Side Job on a Work Visa in Japan (2026)

Yes, you can have a side job on a work visa in Japan, but the immigration test is whether the new paid activity falls within the activities authorized by your current status of residence. If it falls outside that scope, you must obtain permission before starting the work.

Do not begin an outside-scope job while the application is pending. Approval from your employer is not a substitute for Immigration’s permission.

When does a side job require permission?

What people informally call a 就労ビザ (shūrō biza) authorizes specified activities rather than giving an unrestricted right to take any paid job. Under the Immigration Services Agency’s Article 19 guidance, operating an income-generating business or receiving remuneration outside those authorized activities requires advance 資格外活動許可 (shikakugai katsudō kyoka), or permission to engage in activities outside your status.

This means a 副業 (fukugyō), or side job, is not judged only by its employer, schedule, or job title. The important question is what duties you will actually perform and whether those duties are already covered by your status.

A second job that remains within your authorized activities does not require this particular outside-status permission. A side job, freelance project, or income-generating business outside those activities does, even if it involves only limited work.

The ISA also notes that statuses listed in Table II, including Permanent Resident and Long-Term Resident, have no employment-activity restriction and are not subject to this permission system. This article focuses on activity-based work statuses.

Check your situation before accepting work

Use this decision process before signing a side-work agreement:

1. Identify your exact status of residence. Do not rely only on the general phrase “work visa.”
2. Write down the proposed duties. Include the actual services, working arrangement, employer or client, and place of work.
3. Compare the duties with your authorized activities. A different company does not by itself answer whether the work is inside or outside your status.
4. Check whether your current organization consents. For a person performing status-based activities under a contract with a Japanese public or private organization, that organization’s consent to the outside activity is one of the general permission requirements.
5. Apply before starting if the activity is outside the authorized scope. If the classification is unclear, confirm it with the regional immigration office rather than guessing.

How to apply for permission

The ISA provides both individual permission and comprehensive permission. Individual permission may identify the employer or organization, its location, its business, and the authorized work. Comprehensive permission does not specify those details and is available only in specified situations.

One comprehensive-permission arrangement applies to qualifying holders of Education, Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, or Skilled status—limited to sports instructors—who are employed by a local public body or similar entity. Subject to the stated conditions, it may cover up to 28 hours per week of activities corresponding to one of those statuses under an employment contract with the local public body or similar entity.

For a work-visa holder applying for individual permission, expect the proposed side activity to be examined on its specific facts.

The core application checklist is:

• One application form
• One document clarifying the proposed activity
• Your residence card for presentation
• Your passport or certificate of status for presentation
• A written explanation if you cannot present the passport or certificate
• Identification documents if an authorized intermediary submits the application

Immigration may request additional material during examination. Documents describing the work should therefore make the duties, organization, compensation arrangement, and other relevant details understandable without relying on a vague job title.

Submit the application to the regional immigration office responsible for your residential address. The applicant, a legal representative, or certain approved intermediaries may submit it under the official filing rules.

Online filing is available only when the request is submitted together with an application to change status, renew a period of stay, or acquire a status of residence. The application itself has no fee, and the stated standard processing period is two weeks to two months.

If approved, the authorized activity is recorded on a passport sticker or a separate permission document. For mid-to-long-term residents who are issued residence cards, a summary is also recorded on the back of the residence card and in its IC chip.

Side work more likely to qualify—or be refused

The official guidance does not publish an occupation-by-occupation list of side jobs “usually approved,” nor does it provide approval rates. Instead, Immigration applies a set of general requirements to the proposed activity and the applicant’s circumstances.

A potentially approvable application must satisfy all of the following points:

• The side activity will not interfere with the activities under the current status.
• The applicant is currently performing the activities covered by that status.
• The proposed work corresponds to an activity listed under a status in Table I, table 1 or table 2, excluding Specified Skilled Worker and Technical Intern Training.
• The work does not violate civil or criminal law.
• The work is not connected with the adult-entertainment businesses and workplaces excluded by the rules.
• The applicant is not in the removal-related procedural situations listed by the ISA.
• The applicant’s conduct is not considered poor.
• The relevant contracting organization consents when that requirement applies.

A side job is therefore more likely to be refused when it disrupts the main status-based activity, falls outside the permitted categories, involves prohibited businesses, or lacks required organizational consent. The same concern applies if the person is no longer genuinely carrying out the activity underlying the current status.

The 28-hour rule is not universal

Some people assume every second job on a work visa in Japan is allowed for up to 28 hours per week. That is incorrect.

The ISA describes comprehensive 28-hour permission for specified situations, including Student or Dependent status and a narrowly defined arrangement involving certain work statuses and employment by a local public body or similar entity. An individual work-visa permission instead authorizes the activity stated in the issued document; the official page does not impose the student-style rule on every individual permission.

Tax and social insurance checks

Permission for activities outside your status answers an immigration question. The two cited ISA pages do not provide rules about income tax, resident tax, withholding, pension, health insurance, or how a second income could affect an existing social-insurance arrangement.

Before starting, separately confirm:

• How the payer will document and handle the compensation
• What income and expense records you should retain
• Whether any tax reporting is required in your circumstances
• Whether the additional work affects your existing social-insurance arrangements
• Which organization is responsible for any required procedure

Ask the appropriate tax and social-insurance authorities or a qualified professional for answers based on your specific payment and employment structure. Do not assume immigration approval also resolves tax, payroll, or insurance questions.

Unauthorized side work and immigration compliance

Starting paid outside-scope work without permission is contrary to the ISA’s advance-permission requirement. This includes starting before a pending application has been approved.

The cited ISA pages do not state that unauthorized side work automatically results in non-renewal or deportation, nor do they set out those consequences or provide a penalty table for predicting the result of a particular violation.

The general permission criteria do examine conduct and whether the applicant is in specified removal-related procedural circumstances. These are criteria for granting permission; the cited pages do not specify non-renewal or deportation outcomes for unauthorized side work.

If you have already started questionable side work, stop treating informal assurances as sufficient and obtain case-specific guidance from Immigration or a qualified immigration professional. Prepare a clear account of the duties, dates, payer, compensation, and your current status rather than continuing the activity while hoping it falls within scope.

Bottom line

A side job is possible when it is already within your authorized activities or when Immigration grants advance permission for outside-status work. For outside-scope work, apply for the applicable individual or comprehensive permission, allow for the official processing period, and wait until permission is granted.

Check the permission’s exact wording, keep the main status-based activity central, and handle tax and social-insurance questions separately. When the scope is uncertain, confirm first and work later.

Common questions