There is a system that makes it easier for foreign nationals who have graduated from elementary through high school in Japan to find employment. If certain conditions are met, you can work full time by changing your status to “Designated Activities(特定活動)” or “Long Term Resident” upon employment. Those who have been in Japan since elementary school can change their status to “Long Term Resident” upon graduation from high school and upon employment. Those who have been in Japan since junior high school can change their status to “Designated Activities”, but after 5 years of “Designated Activities”, they can change their status to “Long Term Resident”. In addition, those who entered a college or university after graduating from high school and then found a job may also change their status to “Long Term Resident” if 5 years have passed since their graduation from high school.
This part explains the work visa that foreign nationals educated in Japan can choose when they seek employment after graduating from high school.
Status of residence that a foreigner who has graduated from a Japanese high school, etc. can choose in order to find a job.
Work visas are basically available depending on one’s educational background and work experience. If you have a college degree or higher, you can choose a general work visa, but if you are educated in Japan, there are work-enabled statuses of residence that even high school graduates can choose.
Status of residence (visa) options for high school graduates (graduates of Japanese high schools)
If you are seeking employment after graduating from high school, you cannot select a status of residence such as “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services(技術・人文知識・国際業務)”, which requires an academic background such as a college degree. Therefore, basically, “Long Term Resident” and “Designated Activities” will be considered.
Comparison of which to choose depends on your status at the time of entry into Japan.
| Status of residence | Characteristics and selection criteria for status of residence |
|---|---|
| Long Term Resident | Can be selected if the applicant entered Japan before graduation from elementary school.Basically, you can engage in any kind of work. |
| Designated Activities | Can be selected when entering Japan between high school entrance and high school graduation. Basically, you can engage in any kind of work. |
| *Status of residence related to status | There are no restrictions on activities, so you can engage in any kind of work. There is basically no need to change your status of residence when you start working. |
Status of residence (visa) options for university graduates (graduates of junior college, university, and graduate school)
If you wish to find a job after graduating from a university, in addition to “Long Term Resident” and “Designated Activities” under this system, you may also choose “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services” or “Designated Activities (No. 46, Graduate from a university in Japan)（特定活動（46号・本邦の大学卒業者））” or “Highly Skilled Professional 1（高度専門職1号）” as your residence status. Each has its own merits and demerits, so please make a comparison when making your choice.
| Status of residence | Characteristics and selection criteria for status of residence |
|---|---|
| Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services | Status of residence for the purpose of working in a company, etc. that requires knowledge or international background (language, foreign sensitivity, etc.) based on what you have learned in school, etc. or work experience ( excluding “unskilled labor”, “work to be learned through training”, “work that can be performed with a manual”, etc.). |
| Highly Skilled Professional 1 | Can be obtained if the applicant meets the requirements for “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services”, etc. (educational background, job description, etc.) and if the applicant has 70 points or more on the point system. If you graduated from a Japanese university and have N1, you may be eligible for consideration due to the large number of points awarded. |
| Designated Activities (No. 46, Graduate from a university in Japan) | If you have graduated from a Japanese university (junior college, university, or graduate school) and are at the N1 level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, you can engage in a wider range of work than in “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services”, and you can choose your occupation relatively freely. |
| Long Term Resident | Can be selected if the applicant entered Japan before graduation from elementary school. Basically, you can engage in any kind of work. |
| Designated Activities | Can be selected when entering Japan between high school entrance and high school graduation. Basically, you can engage in any kind of work. |
| *Status of residence related to status | There are no restrictions on activities, so you can engage in any kind of work. There is basically no need to change your status of residence when you start working. |
Status of residence “Designated Activities” and “Long Term Resident” can be selected by foreigners who grew up in Japan
For foreigners educated in Japan, consideration is given so that they can find employment as freely as Japanese students. Even in the case of high school graduates, they can find employment in Japan by changing their status to “Designated Activities” or “Long Term Resident”, which allows them to work.
Foreigners who grew up in Japan are taken into consideration to make it easier to find a job
With the increase in the number of foreign nationals staying in Japan for the purpose of employment, the number of foreign children born and raised in Japan has been increasing. There is a system that allows children raised in Japan who stay in Japan with the status of “Dependent(家族滞在)” or “Student(留学)” to choose a status of residence that allows them to work, so that they will have no problem finding a job just like their Japanese classmates.
Immigration Services Agency allows foreign nationals who grew up in Japan (entered Japan before the age of 17 and graduated from high school) to change their status of residence to “Long Term Resident” or “Designated Activities” in the “ For those who have a Dependent” status and wish to work in Japan after graduating from high school” section.
By selecting this “Long Term Resident” or “Designated Activities” status, the following are the major differences from other work visa.
・(If you are a high school graduate, )you can obtain a status of residence that allows you to work even if you have no education or work experience.
