Changing your status of residence means switching from one category to another while staying in Japan: student to worker, working holiday to worker, dependent to worker, work status to spouse. You file at an immigration bureau in Japan. No embassy, no new visa, no leaving the country.
The application is called Permission to Change Status of Residence (在留資格変更許可申請), and it is one of the more useful things the system allows.
The timing rule that matters most
You must file before your current period of stay expires. There is no grace period and no retroactive fix. Once your status has lapsed, you are overstaying, and overstaying is not a paperwork problem: it carries a re-entry ban and follows you through every future application.
The review takes two weeks to a month, sometimes longer. File at least a month out. If your period of stay expires while the application is genuinely under review, you can normally stay under the same conditions for up to two months while immigration decides, which is a safety net rather than a plan.
Critically: you may not start the new activity until permission is granted. Beginning a job on the strength of a filed application is unauthorised work.
The common changes
Student to work status. The most frequent change in the system. You need a job offer and an employer willing to supply the corporate documents. Graduates of Japanese universities get more latitude on the degree-matching rule than overseas graduates do. Immigration accepts applications from December for an April start, and filing early in that window is worth doing. See the Student visa page.
Student to job-hunting. Graduates of Japanese universities and colleges who have not found work can change to a Designated Activities status for job-hunting, usually six months and renewable once. Your school issues a recommendation letter.
Working holiday to work status. Common and straightforward with a job offer. Start the conversation with employers around month eight of your year, because the application takes weeks and cannot be filed late. See the Working Holiday visa page.
Dependent to work status. For a spouse who wants to work full-time rather than under the 28-hour cap. Requires meeting the work status criteria in your own right. See Spouse, Dependent & Family Visas.
Work status to spouse status. After marrying a Japanese national or permanent resident. Worth doing for the unrestricted work rights and the much shorter route to permanent residency.
Between work statuses. Moving to Highly Skilled Professional once your score crosses 70, or to Business Manager when starting a company. Moving between jobs inside the same status is not a change of status at all, just a notification.
What you file
- Application for Permission to Change Status of Residence
- Passport and residence card
- A photograph to specification
- Documents for the new status, which are essentially the same as a Certificate of Eligibility file: contract, job description, degree certificate, company documents
- Your tax and residence certificates
- The processing fee, payable on approval
Since January 2026 many changes can be filed through the Online Residence Application System, which avoids a day queueing at a bureau.
Fees are going up
A change of status currently costs a flat ¥6,000 at the counter, or ¥5,500 online, whatever period you are granted. That figure has applied since 1 April 2025, when it rose from ¥4,000.
From 1 October 2026 the flat fee is replaced by a scale based on the period of stay granted, running from ¥10,000 for three months or less to ¥75,000 for five years. Online filing stays cheaper at every tier above three months. Applications accepted on or before 30 September keep the ¥6,000 fee. The full scale is on 2026 Fee Changes.
One consequence worth noting: being granted a longer period of stay will cost more, even though a longer period is what you want for a future permanent residency application.
Why changes get refused
- The new activity does not fit any status you qualify for, most often a degree that does not match the job
- Your record on the current status is poor: a student who exceeded 28 hours a week, or unpaid taxes and pension
- The new employer cannot supply adequate documentation
- Filing too close to expiry, leaving no room to respond to a request for more documents
If a change is refused and your period of stay has expired or is about to, you will generally be given a short window to leave Japan voluntarily. Departing within it protects your record. Staying does not.
Where to go next
For extending your existing status rather than changing it, see Extending or Renewing Your Status of Residence. For timing, see Processing Times.
Back to How to Apply.