Hiring Foreign Staff in Japan: Work Visa Process for Foreign-Affiliated Companies

Foreign-affiliated companies in Japan — from global banks to technology and life-science companies — often operate their Tokyo or Osaka offices with lean teams. Even where the global brand is well-known overseas, the Japan office may consist of only a few dozen employees, with limited in-house HR or legal capacity.

In this environment, it is common that nobody is clearly responsible for managing Japan work visas, or that the person with historical visa knowledge has left the company. In some structures, HR for the entire Asia region is centralized in Singapore or Hong Kong, and the Japan office has no dedicated HR department at all.

However, whenever a foreign national is employed to work at the Japan office, it is the Japanese entity (subsidiary, branch, or representative office) that must sponsor the status of residence and enter into an employment contract with the employee — even if HR decision-making is handled overseas.

This guide provides a step-by-step overview of how foreign-affiliated companies in Japan can lawfully hire foreign employees and navigate the Japan work visa process.

1. Foreign-Affiliated Companies Operating in Japan

Japan hosts a large number of foreign subsidiaries and branches, including Tokyo branches of global banks and securities firms. On paper, these organizations may be part of massive international groups, yet the Japanese office itself is often a compact operation with highly specialized staff.

In such lean organizations:

• The number of corporate staff handling HR, payroll, and legal is limited.
• Visa-related tasks may be treated as an ad-hoc responsibility rather than a defined role.
• When an HR manager leaves, institutional knowledge about immigration procedures can disappear overnight.
• In some cases, there is no HR function in Japan at all; HR is managed from an Asia-Pacific hub in Singapore or Hong Kong.

Despite this, Japanese immigration law requires that the Japan office be the contracting and sponsoring entity for foreign employees who will physically work in Japan. The overseas head office or regional HR team cannot be the formal sponsor for a Japan-based work visa.

2. Typical Process for Hiring Foreign Employees in Japan

In practice, the hiring and immigration process for foreign staff in Japan generally follows these steps:

1. Workforce planning and role design for a foreign hire (with visa-specific considerations)
2. Recruitment, interviews, and job offer
3. Visa application (Certificate of Eligibility, change of status, family dependents)
4. Pre-arrival preparation and waiting period
5. Onboarding and post-hire reporting obligations for employer and employee

Step 1 — Workforce Planning with Japan Visa Requirements in Mind

Before deciding to hire a foreign national into the Japan office, the company must confirm that the candidate and the proposed role can satisfy the work-related status of residence requirements under Japan’s Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act.

Even if a candidate is highly talented, the hire will not be successful if the person cannot obtain a suitable Japan work visa. For standard professional roles, the main visa categories are:

• Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services (often referred to as “Engineer/Humanities/International Services”), and
• Highly Skilled Professional (HSP).

These categories generally require:

• Educational background: As a rule of thumb, a bachelor’s degree or higher in a relevant field (for example, computer science for IT engineers, business or economics for finance specialists).
• Professional experience as an alternative: Where the candidate does not have a bachelor’s degree, at least 10 years of relevant professional experience is often required. For IT professionals, this would mean 10+ years of software development or other white-collar IT work, not general manual labor.

For Intra-Company Transferee visas, additional rules apply, such as:

• capital or group relationship between the overseas entity and the Japan office, and
• a minimum period of employment at the sending entity before transfer to Japan.

If the company wishes to bring in a parent or grandparent to assist with childcare (for example, to look after grandchildren in Japan), it may be necessary to consider the Highly Skilled Professional category, which involves a detailed points-based calculation (education, salary, professional experience, research achievements, etc.). Understanding these requirements at the planning stage is critical.

Step 2 — Recruitment, Interviews, and Job Offers

Once the company has a clear picture of which visa category is feasible, it can begin recruitment. The hiring decision should consider not only whether the candidate will be an asset to the business but also whether they are realistically likely to obtain the necessary work visa.

Special attention is required when:

• The Japan office is a newly established entity with limited track record or revenue, or
• The Japan office has thin capitalization or limited cash buffer.

In such cases, immigration authorities may request:

• business plans and financial projections,
• evidence of capital contributions, and
• documentation supporting the commercial rationale for the Japan office and the employee’s role.

Under Japanese immigration law, the company must also offer:

• compensation at least equivalent to that of Japanese employees in similar roles, and
• in many Highly Skilled Professional cases, a minimum salary level consistent with the points-based requirements.

Accordingly, the salary level, title, and job description should be designed with visa eligibility in mind before extending a formal job offer.

Step 3 — Visa Applications (COE, Change of Status, Family Members)

The appropriate immigration procedure varies depending on whether the candidate is currently overseas or already in Japan.

3.1 Certificate of Eligibility (COE) for Overseas Candidates

If the candidate resides outside Japan, the Japan office must apply for a Certificate of Eligibility (COE). The COE is a pre-screening document issued by the Immigration Services Agency confirming that the candidate meets the basic requirements for the intended status of residence.

