2025-08-11

A foreign national who stays in Japan for a medium to long term has a status of residence. Since this status of residence certifies that the foreign national can stay in Japan, procedures must be taken if the foreign national wishes to continue to reside in Japan for work after completing his/her study abroad program, for example. This is called “Application for Change of Status of Residence”.

What is status of residence?

A status of residence is a status that allows a foreign national to stay in Japan for a medium- to long-term period of time for work or other reasons.

There are two main categories of status of residence: work-related and status-related (spouse of Japanese national, etc.). When a foreigner is granted permission to stay in Japan, a certificate is issued, which describes the activities the foreigner is allowed to engage in and the period of stay.

A “residence card” with the same information will also be issued, which must be presented when requested to do so at public institutions.

When is the status of residence changed?

For example, a foreign national has obtained the status of residence “College Student” to study at a Japanese university
. If he/she graduates from university and stays in Japan to work for a Japanese company, he/she cannot work under the current status of residence “College Student”.

It is necessary to change your status of residence to one that is appropriate for the work of the company you will be working for. The necessary procedure for this is to apply for permission to change your status of residence.

What is an application for permission for change of status of residence?

In order to apply for permission for change of status of residence, it is necessary to collect the documents, etc. required for the status of residence you plan to obtain in the future, in addition to preparing the application form.

Here, we will use the case of changing the status of residence from “College Student” to “Technical/Humanities/International (Gijin Kokoku)” as an example.

In the “Application for Permission for Change of Status,” you must first fill in the “Major/specialized field of study. In this field, you are supposed to enter the field of specialty you studied at university, but if there is none that applies to you, enter it in the “Other” field. In addition, the employing company must fill in the “Occupation” field, but this field is not a letter field; instead, find the appropriate occupation from the attached “Occupation List” and fill in the number.

In addition to the application form, the following documents must be submitted to the Immigration Bureau
Passport*

• Alien Registration Card (Residence Card) *Presentation
• Photo to be attached to the application (4cm x 3cm)
• Statement of reasons for employment/invitation and job description
• Applicant’s resume
• Certificate of the applicant’s last academic background (diploma, etc.)
• Document certifying the applicant’s work history
• Material clarifying the employer’s profile (certificate of registered matters and company brochure, etc.)
• Documents that can prove the activity after the change of status (employment contract, etc.)
• Documents that can prove the activity after the change of status
• Total of statutory registration statement such as withholding tax for the previous year (a copy of the one with the receipt stamp)

Summary

Resident status is divided into several categories depending on the grounds for residence. Therefore, procedures are required when the purpose of your stay in Japan changes.