Almost 75% of foreign students in Japan are working part-time (better known here in Japan as “Arubaito” or “Baito“.

Especially, International students attending Japanese language Schools apply for part-time jobs in order to support their needs for living while studying.

In this article, we will give you some information about part-time jobs for foreigners with a student visa.

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How to find part-time jobs for Student Visa Holders

In the case of International students who enter Japan with a student visa, there are different conditions depending on the school this student is attending.

Some students who entered Japan are sponsored by the school when applying for a student visa. In this case, the school is the one that looks for part-time jobs for international students. They manage all documents needed for applying for a part-time job.

For those who are not sponsored by their school and apply for a student visa by themselves, they can go to the “Employment Service Center” also known as “Hello Work”. This is a Government agency that helps foreigners to find a job.

And for some other Students, they usually know someone already in Japan and help them get a job.

Required Documents when Applying

There are always conditions and rules to follow for applying for a part-time job. Here are some required documents to apply to do part-time work.

• Passport
• Residence Card
• Student ID Card
• Health Card
•  “Application for Permission to Engage in Activity Other than those Permitted by the status of Residence Previously Granted”: The form is available at the Bureau of Immigration office or you can check their website here and download the form.

Rules and Conditions for working part-time in Japan

If you are a foreigner holding a Student Visa, you are allowed to do a part-time job with certain conditions. It is important to know that if you engage in a part-time job without permission, the Japan Government will subject you to punishment, sometimes being as harsh as deportation.

• Students can only work with a limit of 28 hours per week.  And it is very important to always consult with your  School before exceeding the limit of 28 hours per week.
• Students can work for 8 hours a day during School Holidays.
• Students are not allowed to work in the adult entertainment services such as Hostess Bar or “Omise” in Japan, Gambling establishments like Pachinko, or Game Parlors.
• The income must be used to support the student’s study and living in Japan and should not be used for saving or Remittance overseas.
• A part-time job should not affect your studies.

*Important Reminders:

Violation of rules and conditions has a corresponding penalty that will lead you to some problems on renewing your Visa, the worst case being deportation.

Some students are forced to leave Japan without extending their period of stay in Japan. This is because of their low- School attendance due to them working part-time and neglecting their studies.

So, focus on your studies and be careful not to distract your main purpose to study in Japan.

(Source: information came from a student from Shinwa Foreign Language Academy)

List of part-time jobs valid for student visa holders

It is also an advantage to choose a part-time job where you can practice your conversational skills in the Japanese language. Here are some examples of jobs that you can do part-time while you are studying.

Part-time jobs that require Japanese conversation skills

1. Convenience Store (コンビニ): Such as 7/11, Lawson, Family Mart, Mini Stop and any other convenience stores in Japan. They need staff that can communicate with customers. And at least basic knowledge on how to read and write the Japanese language.

2. Restaurant/Izakaya (レストラン/居酒屋): Such as family restaurants and Izakaya that mostly operate in the evening. They are both serving food and drinks. They need staff that knows how to speak, read and write the Japanese language. Because they need to communicate to customers and take their orders.

3. Supermarket (スーパーマーケット): They also need staff with knowledge on speaking, reading and writing the Japanese language. Most of the products in the supermarket have labels in Japanese.

4. Office staff (オフィス業務): There are some offices that hire students with student visa as part timer staff. These companies usually need staff with knowledge of the Japanese language. Most of the office work is written in Japanese.

5. Sales/Marketing (営業/マーケティング): This is also a kind of job that needs mostly knowledge of the Japanese language because their work is to communicate to customers.

Part-time jobs that do not necessarily require Japanese conversation skills

1. Hotel Bed Making (ホテル部屋清掃): They hire staff with at least basic knowledge for conversation of the Japanese language. Just to communicate to the fellow staff, not for communicating to the customer.

2. Cleaning Staff (清掃スタッフ): At least basic knowledge of the Japanese language for conversation is needed. You are not usually using it while working but it is your advantage if you know more of the Japanese language, reading and writing.

useful websites to find part-time jobs

The list above is just some examples of Part-time jobs that you can apply for. But there are a lot of other part-time jobs that you can find.

Here are some useful websites on How to find part-time jobs for International students or Non-Japanese living in Japan.

• WeXPats Jobs
• Hello Work
• Indeed
• Town work
• Baitoru.com
• GaijinPot Jobs
• Daijob.com
• Job in Japan.com
• Craigslist Tokyo Jobs

*You can also check the following article where we introduce our top picks for job-hunting websites tailored for foreigners.

▶ 5 Best Job Hunting Websites in Japan

Out of the mentioned above, WeXpats Jobs is the largest job hunting website tailored for foreigners. Check out the following article for more details about this service.

Beware of little-known agencies

Although rare, there are some agencies that might give you some false information about studying in Japan and work.

Beware of scams and be critical when choosing an agency. International students have been deceived before by being promised high salaries while studying in Japan.

Be sure that the agency helping you find a job is a well-heard one. The ones we introduced in the previous point are well-known agencies, so you can be sure about these ones.

As I mentioned above, this is rare, but it’s important that you know that these things have happened before.

Just so you’re informed, the usual range salary of part-timers here in Japan starts from 800Yen per hour to over 1,000 Yen depending on the company or region (This is just a sample estimation).

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We hope this article can help and bring some information to those who are planning to work in Japan while studying. For more helpful information about living in Japan, you can check the following articles.

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