What is "overwork" that is a problem when hiring foreigners?What kind of trouble will it cause?

Dealing with visa issues is essential when hiring foreigners. This is because foreigners need to have the reason for their activities in Japan, the content of their activities, the period of their activities, etc., examined and approved by the Immigration Bureau.
However, certain issues may arise when hiring foreign students as employees or renewing the visas of foreign employees already hired."Overwork".

In this column, an administrative scrivener who is a visa professional will explain in an easy-to-understand manner the "overwork" that tends to be a problem when applying for a visa for a foreigner who has been hired.

1. There is an upper limit on the number of hours that foreign part-time workers can work.

The most important thing that companies should be careful about when hiring foreigners is that they may hire foreigners who are not allowed to work and make them work.Illegal employment promotion crimeto avoid being subject to penalties.
If the crime of promoting illegal employment is established by employing a foreigner who would normally not be hired,Imprisonment for 3 years or more or a fine of 300 million yen or less(possibly both).

Residence statuses such as "Student" or "Dependent" are basically not allowed to work, and in order to work part-time,Allowance for activities outside your statusMust be approved by applying.
In principle, you can work with this permission to engage in activities other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted.Up to 28 hours a week.
If you work more than 28 hours,OverworkThis will result in a violation of activities other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted.

▼ Standards for overwork = How to count 28 hours per week

So, how should we count the 28 hours per week mentioned above?
This is a detailed topic, but it is important to note that this does not mean "one week starts on Sunday".
Always within 1 hours no matter which day of the week you start the weekMust be.
Also, no matter how many part-time jobs you hold,The total should not exceed 28 hours.
Please be sure to check carefully, as no one company will give you up to 1 hours.

2. Trouble caused by overwork

▼ Unable to renew the visa of a foreigner hired as an employee

If overwork is discovered and the status of residence is assessed as poor, the foreigner's visa may not be renewed.
A typical example iswork visa(Most of them have status of residence "Technology / Humanities / International Business")At the time of first renewal application after acquisition.
In most cases, the contents of the most recent year's tax certificate/tax payment certificate submitted when applying for a renewal permit relate to income earned while an international student, so the details listed in these documents areIncome amountis permitted by permission to engage in activities other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted.In principle, up to 28 hours per weekDuring the working hours ofIf the amount is not normally availableToOverwork is suspected.

Let me give you one example.
Mr. A, a foreign student living in Tokyo, graduated from a Japanese vocational school in March 2021, received a job offer from Japanese company I made a change (the approved visa period is 3 year).
During 2020, when Mr. A was an international student, he worked part-time for about 45 hours a week and earned an annual income of about 200 million yen.
After that, Mr. A, who started working at the same company on April 2021, 4, will apply for renewal of his "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" visa from January 1 onwards.
When applying for this renewal, Mr. A's tax certificate and tax payment certificate for 3 will be submitted to the immigration office, depending on the size of the company to which he belongs.
These certificates for 3 are related to Mr. A's income during 2020.
Immigration is from these documentsAlthough Mr. A was an international student, he earned about 2020 million yen during 200.I came to know that, and if I was a regular part-time worker with an hourly wage,Have ever worked more than 28 hours a week=was overworkingI guess.
Suppose that the Immigration Bureau determines that ``Mr. A worked part-time for about 2020 hours a week during 45.''
In that case, Mr. APoor residence status due to overworkIt is evaluated as .
Although I was able to change to a work visa and work for about a year,Most likely to be denied permission when renewing your first work visa.
If Mr. A is not allowed to renew his work visa due to overwork, Mr. A will not be able to work at Company X after that.Sudden shortage of personnelIt may be that.

▼ Unable to change visa (unable to get a job from student)

Visa application not permitted due to overworkAn example of this is when applying for permission to change from a study abroad visa to a work visa.
Among the required documents to be submitted to the Immigration Bureau when applying for a change of visa, there are no tax certificates or tax payment certificates for foreigners applying for a visa.
However, in recent yearsImmigration will be examined particularly rigorously for overwork of international studentsIn some cases, as additional materials to check the status of residence, taxation certificate, tax payment certificate, withholding slip, copy of bank passbook to which part-time salary was transferred, information on part-time job during the period when I was an international student We may specifically ask for a questionnaire (which describes the company, contact information, hourly wage, working hours, work content, etc. of the part-time job).
If it is discovered from the documents you submit that you overworked while you were an international student, you may not be able to change your visa due to poor residence status, even if your academic background and work after work are appropriate. there is.

If you are hiring a foreign student and have them work, at the time of hiring, check whether they were working part-time while they were an international student, and if so, how many hours they were working, and whether they were overworked. Checking the details carefully will help prevent problems later on.

[Checklist for hiring foreign students as full-time employees]

☑ Weekly working hours for part-time workers(Up to 28 hours a week during the semester, up to 40 hours a week during long holidays)

☑ Where you worked part-time while you were an international student (maybe it was an adult entertainment shop, etc.)

3. Corporate Responsibility: Avoiding Encouraging Illegal Employment

So, if an international student works part-time without obtaining permission to engage in activities other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted, or if an international student has permission to engage in activities other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted but is forced to work part-time for hours that exceed the scope of permission, what should the company do? Will there be any liability?
For the company in this case,Illegal employment promotion crimeIs applied,Imprisonment for up to two yearsor sending us a message onFines up to 300 million yeneither orTarget for both.

Foreign students must always carry with them whether they have permission to engage in activities other than that permitted under the status of residence."Residence card"You can find out by checking the back of the driver's license-sized card.
"Non-qualified activity permission column" on the back of the residence cardIf the stamp "Permission (within 28 hours a week in principle, excluding engagement in customs business, etc.)" is stamped on, the international student has obtained permission for activities outside the status of qualification.
Furthermore, even if there were circumstances such as "I did not know that I did not have permission to engage in activities other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted,"Hired without checking the back of the residence cardIn such cases,If the company is found to be at fault for not knowing, it will be subject to the above penalties..

Another point to keep in mind when hiring international students isAfter graduating from school, you will not be able to work part-time even if you have permission to engage in activities other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted.There is a point.
Permission to engage in activities other than that permitted under the student visa is granted on the premise that you will be working as an international student, that is, studying at the educational institution you are currently enrolled in.If you have graduated from the educational institution, you may have previously This is because the permission you obtained for engaging in activities other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted will no longer be valid.