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Applying for permit to do part time job as a student

hiverloon

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23 Aug 2015
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As far as I know, someone entering Japan with student visa cannot take even a part time job unless he gets the so-called "a permission of activity outside the scope permitted". I have also been informed that one can obtain this permit right during his/her first arrival in Japan at the port of entry. I would like to know if someone here has experience applying for this permit. Can you please tell me where exactly at the airport I should visit to get this permit, is it at the same section as where I will get my resident card? Also, how long does this process take?
 
As far as I know, someone entering Japan with student visa cannot take even a part time job unless he gets the so-called "a permission of activity outside the scope permitted". I have also been informed that one can obtain this permit right during his/her first arrival in Japan at the port of entry. I would like to know if someone here has experience applying for this permit. Can you please tell me where exactly at the airport I should visit to get this permit, is it at the same section as where I will get my resident card? Also, how long does this process take?

So I am in the same boat as you. I think we simply ask for it at the same time as we get our resident card at the airport and they will just print it on the card. Of course, you can only get it at the airport at the time of entry if it is your first time coming to Japan. I am arriving to Japan next week so if you haven't figured out the exact process yet, I will post my experience about it.
 
I am arriving to Japan next week so if you haven't figured out the exact process yet, I will post my experience about it.
Thank you! I am only concerned with the processing time actually as I don't want to make the one who picks me up wait too long.
 
Thank you! I am only concerned with the processing time actually as I don't want to make the one who picks me up wait too long.

Well from what I heard, it won't take very long to get your resident card. You just need to fill in a form and I heard that the airport/immigration office already has your photo and some information about your visa and stay in their system from your certificate of eligibility. Tons of people get their resident card each day so it probably shouldn't be very long.
 
Some schools prohibit getting it until 3 months or so have passed. They are just looking out for their own interests. Some people come here as students only as a disguise, get work, then never return to school.

Ask your school if there is such a period. As for where to apply, I suspect the local immigration office is the best place.
 
Some schools prohibit getting it until 3 months or so have passed. They are just looking out for their own interests. Some people come here as students only as a disguise, get work, then never return to school.

Ask your school if there is such a period. As for where to apply, I suspect the local immigration office is the best place.

He and I are actually going to the same school (The University of Tokyo). The University of Tokyo actually suggests for newcomers to Japan to acquire the permission to work at the airport when they arrive. If we don't decide to get the permission to work at the airport, you are right, it is possible to get it later at at the local immigration office.
 
I wonder if it works differently for dependent visa holders, who are told they need the job offer first.
 
I wonder if it works differently for dependent visa holders, who are told they need the job offer first.

Well the kinds of jobs we can get are limited. As a student you can only get a part-time job. We are limited in the number of hours we can work each week. And you are right, some schools may not let you work because they want you to focus on studies. Plus you can only get the ability to work from the airport if it is your first time entering Japan. So it still is a little bit fair in comparison to other visa holders.
 
This is the reply from Japanese immigration service to my inquiry:
When receiving a Residence card from a landing inspector at an airport, you can apply for "Application for Permission to Engage in Activity other than that Permitted under the Status of Residence Previously Granted". Please bring your passport and a Certificate of Edibility".
 
Well the kinds of jobs we can get are limited. As a student you can only get a part-time job. We are limited in the number of hours we can work each week.
It's the same for dependent visa holders. The only real difference is that student visa holders sometimes have to deal with what the school dictates, as I've mentioned above. Dependent visa holders don't.

from Japanese immigration service
"Please bring your passport and a Certificate of Edibility"."
I hope that was your typo and not theirs.
 
"Please bring your passport and a Certificate of Edibility"."
I hope that was your typo and not theirs.
😄:roflmao:, How could I have missed that! I simply copied and pasted their message. If that's not a typo then they might have mistaken me as those imported cattle.
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I should revise what I said earlier, it couldn't be a typo. The sender must have confused "eligibility" and "edibility".
 
If I'm not mistaken, the certificate of eligibility is something your school issues. I had to jump through some bureaucratic hoops at school to obtain the certificate. Talk to your school about getting this beforehand if you intend to apply for permission upon arrival, otherwise you'll be making an extra trip to the immigration office
 
hm, I was thinking of a document that the school had to supply. The first time I went to the immigration office they were like "where's your OO document?" and I had to go back to my school and apply to get this paper before immigration would process my request. This was almost 10 years ago so I don't remember the name of the document or whether the process has changed since. There doesn't seem to be any such instructions on the immigration page: Permission to Engage in an Activity Other Than That Permitted by the Status of Residence Previously Granted | Immigration Bureau of Japan Website

At any rate, you should inform your school of your intentions and ask if there's anything you need from them to complete your request.
 
If I'm not mistaken, the certificate of eligibility is something your school issues.
No, it is issued by the Ministry of Justice through the immigration office, which then forwards it to your school (or employer in the case of a work visa applicant).
 
No, it is issued by the Ministry of Justice through the immigration office, which then forwards it to your school (or employer in the case of a work visa applicant).
again, I was thinking of a document that I had to get from my school in order to submit the application. I don't remember what it was called, but I remember having to go back to my school to get it, and it was a bureaucratic hassle
 
Probably a copy of your letter of sponsorship (needed for the student visa). If your school has routinely sponsored students before, I can't understand what hassle it would be to get it.

But the COE doesn't come from the school. It's issued by immigration who gives it to the school (or employer), and subsequently to you.
 
The hassle was more that I talked to my school about my intention to the permission to work and I was led to believe I was good to go; they didn't give me the document until I came back from the immigration office and was told I was missing paperwork, so I burned a day going out to Shinagawa. Considering it's a school that does deal with exchange students all the time, I was surprised by the absolute minimum level of support I was getting.

It took another few days for them to give me the copy. Actually requesting and receiving paper wasn't too bad, once I knew I needed it.
 
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