Education (認定日本語教育機関) — can postpone it with the Special Payment System for Students (学生納付特例). Check your school on the Japan Pension Service list.

Deadlines

Deadlines and what happens if you miss them

What When If you miss it
Part-time work permission (資格外活動許可) before your first working day work without permission is a violation; risk of a refused extension
Address registration and health insurance at the city office within 14 days of moving in premiums are charged back; treatment before you join is at full cost
Income declaration to the city office mid-February to March 15 every year, even with no income no health insurance reduction and no income certificate
Special Payment System for Students (pension) every year (April to March) the full ¥17,920 a month is charged
Notification of leaving or changing school within 14 days a fine of up to ¥200,000
A work or job-hunting status before you graduate part-time work on the student permission ends with your studies

Linked to your visa.

  • The 28 hours and your workplaces are checked when you extend your period of stay. Overwork or work in an off-limits business is a high risk of refusal.
  • Schools are required to monitor their students’ part-time work, and breaking the rules can lead to a refused extension.
  • Unpaid health insurance. Cities are due to share National Health Insurance payment data with immigration from June 2027 (planned). Then, with unpaid premiums, an extension or change of status will in principle be refused unless the debt is paid or there is a payment plan.
  • Changing schools: notify immigration within 14 days that you left your old school and enrolled in the new one.

Student visa · Permission to work part-time · Extending your period of stay · Notifications

After school

Part-time work ends with your studies

The student permission works only while you are enrolled. Prepare your next status of residence in advance.

  • A job in your field. With an offer from a Japanese company you change your status to a work status inside Japan. Where to look: how to find a job in Japan.
  • Job hunting after school. A Designated Activities status (特定活動) for job hunting, up to 1 year, exists — for language-school graduates only with a degree from a university outside Japan and a recommendation from an eligible school. More: job-hunting visa.
  • Keep studying. A vocational college (専門学校, senmon gakkō) or a university — the Student status again, with part-time work.
  • Without a degree from a university abroad there is no job-hunting status after language school: apply for your next status before you graduate.

If you have a family

Spouse, children, parents: what changes

A dependent for tax and a dependent for health insurance are two different things with different income limits. All the rules for families: Family and dependents.

  • A language-school student cannot bring a spouse and children on the Dependent status (家族滞在, kazoku taizai) — this applies to every language school.
  • A student of a university or a specialized training college (a 専門課程 course) can: the family comes on the Dependent status and lives on your means. More: Dependent visa.
  • A spouse with Dependent status can also work up to 28 hours a week — with their own part-time work permission (資格外活動許可).
  • Family health insurance. National Health Insurance has no dependents: every family member is insured, and the head of household pays the premium. More: family and dependents.

FAQ

Part-time work questions

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Ask us a question

How many hours a week can I work on a student visa?

Up to 28 hours a week, all jobs together, with part-time work permission. The limit must hold in any 7 days in a row, whichever day you start counting from. During the long vacations set in your school’s rules you may work up to 8 hours a day.

Only once you have part-time work permission. You can apply at the immigration counter at one of the 10 airports that issue residence cards, and the permission is stamped on your card on arrival, free. If you did not apply there, apply at an immigration office; processing takes 2 weeks to 2 months, and you may not work until it is granted.

It is a violation of your permission. Immigration checks your work when you extend your period of stay, and overwork is a high risk of refusal. Serious or repeated breaches can lead to revocation of the permission, a criminal penalty and deportation, and a record of illegal work also hurts later applications for a work status or permanent residency.

Any work at businesses licensed under the adult entertainment law (風俗営業): pachinko and gaming halls, hostess and host clubs, snack bars, the sex industry — even cleaning there. Freelance work as a sole proprietor, or work whose hours cannot be checked, needs separate individual permission.

Only with part-time work permission and within the same 28 hours a week, counted together with any job in Japan. Your hours must be on record. Pay for work done in Japan is Japanese income, so you usually declare it yourself for income tax and resident tax. As a freelancer you need individual permission.

Little or none on a small income. Give your main employer the dependents form, and no income tax is withheld from monthly pay under ¥105,000. Income tax for 2026 is charged only on a salary above ¥1,780,000 for the year. Resident tax comes the next year; in Tokyo’s 23 wards and other large cities there is none on a 2025 salary of up to ¥1,100,000.

No. The permission works only while you are enrolled at your school. Before you graduate, prepare your next status: a work status with a job offer, a new Student status for a vocational college or university, or, for graduates with a degree from a university abroad and a recommendation from an eligible school, the job-hunting status.

Study → Find a job → Work → Taxes → PR or leave

From student to working in Japan — and where you are on the way

  1. Studylanguage school · part-time up to 28 h a weekYou are here
  2. Find a jobresume, interviews, shūkatsu
  3. Workcontract, pay, your first 30 days
  4. Taxestaxes, insurance and pension
  5. PR or leavea clean record for PR — or the pension refund

Sources

Where this information comes from

Rates, limits and deadlines on this page were checked against the official websites of the Immigration Services Agency, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the National Tax Agency and city offices on October 7, 2026. Amounts are in Japanese yen. When a rule changes we update the page and the date above.

Results and examples are estimates, not your employer’s payroll. The amounts on your payslip and in your resident tax notice are the ones that count. For a complex case, talk to a licensed tax accountant (税理士) or a Labor and Social Security Attorney (社会保険労務士, sharōshi).

Ready to study and work part-time in Japan?

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