Changing Jobs on Work Visa Japan (2026)

If you are changing jobs on a work visa in Japan, the key question is not simply “new company or old company.” It is whether your new work still fits your current status of residence, and whether you must notify Immigration Services Agency of Japan about the change in your affiliated organization.

In many ordinary job changes, you file a notification after the employer or contract institution changes. If the new activity belongs to a different status of residence, you must apply for a change of status instead of treating the move as a simple employer switch.

The basic rule when switching employers in Japan

For work-visa holders, the official Q&A says a notification about your affiliated organization is required when your current organization disappears, its name or location changes, you leave it, you move to a new organization, or you both leave and move to a new one, depending on the status category that applies to you (Immigration Services Agency Q&A). This is the core procedure people search for as 転職 在留資格 (tenshoku zairyū shikaku), or changing jobs under a status of residence.

For many common work statuses, the Q&A uses the language of a contract institution. This includes statuses such as “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services,” “Research,” “Nursing Care,” “Entertainer,” “Skilled Labor,” and “Specified Skilled Worker” in the Q&A’s category B.

The deadline is important: the notification must be submitted within 14 days from the date the reason occurs, such as leaving a company or joining a new company (Immigration Services Agency Q&A). You cannot file it early using a future job-start date; the Q&A says to file after the actual fact of the job change has occurred.

Notification or change of status: which one do you need?

A notification is enough only when your new activity still falls under the status of residence you already have. The official Q&A says that if you changed jobs and your period of stay remains, you need an affiliated-organization notification, and if the post-change activity corresponds to your current status of residence, you may continue residing under that status (Immigration Services Agency Q&A).

A full change-of-status application is required when you want to change your intended activity so that it falls under a different status of residence. The official procedure page defines the application for change of status as the application used when a foreign national residing under one status changes the activity that is the purpose of residence and will conduct an activity that corresponds to another status (Change of Status of Residence).

This distinction matters in practical job hunting. Switching from one qualifying office role to another may be a notification issue, while moving into work that belongs to another legal category may require permission through a change-of-status application.

There are also cases where the job-change notification is not required because a change-of-status permission has already been granted. The Q&A states that if you received permission to change status at the same time as the job change, the job-change notification is not required (Immigration Services Agency Q&A).

By contrast, renewing your period of stay does not remove the notification duty. The Q&A states that even if you received period-of-stay renewal permission at the same time as the job change, the job-change notification is still required.

How closely must the new job match your visa category?

The new job does not need to be identical to your old job, but it must fit the activities permitted by your current status of residence. For “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services,” the official page describes covered activities as work based on a contract with a public or private institution in Japan that requires technology or knowledge in natural sciences, humanities, or work requiring thinking or sensitivity based on foreign culture (Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services).

The same page gives examples such as mechanical engineering engineers, interpreters, designers, private-company language teachers, and marketing workers. These examples are useful because they show that the category is not tied to one industry; it is tied to the nature of the duties and the required knowledge, skills, or cultural background.

In practice, focus on the job description rather than the company’s business label. A software engineer moving from a manufacturer to a finance company may still be doing technical work, while a person moving from office-based specialist work into unrelated hands-on work may have a much harder fit under the same status.

For the notification form, the official Q&A says that for current work-status holders, the field for “content of activities at the new organization” should describe the job content, and a job title such as system engineer may be acceptable (Immigration Services Agency Q&A). That makes your written description important: keep it concrete, accurate, and consistent with the actual duties.

Risks of changing to an unrelated field or industry

The main risk is not that the industry name changes. The risk is that the new duties no longer correspond to the status of residence you currently hold.

The change-of-status procedure page says the examination looks at whether the activity to be conducted in Japan is not false, corresponds to an activity listed for a status of residence or to a permitted status or position, and whether there is a sufficient reason to find the change appropriate (Change of Status of Residence). If your new work is outside your current status, a notification alone does not solve the mismatch.

The same page also warns that if you are not engaging in activities based on your original status of residence, your status may be revoked. That warning is especially relevant when someone accepts work first and only later asks whether it fits their visa category.

For “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services,” the official status page also shows that applications can require documents about the applicant’s activity, academic background, work history, employer business, and financial documents depending on the employer category (Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services). This is another reason to avoid vague or unrealistic job descriptions.

Special cases: double work, dispatch, transfers, mergers

Some job-change situations are not a simple “old company to new company” move. The official Q&A gives several examples that can affect whether notification is needed.

If you continue working for your current company and work for another company for only three days, the Q&A says no notification is required. If the second company becomes a long-term arrangement and you have two or more affiliated organizations because of double work or establishing another company, the Q&A says notification is required (Immigration Services Agency Q&A).

Secondment can also trigger a notification. For certain activity-institution statuses, the Q&A says that when you will work for a substantial period as an employee of the secondment destination at a place managed by that destination, you should notify departure from the current institution and transfer to the secondment destination.

Dispatch arrangements depend on which institution must be reported. For the Q&A’s contract-institution category, if the dispatch company stays the same and only the dispatch destination changes, the Q&A says a notification about the dispatch destination change is not required because the contract institution is the dispatch company. For some other activity-institution statuses, the Q&A gives a different result and says the dispatch destination change requires notification.

Corporate restructuring can also create notification duties. The Q&A says that mergers, absorption, disappearance of an institution, name changes, location changes, or transfer to a new institution can require notification depending on whether the contract or affiliation is carried over and whether the institution changes.

