Change of Status of Residence– category –

To move to work in a different field on Specified Skilled Worker status in Japan, you need Permission to change status of residence, and you cannot work at the new company until permission is granted. Based on the Immigration Services Agency's materials, this guide explains the skills test and Japanese level of the new field (N4, nursing care, and N3 categories), the scope of the Technical Intern Training (ii) exemption, omitting certificates you have already submitted, points to note for food service, construction, and other fields, and how the 5-year total is counted.

If your documents for Specified Skilled Worker (i) will not be ready before your period of stay expires in Japan, there is a Designated Activities status (6 months, work permitted) that lets you prepare while working at the company you plan to work for. Based on Immigration Services Agency materials, this article covers who can and cannot use it (passing the tests is a prerequisite, the 4 years and 6 months total limit, the food service industry), the 7 requirements, how to fill in the explanatory statement, the application process, how to use it when changing jobs, the one-time-only extension, and the fee (18,000 yen at the counter).

You can change jobs on Specified Skilled Worker status, but each time you change companies you need Permission to change status of residence, and you cannot work at the new company until permission is granted. This guide uses a table and a diagram to show what the worker, the new company (and its registered support organization), and the former company each do, and in what order. Based on Immigration Services Agency materials, it also explains how to check whether you can change jobs, when notifications are and are not required, and the Designated Activities options if you lose your job.

When a Specified Skilled Worker changes companies, a notification alone is not enough: an Application for Permission to change status of residence is required. You cannot work at the new company until permission is granted. Based on Immigration Services Agency materials, this article covers which job changes within job categories are allowed, the timeline from leaving your job to joining the new company, the processing times published by the agency, the notifications required from the former and new companies, and the fees from October 2026.

From October 1, 2026, the fees for changing your status of residence, extending your period of stay, and permanent residence have changed. Here are the new fees by permitted period, the difference for online applications, when and how to pay, and the conditions for a fee reduction.

In recent years, an increasing number of foreign workers have been obtaining the Specified Skilled Worker residence status to work in Japan’s caregiving sect...

As Japan’s caregiving industry faces a growing labor shortage, more companies are beginning to focus not only on hiring foreign workers, but also on developi...