Procedures for changing visa status
You may need to your visa status if your situation change.
You will need to apply for a change in the following cases
- A foreign student graduated and got a job.
- A foreigner has changed jobs and the work is no longer within the scope of what is possible with the current visa.
- A foreigner started a business.
- A foreigner got married.
- A foreigner got a divorce.
In addition, if you are a foreigner with Highly Skilled Professional 1 or Special Skilled Worker 1,2 and change your job, you need to submit changing status, even if it is before the expiration date of your visa.
Contents
When a foreign student graduates and finds a job
You will need to change your student visa to a work visa.
Apply for the type of visa that is appropriate for your job.
It takes two weeks to two months from the time you apply to receive your results.
It is very crowded around the time of graduation, and there is a possibility that you will not receive your results before you join the company, so apply as early as possible.
Please check this article if you need more information about work visa.
If your job is no longer within the scope of your current visa
The job description may change due to a job change or reassignment.
There are different types of work visas depending on the nature of your work, so you may have to change your visa type in some cases.
Note that the requirements for each type of visa are also different.
Please check this article if you need more information about work visa.
When you start your own business
Foreigners running a company are required to obtain a “Business Manager” visa.
If you are an international student, a worker with a working visa, or a family member residing in Japan, you need to change your status to “Business Manager”.
Foreigners with the following visas do not need to change to “Business Manager”, because they are not restricted from working.
- Permanent Resident
- Long Term Resident
- Spouse or Child of Japanese National
- Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident
When a foreigner gets married
When a foreigner living in Japan gets married and continues to live in Japan, he or she will need to change his or her visa.
In the case of marriage to a Japanese person⇒change to Spouse of Japanese National
In case of marriage to a permanent resident => change to Spouse of Permanent Resident
When two foreign nationals with work visas get married, and if one of them quits his or her job, it will be changed to “Dependent”.
If you continue to work for either of them, there is no need to change.
When a foreigner gets a divorce
If you are a foreigner with one of the following visas and want to live in Japan after a divorce, you will need to change your visa type.
- Spouse of Japanese National
- Spouse of Permanent Resident
- Dependent
If you meet the requirements for a work visa, you can change to a work visa.
If you find it difficult to change to a work visa, you may change to Long Term Resident.
However, it is not always possible to change to Long Term Resident.
You will be allowed to live in Japan if it is deemed appropriate for you to live in Japan.