Highly Skilled Professional holders need extra caution

The Q&A gives a special warning for “Highly Skilled Professional” status. For Highly Skilled Professional No. 1, the affiliated organization is designated by the Minister of Justice, so if a job change changes the affiliated organization, a change-of-status application is required (Immigration Services Agency Q&A).

This is different from the ordinary assumption that a job change is usually handled by notification if the activity still fits. If you hold Highly Skilled Professional No. 1, do not rely only on the general employer-change flow.

For Highly Skilled Professional No. 2, the Q&A says notification is required when there is a change in the affiliated institution, including disappearance, name change, location change, departure, transfer, contract end, or new contract, depending on the relevant category. It also notes that holders of Highly Skilled Professional No. 2 may have two or more affiliated organizations, and in that case all affiliated organizations should be notified.

How to file the affiliated-organization notification

The Q&A says the notification can be filed online, by mail, or at a regional immigration office window (Immigration Services Agency Q&A). If filing by mail, the Q&A gives the mailing address as the notification reception section of the Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau’s residence investigation division.

For a notification made by the foreign national, the Q&A says materials related to the notification, such as an employment contract, are not required. If submitting by mail, include a copy of the residence card.

If you forgot the 14-day deadline, do not assume it is too late to do anything. The Q&A says that if it becomes clear that the affiliated-organization notification has not been made, you should submit it promptly.

For contract-institution statuses, the Q&A also says that for “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services,” “Research,” “Nursing Care,” “Entertainer,” “Skilled Labor,” “Specified Skilled Worker,” and related Highly Skilled Professional categories, you should report the contract institution. It states that the institution name field should list the head office or main office that is the contract counterparty.

Step-by-step checklist before and after changing jobs

Use this checklist before switching employers in Japan on a work visa.

1. Confirm your current status of residence.
   Check the status printed on your residence card and identify whether your new work is still within that status. If the activity will change to another status, use the change-of-status route.

2. Compare the new job duties with the visa category.
   For “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services,” compare the duties with the official activity description: technical or knowledge-based work in natural sciences or humanities, or work requiring thinking or sensitivity based on foreign culture under a contract with a Japanese institution.

3. Ask the employer for a clear job description.
   Your notification may ask for the content of activities at the new organization. The Q&A says to write the job content, and a job title can be used, but a precise description is safer than a vague title.

4. Decide whether this is a notification or change-of-status case.
   If the new activity still fits your current status, prepare the affiliated-organization notification. If the activity falls under another status, prepare a change-of-status application.

5. File after the change actually occurs.
   The Q&A says future-dated notifications are not accepted. File within 14 days from the actual reason date, such as leaving the old company or joining the new company.

6. Keep your records consistent for renewal.
   If you later apply to renew your period of stay, the new employer and duties may be reviewed in that application. For “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services,” the official page shows that renewal after a job change to certain employer categories can require documents about activities, employer registration, business content, and financial documents.

What about a Certificate of Authorized Employment?

A 就労資格証明書 (shūrō shikaku shōmeisho), often translated as Certificate of Authorized Employment, is commonly discussed as a way to reduce uncertainty after changing jobs. However, the official sources provided for this guide do not set out the procedure, documents, fee, or legal effect for that certificate, so this article cannot state those details as rules.

What can be said from the cited sources is narrower but important: the affiliated-organization notification does not itself decide whether your new job fits your status. The Q&A says you may continue residing after a job change if the post-change activity corresponds to your current status of residence (Immigration Services Agency Q&A).

So if you want peace of mind, the practical question to verify with Immigration Services Agency or a qualified professional is whether your specific new duties are recognized as fitting your current status. Do this especially when the job title, industry, or daily work changes significantly.

Employer-side notifications are separate

Your own notification duty is not the only possible reporting obligation. The Q&A also describes notifications by accepting organizations, including companies and educational institutions.

For companies, the Q&A says that when they start or end accepting a mid- to long-term resident with statuses such as “Professor,” “Highly Skilled Professional,” “Business Manager,” “Legal/Accounting Services,” “Medical Services,” “Research,” “Instructor,” “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services,” “Intra-company Transferee,” “Nursing Care,” “Entertainer,” “Skilled Labor,” or “Trainee,” a notification by the institution is required. However, it also says that organizations required to submit the foreign employment status notification do not need to submit the affiliated-organization notification to immigration if they submit that employment-status notification.

This employer-side point does not replace your own duty. If you are the foreign national changing jobs, check your own notification requirement even if HR says the company has handled its side.

FAQ: changing jobs on a Japan work visa

Do I need to notify immigration when I change jobs in Japan?

Yes, if your employer or contract institution changes and you continue under the same status of residence, the official Q&A generally requires an affiliated-organization notification. The deadline is within 14 days from the event, such as leaving the company or joining the new company.

Do I need a full change-of-status application just because I switch employers?

Not always. If the new work still falls under your current status of residence, the Q&A says you may continue residing after filing the notification. If your intended activity changes so that it corresponds to another status, use a change-of-status application.

Is the notification still required if I renew my visa at the same time?

Yes. The official Q&A says a job-change notification is required even if you also receive period-of-stay renewal permission at the time of the job change.

Is the notification required if I receive change-of-status permission at the same time?

No. The Q&A says that if you have received change-of-status permission, the job-change notification is not required.

Can I submit the job-change notification before my new job starts?

No. The Q&A says a notification cannot be filed with a future date as the reason date. Submit it after the actual job-change event occurs.

Common questions