Student Visa Work Hours Rules in Japan (2026)

A person holding the 留学 (ryūgaku) status must obtain 資格外活動許可 (shikakugai katsudō kyoka), permission to engage in activities outside their status, before doing paid work. With blanket permission, the limit is 28 hours per week during term and 8 hours per day during an educational institution’s long vacation.

The common search phrase 留学生 アルバイト 週28時間 (ryūgakusei arubaito shū nijūhachi-jikan) refers to this weekly limit. Paid work in prohibited industries remains forbidden regardless of the hours worked.

The 28-hour weekly cap during term

Blanket permission covers paid employment and qualifying income-generating activities within an overall weekly limit. It is not a separate allowance for each employer, so add together the hours from every part-time job, contract, or covered business activity.

Changing employers does not reset the count. If several workplaces prepare schedules independently, tell each scheduler that you have other work and maintain your own combined weekly record.

During a long vacation officially established by your educational institution, the immigration limit changes to a maximum of 8 hours per day. An ordinary weekend, public holiday, class-free day, or personal break should not be treated as a long vacation unless it falls within the institution’s designated long holiday period.

The permission is also subject to general eligibility conditions. Your paid activity must not interfere with your studies, and you must still be carrying out the educational activity covered by your Student status; the Immigration Services Agency also requires lawful activity and good conduct among its general permission criteria.

How to obtain blanket work permission

Student status does not by itself authorize an ordinary part-time job. Apply for permission before beginning paid activity outside the scope of your status.

Form for newly entering students

For a student entering Japan as a new entrant, the Immigration Services Agency provides a specific new-entry student application form. The cited procedure does not state that this form may be submitted during landing procedures or at an airport.

Receiving Student status and receiving work permission are distinct matters. Do not assume that entering Japan as a student automatically gives you permission to work.

Applying through a regional immigration office

Under the general procedure, submit the application to the regional immigration office responsible for your place of residence. Follow this checklist:

1. Complete the application for permission to engage in an activity outside your status.
2. Select blanket permission if your intended paid activities will stay within the general student limits.
3. Present your residence card and either your passport or certificate of status of residence.
4. Provide a written explanation if you cannot present your passport or certificate of status of residence.
5. Wait until permission has been granted before starting work.

The general procedure requires one application form, presentation of the residence card and either a passport or certificate of status of residence, and no application fee. For an ordinary student blanket-permission application, the student-specific page lists the application form as the required document, although immigration may request additional material during examination.

The published standard processing period is two weeks to two months. Treat that as a planning range rather than permission to start early.

Online filing is available only when the request is made at the same time as an online application for a change of status, extension of period of stay, or acquisition of status. Otherwise, follow the submission process given by the responsible regional office.

When blanket permission may not be enough

Blanket permission is designed for work whose hours can be objectively confirmed. This can include employment with clearly stated hours and certain small-scale independent activities, such as accepting delivery requests for performance-based compensation, when the working time can be verified objectively.

Individual permission may be necessary when working time cannot be established clearly. Examples identified by the Immigration Services Agency include some independent business activities and outsourcing or contractor arrangements that do not state standard working hours.

Individual permission may also cover activities outside the blanket framework, including qualifying internships and work closely connected with an international student’s position, such as language teaching, interpreting, or tutoring. The application may require documents explaining the organization, duties, activity period, hours, location, compensation, and other working conditions.

A student may hold blanket and individual permission at the same time. If you already hold one type, the student permission rules allow an application for the other type.

Prohibited industries and workplaces

The general criteria exclude activity at premises conducting 風俗営業 (fūzoku eigyō), store-based sexual-entertainment business, or specified entertainment restaurant business. They also exclude work in non-store sexual-entertainment operations, online image-transmission sexual services, and store-based or non-store telephone dating-introduction operations under the official prohibited-activity criteria.

The wording covers activity performed at a regulated workplace, not only roles involving direct customer entertainment. Do not assume that cleaning, reception, kitchen, technical, or administrative duties are permitted merely because the duties themselves are not sexual.

Records employers typically expect student workers to keep

The official pages do not prescribe one universal employer-side record package. However, employers and students need enough information to confirm that the activity is authorized and that combined working time remains within the applicable limit.

Maintain a practical work file containing:

• A copy of your current residence card and evidence of your work permission.
• Your employment contract or written terms showing duties, expected hours, workplace, and compensation.
• Weekly schedules and records of the hours actually worked at every job covered by blanket permission.
• The educational institution’s published long-vacation dates.
• Separate activity and time records for freelance, delivery, contract, or other independent work.
• Copies of documents submitted for any individual permission.

Do not rely only on the schedule held by one employer. Reconcile your actual hours across all activities covered by blanket permission each week and correct discrepancies while records are still available.

For contract or independent work, objective time records are particularly important because the type of permission can depend on whether working hours are verifiable. If a contract does not state standard hours clearly, ask immigration whether individual permission is required before performing the activity.

Working outside the authorized scope

Hours above the blanket cap are outside the scope of that permission. The same issue arises if you start before permission is granted or perform work that falls within a prohibited category.

Permission for outside activities is an immigration authorization governed by Article 19(2) of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, not merely an agreement between a student and an employer.

The cited procedure pages do not specify the case-by-case immigration consequences of exceeding the authorized scope. If your records show a possible violation, stop accepting hours beyond the authorized limit, preserve accurate records, and consult the responsible regional immigration office about your circumstances.

Frequently asked questions

How many hours can students work in Japan?

With blanket permission, a student can work up to 28 hours per week during term. During an educational institution’s designated long vacation, the limit is up to 8 hours per day.

Can I apply for work permission at the airport?

The Immigration Services Agency provides a specific application form for newly entering Student-status applicants, but the cited procedure does not state that it may be submitted during landing procedures or at an airport. The general procedure identifies the regional immigration office responsible for the applicant’s residence as the submission destination.

Is the limit separate for each job?

No. Treat the weekly limit as a combined cap across all paid activities covered by blanket permission, and keep one record totaling your actual hours from those activities. Activity separately authorized by individual permission is governed by the terms of that permission.

Can a student work in an adult-entertainment establishment?

No. Specified adult-entertainment, sexual-entertainment, online sexual-service, and telephone dating-introduction operations are excluded, even when a student would remain below the hour cap.

Common questions