Home/Visa/Working Holiday

Visa · 特定活動 · Working Holiday

Working Holiday visa for Japan: 32 countries, ages 18–30, up to 1 year

A year in Japan to travel, with casual work to pay your way. Who can apply, the countries and their annual places, how to apply at your Japanese embassy, which jobs are banned — and whether you can study Japanese on a working holiday.

Check your country

Student visa

Checked against MOFA, embassies of Japan and the Immigration Services Agency of Japan on 7 October 2026 · All Japan visas

Countries32 countries and regions

Age18–30 (18–25 base rule for 4)

StayUsually up to 1 year

Status in JapanDesignated Activities

Countries and places

32 countries and regions (1 April 2026)

Japan runs the programme through bilateral agreements. Annual places are visas issued to nationals of each country for Japan; when a quota is used up, the embassy stops accepting applications for that year.

Country / region Since Places a year Second stay
Australia 1980 No limit —
New Zealand 1985 No limit Two separate 1-year stays (from 1 Dec 2024)
Canada 1986 6,283 Two 1-year stays, back-to-back or separate (from 1 Dec 2024)
Republic of Korea 1999 10,000 Two separate 1-year stays (from 1 Oct 2025)
France 2000 1,800 —
Germany 2000 No limit Two separate 1-year stays (from 1 Jan 2025)
United Kingdom 2001 6,000 Two 1-year stays, back-to-back or separate (from 1 Dec 2024)
Ireland 2007 800 Two separate 1-year stays (from 1 Jan 2025)
Denmark 2007 No limit Two separate 1-year stays (from 1 Dec 2024)
Taiwan 2009 10,000 Two separate 1-year stays (from 1 Feb 2026)
Hong Kong 2010 1,500 —
Norway 2013 No limit —
Portugal 2015 No limit —
Poland 2015 500 —
Slovakia 2016 400 Two separate 1-year stays (from 1 Jan 2025)
Austria 2016 200 Two separate 1-year stays (from 1 Dec 2024)
Hungary 2017 200 —
Spain 2017 700 —
Argentina 2017 400 —
Chile 2018 200 —
Iceland 2018 30 —
Czech Republic 2018 400 —
Lithuania 2019 100 —
Sweden 2020 No limit —
Estonia 2020 100 —
Netherlands 2020 200 —
Uruguay 2023 100 —
Finland 2023 200 —
Latvia 2023 100 —
Luxembourg 2024 100 —
Malta 2026 100 —
Italy 2026 500 —

Source: MOFA — Working Holiday Programmes in Japan. Not in the scheme: the United States, India, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Nepal, China and many others. For a long stay from those countries, the usual route is the Student visa at a language school or a work visa.

Who can apply

MOFA’s conditions

Your embassy may add its own: proof of funds, a CV, a plan of your stay.

Required

All applicants

  • a national of a partner country who lives there when applying (Hong Kong and Taiwan: a valid passport of that region);
  • aged 18–30 when applying — for Australia, Canada, Korea and Ireland the base rule is 18–25 unless both governments agree to 30 (the Australian and Canadian embassies now accept 18–30);
  • the main purpose is a holiday in Japan;
  • no dependants travelling with you;
  • a valid passport and a return ticket or enough money to buy one, plus money for the first weeks;
  • in good health; never issued a Japanese Working Holiday visa before (except where a second stay is allowed).

Example

Money to show

Each embassy sets its own amount. The Embassy of Japan in Australia, for example, asks a single applicant with a return ticket for at least A$2,500 (A$3,500 for a couple). Check the page of the embassy that covers your address.

How to apply

At the Japanese embassy in your own country

There is no Certificate of Eligibility for a working holiday and no application from inside Japan.

1. Find your embassy

Apply to the Japanese embassy or consulate that covers your address (in Taiwan: the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association). Some take appointments, some accept post or use agencies.

2. Submit the documents

Usually: visa application form, passport, photo, CV, a plan of your stay or a letter on why you want to go, proof of funds and a return ticket or money for one. Lists differ by embassy.

3. Enter Japan in time

The visa is single-entry and has a validity for entering Japan — for example 12 months from issue at the UK embassy. On arrival you get Designated Activities (特定活動).

Official pages. MOFA’s Working Holiday page has the general rules; MOFA’s list of embassies and consulates leads to the page for your country with the documents, fees and appointments. Visa fees differ by nationality.

Work

Casual work to fund your travels

The status covers a holiday to get to know Japanese culture and everyday life, and paid work only as far as you need it to fund the trip (Ministry of Justice public notice No. 5).

Allowed

Incidental work

  • part-time or temporary jobs — in practice often in cafés, hotels, ski resorts, farms, shops or English teaching;
  • no separate part-time work permission (資格外活動許可) is needed;
  • no weekly hour limit is published — the holiday must stay the main purpose.

