Visa application when a foreigner has changed or is thinking about changing jobs before renewing his visa

Expiration date of residence status and job change

Foreign nationals who currently have a residence status that allows them to work (herein referred to as a "work visa"), such as "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" or "Skilled", are currently applying for a visa. What procedures should I take if I have changed jobs or am thinking of changing jobs between the time my application was approved and the period of stay on my current visa?

The procedures you should take will depend on your current remaining period of stay and whether you have already changed jobs.
They are classified as follows according to the "remaining period" of the visa and "timing of job change".

1. ① If you have more than 3 months left until your visa expires and you want to change jobs before then
2. ② If you have less than 1 to 3 months left until your visa expires and you have already changed jobs.
3. ③ If you have less than 1 to 3 months left until your visa expires and you have not changed jobs yet.

I will explain in the above order.

① If you have more than 3 months left until your visa expires and you want to change jobs before then

In this case, regarding the work to be done at the company after changing jobs,Apply for certification of employment qualification” (Article 19-2 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act) to the competent immigration bureau (herein referred to as the Immigration Bureau).

Work qualification certificaterefers to a document from the Minister of Justice that certifies, based on an application from a foreign national residing in Japan, the activities of operating a business that generates income or receives remuneration that the foreign national can engage in.
Simply put, it means getting permission to work under your current visa (even though you have changed jobs and changed the company you work for or the content of your work).
If you do not apply for this work qualification certificate, the following problems will occur.

Until now, I worked at company A for XX work, but before renewing my visa, I changed jobs to company B and applied for visa renewal with the content that I would be engaged in 〇〇 or △△ work at company B. However, it has been denied permission.

This is because the work visa you currently have is approved on the premise that you will be doing ``XX work'' at ``Company A.''
The content of the work visa that I currently have does not include the content that I will be doing 〇〇 or △△ work at Company B.
Be careful when changing jobs and changing work content.

Of course, in the case of a resident status of "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services," even if you have changed jobs, conditions such as the specialty of the work and the relationship between the work and the person's academic background are subject to change. If the requirements are met, you will be allowed to renew your visa even if you have changed jobs.
However, if this condition is met and the visa can be renewed, there will be another examination by the immigration authorities, so I am changing jobs, but I am simply thinking, ``The time for visa renewal is approaching, so I will apply for renewal.'' When I was thinking about it,Risk of being deniedThere is.

If permission is denied, the person may lose their residence status and may have to return to their home country.
this is,It can also be said to be a risk for the company that employs the foreigner..
If you find yourself in a situation where you have hired a foreigner who has a work visa with a certain amount of validity remaining, but that foreigner's visa renewal has been refused, you will continue to employ that foreigner. You won't be able to do that.
As a company, you may suddenly lose personnel..

It is useful to avoid such risks of the person and the company regarding the change of job before visa renewal.Work qualification certificate.

In the above example, the content of the application for the issuance of a work qualification certificate is "to do the work of △△ or ○○ at company B after changing jobs", so this work is done before the visa renewal application. You can avoid the risk of being denied permission in your upcoming visa renewal application by having your qualification certificate approve your work after you change jobs.
Ideally, the timing of applying for a work qualification certificate should be "before" you change jobs..
You can apply even after changing jobs, but the review period for applying for a certificate of employment status is 1 to 3 months after changing jobs, so you need to pay attention to the period of stay.

In this way, if you have more than three months left on your current visa and you have not changed jobs yet, but you would like to change jobs by the date of your current visa, you can apply for this work status. We recommend that you apply for a certificate.

In addition, Within 14 days after changing jobsEven if the period of stay remains,"Notification regarding affiliation (activity) institution"Don't forget to do.

② If you have less than 1 to 3 months left until your visa expires and you have already changed jobs.

In most cases, it is not an application for a certificate of employment eligibility mentioned above, but simply aApplication for visa renewal (application for permission to extend period of stay)Will be done.
This is because visa renewal applications can be made three months before the expiration date of the current visa period of stay, and it will take about three months if the examination period for the application for issuance of a work qualification certificate after changing jobs is long. ..

But,Since I am changing jobs, there is a risk of being denied permissionIs as explained above.
In this case, it is necessary to explain the following in particular, keeping in mind that the visa you currently have is approved on the premise that "Company A will carry out XX business".

• ・ The work done by company BProfessionalAndSufficient workloadThere is
• ・ Explanation of the student's educational background and major details
• ・ Between the work performed by Company B and the person's educational background and work experienceRelevanceThere is

In addition, Material explaining the business contents performed by Company BAndDaily business schedule,Photo of the place to workIt is recommended to attach and explain.
In addition, Within 14 days after changing jobsTo theNotification of affiliated (activity) organizationDon't forget to do this at the Immigration Bureau.

③ If you have less than 1 to 3 months left until your visa expires and you have not changed jobs yet.

In this case,Apply for a visa renewal at your current company without changing jobsIt seems more likely that you will be granted a visa renewal.

Even if you change jobs and try to apply for a visa at a new company, you often don't have enough time to collect and prepare the visa application documents, and because you can't adequately explain your work, your application will be rejected. There is a possibility that the
Each person has different motives for changing jobs, but if the need for changing jobs is low, it is a good idea for the person to change jobs after renewing his visa and calming down after obtaining a work qualification certificate. It may also be a good result for you.

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