Japan (Tokyo): Visa Requirements and General Information
There are four visas which allow the holder to be employed: special, diplomatic, official and working. Visas are valid for six months, one year or three years, after which the holder must apply for an extension.
To apply for a work visa, you must first apply for a certificate of eligibility, a process usually handled by the employer before you arrive. There are 14 types of work visas: professor, artist, religious activities, journalist, investor/business manager, legal/accounting services, medical services, researcher, instructor, engineer, specialist in humanities/international services, intracompany transferee, skilled labourer and entertainer. If you switch fields, you may need to apply for a Change of Status.
To apply, you will need your CV, university degree (original, not a copy) and employment agreement (this must specify position, salary, job description and length of contract). The process takes one to three months.
Normally, the employer will forward the certificate of eligibility on to the employee, who can then apply for a work visa at a Japanese embassy or consulate overseas.
Citizens of EU member states who wish to work in Japan, can obtain a visa from the Japanese embassy or consulate in their country of residence before landing in Japan. The actual permission to enter, called a Landing Permit, is granted at the point of entry on the basis of the visa, and at the same time the status and duration of the residence appropriate to its purpose is established. The visa obtained at the overseas Japanese mission is granted after the overseas mission has clarified with the Japanese interior authorities what status (e.g. “engineer”) can be applied, and that all conditions for the granting of the visa have been satisfied. In normal cases the Landing Permit is granted at the airport on the same conditions as set out in the visa.
Within 90 days of entering Japan an overseas resident is required to register at the local ward office or city hall and obtain an alien registration card. If you plan to leave the country and come back, you will need to obtain a re-entry permit . This is because the Landing Permit expires on the first exit from Japan, irrespective of its stated duration. Consequently, one’s residence status would be lost and it would be necessary to apply for a new visa for the return to Japan. The re-entry permit is valid for single journeys or, for those expecting to make several journeys, multiple journeys within a validity period of up to three years.
If an overseas resident intends to engage in additional activity (e.g. language classes) or an activity that does not correspond to the resident status granted, the resident should submit a request to the immigration authorities.
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