Hello, this is Kou of IMS Legal Professional Corporation. Despite the loosening of entry restrictions into Japan for foreign nationals on November 8, 2021, due to the emergence of the Omicron variant, new entries have again been banned until December 31. We were temporarily extremely busy due to a rise in applications for the Certificate of Examination to newly enter the country, but the ban was imposed soon after. It’s been two whole years since the pandemic started, but there seems to be no end in sight.
For today’s post, I’d like to explain an inquiry I received from a client.
"Can I work at a restaurant after graduating?"
This inquiry was from a Chinese student who is currently enrolled in a doctoral program at a university that we provide visa consulting services for, and they were wondering whether they could obtain a work visa after graduating from their course next year to work at a Japanese restaurant (fugu restaurant) where they are currently working part-time.
So, in today’s post, I’ll be explaining whether it is possible to work at a restaurant and what kind of status of residence is required. In general, many foreigners who are college graduates are employed by universities and work as researchers with a "Professor" visa, or are employed by general companies and work with an "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" visa.
Not many people who have made the effort to graduate from a Japanese university choose to find a job at a restaurant, but the bottom line is that it is possible to do so. However, as you probably know, in order for foreign nationals to work in Japan, they must obtain a work visa that matches the content of their work activities, except for holders of permanent residence visas or spouses of Japanese nationals.
Then what kind of work visa can you obtain if you are employed at a restaurant? In this case, you may be able to obtain a "Specified Skilled Worker " visa or a "Designated Activities (Notification No. 46)" visa.
Specified Skilled Worker
First, the "Specified Skilled Worker" visa is a new work visa that was established in April 2019. It allows foreign nationals to work in 14 industries where there is a serious shortage of labor in Japan. Restaurants fall under the category of the food service industry.
In order to obtain a "Specified Skilled Worker" visa, no academic background or work experience is required, but the applicant must (1) pass a certain level of the Japanese language proficiency test, (2) pass a technical skills exam conducted for each industry field, and (3) make sure their place of employment provides support to foreign nationals with special skills (or entrusts all or part of their support plan to a registered support organization). For more information on each of these, please refer to the following page of the Immigration Services Agency of Japan.
https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/policies/ssw/nyuukokukanri01_00127.html
As for the technical skills exam, it is held in some overseas countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia, and also in Japan, so you can check the detailed test schedule on the Immigration Services Agency website above.
Those who are working on an "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services " visa can also apply for a change of status to a "Specified Skilled Worker" visa if they meet the requirements regarding the Japanese language test and the skills exam. Please make sure to check that the company you are going to work for has a support system in place for foreign nationals with Specified Skilled (or entrusts all or part of the support plan to a registered support organization).
Designated Activities (Notification No. 46)
Next is the "Designated Activities (Notification No. 46)" visa, which is a new type of work visa that was established at about the same time as the "Specified Skilled Worker" visa mentioned above.
This visa allows Japanese university graduates to engage in a wide range of work activities at public and private organizations in Japan, based on the requirement that they utilize the broad knowledge, applied skills, etc. acquired at Japanese universities, etc., as well as the high level of Japanese language skills acquired through experience as an international student. The "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services " visa, which is a regular work visa, does not allow for activities that mainly involve general service work or manufacturing work, but the "Designated Activities (Notification No. 46)" visa allows for these activities if the above requirements are met. For example, if you are employed in a restaurant, you may be able to manage the restaurant or serve customers as an interpreter.
In order to obtain a "Designated Activities (Notification No. 46)" visa, the following must be fulfilled: (1) graduation from a Japanese university (graduate school), (2) JLPT N1 or BJT Business Japanese Proficiency Test score of 480 points or higher, (3) work that requires smooth communication using Japanese, and (4) use of broad knowledge and applied skills acquired at a Japanese university or graduate school.
However, please note that although you fulfill requirement 1 if you majored in Japanese at a (foreign) university (graduate school), you must also have graduated from a Japanese university (graduate school). In other words, you must have graduated from a university (graduate school) in Japan.
For more information, please refer to the following guide from the Immigration Services Agency.
https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/publications/materials/nyuukokukanri07_00038.html
While the conditions are different for each visa, it is possible to obtain a work visa for employment at a restaurant. We have experience in applying for both the Specified Skilled Worker visa and the Designated Activities (Notification No. 46) visa, so feel free to contact us if you are considering obtaining such a visa.
For more information, please contact us below ↓
https://imsvisa.support/en/contact/
