Work in Japan

How to get a job in Japan for foreigners?

Here we offer the fullest selection of websites for getting jobs in Japan; it includes both classic job engines and vacancies of the Japanese employment service center “Hello Work”.

You can follow the new vacancies using the RSS feed widgets offered by the major job board websites: Нead Hunter, SuperJob, Jooble.com, Career.ru. What is the vacancies widget for getting a job abroad? Special settings help filter the vacancies and choose only those, which offer the jobs abroad. Therefore, you will not have to search through the dozens of websites.   

Japan offers special employment service centers for both the Japanese and the foreigners, and their names speak for themselves. For example, “Hello work” . The “Hello work” offices are situated in many Japanese cities and in each district of Tokyo. Please visit the Tokyo information portal to find more details in English. Moreover, there is a Japanese specialized employment service center for foreigners, who live in Japan legally — Nishi Shinjuku Center , it has been created with support from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. 

Employment contract for working in Japan

Once you found the suitable job offer, it is required to effect an employment contract with your future employer, as it is the prerequisite for subsequent entering into Japan. The employment contract shall be effected in written form stating the wages (salary), employment schedule and other binding employment-related conditions. If the contract is being made in Japanese, please make sure that you fully understand all the subtle aspects, or have the contract translated to avoid troubles in future.You can find more details about the employment contract in the Guide to Living in Japan (in English) .

What is a certificate of status of residence in Japan?

Entering into Japan for more than 90 days of employment requires the certificate of status of residence, preliminary issued by the Immigration Bureau of Japan. What is a status of residence? There are 27 different types of statuses of the foreigner’s residence in Japan. It depends on the type of occupation (work, education) and the duration of stay in the country. Please note that it is prohibited to be employed in the areas other than those specified in the certificate of status.

You should apply for the original certificate of status to the local office of the Immigration Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Justice. The certificate can be received by your employer or a representative in Japan and sent to you by mail.  

Do I need a working visa in Japan?

You might ask, whether you need the working visa if you have already received the certificate of status of residence in Japan. The certificate is mainly required to avoid the Consulate’s verifications for issuing a visa. Consequently, once you have received all the documents (employment contract and certificate of status), you should apply for a working visa to Consular Section of the Embassy of Japan. After examination of your documents, a visa sticker will be placed on your passport page.  Download the visa application form  for Japan.

Entry into Japan    

After entering into Japan, the foreign nationals are subject to examination at the arrival port. Then, based on the presented documents, the immigration service officer will put the entry permission stamp and set the foreigner’s status and the period of stay in Japan.