Type of residence status
Main employment-related residence status
Type of residence status
The current Immigration Control Act defines the following 28 types of residence status.
*List of residence statuses as of October 2025 (Immigration Bureau website: Search by residence status | Immigration Services Agency)
| Status of residence | Examples | |
| １ | Official use | Employees of foreign government embassies and consulates, persons dispatched on official business by international organizations, etc., and their families/外国政府の大使館・領事館の職員、国際機関等から公用の用務で派遣される者等及びその家族 |
| ２ | Professor | University professors, etc./大学教授等 |
| ３ | Art | Composers, painters, writers, etc./作曲家、画家、著述家等 |
| ４ | Religion | Missionaries sent by foreign religious organizations/外国の宗教団体から派遣される宣教師等 |
| ５ | Press | Reporters and photographers from foreign media outlets/外国の報道機関の記者、カメラマン |
| ６ | Highly skilled professionals | Highly skilled professionals based on a points system/ポイント制による高度人材 |
| ７ | Business management・Administration | Business owners and managers/企業等の経営者・管理者 |
| ８ | Legal・Accounting work | Lawyers, certified public accountants, etc./弁護士、公認会計士等 |
| ９ | Medical care | Doctors, dentists, nurses/医師、歯科医師、看護師 |
| 10 | The study | Researchers from government agencies and private companies/政府関係機関や私企業等の研究者 |
| 11 | Education | Language teachers at junior high and high schools/中学校・高等学校等の語学教師等 |
| 12 | Technology・Humanities knowledge・International Business | Mechanical engineers, interpreters, designers, language teachers for private companies, marketing staff, etc./機械工学等の技術者、通訳、デザイナー、私企業の語学教師、マーケティング業務従事者等 |
| 13 | Intra-company transfer | Transferees from overseas offices/外国の事業所からの転勤者 |
| 14 | Nursing care | Care worker |
| 15 | Entertainment industry | Actors, singers, dancers, professional athletes, etc./俳優、歌手、ダンサー、プロスポーツ選手等 |
| 16 | Technical skill | Foreign cuisine chefs, sports instructors, aircraft pilots, precious metal processing craftsmen, etc./外国料理の調理師、スポーツ指導者、航空機の操縦者、貴金属等の加工職人等 |
| 17 | Specific skills | Workers in specific industries/特定産業分野に属する各業務従事者 |
| 18 | Technical internship | Technical intern trainee/技能実習生 |
| 19 | Cultural activities | Researchers of Japanese culture/日本文化の研究者等 |
| 20 | Short-term stay | Tourists, conference participants, etc./観光客、会議参加者等 |
| 21 | Study abroad | Students of universities, junior colleges, technical colleges, high schools, junior high schools, and elementary schools/大学、短期大学、高等専門学校、高等学校、中学校及び小学校等の学生・生徒 |
| 22 | Training | Trainee/研修生 |
| 23 | Family Stay | Spouse and children supported by foreign residents/在留外国人が扶養する配偶者・子 |
| 24 | Specific activities | Domestic servants of diplomats, working holiday makers, foreign nurses and care worker candidates based on economic partnership agreements, etc./外交官等の家事使用人、ワーキング・ホリデー、経済連携協定に基づく外国人看護師・介護福祉候補者等 |
| 25 | Permanent Resident | Those who have been granted permanent residence by the Minister of Justice (excluding "special permanent residents" under the Immigration Control Special Act)./法務大臣から永住の許可を受けた者（入管特例法の「特別永住者」を除く。） |
| 26 | Spouse of a Japanese national | Spouse, child, or special adopted child of a Japanese national/日本人の配偶者・子・特別養子 |
| 27 | Spouse of a permanent resident | Spouses of permanent residents and special permanent residents and children born in Japan who continue to reside there/永住者・特別永住者の配偶者及び本邦で出生し引き続き在留している子 |
| 28 | Permanent residents | Refugees resettled in third countries, third-generation Japanese, Japanese left behind in China, etc./第三国定住難民、日系3世、中国残留邦人等 |
| Status of residence | Activities that can be carried out in Japan | Status of residence | Status of residence |
| Specific skill No. 1 | Activities to engage in work that requires skills that require a considerable degree of knowledge or experience as specified by a Ministry of Justice ordinance, which belongs to a specific industrial field (meaning an industrial field that is difficult to secure human resources and therefore should seek to secure human resources by foreign nationals; the same applies in the following item) designated by the Minister of Justice, based on an employment contract with a public or private organization in Japan designated by the Minister of Justice (limited to those that comply with the provisions of Article 2-5, Paragraphs 1 to 4 of the Immigration Control Act; the same applies in the following item)./法務大臣が指定する本邦の公私の機関との雇用に関する契約（入管法第２条の５第１項から第４項までの規定に適合するものに限る。次号において同じ。）に基づいて行う特定産業分野（人材を確保することが困難な状況にあるため外国人により不足する人材の確保を図るべき産業上の分野として法務省令で定めるものをいう。同号において同じ。）であって法務大臣が指定するものに属する法務省令で定める相当程度の知識又は経験を必要とする技能を要する業務に従事する活動 | Foreign nationals who are engaged in work that requires considerable knowledge or experience in a specific industrial field/特定産業分野に属する相当程度の知識又は経験を要する技能を要する業務に従事する外国人 | A period individually designated by the Minister of Justice (not to exceed one year)/法務大臣が個々に指定する期間（１年を超えない範囲） |
