Can You Work Remotely for an Overseas Company on a Student, ESI or Dependent Visa in Japan?

1. Why remote work for an overseas company counts as work in Japan

Since the pandemic, more people living in Japan are offered remote jobs or freelance contracts by companies abroad. A common question we receive is: “If the company has no office in Japan and pays me overseas, do Japanese visa rules still apply?”

The answer is yes. The Immigration Control Act regulates activities carried out in Japan. If you sit at your desk in Tokyo and do paid work, you are earning remuneration for services performed in Japan. It does not matter where the client is, which currency you are paid in, or where your bank account is.

So the real questions are:

1. Is this work within the activities your status of residence allows?
2. If not, do you have permission to do it, and are you staying within the limits of that permission?

2. If you hold a Student visa

Students cannot work at all without Permission to Engage in an Activity Other Than That Permitted (often called a “work permit” for students). This applies to remote work for an overseas company in exactly the same way as a part-time job at a convenience store.

Comprehensive permission: 28 hours a week

• The standard (comprehensive) permission allows up to 28 hours per week, and up to 8 hours per day during your school’s official long vacations.
• The 28 hours must be kept whichever day of the week you start counting from.
• The limit is the total of all your work. Hours for the overseas company are added to hours at any other part-time job.

According to the ISA, the comprehensive permission does not specify the name, address or business of the employer, so it is not limited to work for organizations in Japan. In principle, therefore, it can also cover remote work for an overseas company, as long as your working hours are clear (for example, under an employment contract with fixed hours) and you stay within the limits.

Freelance or contract work: you may need individual permission

Comprehensive permission covers employment, and contract work only if your standard working hours are clear from the contract. If you work as a freelancer on a project or results basis and your hours cannot be objectively confirmed, the Immigration Services Agency (ISA) says you need individual permission for that work. You must submit a document explaining the contract.

Individual permission is only granted if the work does not interfere with your studies. Your attendance and credits will be checked.

Remember also that the comprehensive permission is meant to help you cover tuition and living costs. If your remote income is far more than that, the ISA may start to doubt whether studying is still your real purpose in Japan.

3. If you hold an Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services (ESI) visa

Many ESI holders assume that because they are allowed to work in Japan, any professional work is fine. This is a common misunderstanding.

ESI requires a contract with an organization in Japan

The ESI status covers professional work done “based on a contract with a public or private organization in Japan”. A foreign company counts as an “organization in Japan” only if it has an office or other place of business in Japan, such as a Japanese branch.

This means that remote work for a company with offices only abroad does not fall under ESI, even if the work itself is the same kind of professional work (IT, marketing, translation, etc.).

Doing it as a side job

If you keep your Japanese employer and want to do overseas remote work on the side, you need Permission to Engage in an Activity Other Than That Permitted. Unlike students, ESI holders in practice cannot get the 28-hour comprehensive permission, except in limited cases such as employees of local governments or people who lost their job for company reasons. You would need individual permission. However, there is no published guidance on whether individual permission is granted for remote work for an overseas company, and in practice individual permission for ESI holders is not often granted. It is also only granted if the side work does not interfere with your main job. Please check your case carefully before you start.

Quitting your Japanese job to work only for the overseas company

This is the pattern that needs the most care.

• You must notify the ISA within 14 days of leaving your employer.
• If you do not do ESI activities for 3 months or more without a valid reason, your status can be revoked.
• At your next extension, you will not be able to show an ESI job in Japan, so the extension is likely to be denied.

If working for the overseas company becomes your main activity in Japan, you generally need a different status of residence (see section 7).

4. If you hold a Dependent visa

Spouses and children on a Dependent visa are in a similar position to students, with two important differences.

The permission rules

• Comprehensive permission: up to 28 hours per week. Unlike students, there is no 8-hours-a-day exception for long vacations.
• Contract or freelance work with hours that cannot be objectively confirmed needs individual permission, just as for students.
• Individual permission for work beyond the comprehensive permission is granted only if the period of that work does not exceed half of your period of stay. If the content of the work or the contract shows that your purpose of stay has substantially changed, you need to change your status of residence instead.

The double check: are you still “supported”?

The Dependent visa is for a spouse or child who is supported by the main visa holder. For a spouse, this means living together and being financially dependent on the other spouse. A spouse or child who is financially independent does not fit the purpose of the Dependent status.

This matters for remote workers. In practice, if it is clear that you intend to earn more than the income of your supporting spouse or parent, you can no longer be regarded as “supported”, and permission to work is in principle not granted, even within 28 hours a week.

Even below that line, if your income from the overseas company grows large enough to support the household, the ISA may question at your next extension whether you are still a “dependent”. Apart from the “more than the supporter” rule, there is no published income figure; it is judged case by case.