Banned

Workplaces you may not work in

  • bars, cabarets, nightclubs, hostess clubs;
  • gambling establishments, including pachinko parlours;
  • any other adult-entertainment business (風俗営業) — even as a cleaner or in the kitchen.

Studying Japanese

Language school on a working holiday — how much is fine?

No MOFA or embassy page we checked sets a maximum number of weeks or months of study. What they say is about purpose:

  • MOFA: you must intend primarily to spend a holiday in Japan;
  • Consulate-General of Japan in Sydney: the program is not designed for people who mainly intend to work or study;
  • Consulate-General of Japan in Montreal: not for people who want to enrol in academic institutions;
  • Embassy of Japan in Germany: for a mainly long-term language school stay, apply for the appropriate visa.

In practice. A short or part-time Japanese course while you travel and work fits a working holiday, and many language schools have short courses for it. If you want to study full time for months, take the Student visa: it is built for that, allows part-time work up to 28 hours a week with permission and can be extended. We help you choose a school — short-term or long-term.

Life in Japan

Residence card, address and trips abroad

Residence card

You are a mid- to long-term resident. At the major airports the residence card is issued on arrival; elsewhere it follows after you register your address.

Address in 14 days

Register your address at the city office within 14 days of finding a place to live, and within 14 days after every move. In general you then also join National Health Insurance there. All notifications.

Trips abroad

With your passport and residence card you can leave and come back within your period of stay without a separate permit (special re-entry). Tick the box on the embarkation card when you leave.

FAQ

Working Holiday visa questions

Can’t find your question? Write to us — a real person replies.

Ask us a question

Which countries have a Working Holiday agreement with Japan?

32 countries and regions as of 1 April 2026: Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Republic of Korea, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Norway, Portugal, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Spain, Argentina, Chile, Iceland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Sweden, Estonia, the Netherlands, Uruguay, Finland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta and Italy. The United States, India, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Nepal have no such agreement with Japan.

MOFA sets 18 to 30 at the time of application. For Australia, Canada, the Republic of Korea and Ireland the base rule is 18 to 25 unless both governments agree to extend it to 30; the embassies in Australia and Canada currently accept applicants aged 18 to 30. Check your own embassy’s page.

Usually up to 1 year. Australian nationals first get 6 months and can ask immigration in Japan for an extension, which is not guaranteed. Canadians are granted up to 1 year and may extend by up to 1 more year in Japan (Consulate-General in Vancouver). Canadian and UK nationals may have two 1-year stays, back-to-back or separate, and several other countries now allow a second, separate 1-year stay.

The main purpose must be a holiday, and no official page sets a number of months you may study. Embassies say the programme is not for people who mainly want to study, and the Embassy of Japan in Germany asks applicants planning a mainly long-term language school stay to apply for the appropriate visa. In practice a short or part-time course during your travels is common; a full-time course for months needs a Student visa.

Work that is incidental to your holiday and helps fund your travel. No weekly hour limit is published, but work must not become the main purpose. Bars, cabarets, nightclubs, gambling establishments such as pachinko parlours and other adult-entertainment businesses are strictly off-limits.

At the Japanese embassy or consulate in your own country — in Taiwan at the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association. You must live in your country of nationality when you apply. There is no Certificate of Eligibility and you cannot apply from inside Japan.

Yes, as a mid- to long-term resident: at the major airports it is issued on arrival. Register your address at the city office within 14 days of finding a place to live, and within 14 days after every move.

The law does not forbid it, but immigration decides case by case. In practice language schools usually apply for a Certificate of Eligibility for one of their intakes and many working-holiday makers go home to get the student visa. Ask the school early: CoE deadlines are several months before the course starts.

No. MOFA requires that you do not travel with dependents. A partner can come only with their own Working Holiday visa or another status.

Only if your country allows a second stay: Canada and the United Kingdom (from 1 December 2024), New Zealand, Denmark and Austria (1 December 2024), Germany, Ireland and Slovakia (1 January 2025), the Republic of Korea (1 October 2025) and Taiwan (1 February 2026). Everyone else may receive the visa only once.

Work in Japan

Jobs, pay, taxes and insurance on this visa

All topics: Work in Japan — the full guide

Sources

Where this information comes from

Facts were checked against the websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA), embassies and consulates of Japan and the Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA) on 7 October 2026. Embassy rules differ by country — your own embassy’s page is the one that applies to you.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Embassies decide visa applications and immigration decides each change or extension. Where a rule is known only from practice, we say so.

Want to study Japanese for real?

A language school gives you structure, a student visa and part-time work. We help you choose a school and prepare the papers — free.

Apply free
Students in yukata at a Japanese language school

Free for students