| Specific skill No. 2 | Activities to engage in work that requires skilled labor as specified by a Ministry of Justice ordinance, which belongs to a specific industrial field designated by the Minister of Justice, based on an employment contract with a public or private organization in Japan designated by the Minister of Justice./法務大臣が指定する本邦の公私の機関との雇用に関する契約に基づいて行う特定産業分野であって法務大臣が指定するものに属する法務省令で定める熟練した技能を要する業務に従事する活動 | Foreign nationals working in specific industrial fields that require skilled work/特定産業分野に属する熟練した技能を要する業務に従事する外国人 | 3 years, 1 year or 6 months/３年，１年又は６月 |
Among these, the major employment qualifications with the most applications and those currently attracting attention are as follows:
| Status of residence | Activities that can be carried out in Japan | Status of residence | Status of residence |
| Business management・Administration | Activities of operating or managing trade or other businesses in Japan (excluding activities of operating or managing businesses that cannot be conducted by law without the qualifications listed in the legal and accounting services section of this table)./本邦において貿易その他の事業の経営を行い又は当該事業の管理に従事する活動（この表の法律・会計業務の項に掲げる資格を有しなければ法律上行うことができないこととされている事業の経営又は管理に従事する活動を除く。） | Business owners and managers/企業等の経営者・管理者 | 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, 6 months, 4 months or 3 months/５年，３年，１年，６月，４月又は３月 |
| Technology・Humanities knowledge・International Business | Activities engaged in work that requires skills or knowledge in the fields of science, engineering, or other natural sciences, or in the fields of law, economics, sociology, or other humanities, or work that requires thinking or sensibilities based on a foreign culture, conducted based on a contract with a public or private organization in Japan (excluding activities listed in the "Professor," "Artist," and "Journalist" columns of Table 1, and activities listed in the "Business Management," "Legal/Accounting Services," "Medical Care," "Research," "Education," "Intra-company Transfer," "Nursing Care," and "Entertainment" columns of this Table)./本邦の公私の機関との契約に基づいて行う理学，工学その他の自然科学の分野若しくは法律学，経済学，社会学その他の人文科学の分野に属する技術若しくは知識を要する業務又は外国の文化に基盤を有する思考若しくは感受性を必要とする業務に従事する活動（一の表の教授，芸術，報道の項に掲げる活動，この表の経営・管理，法律・会計業務，医療，研究，教育，企業内転勤，介護，興行の項に掲げる活動を除く。） | Mechanical engineers, interpreters, designers, language teachers in private companies, marketing staff, etc./機械工学等の技術者，通訳，デザイナー，私企業の語学教師，マーケティング業務従事者等 | 5 years, 3 years, 1 year or 3 months/５年，３年，１年又は３月 |
| Intra-company transfer | Activities listed in the "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" column of this table conducted at a business establishment in Japan by an employee of a foreign business establishment of a public or private organization with a head office, branch office, or other business establishment in Japan who is transferred to that business establishment for a fixed period of time./本邦に本店，支店その他の事業所のある公私の機関の外国にある事業所の職員が本邦にある事業所に期間を定めて転勤して当該事業所において行うこの表の技術・人文知識・国際業務の項に掲げる活動 | Transferees from overseas offices/外国の事業所からの転勤者 | 5 years, 3 years, 1 year or 3 months/５年，３年，１年又は３月 |
Frequently handled statuses of residence
| Technology・Humanities knowledge・International Business | Mechanical engineers, interpreters, designers, language teachers in private companies, marketing staff, etc./機械工学等の技術者，通訳，デザイナー，私企業の語学教師，マーケティング業務従事者等。 |
| Business management・Administration | Owners and managers of companies, etc./企業等の経営者・管理者。 |
| Intra-company transfer | Transferees from foreign establishments.外国の事業所からの転勤者。 |
| Specific skills | Foreign nationals who are engaged in work that requires considerable knowledge or experience and skills in a specific industrial field./特定産業分野に属する相当程度の知識又は経験を要する技能を要する業務に従事する外国人。 |
Application Type
Residence status (work visa)
All foreigners working in Japan are required to obtain a "status of residence (work visa)" appropriate to their activities. There are 28 types of status of residence (as of April 2018).
