Work visa – for Japanese language school students

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Q: Can I change from a Japanese language school student to a work visa?
Points for employment from Japanese language schools
What documents do I need to change my visa if I want to work from a Japanese language school?
<Documents to be prepared by the applicant>
<Documents to be prepared by the company you work for>
Our visa applications are also individually tailor-made for each person.

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Q: Can I change from a Japanese language school student to a work visa?

“I am currently studying at a Japanese language school and would like to find a job in Japan after graduation, is this possible? Please tell me.”

Thank you for your inqury. I will answer your question.

Generally, most students graduate from a university (postgraduate school) or vocational school (Senmon Gakkou) in Japan and then go on to work in Japan,

However, if conditions are met, it is possible to find a job after graduating from a Japanese language school, or even while studying at a Japanese language school, and change your visa status to a work-related visa.

Points for employment from Japanese language schools

To find employment in Japan, you will generally have to apply to change your visa status to an ‘Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services Visa’.

The person in question has not graduated from a university or vocational school (Senmon Gakkou) in Japan, so he/she must have graduated from a university in his/her own country (or in a third country).

If you have graduated from a university in a country other than Japan and have been granted a Bachelor’s Degree, you have fulfilled the education requirement.

However, in the case of Chinese academic qualifications, it is necessary to check whether a ‘大专 dà zhuān’ is an academic qualification. Other issues, for example, whether a ‘HIGHER Dipoma’ in Hong Kong is equivalent to a university degree, need to be convincingly explained, with reference to the country’s education system.

Please note that as you have not graduated from a Japanese university and therefore you cannot apply for a ‘Designed activities No. 46’ visa. So, you cannot work as a taxi driver.

What documents do I need to change my visa if I want to work from a Japanese language school?

If you are changing from a Japanese language school directly to a work visa, the documents you will need are as follows

<Documents to be prepared by the applicant>

Application form for applicant *mandatory
Passport
Residence card
Photograph (4 cm (length) x 3 cm (width))
Curriculum vitae
Certificate of graduation or degree conferred by a foreign university
Transcript of academic transcripts from a foreign university *mandatory
Certificate of previous employment (if previous employment history)
Certificate of work-related qualifications
Certificate of passing the Japanese Language Proficiency Test
Certificate of enrolment, certificate of attendance and transcript from a Japanese language school *mandatory
Statement of reasons for application

<Documents to be prepared by the company you work for>

Copy of the “Total statutory record of withholding tax on wages and other income” for the previous year (reception stamp required)
Copy of employment contract
Company brochure
Certificate of all historical matters of commercial registration
Financial statements for the most recent financial year
Application form for company creation *mandatory

All foreign-language (English) documents must be translated into Japanese.

Other documents to be prepared will vary according to the individual case.

It takes approximately two weeks to a month from the time your application is received until you are notified of the outcome.

However, if you graduate from or drop out of a Japanese language school, you will no longer be a foreign student and will need to re-apply or return to your country as soon as possible.

Work visa – Designated Activities (Japanese university graduates; customer service work also possible)

Our visa applications are also individually tailor-made for each person.

Changing visa from a Japanese language school is possible, but requires careful preparation of documents and a statement of reasons.

We have extensive experience in applying for a change of status from Japanese language school to a work visa. Our Gyoseishoshi immigration lawyer will listen to your individual case in detail, suggest the best option and prepare a tailor-made application form, statement of reasons and other documents. No two documents are the same.