What will happen to my current visa if I leave the company? A detailed explanation of the necessary procedures!
For foreigners who want to quit their current company or change jobs, do you know the necessary procedures after retirement?
When resigning from a company, you will need to complete various procedures such as changing your status of residence.
If you do not follow the necessary procedures, your future stay may be adversely affected, so it is important to have the correct knowledge.
Therefore, this time, we will explain in detail the necessary procedures that a foreigner must take when he/she resigns from a company.
What procedures are required after retiring in Japan?
Submit “Notification regarding affiliated institution” to the Immigration Bureau
When a foreigner leaves a company, he or she must submit a "Notification Regarding Institutional Affiliation" to the Immigration Bureau.
Complete the procedure within 14 days after leaving the company
"Notification regarding affiliated organization" must be submitted within 14 days after leaving the company.
If you fail to submit a notification, you may be subject to a fine, or you may be disadvantaged when obtaining or changing your status of residence in the future, so be sure to never forget the procedures.
It can be downloaded from the Ministry of Justice website.
You can choose to submit your notification at the counter, online, or by mail.
The notification form can also be downloaded online.
Visa changes depending on your plans after retirement
Visa procedures vary depending on your plans after leaving the company.
[If you plan to return home] No visa required
If you plan to return to your home country immediately after leaving your company, you do not need to change your visa.
If you have decided to return to your home country, please complete procedures such as submitting a notification regarding your institution to the Immigration Bureau, moving out at the municipal office, and canceling your electricity, gas, or room rental.
[If you have decided on a new job] Change your visa status of residence
If you have decided to move to another job immediately after leaving your job, or if the content of your work changes, you will need to apply for permission to change your status of residence.
"Highly-skilled professional" and "intra-company transfer" are valid only for the company where you obtained the visa, so you will need to go through the procedure to change your status of residence even if the job you are transferring to is similar in nature.
To change your status of residence, please go to the local immigration office that has jurisdiction over your current place of residence.
[If you are planning to look for a job] There is no need to return to Japan temporarily, but be careful about visas.
If you have not decided where to work after retirement, you need to start job hunting as soon as possible.
Need to change jobs within 3 months
If you remain unemployed for more than three months, your status of residence will be revoked.
If you are unable to get a job again within 3 months, you will be strongly questioned at the time of visa renewal, asking questions such as ``What did you do for those 3 months?''
For this reason, when leaving a company, it is important to judge whether there is a possibility of finding a new job within three months.
After the 3-month period, your status of residence will be revoked.
As mentioned above, if you remain unemployed for three months, you will be subject to "revocation of your status of residence."
However, this does not mean that being unemployed for 3 months will definitely result in revocation.
For example, if there is a valid reason such as ``My company has gone bankrupt and I am currently job-hunting, but I cannot find a new job,'' the application will not be subject to cancellation.
Please note that if you do not even look for a job for three months after quitting your job, your status of residence will be revoked.
Can I receive unemployment benefits?
Unemployment allowance is money provided to unemployed people so that they can look for jobs without worrying about their livelihood.
Foreigners can also receive unemployment benefits under the same conditions as Japanese nationals.
You can receive it until the expiry of the period, subject to conditions.
[Conditions for receiving unemployment benefits]
| Those who have been covered by employment insurance for at least 12 months are actively looking for a job and have the intention of re-employment. |
Unemployment benefits can be received by foreign nationals who have been enrolled in employment insurance for at least one year at the company where they left the company and are willing to work again.
However, in the case of resignation due to company circumstances such as bankruptcy or dismissal, it is possible to receive benefits even if the employment insurance coverage period is 6 months or more.
Procedures should be completed at the Hello Work office that has jurisdiction over your current residence.
The amount of unemployment allowance paid and the period until payment differs depending on the period of enrollment in employment insurance and the reason for resignation.
cannot be extended
There are some things to keep in mind when receiving unemployment benefits for foreigners.
This means that if you lose your status of residence, your unemployment benefits will be discontinued.
Foreign nationals must return to their home country as they will lose their status of residence if they are unable to find a new job within the period of stay. If you do so, your unemployment benefits will be discontinued.
Just because you have not received the full amount of unemployment benefits yet, you cannot extend your residence status.
Job hunting may be possible by changing your residence status to “Temporary Visitor”
For work visas such as "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services", if the period of stay expires while you are unemployed, you will not be able to renew your visa because you are no longer employed.
However, you may be able to continue job hunting by changing your residence status to "Temporary Visitor".
However, please note that "short-term stay" is not approved in all cases.
summary
This time, we explained the procedures and visas after quitting your job.
After retiring from a company, there are many procedures that need to be completed, such as notification of affiliation and visa changes. These are all important procedures, so please do not forget them.
It is not uncommon for people, not only foreigners, to find it difficult to find a new job in Japan even if they want to.
If you want to quit your current company, it is important to check job openings at Hello Work and the Internet frequently before quitting to have a good chance of finding a new job.
