Once your job in Tokyo is decided,
what sort of preparation should you do?
This is a list of the money and certifications you should prepare before leaving your country.
Procedures before entering
Japan
In order to work in Japan, you need to acquire a visa and Status of Residence.
If you are a non-Japanese person living overseas, your prospective employer in Tokyo will apply for and acquire a Certificate of Eligibility for Resident Status on your behalf, and will send it to you. You need to present your Certificate of Eligibility for Resident Status at a local Japanese embassy or consulate and undertake a visa application in order to acquire a visa. If your family will be accompanying you to Tokyo, they will also need visas and Status of Residence documents, so you should ask your prospective employer to undertake the appropriate procedures to acquire Certificates of Eligibility for Resident Status.
When entering Japan, if you present your passport and visa at immigration control at the airport and show your Certificate of Eligibility for Resident Status, you will receive a stamp in your passport approving entry to the country. You will also be able to acquire a Residence Card there.
Certificate of Eligibility for
Resident Status sent
Entering Japan
Q What is Status of Residence?
A As a general rule, non-Japanese people who enter and reside in Japan receive permission to land at the port of entry in accordance with their Status of Residence determined at that time, and are thus able to stay in Japan. The Status of Residence determines the range of activities permitted to non-Japanese citizens during their stay in Japan. As a general rule, non-Japanese are prohibited from earning income other than from the activities approved by their Status of Residence.
The Status of Residence for working non-Japanese people newly employed by a Japanese company is determined by the type of work they will be doing. For example, in many cases this is "Engineer/Specialist in humanities/International services," but it might be "Legal/Accounting services" for a legal or accounting office or "Researcher" for a research institution.
| Statuses of Residence permitting work within a stipulated range |
||
| Status of Residence | Examples of appropriate work | Period of stay |
|---|---|---|
| Engineer/ Specialist in humanities/ International services |
Mechanical engineering, systems engineering, technical development, design, quality control & planning, finance, sales, marketing, interpreting, translation, language instruction, advertising, overseas trading work, product development, etc. | 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, or 3 months |
| Business manager |
Managers of overseas companies etc. | 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, 4 months, or 3 months |
| Legal/ Accounting services |
Lawyers, certified accountants, etc. | 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, or 3 months |
| Intra-company Transferee |
Transferees from overseas offices | 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, or 3 months |
| Research | Researcher at a government-related organization, private company, and so on | 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, or 3 months |
| Specified skills | 12 fields including the restaurant industry, nursing care industry, lodging industry, food and beverage manufacturing industry, building cleaning industry, etc. | Specified skilled worker (i), 5 years Specified skilled worker (ii), no upper limit |
| Statuses of Residence with no restriction on activities |
||
| Status of Residence | Examples of relevant persons | Period of stay |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent resident |
Those who have received permission for permanent residence from the Minister for Justice | No limit |
| Spouse or child of Japanese national |
Spouse, biological child, or special adopted child of a Japanese national | 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, or 6 months |
| Spouse or child of permanent resident |
Spouse of a permanent resident or special permanent resident, or a child born and continuing to stay in Japan | 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, or 6 months |
The Immigration Bureau's website
"Your employer applies for your Status of Residence,
but you apply for your visa."
Tokyo Career Consulting Desk
Consultant Indonesian
Your prospective employer will apply for your Status of Residence at the Immigration Bureau in Japan, but the application documentation varies depending on the size of the company and some companies are not familiar with the application procedures, so you should check for yourself the types of documents required, and be sure to keep in contact with your new employer.
From when you commence the application procedures it might take 2 or 3 months to receive your visa, but you should use this time to undertake resignation procedures with your previous employer and prepare for coming to Tokyo.
