Changing jobs on a work visa in Japan: the 14-day notification and why you may need a Certificate of Authorized Employment

Many foreign residents change jobs while living in Japan, for better pay or the next step in their career. If you hold a work status such as Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services (技術・人文知識・国際業務, “ESI”), you do not need a new visa just because you move to a new company. Your status of residence stays valid until its expiry date.

But a job change still has immigration consequences. You must notify immigration, the new job must fit your status, and your next renewal will be reviewed as if you were applying for the first time with the new employer. This article explains what to do, and when.

The timeline at a glance

If you leave one job and sign with the next within 14 days, you can file one combined notification for both.

Step 1: Check that the new job fits your status

Your status of residence allows only certain types of work. A new job title or industry can change that.

For example, on the ESI status:

• Moving from a system engineer job to another IT job is usually fine.
• Moving from an interpreter job to a sales job using your language skills may be fine, depending on the actual duties.
• Moving to a job that is mainly hands-on work, such as working in a restaurant kitchen, on a production line or at a hotel’s cleaning team, is not covered.

What matters is what you will actually do every day, not your job title. If the new job does not fit your status, you need to change your status of residence before you start working. Starting the job first is unauthorised work.

The requirements of the ESI status were also tightened in 2026, including a language requirement for some interpersonal work. See our article ESI visa 2026: key changes at a glance.

Statuses that need permission before you change employers

For some statuses, a job change itself requires permission from immigration before you start:

• Specified Skilled Worker (i) and (ii) (特定技能): you need a change of status permission for each new employer.
• Highly Skilled Professional (i) (高度専門職1号): your permission is tied to a designated organization, so you need a change of status permission to work for a new one.

If you hold one of these statuses, do not start at the new company until you have the new permission.

Step 2: Notify immigration within 14 days

Holders of the following statuses must notify the Immigration Services Agency (ISA) within 14 days when their contract with their employer (the “contracting organization”) ends, or when they sign a new one:

• Highly Skilled Professional, Researcher, Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, Nursing Care, Entertainer, Skilled Labor and Specified Skilled Worker

This is the notification regarding the contracting organization (契約機関に関する届出). You file it yourself; your employer does not do it for you.

You must also notify immigration if your employer changes its name or address, or ceases to exist.

How to file

There are three ways to file the notification:

• Online: through the ISA’s Electronic Notification System (available 24 hours a day). This is the easiest option, and you do not need to attach any documents.
• By mail: send the form with a copy of your residence card to the Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau.
• At the counter: at a regional immigration office, with your residence card.

Filing online, step by step

The system is available in Japanese and English, and the ISA publishes an English user manual for medium- to long-term residents.

1. Register as a user. Open the ISA Electronic Notification System, click [New Registration], agree to the terms of use and enter your email address.
2. Confirm your email. Click the link in the email you receive within 24 hours.
3. Enter your details. Select “Foreign national (applicant)” as the user type, and enter your name in Roman letters, a password and the other required details. The password must be 10 to 32 characters and include upper-case letters, lower-case letters, numbers and symbols. Your user ID is then sent to you by email.
4. Log in with your user ID and password. (After five wrong passwords, your account is locked for 24 hours.)
5. Choose the notification. From the list of procedures, choose “Notification relating to the institution or spouse” (所属機関・配偶者に関する届出) and agree to the terms.
6. Choose the reason. On the ESI status and the other statuses listed above, choose “Contract termination” when your contract with your old employer ends, and “New contract conclusion” when you sign with a new one. If both have happened, report both. (Other reasons, such as “Leaving” and “Transfer”, are for other statuses. There are also reasons for a change in your employer’s name or address, or its ceasing to exist.)
7. Enter the details and submit. Enter the required information, check it and click [Apply].
8. Check the emails. You will receive an email confirming that the notification was received, and then an email when registration is complete. If something is wrong, you will receive an error email instead. You can also check the status from [Check Application Status].