●Application for Certificate of Eligibility for Residence(COE)
A Certificate of Eligibility is a certificate issued to foreign nationals who wish to land in Japan after the Minister of Justice has conducted a preliminary examination to determine whether the activities they intend to engage in in Japan meet the conditions for landing (requirements for eligibility for status of residence and conformity with landing standards). If the conditions are deemed to be met, the certificate is issued. It is only after Japan has issued this certificate that a foreign national can obtain a visa.
●Application for permission to "renew" residence status
An application for permission to extend period of stay is an application to extend the period of stay granted to a foreign national residing in Japan with a status of residence. If an application for permission to extend residence status is submitted to the Minister of Justice and it is deemed appropriate to allow the foreign national to continue residing in Japan, a new period of stay will be granted.
●Application for permission to "change "residence status
An application for permission to change residence status is an application made by a foreign national with a residence status in Japan who wishes to change the purpose of their residence and engage in activities that fall under a different residence status. This application is made to the Minister of Justice to change their previous residence status to a new one.
Visa acquisition process
The process for obtaining a visa is roughly as follows:
Landing permission
What our office can help you with
Our office handles the above-mentioned
◎Of course, you can apply for a Certificate of Eligibility(COE)
◎ Procedures for extending the period of stay and changing the status of residence required after the issuance of the Certificate of Eligibility
◎Other procedures related to residence status
We will provide support for various procedures related to residence status, including follow-up (management of application information, application deadlines, etc.).
Usage plan
Work visa application plan
Course Description
【Full Support Plan】
We provide full support for visa applications. We will also obtain the necessary documents from Japanese government offices on your behalf. In addition, we will handle everything from preparing the documents to submitting the application and receiving notification of the results!
【Standard Plan】
You will be asked to follow our advice and gather the necessary documents for your visa application.
Please mail or bring the collected documents to our office, and we will handle everything from preparing the documents to submitting the application and receiving the results! The hassle of collecting the public offering documents for our clients can be completed with a certificate of all matters in the registry (affiliated institution), a tax office certificate, and other documents.
| Application type | Specific examples | Immigration examination fee (online) | Our Office Rewards | Total amount |
| B-1 Application for Certificate of Eligibility for Work Visa | When inviting foreigners to Japan from overseas. | － | 36,000yen(Family Stay） 95,000yen（Employment） | 36,000yen(Family Stay） 95,000yen（Employment） |
| B-2 Application for permission to change work visa status | When a foreigner residing in Japan needs to change to a work visa. For example, when hiring a foreign student. | 5,500 yen | 95,700yen | 101,200yen |
| B-3 Work visa renewal procedures | (If you change jobs) | 5,500 yen | 95,700yen | 101,200yen |
| B-4 Work visa renewal procedures | (If you are not changing jobs) | 5,500 yen | 44,000yen | 49,500yen |
| B-5 Work visa, business management renewal | Company formation and registration fees are not included. | 5,500 yen | 143,000yen | 147,000yen |
＊１ The above prices include consumption tax.
＊２ Depending on the applicant's circumstances, we may not be able to accept the above price.
＊３ Discounted rates are available to consulting clients.
＊４ Discounted rates are available to consulting clients.
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Document Check Plan
This plan is recommended for those who want to keep costs to a minimum.
Our office will check the documents you have prepared. We will create a list of required documents and present it to you.
| Applicationo Type | Our Office Rewards | |
| C-1 | Application for Certificate of Eligibility for Work Visa When inviting foreigners to Japan from overseas. | 14,300円(Family Stay） 27,500円（Employment） |
| C-2 | Application for permission to change work visa status When a foreigner residing in Japan needs to change to a work visa, e.g., when hiring an international student. | 37,400yen |
| C-3 | Work visa renewal procedures (if changing jobs) | 37,400yen |
| C-4 | Work visa renewal procedures (without changing jobs) | 27,500yen |
＊１ The above prices include consumption tax.
＊２ Discounted rates are available to consulting clients.
＊３ Discounted rates are available to consulting clients.
New applications for various visas
| Visa to be obtained | Fees | remarks |
| Work visa | 95,700～125,400yen | It will vary depending on the relevance of the job to the foreigner's specialty and the company category. |
| Business management・Administration visa | 147,000～356,000yen | Remuneration varies depending on business stability |
| Family visa | 36,300～52,800yen | Please consult us in special cases such as unrecognized children. |
| Research/Education/Professor visa | 95,700～143,000yen | Varies depending on the foreigner's educational background and school category |
| Arts, entertainment, and religion visa | 95,700～220,000yen | The reward will vary from case to case, but will not exceed 222,000 yen. |