In other words, there are no “restrictions on work content” or “academic or work experience requirements”, which are always present in other work visa, and by choosing “Long Term Resident/ Designated Activities”, you can find employment in the same way as a Japanese high school graduate and work in any kind of occupation. With other types of work visas, there are certain restrictions, and sometimes there is no applicable status of residence to begin with, so you may have to give up on finding a job, but with the “Long Term Resident/ Designated Activities” visa status, you can find a job with relative freedom.
▶参考：Immigration Services Agency『For those who have a “Dependent” status and wish to work in Japan after graduating from high school』
Cases where you can consider choosing “Long Term Resident” or “Designated Activities” for employment.
This system is primarily intended to allow high school graduates to find full-time employment. However, not all foreigners who have been in Japan since childhood unconditionally can choose this status of residence. The requirements and the status of residence (visa) that can be selected vary depending on the status at the time of arrival in Japan and the status of residence of family members at the time of employment.
Born in Japan or came to Japan before elementary school age
Currently, a person residing in Japan under “Dependent” status can obtain “Long Term Resident” status if he/she entered Japan before the age of 17 (under 18), graduated from elementary school, junior high school, and high school in Japan, and has been employed under working conditions of 28 hours or more per week.
Graduation from elementary and junior high school means that you have completed compulsory education in Japan. Elementary and junior high schools include special-needs classes and night junior high schools. High school also includes evening classes and correspondence courses.
This system is also available for “Students” who are living in Japan with their parents while receiving support from their parents, in addition to those who are staying in Japan as a “Dependent” . The idea is that if a person meets the requirements for “Dependent” status, there is room for consideration for other statuses as well.
If a person works only 28 hours or less per week, a “Permission to engage in activities other than those permitted under the status of residence (blanket permission)資格外活動許可(包括許可)” is sufficient, and thus a change of status of residence to “Long Term Resident” is not possible.
If you came to Japan from junior high school or from the time you entered high school
Children came to Japan at the time of entering high school (or in the middle of junior high school) may obtain “Designated Activities” if he/she entered Japan before the age of 17 (under 18), graduated from high school, has a job offer with working conditions of 28 hours or more per week, and the parents also continue to stay in Japan.
In this case, the parent must guarantee the identity of the child.
If you came to Japan when you were a high school student (transferred to a Japanese high school)
If you came to Japan when you were a high school student (transferred to a high school), you must have graduated from high school and also must be at least at the N2 level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. In other words, if the child entered Japan before the age of 17 (under the age of 18), graduated from high school, has JLPT N2 level or higher, and is employed under working conditions of 28 hours or more per week, and the parents also continue to reside in Japan, the child may obtain “Designated Activities”.
In this case, too, the parent must guarantee the child’s identity.
*Schools in this system refer to schools stipulated in Article 1 of the School Education Law. Please note that if you are attending an international school, you are not eligible for this system.
If you came to Japan from junior high school and want to obtain “Long Term Resident” status
If you came to Japan as a junior high school student and you find a job after graduating from high school, you will change your status of residence to “Designated Activities” to work, but it is clarified that you can change your status from “Designated Activities” to “Long Term Resident” in July 2024.
If you have stayed in Japan for 5 years on a “Designated Activities” visa for the purpose of working , you may change your status to “Long Term Resident”.In addition, those who have been in Japan for a total of 5 years or more, including the period of time spent in college or university and the period of time spent in Japan on another work visa（Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services”, etc. “Technical Intern Training(技能実習）” is excluded.）, may also change their status to “Long Term Resident”. Although you must be financially independent (have enough income to live on your own) in order to change your visa status, you will be able to live more freely compared to “Designated Activities” and other work visas.
The conditions for changing from “Designated Activities” to “Long Term Resident” are as follows.
②Residence in Japan for at least 5 years under “Designated Activities” for the purpose of employment, or under a work status (excluding Technical Intern Training).
※ The period of education at a university or vocational school in Japan (excluding cases where the education is exclusively in Japanese language) is also allowed to be included.
③ The applicant must be capable of earning an independent living on his/her own .
④The applicant has fulfilled his/her notification and official obligations under the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act.
Conclusion
The above explains the status of residence for foreigners educated in Japan who seek employment.
If you are educated in Japan and graduate from a Japanese high school, you are relatively free to find a job and choose your occupation freely.
In addition, if you graduate from a Japanese high school and find a job, you can change your status of residence to “Long Term Resident”, which is a status of residence related to your status, if you fulfill certain conditions. If you are able to change your status to “Long Term Resident”, you will have more freedom of activity than you would have with a work visa, although there is a condition that you must be able to earn your own living.
If you have graduated from a Japanese high school, we encourage you to take advantage of this system.