What to have ready

Whichever method you use, prepare the following before you start:

• Your residence card (you will need the details on it, such as your residence card number)
• The exact names and addresses of your old and new employers
• The date your old contract ended and the date you signed the new one
• A short description of your new duties

Filing by mail or at the counter

• Download the form from the ISA’s page on the notification. There are separate forms for the end of a contract, a new contract, both at the same time, and a change of the employer’s name or address, or its ceasing to exist. Filled-in samples are also available.
• Sign the form. The notification must be signed by you.
• By mail: enclose a copy of your residence card (front and back), and send it to the address below. Write “Notification enclosed” (届出書在中) in red on the front of the envelope. A trackable mail service is recommended.
• At the counter: bring the form and your residence card to a regional immigration office.

Mailing address (you can write it in Japanese as shown):

〒160-0004
東京都新宿区四谷1丁目6番1号 四谷タワー14階
東京出入国在留管理局 在留調査部門 届出受付担当

(Notification Desk, Residence Investigation Division, Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau, Yotsuya Tower 14F, 1-6-1 Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0004)

The address can change, so check the ISA’s page before you send.

Keep a record

Keep the confirmation emails, or a copy of the form you sent, together with the date you filed. If questions come up at your next renewal, you can show that you filed on time.

What happens if you forget

Failing to notify, or filing a false notification, can be punished under the Immigration Control Act. In practice, the more common problem is that a missing notification counts against you at your next renewal or other application. If you have missed the deadline, file the notification as soon as possible instead of waiting.

Note: Your employer has its own reporting duties, such as the foreign employment report to Hello Work. These do not replace your own notification.

Step 3: Don’t stay without a job for 3 months or more

If you do not carry out the activities of your status for 3 months or more without a valid reason, your status of residence may be revoked. Actively looking for a new job is generally treated as a valid reason, but keep records of your job search (applications, interviews) in case you are asked.

While you are between jobs, you cannot work part-time. Permission to Engage in Activities Other Than Those Permitted (資格外活動許可) is granted only if you are actually carrying out the activities of your current status. While you are unemployed, you are not doing ESI work, so you cannot get this permission.

Step 4: Consider a Certificate of Authorized Employment

A Certificate of Authorized Employment (就労資格証明書) is a document issued by the ISA that confirms the work you do at your new job falls within your current status of residence.

Why it helps

• Your next renewal becomes more predictable. Without a certificate, immigration reviews your new job for the first time at your renewal. If it decides then that the job does not fit your status, your renewal can be refused, possibly after you have worked there for a long time. With a certificate, this question is settled early.
• It reassures your new employer. It shows the company that it can legally employ you for that job.

It is optional

You are not required to get a certificate, and the law prohibits employers from treating you unfavourably because you do not have one. But if you change jobs a long time before your next renewal, or if your new duties are different from your old ones, it is worth considering.

How to apply

The fees for this certificate did not change on October 1, 2026, unlike the fees for change of status and extension of stay. See our article Paying the new visa fees from October 1, 2026.

Step 5: Prepare for your next renewal

If you renew without a Certificate of Authorized Employment, your application is reviewed much like a new application with your new employer. In general, you should expect to submit:

• Documents about your new employer, according to its category (such as its corporate registration and financial statements for smaller companies)
• Your employment contract or notice of working conditions, and a description of your duties (mainly for your first renewal after moving to a Category 3 or 4 employer)
• Your resident tax certificates, which show your income and tax payments (required mainly when your new employer is a smaller company in Category 3 or 4)

Your income may also have dropped in the year you changed jobs, especially if you had a gap. Be ready to explain any gap and your current income.

Summary checklist

• ☐The new job’s actual duties fit your status of residence
• ☐If you hold Specified Skilled Worker or Highly Skilled Professional (i), you will get permission before you start
• ☐You will file the notification within 14 days of leaving your old job and of signing with your new employer
• ☐You will avoid a gap of 3 months or more without looking for work
• ☐You have considered applying for a Certificate of Authorized Employment
• ☐You will keep your contracts, tax documents and records from both jobs for your next renewal

This article provides general information and is not legal advice. It is based on information published by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan as of October 2026. Whether a new job fits your status depends on the details of each case, so please check before you change jobs.