• The COE application is filed in the name of a responsible officer or employee of the Japan entity.
• The HR team or global mobility team based overseas cannot submit the application directly to Japanese immigration authorities.

3.2 Change of Status for Students and Other Residents in Japan

If the company hires a foreign student or another foreign national already residing in Japan, the process will usually be a Change of Status of Residence rather than a COE application.

Important points:

• The student cannot start full-time employment until the work visa is approved and the status of residence has been officially changed.
• There will often be a waiting period between the acceptance of the job offer and the approval of the visa, during which the student must not engage in full-time work.
• If the student has already graduated, even part-time work of up to 28 hours per week is generally not permitted, because the part-time work authorization tied to student status expires on the date of graduation.

3.3 Family Members and Legal Marriage Requirements

Where the employee wishes to bring family members to Japan, additional applications must be filed:

• Spouse and minor children typically require a Dependent (Family Stay) status of residence.
• It is usually advisable to apply for family members at the same time as the main applicant, rather than waiting until after the employee arrives.

Key considerations:

• Japan’s Dependent visa requires a legally valid marriage and legal parent-child relationship. Couples who are not legally married, or who maintain only a de facto partnership, will not qualify.
• Same-sex spouses may encounter additional complexities, as Japan does not yet fully recognize same-sex marriage at the national level. The company should carefully review each family situation with an immigration professional before giving assurances to the candidate.

Step 4 — Pre-Arrival Preparation and Waiting Period

The processing time for work visas in Japan can vary depending on several factors, including:

• whether the Japan office is a large and well-established company or a newly established entity,
• the industry and nature of the business, and
• the completeness and quality of the documentation submitted.

A common misconception among foreign headquarters is that the global size of the enterprise is determinative. In reality, immigration officers focus primarily on the scale and track record of the Japan office, not the worldwide group.

For both employers and employees, the length of the review period is a critical concern. Misunderstandings regarding the appropriate visa category, structural issues in the application, or incomplete documentation often result in significant delays.

In practice, foreign-affiliated companies that engage experienced immigration professionals early in the process tend to see smoother processing and more predictable timelines.

Step 5 — Onboarding and Post-Hire Reporting Obligations

Once the foreign national has successfully entered Japan and commenced employment, there are several post-hire compliance obligations that should not be overlooked.

• Employer reporting to Hello Work
  Companies in Japan must file a notification with the public employment office (Hello Work) when they hire or separate foreign workers. This reporting enables authorities to understand the employment status of foreign nationals nationwide.
• Employee’s duty to notify Immigration of organizational changes
  Foreign employees already residing in Japan are required to file a Notification of Affiliated Organization with the Immigration Services Agency whenever their employer changes (for example, when they join your company). Failure to comply with this reporting obligation can, in severe cases, become a ground for revocation of the status of residence.
• Social and labor insurance enrollment
  The employer must ensure proper enrollment of the employee in health insurance, pension, and employment insurance, consistent with Japanese law and the terms submitted to immigration.

Japan Work Visa Compliance Across All Stages of the Hiring Cycle

As the above steps illustrate, every stage of hiring a foreign employee in Japan — from workforce planning and recruitment, through visa application, to onboarding and post-hire reporting — is closely intertwined with Japanese immigration law.

For foreign-affiliated companies, this can pose particular challenges:

• Japan offices may lack in-house immigration expertise.
• Global policies may not fully align with local visa and labor requirements.
• Regional HR teams outside Japan may be unfamiliar with the practical expectations of Japanese immigration authorities.

Our firm provides one-stop support for foreign-affiliated companies in Japan, from:

• designing roles and compensation packages that satisfy Japan work visa criteria,
• advising on the appropriate status of residence (Engineer/Humanities/International Services, Highly Skilled Professional, Intra-Company Transferee, and others),
• preparing and filing COE and change-of-status applications, including family member visas, and
• guiding HR and global mobility teams through post-hire compliance and reporting obligations.

We also regularly coordinate with overseas HR teams in English, ensuring that headquarters, regional HR, and the Japan office share a clear and realistic understanding of timelines, risks, and documentation requirements. If your organization is planning to hire or transfer foreign staff into Japan, consider engaging specialized counsel early in the process to avoid unnecessary delays and to protect both the company and its employees.

About the Author

Masakazu Murai
CFP, Chartered Member of the Securities Analysts Association of Japan, Gyoseishoshi (Immigration Lawyer)

Born in 1977, Mr. Murai previously worked in the Investment Banking Division of Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan
Stanley Securities, advising listed companies on equity and debt offerings as well as M&A transactions.
While in investment banking, he also served on the central executive committee of the employees’ union,
promoting diversity in the workplace and better working conditions for foreign professionals and women.

Today he focuses on Japanese immigration procedures for foreign nationals – particularly
spouse visas and permanent residence – together with personal and corporate finance consulting.
His practice frequently combines residence strategy with long-term financial and life-planning considerations.

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For Foreign Nationals Considering Japan

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