Applying for permission to live in Japan works differently depending on whether you are outside the country or already inside it. Getting that distinction right is the first step, because the two routes go to different institutions and involve different documents.
If you are outside Japan
For any stay longer than 90 days, the sequence has four steps and one of them does most of the work.
- Your sponsor files for a Certificate of Eligibility. Your employer, school or family member in Japan applies at a regional immigration bureau. This is where eligibility is actually decided, and it takes one to three months. See Certificate of Eligibility.
- You apply for the visa. With the CoE in hand, you go to the Japanese embassy or consulate with jurisdiction over where you live. About five working days in the standard case. See Visa Interview & Embassy Application.
- You travel and receive your status. At the airport you are photographed and fingerprinted, your status of residence is granted, and your residence card is issued if your stay exceeds three months.
- You register your address at the city or ward office within 14 days of moving in.
For a short visit, none of this applies. Nationals of 74 countries and regions enter without a visa; everyone else applies directly at an embassy or through the eVisa system. See Visa-Exempt Countries.
If you are already in Japan
No embassy and no new visa. Everything is filed at a regional immigration bureau, either in person or through the Online Residence Application System.
- Staying in the same category for longer: an extension of period of stay. See Extending or Renewing Your Status of Residence.
- Moving to a different category: a change of status of residence, for example student to worker. See Changing Your Status of Residence.
- Working part-time on a status that does not permit work: permission to engage in activity other than that permitted, which is what gives students and dependants their 28 hours a week.
- Settling permanently: a permanent residency application. See Japan Permanent Residency.
What every route has in common
The burden of proof is on you. Submitting the listed documents is the minimum. Immigration can ask for anything else it needs, and a request for additional documents is the single largest source of delay.
Consistency across the file matters more than any single document. Name spellings, dates, addresses and the account of what you will be doing must match across the form, the contract, the certificates and the translations.
Deadlines are real. Applications must be filed before your current period of stay expires. A CoE is valid for three months. Address changes and job changes must be reported within 14 days. None of these are negotiable, and missing them is harder to fix than any document problem.
The pages in this section
- Certificate of Eligibility — what it is, who files it, and why refusals happen here
- Required Documents Checklist — what goes in the file, by category
- Visa Interview & Embassy Application — the consular stage, eVisa, and what to expect if there is an interview
- Processing Times — realistic timelines and what makes a case slow
- Changing Your Status of Residence — switching category from inside Japan
- Extending or Renewing Your Status of Residence — the routine renewal, and the new fee scale
Before you start
Two things are worth doing in the first week rather than the last:
Order your Japanese certificates early. Tax and residence documents come from your city or ward office and older years sometimes take days to produce.
Ask your sponsor which immigration bureau they will file at, then check that bureau's current average processing time for your category on the Immigration Services Agency site. It will tell you more about your realistic timeline than any general estimate.
Where to go next
For costs, see Fees & Costs, and note that domestic immigration fees changed substantially on 1 October 2026. To confirm you qualify before applying, see Eligibility & Requirements.