Visa Eligibility

Foreigners are not allowed to work in Japan unless they have an appropriate Japanese work visa. There are a few ways to get one. Some of the more common ways to get the work visa are as follows.

  • Marry a Japanese citizen. If you can find that special someone, then he or she should be able to help you with all the paperwork for your work permit.
  • Get a working holiday visa. Depends on your age and country of citizenship. (E.g. New Zealanders under 30 can get these visas.) Contact your Japanese embassy for details.
  • Get an employer-sponsored visa. This is what I did. There’s more information on this website.

In general, if you have a dependent visa (for example, if you are married to a work visa holder), you are not allowed to work. After all, if you can work then you are not really dependent on the other person. However, it is possible for dependent visa holders to get a part-time work permit — see the Dependent Visa page on this website for more.

Updated 25 October 2005

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