Working conditions and restrictions of the Dependent Visa: Explanation of work permission for foreigners

As a family residence visa is not a work visa, it is not possible to be involved in income-generating projects or, in principle, engage in remunerative work activities. If you wish to work, e.g. part-time, you must either obtain a permit to engage in activities other than those permitted under the status of residence or switch to a visa that allows you to work.

The main points of this article are as follows.

✓As a rule, family residence visas do not allow work. ✓If you want to work on a family residence visa, you need toobtain a work permit or switch to a visa that allows you to work. ✓Permit to engage in work outside the scope of the qualification (blanket permit) cannot exceed 28 hours per week. ✓When working hours cannot be objectively ascertained, an individual permit is required instead of a blanket permit.

This article summarises the procedures and work restrictions required when working on a family residence visa. It also presents answers to some frequently asked questions when you are permitted to work on a family residence visa.

Knowing about the work rules for a family residence visa will help you to work without breaking the law. Please take a look at.

1. What is a family residence visa (status of residence ‘family residence’)?

The Family Resident Visa is a visa for foreigners who are in Japan with a certain status of residence, such as a work visa, to accept dependent family members. Let’s take a look at who is eligible and what can be done with a family visa.

1-1.Who is eligible for a family residence visa

A family residence visa is issued to a spouse or child who is dependent on a foreigner staying in Japan with the following qualifications. It is not possible to obtain a family residence visa in order to invite a parent of a foreigner staying in Japan.

Teaching, arts, religion, press, highly specialised professions, business and administration, legal and accounting work, medical care, research, teaching, technical, humanities and international work, intra-company transfers, care, entertainment, skills, cultural activities such as academic or artistic activities not involving income, short-term stays, study abroad (universities or university equivalent institutions, special training schools, educational institutions for those who have completed 12 years of schooling abroad or vocational schools) Educational institutions or technical colleges for those who have completed 12 years of schooling in a foreign country).

The period of stay under a family residence visa is up to five years and depends on individual circumstances.

1-2. Period of stay for family residence visas

The length of stay for family residence visas varies, with eleven different periods of stay, ranging from a maximum of five years to a minimum of three months. Specifically, there are periods of five years, four years and three months, four years, three years and three months, three years, two years and three months, two years, one year and three months, one year, six months and three months.

It is important to note that the period of stay on a family residence visa is closely linked to the period of stay on the visa of the dependent who brought the family member. This means that when the dependent’s period of stay expires, the family residence visa also expires at the same time. Therefore, if the dependent’s visa status expires, only the family residence visa cannot be renewed.

The family residence visa must be renewed paying attention to the period of stay of the dependent’s visa.

1-3. what a family residence visa allows

Holders of a family residence visa can carry out day-to-day activities as a spouse or child of a dependent family member. For example, as a spouse you can engage in housework and childcare, and as a child you can pursue your education at an appropriate educational institution.

Therefore, as a rule, a family residence visa does not allow the holder to engage in income-generating or remunerative activities. If the main business is to engage in income-generating or remunerative activities, a change of status (permission to change status of residence) to a working visa or a visa for a spouse, etc. of a Japanese national who can work is required instead of a family residence visa.

2. How to work on a family residence visa

In principle, family residence visa holders are not allowed to work.

However , they can work if certain conditions are met.

If a foreigner with a family residence visa wishes to work, the permit or status of residence that he/she obtains depends on how long he/she will be engaged in work. Those wishing to work part-time, part-time or as a full-time employee can work up to 28 hours per week by obtaining a ‘Permit to Engage in Activity other than that Permitted under the Status of Residence’.

On the other hand, if the main activity is work, such as working more than 28 hours per week, it is necessary to switch from a family residence visa to a visa that allows work, such as a technical, humanities or international services visa or a business administration visa.

The following section explains how to obtain permission to engage in activities other than those permitted under the status of residence.

2-1.Obtain a permit to engage in activities outside the scope of your status

Permission to engage in activities other than those permitted under the residence status is called a permission to engage in activities other than those permitted under the residence status. With a family residence visa, a person can originally only engage in activities as the spouse or child of a person who has permission to stay in Japan. However, if you obtain a Permit to Engage in Activities Other Than That Permitted by the Status of Residence, you can engage in work activities for many occupations, such as part-time work, which were not originally permitted.

Type of Permit to Engage in Activity outside the Status of Residence

There are the following types of activity permits for out-of-status activities

• Blanket permits
• Individual permits

Blanket permits

Foreigners with a family residence visa who wish to legally work part-time or part time in Japan need a comprehensive permit for activities other than those permitted under the status of residence, if they wish to engage in activities for which they receive income or remuneration for up to 28 hours per week. This permit does not impose any specific restrictions on the place of work or the nature of the work, and allows work in a number of occupations.

