Last updated: 2 October 2026
Figures, prices and terms were checked against the Immigration Services Agency report on foreign students employed by Japanese companies (2024) on 6 August 2026. They change — check the current terms yourself before you sign up or file anything.
In short
- 96.7% of applications get approved (2024, Immigration Services Agency) – but that still means about 1 in 30 does not. The outcome is decided long before you apply.
- The reasons that come up repeatedly include working over 28 hours a week during your studies. The Agency does not publish a ranking of refusal reasons.
- How closely your major needs to match your job depends on your school: university graduates get more flexibility, vocational school (senmon gakko) graduates are judged more strictly.
- For an April start, Immigration asks you to apply between 1 December and the end of January. The standard processing period is 1 to 2 months, and it runs longer in the busy December-to-May season.
- If your student visa expires while the review is still running, an application filed in time lets you stay until the decision, for up to two months past the expiry date – you do not become illegal. No offer by graduation? The job-hunting visa lets you keep looking for up to a year.
What changes: you know which of the 1-in-30 refusals are decided during your student years – and you stop being one of them before you apply.
Most guides on this topic are written by immigration lawyers for people who already have a job offer and need to file next week. This one is written for the stage before that – while you are still a student, because what you do in the next few months on your student visa can decide whether your work visa gets approved later.
- What actually decides approval or rejection?
- Does my major have to match the job?
- When do I apply, and how long does it take?
- What documents do you need?
- How much does it cost? New fees from 1 October 2026
- The December 2025 rule change – who it actually helps
- What if I get rejected?
- Frequently asked questions
- What is the actual approval rate for changing from a student visa to a work visa?
- What are common reasons applications get rejected?
- Does my university major have to exactly match my new job?
- When should I apply, and how long does review take?
- How much does it cost to change from a student visa to a work visa?
- What happens if my student visa expires before the review finishes?
- Summary
- Related guides
What actually decides approval or rejection?
In 2024, 96.7% of applications were approved, but rejections are not random – they trace back to specific, avoidable things you did as a student. Working over the legal hour limit is one common cause. The Agency does not publish which reason comes first.
This is why the earlier guides on this site matter here: keeping to the 28-hour rule is not just about staying legal today – it is building the track record that gets your work visa approved later.
Does my major have to match the job?
The job offer comes through, and it feels as if both the job and the visa are settled. Where you come from, what you studied and what job you take may have little to do with each other. When you switch from a student visa to a work visa in Japan, immigration looks at how your studies connect to the job, and vocational school graduates are held to a stricter match. For what you are asked in interviews before the offer, see Interview Questions in Japan 2026: 3 Common Ones, 14 Sensitive Items.
It depends on your school. University graduates get meaningful flexibility – an economics graduate was approved to work as a systems engineer at a software company (Immigration’s approved cases, Japanese). Vocational school (senmon gakko) graduates are held to a stricter match between what they studied and what they will do.
- University / graduate school: immigration looks at the broader skill set you gained, not just the exact major title
- Vocational school: the connection needs to be closer. A real rejection case: an international business major (English-focused curriculum) applying for a real estate sales job was rejected for insufficient connection to the major
If you are at a vocational school, choose a job offer that clearly connects to what you studied, or be ready to explain the connection clearly in your application. Whether the job itself qualifies is a separate test, and Immigration’s approved and refused cases for hotels, restaurants and factories show how it is judged.
When do I apply, and how long does it take?
Apply as soon as you have a signed job offer – you can file from December. For an April start, Immigration asks you to apply between 1 December and the end of January. The standard processing period is 1 to 2 months, and the December-to-May season is busiest for immigration, so it can run longer.
What documents do you need?
You provide personal documents, and your future employer provides company documents proving the job is real and matches your qualifications.
| Who provides it | Documents |
|---|---|
| You | Application for change of status, photo, graduation certificate (or expected date), passport, residence card |
| Your employer | Employment contract or job offer letter stating duties, employment period, position and salary; company registration documents |
About 8 in 10 (78.9%) international students who change status end up on the “Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services” visa – the standard category covering office, technical and language-related roles. If your offer involves a lot of customer service or factory floor work and you graduated in Japan with N1, Designated Activities No. 46, which allows floor work with Japanese communication, is another route.
How much does it cost? New fees from 1 October 2026
The fee depends on whether you apply at the counter or online, and from 1 October 2026 it also depends on how long a period of stay you are granted – the longer the period, the higher the fee. You pay when the change is approved, so you do not know the exact amount when you apply (Immigration, change of status (Japanese) / online application fees (Japanese)).
