1. Whether There Is Reasonable Grounds to Grant an Extension of the Period of Stay
When a foreign national wishes to extend his/her period of stay while continuing under the same status of residence, an Application for Extension of Period of Stay must be submitted.
As with applications for permission to change status of residence, the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act stipulates that “the Minister of Justice may grant permission only if the Minister of Justice finds there are reasonable grounds to grant the extension of the period of stay.”
The main factors considered in determining whether such a reasonable ground exists are basically the same as those for applications for permission to change status of residence.
2. Change of Place of Work
When a chef at an Indian restaurant moves to another Indian restaurant as a chef, when a software engineer moves from a software development company to the systems department of an automobile manufacturer, or when a translator of Chinese language specializing in academic books changes to work as a judicial interpreter in Chinese, a change of status of residence will not be required in any of these cases.
However, there are situations in which it is unclear whether the same status of residence can be maintained after a change of employment. In such cases, in order to avoid the risk of an unexpected denial at the next application for extension of the period of stay, you are recommended to obtain a Certificate of Authorized Employment at the time of the change of employment.
3. Notification of Change of Contracting Organization
If, for example, an Indian cuisine chef changes employment to work at another Indian restaurant, it is clear that the foreign national can continue to extend the period of stay under the same Skilled Labor status of residence. Even in such cases, however, a Notification of Change of the Contracting Organization (employer) must be submitted within 14 days after the move to a new workplace.
Because the period before and after the change of workplace is often very busy, many foreign nationals forget to file this notification. In some cases, foreign nationals are not even aware that such a notification is required.
If you forgot to submit the notification or was not aware that you had to do, even more than one year has passed since the change of workplace, still do not resign but submit it to the Immigration Services Agency. No matter how late it is, it is indispensable that the notification be completed before the next application for the extension of period of stay or an application for the change of status of residence.
4. At the Same Time, Apply for Permission to Engage in Activities Outside the Status of Residence
Foreign nationals residing in Japan under Student or Dependent status are prohibited under the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act from working, even in part-time jobs, without prior permission.
To work part-time, it is necessary to obtain Permission to Engage in Activities Outside the Status of Residence (its official English name is; application for permission to engage in activities other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted). If you already have this permission, please be sure to apply for its renewal at the same time as you apply for an extension of your period of stay.
If you wait until after your extension of period of stay is granted and then apply for this permission to engage in activities outside your status of residence separately, you will not be allowed to work part-time until that permission is granted. As a result, you may be forced to quit your current part-time job.
This is especially important in Tokyo because applying for permission to engage in activities outside the status of residence alone, separately from an application for extension of period of stay, may take several months to be granted.