With work visas such as technical, humanities and international work visas, the work (activities) for which you can work is individually defined, so if you work outside the scope of work authorised by the Immigration and Residence Office, you will be considered to be working illegally.

In this respect, a comprehensive permit allows the holder to engage in many types of work, including simple tasks such as serving and serving customers in the restaurant industry and working on factory lines, work acquired through training, activities as a manager based on an employment contract and various activities including work such as delivery as a sole trader. However, they are not permitted to engage in the entertainment and sex industry. In addition, working under a blanket permit must be objectively verifiable as there is a work limit of up to 28 hours per week.

To qualify for a blanket permit, the following requirements must be met

(1) The applicant’s engagement in the activity to which the application relates does not prevent him or her from carrying out the activity pertaining to the status of residence he or she currently holds.

(2) The applicant is engaged in the activity pertaining to the status of residence he/she currently holds.

(3) The activity pertaining to the application falls under the activities listed in the lower column of the status of residence in Table 1 or 2 of Appended Table 1 of the Act (excluding ‘specified skills’ and ‘technical internship’). (4) The activity to which the application relates falls under any of the activities listed in the lower column of the status of residence in Table 1 (1) or (2) of Annex 1 to the Act (excluding ‘specified skills’ and ‘technical training’). (Note: This requirement is not required for blanket permission under 2 (1) below.

(4) The activity for which the application is made does not fall under any of the following activities

(a) Activities that are deemed to be in breach of laws and regulations (whether criminal or civil).

(b) Activities conducted at a place of business where a sex industry business or store-based sex industry business is operated, or activities engaged in a non-store-based sex industry business, video transmission sex industry business, store-based telephone dating agency business or non-store-based telephone dating agency business.

(5) Has not been served with or notified of a written detention order or a written notice of opinion hearing.

(6) Not be of bad conduct.

(7) For those who are engaged in activities that fall under the status of residence based on a contract with a public or private organisation in Japan, the organisation must have agreed that the person may engage in activities outside the status of residence.

Cited from: Immigration and Immigration Management Agency HP, Permission to engage in activities outside the scope of qualification.

Individual permits

An individual permit is a permit applied for when it is difficult to objectively verify the time spent engaged in an activity for which income or remuneration is received. Individual permits are required when remuneration is not paid on an hourly or weekly basis. This is the case, for example, if you act as a sole trader or if it is difficult to objectively verify the hours you work. Individual permits are mainly required when the form of remuneration or the nature of work does not fall within the scope of the comprehensive permit.

Individual permits are characterised by the fact that the specific place of work and the nature of the work are clearly specified. Positions classified as simple labour (e.g. working as a cashier in a supermarket or in a factory) are not permitted under this permit. In addition, once a permit has been granted, a new permit must be applied for if the place of work or the nature of the work is to be changed.

Application documents for permission to engage in activities outside the scope of qualification.

When applying for a Permit to Engage in Activities Outside the Status of Residence (comprehensive permit), an ‘Application for Permit to Engage in Activities Outside the Status of Residence’ is submitted to the Immigration Office. The application form can be picked up at the Immigration Office or downloaded from the Immigration and Residence Management Agency’s website or below.
On the other hand, when applying for a Permit to Engage in Activity other than that Permitted under the Status of Residence (Individual Permit), the following documents are required in addition to the ‘Application for Permission to Engage in Activity other than that Permitted under the Status of Residence’.

• Documents explaining the nature of the activity, the hours of activity and remuneration.
• If working as a sole trader, documents explaining the plan for running the business.

Note that none of the above documents has a fixed format. Please submit them in an easy-to-understand format.

Immigration and Residence Management Agency｜Application form for permission to engage in activities other than those permitted under the status of residence

Contact

2-2. Witch to a work-enabling visa

If the working hours exceed 28 hours per week or if the main purpose of the stay is to work, it is necessary to switch from a family residence visa to an appropriate work visa.

When running a business

If you are operating a small business as a sole trader, this is within the scope of the Permit to Engage in Activity other than that permitted under the Status of Residence, but if you are establishing a legal entity or employing employees, a ‘business administration visa’ is appropriate. A business management visa may be obtained without academic qualifications or work experience, provided that the applicant has invested at least JPY 5 million, secured an independent place of business and has an ongoing business plan.

If you are employed by a company

If you are employed by a company and work at least 28 hours per week as a full-time employee, a ‘technical, humanities or international work’ visa is appropriate. To convert to a technical, humanities or international services visa, you must have either a university degree or a minimum of 10 years’ work experience, and you must work in a job that makes use of your specialist knowledge.

If you have no education or work experience and are employed by a company

Foreigners with no more than a university degree and no more than 10 years’ work experience who work beyond the scope of activities outside the family residence visa status (28 hours per week) can consider changing to one of the following visas.

