This article is a translation of the Japanese original. Where the two differ, the Japanese version prevails. Read the Japanese original（日本語版を読む）
「家族滞在」 is a status of residence that does not in principle allow you to work. However, if you obtain 資格外活動許可 from the 地方出入国在留管理局 (Regional Immigration Services Bureau), you may do part-time work of up to 28 hours in any 1 week as a general rule. Doing paid work without permission is 不法就労 (illegal work), so always obtain permission in advance.
This article explains the rules and the procedure for part-time work in Japan for people living here on 家族滞在.
Work is not allowed in principle, and working without permission is 不法就労.
The first thing to understand is this. As the name suggests, 「家族滞在」 is a status of residence for staying in Japan as a family member of a foreign national living here, and work is not allowed in principle.
If you work without permission while on 家族滞在, that is 不法就労. You may become subject to 退去強制 (deportation), and you may also be barred from entering Japan in future. You must not work without permission on a casual impulse.
It is a system for allowing, as an exception, activity outside the activity of your own status of residence.
For a person on 家族滞在 to do part-time work or other paid activity as an exception, they must obtain 資格外活動許可 from the 地方出入国在留管理局.
資格外活動許可 is a system that permits activity other than the activity belonging to the status of residence you hold, which would not otherwise be allowed. A person on 家族滞在 who wants to work part-time must obtain this permission.
The main requirements are that there is no problem with your residence situation, that the work is not in 風俗営業, that it does not interfere with the activity of the person supporting you, and that it is up to 28 hours per week.
People on 在留資格「留学」 may in some cases be allowed to work up to 40 hours in any 1 week, but only during periods that the 教育機関 (educational institution) they attend treats as long vacation periods. This exception does not in principle apply to 家族滞在.
The basics are the application form, your passport and 在留カード (Residence Card), and documents about your workplace.
You apply for 資格外活動許可 at the 地方出入国在留管理局.
Gather and prepare the documents, then submit them at the counter of the 地方出入国在留管理局. After you apply, your case is screened and you are notified of the result, either permission or denial. Screening takes some time, so it is important to apply well before you start working.
Applying does not always mean permission is granted. It may not be granted where the residence situation of the person supporting you is unstable, or where you have worked illegally in the past.
As well as keeping strictly to your working hours, watch out for changes of workplace, extension of your 在留期間, tax and social insurance.
No. Even for a short time, doing paid work without 資格外活動許可 is 不法就労. Always obtain 資格外活動許可 in advance.
No. The special rule on working hours during long vacation periods, which applies to people on 在留資格「留学」, does not in principle apply to 家族滞在. The general rule is up to 28 hours in any 1 week.
Yes. Paid activity carried out while you live in Japan needs 資格外活動許可 in principle, even where the payment comes from overseas.
In principle, unpaid volunteer work is not covered by 資格外活動許可. However, permission may be needed where you are in effect being paid, or depending on what the activity involves, so please check in advance.
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This page is a translation of the Japanese original. Where the two differ, the Japanese version prevails.