Switching from a student visa to a work visa in Japan

To go from a student visa to a work visa in Japan, you file a change of status of residence application (在留資格変更許可申請) at the immigration bureau for your address. For an April start, ISA asks you to apply between December 1 and the end of January. The route depends on when your job offer arrives: before graduation, after graduation, or not yet. This is the position as of October 2026, from the Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁, ISA).

Which route fits you?

All three are a change of status. The general process, documents and waiting rules are in our change of status guide.

When should you apply?

ISA asks students who want to start work in April to apply from December 1 to the end of January. Applications peak from January to March, and late or incomplete filings may not be decided by your start date.

One exception: if your Student status expires on or before January 31 and you will keep studying, you apply for a Student extension instead. Don’t file the change in that window unless your regional bureau tells you to.

The standard processing time is 1 to 2 months. ISA asks people not to phone for progress on a single application, because staff cannot answer.

What does the work visa route need?

The most common target is Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services. Its period of stay is 5 years, 3 years, 1 year or 3 months.

• The job must fit the status. ISA says a job advertised as “no experience needed, you’ll get used to it quickly” does not qualify.
• Pay must equal what Japanese staff get for the same work. ISA refused one engineer offered ¥135,000 a month when Japanese new hires got ¥180,000.
• Your employer’s category matters. ISA lists graduates of Japanese universities, graduate schools and junior colleges under category 2. Category 1 and 2 applicants need no other documents in principle beyond the common set.

Since December 1, 2025, some documents can be left out when you change from Student to this status or to Researcher. You qualify if you are a Japanese university graduate or expected graduate, a graduate of an overseas university ranked in the top 300 on at least two of three world rankings, or you join an employer that already hired a former student who changed status and renewed. Dispatch (派遣) jobs are excluded. You attach an explanation form, and ISA can still ask for the missing documents.

What if you graduate without a job?

You can change to Designated Activities for job hunting, with your school’s recommendation. ISA says you can apply before graduation, with the recommendation letter and a certificate of expected graduation. The diploma is needed when permission is granted. You get 6 months, renewable once, so up to 1 year after graduation. Research students, auditors and 別科 students are excluded.

If you then get an offer, there is a further Designated Activities status that lets you stay until you start work. ISA’s conditions:

• you must be hired within 1 year of the offer and within 1 year 6 months of graduation
• the job must be expected to qualify for a work status
• your employer agrees to stay in touch and to tell the bureau quickly if the offer is withdrawn

The same status is open to students who get an offer before graduating. With permission you can work up to 28 hours a week meanwhile.

What does the change cost?

For applications received from October 1, 2026, the fee depends on the period you are granted. ISA’s counter fees are paid with revenue stamps (収入印紙):

Online filing adds a payment fee of ¥330, or ¥550 for the two longest periods. A reduced ¥10,000 fee exists for qualifying applicants, but only at the counter. Applications received by September 30, 2026 pay the old ¥6,000.

What documents should you expect?

Japanese certificates must be issued within 3 months, and foreign-language documents need a Japanese translation. Since June 14, 2026, residence-card photos are needed for anyone aged 1 or over. Employer staff, lawyers and 行政書士 can file as authorized agents.

What can sink your application?

ISA’s guideline treats several things as negative factors:

• Overwork. Constantly working over 28 hours a week on a student’s permission is not good conduct. ISA refused a commerce graduate who had worked over 200 hours a month for more than a year. See our student work hours guide.
• Unpaid taxes or insurance. If you owe tax you must be paying it. Serious arrears on legally required payments such as national health insurance count against you.
• Missed notifications. Residence card and organization notifications must be done.
• Staying after leaving school. Remaining after withdrawal or expulsion without doing student activities is a negative factor unless there is a justifiable reason.

Related guides

Start with the job-hunting visa if you have no offer yet, and the change of status guide for the full process.

More guides: Engineer/Specialist in Humanities visa, student work hours.