Have you heard the Japanese saying “ seiteha kotowo sisonjiru “ or, in English “Haste makes waste “. It means you do not save any time by working too fast; hurrying will cause mistakes.
Getting a job here in Japan is not easy, but you shouldn’t take any job just because you feel you are running out of time. It’s important that you take time the think to think over whether or not this job is the one that you want.
1. The reality of Job hunting for international students
In 2008 the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) decided to implement the project, “ Global strategy “ which is to open up Japan around the world and help to expand the smooth flow of “ People・Things・Money・Information”.
As a part of this project, they launched a plan to “Increase the number of international students up to 300,000“ by 2020. According to a survey done by JASSO in May, 2018, the number of international students reached 298,980 which almost achieved the expected number. Now, 60 % of those who have graduated from schools want to get a job in Japan but only half of them managed to get a job. Clearly job hunting activities for international students are not doing well. Reasons for this include language issues, a lack of knowledge about the Japanese complicated job hunting system etc.
It is true that nowadays many companies do not only focus on international students’ language skills. Japanese companies are also interested in using foreign students in their Sales and Marketing departments too. The only issue is that it is difficult for both parties to find the right student for the right job.
2. Plan ahead
In Japan, there are rules and schedules about job hunting activities. The starting point of job hunting activities is March of the previous year when you graduate from schools. The companies also start releasing employment information and accepting entry sheets (like resumes). Therefore, an international student like you, also needs to start attending seminars and joint briefing sessions, requesting employment information and sending entry sheets to the companies you are interested in. Companies check the entry sheets first, and if they think they want to meet you, they will get in touch with you. The entry written tests and the actual interviews will start from June and the official job offers ( known as “ Naitei “ ) will be in October.
Although It was decided that these rules would be abolished by March 2021 it seems like that it will remain as it is for the time being. But, if you can set yourself a clear goal, visualize what you have to do and when you have to do it by, you should be able to proceed without any major problems.
3. If you run out of time, change your visa
Even if you plan ahead and work hard, you might run out of the time before you find a job. But do not worry, you can change your visa type from Student to Designated Activities( job hunting ). The key point for this is that you can prove;
- You have been looking for a job while you are at university, college, post graduate school or vocational school.
- You have been a good student and will be able to graduate / have graduated from these schools.
- You have enough support to continue looking for a job.
There will be no problems with the first two points. Possible issues could arise with the financial side. You have to prove that your living costs will be covered, by showing the bank balance or some documents to show that you have enough money coming in regularly. You can also get a part time job during this time if you get permission in advance.
4. Found the job, but…
If you plan ahead and start job hunting activities early, then it is possible that you may find a job while you are still at school. Then, your future employer / company will issue a “naitei “ which is a type of contract that states that you will be working for them after your graduation. At most schools in Japan the school year ends in March, so you graduate from school and start working from April. There will be no issue for a student of vocational schools as many of these schools end in March, but some of the other schools end in September. In this case, there will be a gap between the graduation timing and the start of your job. But don’t worry. You can change your visa type from Student to Designated Activities(naitei, job promised). If you are on a Designated Activities visa, looking for a job, then you find a job but you have to wait for a while until you actually start working, then this visa is also applicable.
5. How and where can I apply for Change of Status of Residence?
The application for a Change of Status of Residence needs to be submitted by the person himself / herself, or a nationally licensed immigration lawyer ( gyoseishoshi ) can do it for you.
If you are a college student, university student and postgraduate school student:
- The application form for Change of Status of Residence
- A portrait photo ( 4cm x 3cm )
- A document which proves that you have enough money to cover your living while you are job hunting (ex, copy of bank balance certificate, a letter from your guarantor who pays your living cost etc )
- A document which proves that you have engaged in job hunting activities continuously (ex, the appointment letter from the company for the job interview, registration card from hello-work etc )
- A recommendation letter ( Suisen jou ) from your college, university or postgraduate school about your job hunting activities
- A copy of your graduation certificate
- A passport and residence card ( Zairyu card ) * you have to show these at the immigration office
* Fee : 4000 yen for changing the status of residence and payment must be made with revenue stamps
* Please use documents / certificates which have been issued within the 3 months prior to your application.
* The documents you submit will not be returned to you.
If you are a vocational school student:
- The application form for Change of Status of Residence
- A portrait photo ( 4cm x 3cm )
- A document which proves that you have enough money to cover your living while you are job hunting (ex, copy of bank balance certificate, a letter from your guarantor who pays your living cost etc )
- A document which proves that you have engaged in job hunting activities continuously (ex, the appointment letter from the company for the job interview, registration card from hello-work etc )
- A recommendation letter ( Suisen jou )from your vocational school about your job hunting activities
- A copy of your graduation certificate and certified transcripts
- A copy of your Diploma
- A document which shows the details of your studied subjects
- A passport and your residence card ( Zairyu card ) * you have to show these at the immigration office
* Fee : 4000 yen for changing the status of residence and payment must be made with revenue stamps
* Please use documents / certificates which have been issued within the 3 months prior to your application.
* The documents you submit will not be returned to you.
If you want to change your visa type to Designated Activities(naitei, job promised), the same process will be applicable and the application for a Change of Status of Residence needs to be submitted by the person himself / herself, or a nationally licensed immigration lawyer ( gyoseishoshi ) can do it for you.
The application form for Change of Status of Residence:
- A portrait photo ( 4cm x 3cm )
- A document which proves that you have enough money to cover your living while you are job hunting (e.g. copy of bank balance certificate, a letter from your guarantor who pays your living cost etc )
- A notice of unofficial offer (Naitei tuuchisho, the document to prove that you have received a job offer, when the job was offer etc )
- A written pledge * Please use the form here
- A document which shows the contents of orientation or any activities prior to starting a job
- A set of documents which are required to submit when you apply to change the status of residence for a working visa for this company
- A passport and your residence card ( Zairyu card ) * you have to show these at the immigration office
* Fee : 4000 yen for changing the status of residence and payment must be made with revenue stamps
* Please use documents / certificates which have been issued within the 3 months prior to your application.
* The documents you submit will not be returned to you.
Once you prepare these, go to the immigration office which deals with the area in which you live. As long as you can gather these documents, there shouldn’t be a much problem.
Our services
With the above information, you should have a basic idea of what to do if you want to apply for Change of Status of Residence on your own.
However if:
- You don’t have time to go to the immigration office
- You are still not confident enough to do this on your own
- You want to do it on your own, but you want the prepared documents to be checked
- You simply don’t like to go into the immigration office ( I never liked it myself when I was living abroad )
In these cases, Visa Navi Japan can offer you the exact support you want.
We can check the documents that you prepared, or we can both prepare the documents and take the application form to the immigration office for you as Visa Navi Japan is a nationally licensed immigration lawyer ( gyoseishoshi ).
Contact us
If you want to make an inquiry about changing your visa for job hunting or working visa, please fill out the form on the Contact us page and send it to us. We will get back to you in a few days.
Visa Navi Japan
Naka-ku, Hiroshima-city
Open Hours : 9:00 – 19:00 Closed : Monday
Fee
To find out about our standard fees, please have a look at our Fee page.