| Period granted | At the counter (revenue stamps) | Online (convenience store or bank) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 months or less | 10,000 yen | 10,330 yen |
| Over 3 up to 6 months | 18,000 yen | 15,330 yen |
| Over 6 months, under 1 year | 25,000 yen | 21,330 yen |
| 1 year | 33,000 yen | 27,330 yen |
| Over 1, under 3 years | 48,000 yen | 42,330 yen |
| 3 years, under 5 years | 64,000 yen | 56,550 yen |
| 5 years or more | 75,000 yen | 65,550 yen |
- The online amounts include a payment charge of 330 or 550 yen. You pay at a convenience store or through a bank (Pay-easy or online banking) – no credit cards, no QR payments
- Online payment emails come only from “@service-dgft.com” (the payment link) and “@veritrans.jp” (confirmations). Any other address asking for the fee is a scam, Immigration warns. Pay by the day before you collect your card
- Applications received by 30 September 2026 keep the old fee (6,000 yen at the counter, 5,500 yen online), even if approval comes later
- People in serious financial hardship, such as those on welfare, may have the fee reduced to 10,000 yen at the counter (Japanese). Online applications cannot get the reduction
Immigration decides the length of stay; you cannot choose it. On a first work visa, the counter fee is 33,000 yen for 1 year against 64,000 yen for 3 years and 75,000 yen for 5 years, about double or more (Immigration Services Agency fee table). The fee is paid when the permission is granted, and at the counter it is up to 75,000 yen (for a 5-year period; Immigration Services Agency fee table), so have it ready before the approval notice arrives.
The December 2025 rule change – who it actually helps
Since 1 December 2025, some applicants no longer need to submit documents like the employment contract or company registration certificate. But this only applies to a specific group, and the screening standard itself has not changed.
- You qualify for the simplified process if you fall into one of three groups: graduates (or soon-to-graduate) of a Japanese university or graduate school; graduates of a university ranked in the top 300 on at least two of the QS, THE or ARWU world rankings; or hires by a company that has already had a foreign student’s visa change approved and renewed at least once before
- Dispatch (temp agency) employment does not qualify
- Fewer documents does not mean an easier bar to clear – the same factors (28-hour rule, attendance, major-job connection) still decide the outcome
What if I get rejected?
You will usually be notified by letter rather than postcard. Reapplying is often possible, but it is harder the second time – address exactly why you were rejected, and consider professional help.
Official sources: Immigration Services Agency, foreign students employed by Japanese companies in 2024 (Japanese) / ISA, change of status of residence: standard processing period (Japanese) / ISA, notice to students changing to a work status (Japanese) / ISA, Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services (Japanese) / ISA, online application fees (Japanese) / ISA, fee reduction (Japanese) / ISA, the special period (Japanese) (checked 26 September 2026; fees and the special period checked 2 October 2026)
Once you hold a work visa, you can bring your spouse and children to Japan.
Frequently asked questions
What is the actual approval rate for changing from a student visa to a work visa?
In 2024, 41,142 applications were processed and 39,766 were approved – an approval rate of 96.7%. That leaves 1,376 refusals, about 1 in 30 (Immigration Services Agency, checked August 2026). Most people pass, but it has never reached 100 percent.
What are common reasons applications get rejected?
Working more than the legal 28 hours a week during your studies is one common reason, along with weak attendance and a major that does not connect to the job. The Agency does not publish a ranking of refusal reasons, so treat any “number one cause” claim with care. Language schools work to an 80% and a 50% attendance line; what they mean is in the attendance requirements for a student visa.
Does my university major have to exactly match my new job?
University graduates get more flexibility – the connection is judged broadly. Vocational school (senmon gakko) graduates are held to a stricter, closer match between their studies and the job.
When should I apply, and how long does review take?
Apply as soon as you have a signed job offer, from December onward. The standard processing period is 1 to 2 months, and it runs longer during the busy December-to-May season. For an April start, apply between 1 December and the end of January, as Immigration asks.
How much does it cost to change from a student visa to a work visa?
For applications received from 1 October 2026, it depends on the period of stay you are granted. At the counter (revenue stamps) it runs from 10,000 yen for 3 months or less to 75,000 yen for 5 years or more: 33,000 yen for 1 year, 64,000 yen for 3 to under 5 years. Online you pay at a convenience store or bank, 27,330 yen for 1 year including the payment charge. You pay when the change is approved.
What happens if my student visa expires before the review finishes?
If you applied before your period of stay ran out, you can stay on your current status until the decision, or until two months after the expiry date, whichever comes first (Immigration, “special period” (Japanese)). If you applied at the counter, the back of your residence card is marked as an application in progress. You do not become an illegal resident. “Designated Activities” is something else: it is the job-hunting visa for graduates with no offer yet.
Summary
- About 1 in 30 applications is refused, and working over 28 hours a week is one common cause
- University graduates get more flexibility on major-job match than vocational school graduates
- For an April start, apply between 1 December and the end of January. The standard review period is 1 to 2 months, longer in the busy season
- Filed in time, you can stay while the review runs – until the decision, for up to two months past expiry
- From October 2026 the counter fee is 10,000 to 75,000 yen depending on the period granted, paid on approval
Related guides
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WHO WROTE THIS
mori
Japanese. I read the ministries’ own notices, orders and Q&As in the original, and I start from what my Nepalese and Sri Lankan friends in Japan actually ran into. I do not write about what I have not checked or been told.
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