Hi. This is Ami Ito of the Amie Immigration Law Office.

My clients sometimes ask me if he/she can do a part-time job with the current status of residence.

 

The answer depends on what kind of residence card you have. Let’s examine each case.

 

 

Family related visa

 

 

If your status of residence card is family related, such as “Permanent Resident”, “Spouse or Child of Japanese National”, then you are permitted to work without restrictions. Therefore, you can do any kind of part-time job.

 

 

Non-working visa

 

 

If your status of residence is such as “College Student” ,“Dependent”, you can do a part-time job. In this case, you need to apply for an additional permission, so-called “permission to engage in activity other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted” (Shikaku-gai Katsudo) to Immigration office. You are allowed to work for a maximum of 28 hours/week, if permitted.

 

 

Working visa

 

 

This is the case I am most often asked about. Basically, if your company does not prohibit you from working part-time, you can do a part-time job, but you might need to apply for the additional permission.

Let’s look at the case of Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services.

 

In this case, whether or not you will need an additional permit depends on the type of part-time job you will be doing. In any case, simple labor such as working as a cashier at a convenience store or physical labor at a construction site is not allowed basically.

 

Additional permission required

 

 

If you have an Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, and you are going to do a part-time job not in permitted work under the current status of residence, then you need to apply for the additional permission. For example, you work as a translator and interpreter for a trading company, and you are going to teach your native language at a high school as a part-time job. In this case, as teaching at a high school falls under the category of “Instructor”, you need to obtain permission to engage in activities other than those permitted under the status of residence previously granted.

 

 

Additional permission not required

 

 

For example, if you are a computer programmer at a software company and do a part-time job as a computer programmer at another company in the same industry, you do not need to apply for the additional permission. This is because the part-time job is allowed under your current visa status. Another example, if you work as an interpreter at your company under the status of residence (visa) of Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services do part-time translation work as a side job on holidays, you do not need to apply for the additional permission.

 

 

Summary

Thus, you can work part-time only within the scope of your status of residence or with a “permission to engage in activities other than those permitted by your status of residence previously granted”. If you violate this rule, your status of residence will be revoked and you will be subject to deportation, and the company that hired you will be charged with encouraging illegal employment.

For your information, if you are going to do academic and cultural activities that do not involve income, then you do not require an additional permission.

 

 

If you need help for applying an additional permission or apply for the visa, please do not hesitate to contact us!