Permanent Resident Visa

Foreigners who have completed compulsory education in Japan and wish to work after high school unemployment have the possibility to change to a ‘Settled Resident’ visa. A permanent resident visa has no work restrictions and allows the holder to work freely.

The conditions for obtaining a permanent resident visa are as follows.

• Have completed compulsory education (elementary and junior high school) in Japan
• Have graduated or be expected to graduate from a Japanese senior high school.
• Hold a family visa or have a college student visa and meet the requirements for a family visa.
• Be under 18 years of age at the time of entry into Japan.
• Have a job offer (including a job offer).
• Have fulfilled official obligations such as notification of place of residence

It is also possible to change to a ‘permanent resident’ visa if you wish to work for the purpose of earning tuition fees while pursuing university studies.

Designated Activities Visa

Foreigners who have not completed compulsory education in Japan and wish to work after graduating from high school may be able to change to a ‘specified activity’ visa. The specified activity visa is a special status of residence granted on the basis of individual activities and allows the holder to carry out authorised work activities. The conditions for being able to change to this visa are as follows.

The requirements for a specific activity visa are as follows.

• Must have graduated or be expected to graduate from a Japanese senior high school
• The dependent must be residing in Japan as a guarantor
• Hold a family visa or have a college student visa and meet the requirements for a family visa.
• Be under 18 years of age at the time of entry to Japan.
• Have a job offer (including a job offer).
• Have fulfilled official obligations such as notification of place of residence
• Have been enrolled in a high school from the beginning or, if transferring from a high school, have Japanese language skills equivalent to JLPT N2 (or a score of 400 or above on the BJT Business Japanese Proficiency Test).

3. Common questions when working on a family residence visa

The following is a list of frequently asked questions and answers when working on a family residence visa. Please refer to them to ensure that you work in compliance with the law.

3-1.What happens if I exceed the 28 hours of work in the blanket permit?

A permit to engage in activities outside the scope of the status of residence (blanket permit) allows the employee to engage in work of 28 hours or less per week. In the unlikely event of a breach, the employer is liable to imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to three million yen, or both.

Workers may also be denied permission when renewing or changing their visa on the grounds of a violation of the Permit to Engage in Activity other than that Permitted under the Status of Residence. In the worst case, illegal employment may lead to deportation from Japan. If deported, the foreigner will not be allowed to enter Japan for the next five years.

Therefore, working hours must be carefully controlled.

3-2. How much income can I expect from a blanket permit?

There is no income limit, but there is a limit of up to 28 hours of work per week.
If you work part-time or part time, you can expect to be paid close to the minimum wage. Since October 2023, the national average minimum wage has been 1,004 yen, so you can expect to earn around 28 hours x 1,000 yen = 28,000 yen per week, or 28,000 yen x 4 = 112,000 yen over four weeks.

Reference: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, ‘National List of Minimum Wages by Region’.

3-3.What if I divorce my dependent?

The family residence visa is a residence visa issued when a person is supported as a spouse or child of a person residing in Japan under a certain status.

If you divorce your dependent, not only will you no longer be eligible for a family residence visa, but you will also no longer be permitted to engage in activities other than those permitted under the status of residence. If you wish to continue to stay or work in Japan, you must change your residence status.

3-4.Can I work as a sole trader or outsourced worker?

If you are a sole trader and ‘it is difficult to objectively confirm the hours of operation’, or if you have an outsourcing or contracting agreement and ‘the standard working hours to be engaged are not clear’, you will need an individual permit instead of a blanket permit. Prepare documents that show the nature of the business and the business plan, and apply for an individual permit.

3-5.What should be considered when employing a foreigner on a family residence visa?

To avoid working illegally, it is necessary to check the status and expiry date on the residence card. As regards foreign nationals with a blanket permit, adjust your shifts so that they do not exceed 28 hours per week.

4. Summary

This article explained the matters that family residence visa holders need to know when working. The contents can be summarised as follows.

✓As a rule, family residence visas do not allow work. ✓If you want to work on a family residence visa, you need toobtain a work permit or switch to a visa that allows you to work. ✓Permit to engage in work outside the scope of the qualification (blanket permit) cannot exceed 28 hours per week. ✓When working hours cannot be objectively ascertained, an individual permit is required instead of a blanket permit.

A family residence visa is not a work visa and does not allow unlimited work. If the working hours exceed the regulations, you may be subject to imprisonment or a fine. To ensure compliance with the law, it is important to have a correct understanding of the work rules for a family residence visa.

When obtaining a work permit or switching residence status, there are many documents to be submitted and the procedure can be complicated. If you find it difficult, one option is to ask a specialist.

Contact