Situations · 転職 · tenshoku
Changing jobs in Japan: visa, insurance and taxes
You can change jobs in Japan on a work visa: your status of residence is tied to a type of work, not to one company. But the switch is your responsibility. You check that the new job fits your status, tell immigration on time, stay covered by health insurance and hand your tax papers to the new employer. Here is the whole process, step by step and with deadlines.
Checked against the websites of the Immigration Services Agency, the Japan Pension Service, the National Tax Agency and city offices on October 7, 2026 · Social insurance · Taxes
In short
Changing jobs in five lines
Before you quit
Does the new job fit your status?
A status of residence allows a certain type of activity. The new company can be any company, but the work there must fall under the same type — otherwise you need a change of status before you start.
| Your status | What to check when you switch |
|---|---|
| Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services (技術・人文知識・国際業務) | The new position is again engineering, specialist or international work linked to your degree or experience, and the pay is at least what a Japanese employee would get for the same job. The contract is with a specific organization, for ongoing work. |
| Specified Skilled Worker (特定技能) | Your employer is named in your designation document: a new company needs a change of status (see below). |
| Other work statuses | The new job stays within the same status. In doubt? Get a Certificate of Authorized Employment. |
| Permanent Resident, Spouse or Child of Japanese National or of Permanent Resident, Long-Term Resident | No limits on the type of work — the status does not depend on your employer. |
Certificate of Authorized Employment (就労資格証明書)
The Certificate of Authorized Employment (就労資格証明書, shūrō shikaku shōmeisho) is an immigration document that states which paid work you are allowed to do. You can show it to a new employer. It is optional, but useful if you are not sure the new position fits your status: immigration checks now, not at your next extension, when it is too late to change anything. It costs ¥2,000 (¥1,600 online; from October 1, 2026 online payment adds a ¥220 settlement fee). It is usually issued the same day, but after a change of employer it takes 1–3 months. More: immigration procedures.
Language work and the B2 requirement. From April 15, 2026, if your Engineer/Specialist employer is in category 3 or 4 and the job is mainly translation, interpreting or customer service (a hotel front desk, for example), you must prove language ability at CEFR B2 — for Japanese, JLPT N2 or higher or a BJT score of 400 or more. You do not need proof if you graduated from a Japanese university, college of technology (高専) or vocational school (専門学校), finished compulsory and high school in Japan, or have lived in Japan for 20 years or more. If you already hold the status and a job change makes language work your main task, attach the B2 proof at your next extension; if your work stays the same, it is not required at extension (but immigration may ask). For a change of status — after a language school, for example — attach it to the application.
Leaving the old job
Notice, leave, documents
Deadlines step by step
From your last day to the new contract
Example: you hold the Engineer/Specialist status, your last working day is November 30, 2026, you sign the new contract on December 15, and the new job starts on January 12, 2027.
- Day 0 — November 30: last dayYour company insurance ends the next day, December 1.
- By December 14 (+14 days) — immigration and city officeNotification that the contract has ended; National Health Insurance and National Pension at the city office — or, within 20 days, an application for optional and continued coverage (任意継続).
- December 15 — new contractBy December 29 — the second notification to immigration.
- By December 30 — withholding recordThe old company issues it within a month after you leave.
- January 12, 2027 — first working dayThe new employer enrolls you in Health Insurance and Employees’ Pension Insurance within 5 days. By January 25 you leave National Health Insurance at the city office.
- February 28, 2027 (+3 months)The 3-month line. Here the gap is 42 days, so your status is not at risk.
In this example nobody recalculates your 2026 tax: you were not working in December, so there is no year-end adjustment (年末調整). File a final tax return for 2026 in early 2027 — you will most likely get some tax back. A return claiming a refund can also be filed later, within 5 years.
Notifications to immigration
Leaving and a new contract — 14 days each
| Status | Notification | When |
|---|---|---|
| Engineer/Specialist, Skilled Labor, Specified Skilled Worker, Nursing Care, Entertainer (on a contract), Researcher, Highly Skilled Professional (i)(a), (i)(b), (ii)(a), (ii)(b) | Notification of the Contracting Organization (契約機関に関する届出) | within 14 days after the contract ends, and within 14 days after you sign a new one |
| Professor, Instructor, Business Manager, Medical Services, Legal / Accounting Services, Intra-company Transferee and others | Notification of the Accepting Organization (活動機関に関する届出) | within 14 days after you leave or move |
| Permanent Resident, spouse statuses, Long-Term Resident | Not required | — |
You can file online, at a regional immigration bureau or by mail. Not filing can be fined up to ¥200,000 (Article 71-5 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act). Your employer separately reports your departure to Hello Work — that is their duty, not yours. Forms and how to file: notifications to immigration.
