Changing jobs on a work visa is normal and permitted. What catches people is that the paperwork is yours, not your employer's, and it has a deadline that starts the day you leave.
The 14-day rule
If you hold a work status tied to an employer, you must file a notification concerning the affiliated organisation (所属機関等に関する届出) with the Immigration Services Agency within 14 days of the change.
It is two separate events. Leaving the old employer is one notification, joining the new one is another. If you resign in March and start in May, you file twice, on two different clocks. People who wait to file both together are usually late on the first.
You can file online through the Immigration Services Agency electronic notification system, by post, or in person at a regional immigration bureau. It is free, and it is a notification rather than an application — you are not asking permission.
What happens if you do not
Failing to notify can carry a fine of up to ¥200,000. In practice, first-time lapses rarely end in a cash penalty, which is why the rule has a reputation for being unenforced.
The real consequence is administrative and much more common: your next renewal is shortened. An applicant who would have been given three or five years gets one, and then has to do the whole renewal again twelve months later. It is the same cost as a fine, paid in time and repeated.
Does the new job actually fit your status?
A status of residence permits certain activities, not employment in general. "Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services" covers a broad range of office and technical work, but it does not cover everything, and moving from a specialist role into general labour or hospitality can put you outside it — even at a bigger, more reputable company.
If the new job is materially different, you may need to change your status of residence, which is an application with an outcome, not a notification.
The tool for checking in advance is the Certificate of Authorized Employment (就労資格証明書). You apply with the new job details and Immigration confirms whether it falls within your current status. It is optional and it costs a small fee, but it converts the question from "we will find out at renewal in two years" into an answer you have in writing before you resign.
A sensible order
- Get the offer in writing, with duties described in enough detail to be assessed
- Consider a Certificate of Authorized Employment if the role is not obviously the same kind of work
- Resign, and notify Immigration within 14 days
- Start, and notify Immigration within 14 days
- Tell your city office if you move house — that is a separate 14-day deadline at a different counter
- Keep both notification receipts with your tax certificates. Renewal will ask
Where to confirm this
- Immigration Services Agency — notification forms, online filing, status categories
Guides are dated rather than undated: last reviewed 6 August 2026. This is an organisational aid, not legal or immigration advice — always confirm anything consequential with your ward office, the Immigration Services Agency, or a qualified professional.