Two more points for families

• If the main visa holder (for example, a spouse on an ESI visa) quits their Japanese job and works only remotely for an overseas company, their own status is at risk (section 3). That also affects the family members who depend on them.
• Children who grew up in Japan on a Dependent visa may be able to change to a work-permitted “Designated Activities” status after finishing high school here. However, this route requires a job with an employer in Japan, so it does not cover remote work for an overseas company.

5. If your hourly rate is high: how to prepare

When you apply to extend or change your status, the ISA looks at your work and income. What you submit depends on your status:

• ESI: depending on your employer’s category, you submit your own local tax and tax payment certificates, which show your annual income.
• Student: you submit a declaration of how you cover your living costs, listing each part-time job with weekly working hours and hourly or monthly pay. Remote work for an overseas company must be declared here honestly. If the hours and income do not add up, you will be asked to explain.
• Dependent: the standard documents are your supporter’s tax certificates, not yours. However, the ISA can ask for additional documents, and your own tax records are checked when you apply for permanent residence or change to another status.

If your income looks much higher than what 28 hours a week would normally earn, the ISA may ask whether you worked more than the limit.

Some remote workers really do earn a high hourly rate, for example in IT or consulting. If that is your case, be ready to prove it:

• Contracts or invoices that show your hourly rate
• Time records, such as logs from a time-tracking tool or work reports
• A way to show that you stayed within 28 hours in every 7-day period, not just on average

Also note that pay from an overseas company is usually not taxed at source in Japan, so in general you are required to file a tax return yourself (see section 8). Under the ISA’s published guidelines, failing to meet your tax obligations is treated as a negative factor in extension and change-of-status applications.

6. What the ISA checks, and what can happen

Unauthorized remote work can come to light when you apply for an extension, a change of status, or permanent residence, through tax records, the declarations and documents you submit, and the explanations you give. Working without the required permission is a violation of the Immigration Control Act. Possible consequences include:

• Denial of your extension or change of status.
• In some cases, revocation of your status of residence, if you are not doing the activities of your status and are doing other activities instead.
• A negative effect on a future permanent residence application, where compliance with immigration and tax rules is checked closely.

7. How to work for an overseas company legally

If the remote work is a side activity

1. Get the right permission before you start. Students and dependents: comprehensive permission if your hours are clear; individual permission if they are not. ESI holders: comprehensive permission is not available in practice, and it is uncertain whether individual permission will be granted for this kind of work. Talk to an expert before you start.
2. Keep within 28 hours a week and keep records.
3. Do not grow it into a business. Permission for activities outside your status is meant for small-scale work you do alone. Setting up a company, hiring staff or opening an office requires a change to the Business Manager status.

If the remote work is (or will become) your main activity

You will need a status of residence that matches what you actually do. Possible options include:

8. Do not forget tax and social insurance

• Income tax: pay for work you physically perform in Japan is, in general, treated as Japan-source income, even if the payer is abroad. Because this pay is usually not taxed at source, in general you are required to file a tax return, even if the amount is small, and resident tax follows from it. If your income is low enough that no income tax is due, the rules may differ. Students from some countries may also be exempt under a tax treaty.
• Health insurance and pension: an overseas company with no office in Japan usually does not enroll you in Japanese employee health insurance and pension. You will normally need to join National Health Insurance and the National Pension yourself, unless you are covered as a family member.
• According to the ISA’s guidelines, not meeting your tax obligations is a negative factor in extension and change-of-status applications, and serious or long-term non-payment of National Health Insurance and similar contributions is treated the same way. Tax and pension compliance is also a requirement for permanent residence. For your individual tax situation, please consult a tax accountant.

9. Already started, or not sure? Talk to us early

Many people only find out about these rules after they have already started working for an overseas company. The earlier you check your situation, the more options you usually have.

• Students and Dependent visa holders: we can check whether your contract fits the comprehensive permission, help you apply for individual permission if needed, and explain how to keep records of your hours.
• ESI holders: in many cases, this kind of work is difficult to do on your current status. Please talk to us before you leave your Japanese job. Once you have left, your options become narrower. We can look at whether a change of status, such as Business Manager or ESI with a Japanese entity of the company, is realistic for you.
• If you have already started: we can review your situation and help you prepare for your next extension or change of status. We cannot promise any particular outcome, but an early, honest review is better than waiting until your application.

Gyoseishoshi lawyers are bound by a legal duty of confidentiality (Article 12 of the Gyoseishoshi Lawyer Act), so you can discuss your situation with us in confidence. Send a Free Inquiry

10. Summary

Working remotely for an overseas company is not automatically illegal, but it is not automatically fine either. Check your status, get the right permission before you start, keep records of your hours, and file your taxes. If the remote work is becoming your main job, plan a change of status early, before your next extension.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for general information only and is not legal advice on any individual case. The information is based on sources available as of October 14, 2026. Laws, guidelines and their application may change without notice. Tax and social insurance points are general only; please consult a tax accountant for your situation. TKG Immigration Consulting Office accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising from the use of this information. In case of any difference between our English descriptions and the original Japanese texts, the Japanese texts prevail.