Overstaying After Leaving Your Job on a Work Visa in Japan: Where You Stand and What to Do

You came to Japan on a work status of residence. You left your employer, the next job did not come as quickly as expected, and one day you realised the expiry date on your residence card had already passed. This is more common than most people think. Leaving a job is not itself unlawful, and your status of residence does not vanish the day after you resign. But if nothing is filed and the weeks keep passing, the situation quietly turns into revocation of your status of residence, or into illegal overstay, which is a criminal offence in Japan. This article traces that path article by article so you can see where you now stand.

Do I become an overstayer the moment I leave my job

No. Your status of residence continues until the expiry date of the period of stay printed on your residence card. Illegal overstay is defined by Article 70, paragraph (1), item (v) of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Immigration Control Act) as remaining in Japan beyond the period of stay, including the period during which a person may stay under Article 20, paragraph (6), without having obtained an extension or a change. The dividing line is not the day you resigned; it is the expiry date. The most common pattern is a person waiting for a job offer, crossing that date while waiting, and finding their legal position completely changed from that moment.

I did not notify Immigration after resigning. Can my status of residence be revoked

A foreign national holding a work status of residence must notify the Immigration Services Agency when the contract with the contracting organisation, that is, the employer, ends, and when a new contract is concluded. Where no notification has been filed, the authorities see someone who appears to have continued in a state of not engaging in the activities corresponding to the status of residence. In the assessment for special permission to stay, Article 50, paragraph (5) also lists conduct among the matters to be considered.

Separately, Article 22-4 treats continuing to reside while not engaging in the activities corresponding to the status of residence, except where there is a justifiable reason, as one of the grounds for revocation. How long that state must continue before it becomes a ground for revocation, and which item covers which pattern, must be checked directly against the text of the article and current practice, so this article states no specific number of months. What matters is the framework: the continuation of inactivity after resignation puts you on a separate track under Article 22-4, and a person who remains in Japan after a status of residence has been revoked may face criminal liability under Article 70, paragraph (1), items (iii), (iii)-2 and (iii)-3.

What offence do I commit by staying past the expiry date

This is illegal overstay under Article 70, paragraph (1), item (v). The statutory penalty, set out in the main clause of that paragraph, is a kōkinkei (custodial sentence) of not more than three years or a fine of not more than three million yen, or both. Overstaying is not merely an administrative matter; it is a criminal offence. At the same time, under Article 24, item (iv)(b), illegal overstay is a ground for deportation. Even if the criminal side ends in non-prosecution or a suspended sentence, the fact that you fall under Article 24, item (iv)(b) does not change, and the immigration process continues separately. That is why a light criminal outcome does not mean you may remain in Japan.

If I find a new employer, can I fix this by changing or extending my status of residence

While your period of stay is still running, you can apply for a change of status of residence (Article 20) or an extension of the period of stay according to the work you will do at the new company. Once the expiry date has passed, however, the system does not contemplate restoring a status of residence through the ordinary change or extension procedures. The route to continued residence then runs through special permission to stay under Article 50, sought within the deportation procedure. Waiting for a formal job offer before seeking advice, and crossing the expiry date in the meantime, is the outcome to avoid above all.

If you also kept working after your status expired, Article 70, paragraph (1), item (iv) applies, and Article 24, item (iv)(a) may be added as a ground for deportation. Illegal work layered on top of overstay makes the assessment of the offence heavier and bears directly on conduct and the other matters listed in Article 50, paragraph (5). On the employer side, promotion of illegal work under Article 24, item (iii)-4 is structured so that the act alone constitutes a ground for deportation.

Can I leave under a departure order, and when could I come back to Japan

A person who has overstayed (Article 24, item (iv)(b)) may fall within the departure order system under Article 24-3, but all five of the following requirements must be met. First, the person either appeared voluntarily at an immigration office before the commencement of a violation investigation under Article 27, intending to leave Japan promptly (item (i)(a)), or, after the investigation began but before receiving the notice under Article 47, paragraph (3), expressed to an immigration inspector or immigration control officer the intention to leave promptly (item (i)(b)). Second, the person does not fall under Article 24, items (iii) through (iii)-5, items (iv)(c) through (iv)(y), item (viii) or item (ix). Third, after entering Japan the person has not been sentenced to a kōkinkei (custodial sentence) for certain offences, including breaking into a residence, counterfeiting, theft and robbery, and fraud and extortion. Fourth, the person has never been deported and has never departed under a departure order. Fifth, the person is expected to leave Japan promptly without fail. Where a departure order is issued, the supervising immigration inspector orders prompt departure and sets a deadline within a period not exceeding fifteen days (Article 55-85, paragraph (1)). This procedure does not presuppose detention.

When you may return depends on how you left.

• Departure under a departure order: one year from the date of departure (Article 5, paragraph (1), item (ix)(e))
• A person in the Article 24-3, item (i)(b) category, who expressed the intention to leave only after the investigation began, who then seeks to engage in the activities of a temporary visitor: five years from departure (item (ix)(f))
• Deportation with no prior record of deportation or departure order: five years (item (ix)(c)); with such a prior record: ten years (item (ix)(d))
• Voluntary departure by the deadline after a decision under Article 52, paragraph (5): one year, other than for temporary visitor purposes (item (ix)(b))
• Deportation based on Article 24, items (iv)(e) through (iv)(y): no time limit is set (Article 5, paragraph (1), item (x))

How should I assess my chances of special permission to stay

The central provision is Article 50. Even where a person is subject to deportation, the Minister of Justice may grant special permission to stay, upon application or ex officio, where one of the items of paragraph (1) applies. Most overstay cases arising after resignation are argued under item (v), where the Minister finds other grounds warranting special permission to stay.

