Job-hunting visa in Japan after graduation (Designated Activities)

Japan’s job hunting visa is a Designated Activities (特定活動) status for international students who graduate without a job. You change to it from Student status (留学), and it is granted for 6 months, renewable once: up to 1 year after graduation. You need a recommendation letter from your school, and you must have started job hunting before you graduated. This is the position as of October 2026, from the Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁, ISA).

Who qualifies for the job hunting visa in Japan?

You must be on Student status and want to continue job hunting you started before graduation. ISA lists four groups:

Your residence record must also have no problems, and your school must recommend you. You can apply before graduation with the recommendation letter and a certificate of expected graduation. You then show your diploma or graduation certificate when the permission is granted.

How long can you stay?

The first grant is 6 months. ISA allows one renewal of another 6 months. For the renewal you need a new recommendation letter from your school, proof you are still job hunting, and proof of funds.

Can you get a second year?

Only through a local-government job-support program that meets ISA’s requirements. ISA’s pages don’t list these programs, so ask your city or prefecture’s international or employment office. The rules come from a Ministry of Justice guide dated December 2016, which ISA still links today:

• you must already be on job-hunting Designated Activities, as a university, college or 専門士 vocational graduate
• the local government selects you by document review and interview, and gives you a participant certificate (対象者証明書), valid for 3 months
• you change to a new Designated Activities status for 6 months, then renew once; the total can’t run past 2 years after graduation
• the program includes internships aimed at Engineer/Humanities-type jobs, not simple labor; for vocational graduates, related to your major
• at renewal you submit a new certificate and an internship record report; if it shows no real activity, the renewal can be refused

Internships inside the program need no work permission. For other part-time work, the 28-hour limit applies.

Can you apply from a Japanese language school?

Yes, but only if you graduated from a foreign university first. ISA’s conditions for you:

• a bachelor’s degree or higher from a foreign university
• attendance of about 90% or more at the language school
• enough money to keep job hunting
• you started job hunting while enrolled
• regular meetings with the school after graduation, and a signed confirmation of this
• a recommendation letter from the school

The school must meet conditions too. It needs education-ministry certification (until March 31, 2029, a school on the older Ministry of Justice list also counts), good enrollment management over the last 3 years, a job-placement license or a job-focused course, and at least 1 student placed in a job in Japan in the last year, or 2 in the last 3 years. Ask your school whether it qualifies before you count on this route.

What documents do you need?

Certificates issued in Japan must be under 3 months old. Documents in other languages need a Japanese translation. Since June 14, 2026, the photo is needed for anyone aged 1 or older.

ISA says graduate students who couldn’t job hunt enough because of research should consult their immigration office.

How much does it cost?

The fee depends on the period granted, for applications received from October 1, 2026. Job hunting status is 6 months, so:

You pay again for the renewal. Online fees are paid by convenience store or bank payment after an email from @service-dgft.com. ISA warns that fee emails from other addresses are scams. Full table: change of status guide.

Can you work part-time on a job hunting visa?

Yes, with permission to engage in activity other than that permitted (資格外活動許可). It’s free.

• Comprehensive permission (包括許可): up to 28 hours a week, any employer, not at adult entertainment businesses.
• Individual permission (個別許可): for internships over 28 hours as part of job hunting (for vocational graduates, related to your major), or if your school crossed out work permission on the recommendation letter.
• Freelance work where hours can’t be checked needs individual permission. Starting a company or hiring staff needs Business Manager status instead.

For how the student rules work, see our student visa work guide.

What happens when you get a job offer?

If the job starts soon, apply to change to a work status, usually Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services (技術・人文知識・国際業務). See the Engineer/Humanities visa guide for what the job must look like.

If the start date is months away, you can change to Designated Activities for job-offer holders (内定者). ISA’s conditions:

• you are hired within 1 year of the offer and within 1 year 6 months of graduation
• the job is expected to qualify for a work status
• the company signs a pledge (誓約書) to contact you at least every 3 months, report a canceled offer to immigration, and not let you start work before your work status is granted

You can again work part-time up to 28 hours a week with permission. ISA tells applicants to apply promptly once their activity changes: if you don’t do the activity of your status, it can be canceled.

How is Designated Activities No. 46 different?

Designated Activities No. 46 (特定活動46号) is not a job-hunting status. It’s a work status for graduates who have a full-time job that uses Japanese. As revised on February 29, 2024, it covers:

• a bachelor’s degree from a Japanese university, or a degree from a Japanese graduate school
• junior college or college of technology graduates who got a bachelor’s degree through NIAD-QE review
• graduates of a MEXT-certified vocational career program with the 高度専門士 title

You also need JLPT N1 or BJT 480+ (or a foreign degree majoring in Japanese), pay equal to a Japanese employee, and work that uses what you studied. Adult entertainment work and work reserved for licensed professions are excluded. From April 15, 2026, applicants also submit a declaration about the employer’s representative. See our JLPT guide for test dates.

Is there a job seeker visa if you didn’t study in Japan?

Mostly not. The exception is J-Find (未来創造人材制度), since April 2023. It gives Designated Activities for up to 2 years to job hunt or prepare a startup if:

• your university is in the top 100 of at least 2 of 3 world rankings (QS, THE, Shanghai); ISA publishes a list
• you got your degree within the last 5 years
• you have at least ¥200,000 in savings when you apply

More guides: change of status, re-entry permit, Business Manager visa, quitting a job on a work visa.