Work VISA

To be exact, legal status as resident in Japan is called “status of residence”, issued from Ministry of Justice (Immigration Bureau). While VISA is a permission to enter into Japan, issued from Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Therefore these two legal meaning is different. However, in this site, both two are referred as “visa” to follow general practice.

How to invite a foreign national and have them work visa?
  1. Obtain Certificate of Eligibility (COE) from the Immigration Bureau of Japan.
  2. Send the CEO to a foreign national you want to invite.
  3. Have the foreign national apply VISA at Japanese Embassy with the jurisdiction
  4. After VISA issued, enter Japan within three months.

Procedure Chart for Visas

See at Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Type of Work VISA

  • Professor(Examples: university professor, assistant professor, assistant)
  • Artist(composers, songwriters, artists, sculptors, craftspeople, photographers)
  • Religious activities(religious people such as monks, bishops, missionaries)
  • Journalist(newspaper journalists, magazine journalists, editors,news cameramen, announcers)
  • Investor/business manager(Examples: company presidents, officers, etc.)
  • Legal/accounting services(attorneys, judicial scriveners, public accountants, tax accountants certified in Japan)
  • Medical services(physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses certified in Japan)
  • Researcher(researchers, investigators, etc. at research institutes, etc.)
  • Instructor(Examples: teachers, etc. at elementary schools, intermediate schools and high schools)
  • Engineer(Examples: scientific engineers, IT engineers, etc.)
  • Specialist in humanities/International Services(foreign language teachers, interpreters, copywriters, designers)
  • Intra-company transferee(people transferred to the Japanese branch,head office of the same company)
  • Entertainer(musicians, actors, singers, dancers, sportspeople, models)
  • Skilled labor(chefs specializing in the food of a foreign country, animal trainers, pilots, sports trainers, sommeliers, etc.)
  • Highly skilled foreign professional visa

List of Necessary Documents

Check at Immigration Bureau/Ministry of Laws

Can I employ a foreign national whose residence in Japan?
  1. Check status of residence of a foreign national. See here.
  2. If his/her work assignment at a new work place ( see type of work visa) can fall into the same as his/her current work category, his/her visa does not to be changed. Otherwise, change of visa category is required.