The proviso to paragraph (1) is decisive. For persons sentenced to indefinite imprisonment or a kōkinkei (custodial sentence) exceeding one year, excluding those granted a full suspension of execution and those granted a partial suspension where the unsuspended portion is one year or less, permission may be granted only where there are special circumstances such that refusing to permit residence would be found to lack humanitarian consideration. A case involving overstay alone, under Article 24, item (iv)(b), is not subject to that heightened requirement, which is a favourable feature. Conversely, once an actual custodial sentence exceeds one year, that wall goes up. This is why work to reduce the criminal outcome and work to obtain special permission to stay must be designed together from the first step. Procedurally, the application is made by a foreign national detained under a written detention order or subject to a supervision measure decision (paragraph (2)), and no application may be made after a written deportation order has been issued (paragraph (3)). The decision follows acceptance of the finding under Article 47, paragraph (3) or the judgment under Article 48, paragraph (8), or dismissal of an objection as groundless (paragraph (4)); the matters to be considered are set out in paragraph (5). A refusal must be notified promptly in writing with reasons attached (paragraph (10)).

Why acting before you are caught changes the outcome

Many people who overstayed after leaving a job feel they simply had a period without work and did nothing wrong. Procedurally, though, the outcome turns on whether that gap can be explained. Appearing voluntarily at an immigration office before a violation investigation begins falls under Article 24-3, item (i)(a), and departure under a departure order then carries only a one year denial of landing. If enforcement action means the departure order requirements are not met, deportation brings five or ten years instead.

Practice points the same way. The Guidelines on Special Permission to Stay, revised in March 2024 and in force from 10 June 2024, describe special permission to stay as an exceptional and discretionary measure granted to foreign nationals who are otherwise to be deported, and set out how each matter listed in Article 50, paragraph (5) is evaluated. They state expressly that the fact that the foreign national voluntarily appeared at a regional immigration office in order to report their illegal residence is taken into account as a positive factor, while prolonged illegal residence is evaluated as a negative factor. The longer the gap after resignation continues, the further apart those two evaluations move.

About our office

Funado International Law Office (Fuse Building Main Wing 3F, 3-4-10 Takada, Toshima-ku, Tokyo) focuses on criminal defence for foreign nationals and on immigration procedures, with a client base centred on Chinese nationals. Daisuke Matsumura, attorney at law (Dai-Ichi Tokyo Bar Association, registration number 59077, admitted 2019), handles every stage personally, from the first detention interview through to the close of trial, without delegating to clerks or junior lawyers. Where a work status has turned into an overstay, the criminal outlook and the outlook for special permission to stay must sit on the same plan, so it matters that the same lawyer is involved from the first conversation onwards.

For Chinese there is a dedicated in-house interpreter experienced in cases involving foreign nationals; for other languages, an interpreter is arranged according to the requirements of the individual case. That means you can explain the details that decide the outcome, such as why you left the company, how the job search actually went, and your health and family circumstances, rather than relying solely on an interpreter appointed by the investigating authorities. After the criminal process ends, extensions and changes of status of residence are handled on a one-stop basis with an affiliated administrative scrivener.

Two examples of past work. In the first, a client who had entered Japan for tourism had a child with a Japanese woman, then lost his status of residence and was arrested and prosecuted for illegal residence. The marriage and acknowledgement of paternity had not been completed and the authorities initially refused the filings. Arguing from a constitutional standpoint, the office negotiated and secured the marriage and acknowledgement, gathered favourable evidence even though almost no official documents were available from the country of nationality, analysed past grant decisions, and obtained special permission to stay in a single procedure.

In the second, a woman wrongly accused of promoting illegal work faced deportation. Against the established practice that a ground for deportation requires neither intent nor negligence, the office brought litigation questioning the reach of the principle of culpability and pursued it through to the appellate level. Special permission to stay was subsequently granted by the immigration authorities.

The first consultation is free of charge. Fees are quoted according to the circumstances of the individual case.

Closing

An overstay after leaving a job does not happen in a single day; it forms gradually as time accumulates. That is exactly why the point at which you start acting changes both the procedures available to you and the date on which you could next enter Japan. There is always something that can still be done today.

This article is a general explanation. For your own case, please consult a lawyer directly. The past cases described above rest on their own particular circumstances and do not guarantee a similar result.

Author

Daisuke Matsumura, Attorney at Law

Dai-Ichi Tokyo Bar Association (registration number: 59077, admitted 2019)

Funado International Law Office (Fuse Building Main Wing 3F, 3-4-10 Takada, Toshima-ku, Tokyo)

Focuses on criminal defence for foreign nationals and immigration procedures, with a client base centred on Chinese nationals.

Past results include an acquittal in a case under the Stimulants Control Act (possession for the purpose of profit), a non-prosecution disposition in a specialised fraud case, and the grant of special permission to stay in cases regarded as difficult.

Contact

Funado International Law Office

Website: https://matsumura-lawoffice.jp/

WeChat ID: matsumura1119

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