A gap between jobs
The 3-month rule
If you do not do the activity of your status for 3 months or more without a good reason, your status can be revoked (Article 22-4 of the Immigration Control Act). Looking for work can be such a reason, but you must be able to prove it. Keep:
If the gap drags on, you may be able to get unemployment benefits — with at least 12 months in Employment Insurance in the last 2 years. Where to look for work: how to find a job in Japan. For Highly Skilled Professional (ii) the period is 6 months, not 3.
Health insurance and pension
Without a gap, or with one
| Situation | What to do | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| The new job starts the next day | Nothing: the new employer enrolls you in Health Insurance and Employees’ Pension Insurance — just give them the details they ask for. | employer: 5 days |
| A gap between jobs | National Health Insurance (国民健康保険) and the National Pension (国民年金) at the city office. | 14 days from the day after you leave |
| A gap — or staying in the company plan | Optional and continued coverage (任意継続, nin’i keizoku): up to 2 years, you pay the whole premium yourself. | 20 days from the day after you leave |
| New job after a gap | Leave National Health Insurance at the city office, showing your new insurance. | 14 days |
If you join National Health Insurance late, the premiums are still charged from the month your company insurance ended, and treatment before you join is paid in full by you. More: health insurance and pension.
Taxes when you change jobs
Resident tax and the year-end recalculation
Resident tax (住民税)
While you were working, your resident tax (住民税, jūminzei) was deducted from your salary (特別徴収, special collection). When you leave, the rest of the year’s tax (June to May) can be paid in three ways:
Income tax and the year-end adjustment
On your first day, give the new employer the dependents form (扶養控除等申告書) — without it tax is withheld at a higher rate — and the withholding record from your old job. In December the new employer recalculates your tax for the year (year-end adjustment) including the salary from your old job. If you do not hand in the record, or you are not working by the end of the year, you do the recalculation yourself with a final tax return. More on the local tax: resident tax.
Specified Skilled Worker
A new employer means a change of status
What happens to your visa
Your status does not disappear when you change jobs
Linked to your visa.
- 14 + 14 days. Notifications about leaving and about the new contract; not filing can be fined up to ¥200,000.
- 3 months without the activity of your status and without a good reason is a ground for revocation.
- Extension. At your next extension immigration looks at the new job: position, pay, employer. Employees of category 3 and 4 employers attach resident tax certificates — see taxes and your visa.
- A different field — change of status first, then the job.
Notifications · Change of status · Extending your period of stay · Work visas
Free help in English. Not sure whether the new job fits your status? The Foreign Residents Support Center (FRESC) help desk answers immigration questions free of charge: 0570-011000 (03-5363-3013 from IP phones and abroad), weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., in English and many other languages, including Vietnamese, Nepali, Indonesian, Filipino and Thai. Problems with your old employer — unpaid wages, being pushed to quit: your rights at work.
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.
Deadlines
What happens if you miss them
| What | When | If you miss it |
|---|---|---|
| Notification to immigration that you left | 14 days after the contract ends | a fine of up to ¥200,000 |
| Notification of the new contract | 14 days after signing | a fine of up to ¥200,000 |
| National Health Insurance and National Pension during a gap | 14 days from the day after you leave | premiums charged retroactively; treatment before you join at full cost |
| Optional and continued coverage instead of National Health Insurance | 20 days from the day after you leave | only National Health Insurance remains |
| Working in your status | a gap of no more than 3 months | your status may be revoked |
| Withholding record to the new employer | before the December recalculation | you recalculate yourself with a tax return |
What next
Your next step
FAQ
Questions about changing jobs
Can’t find your question? Write to us — a real person replies.
Study → Find a job → Work → Taxes → PR or leave
From student to working in Japan — and where you are on the way
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 Japan Pension Service, the National Tax Agency, Kyōkai Kenpo and city offices on October 7, 2026. Amounts are in Japanese yen. When a rule changes we update the page and the date above.
- Immigration Services Agency — Notification of the Contracting Organization (契約機関に関する届出)
- Immigration Services Agency — Notification of the Accepting Organization (活動機関に関する届出)
- Immigration Services Agency — Certificate of Authorized Employment: fee and processing time (就労資格証明書交付申請)
- Immigration Services Agency — online application fees from October 1, 2026
- Immigration Services Agency — Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services: documents and the B2 requirement
- Immigration Services Agency — revocation of status of residence (在留資格の取消し)
- Immigration Services Agency — Specified Skilled Worker Q&A (changing employers: Q13)
- Immigration Services Agency — Foreign Residents Support Center (FRESC) help desk
- Kyōkai Kenpo — optional and continued coverage after leaving a job (任意継続)
- Shinjuku City — joining and leaving National Health Insurance
- National Tax Agency — withholding record: deadlines (No.7411)
- National Tax Agency — who is covered by the year-end adjustment (No.2665)
- Arakawa City — resident tax deducted from salary and leaving a job (特別徴収)
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).
