Concerning the matters our clients inquired about, we will explain as follows in three parts. We hope this will be helpful for your decision-making.

Table of Contents

【Q1】 If I resign after a three-month probationary period, do I have to report it to the immigration bureau? What will happen to my residence status as a Highly Skilled Professional? How long can I remain in Japan?

【Q2】 If I resign from my current company, will the company be affected in relation to the immigration bureau?

【Q1】
If I resign after a three-month probationary period, do I have to report it to the immigration bureau?
What will happen to my residence status as a Highly Skilled Professional?
How long can I remain in Japan?

Answer:

1. If you resign from the company, there is an obligation to notify the Immigration Service Agency (hereinafter referred to as “the immigration bureau”).
2. Changing employment under the residence status of Highly Skilled Professional requires applying for permission to change your residence status.
3. We explain the period you can stay in Japan in relation to the possible revocation of your residence status.

Obligation to notify the immigration bureau

When you resign, you must notify the immigration bureau within 14 days from the date on which your relationship with your affiliated institution (employer) has ended. This is an obligation imposed on mid- to long-term residents.

Legal basis: Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (hereinafter referred to as the “Immigration Control Act”), Article 19-16, Item 1

Translation: Tanishima Legal Corporation

Necessity of applying for permission to change your residence status from Highly Skilled Professional

The residence status “Highly Skilled Professional (i)(b)” is granted to those who, possessing a high level of specialized and/or technical ability, engage in work based on a contract with a public or private institution in Japan. Once you resign from your company, the activity of “engaging in work based on a contract with a public or private institution in Japan” will cease. Therefore, it becomes necessary to apply for permission to change your residence status.

Since this is a procedure that should be completed in advance, if you actually change employers before you have obtained such permission, there will be possibility to be subject to criminal penalties for engaging in activities outside the scope of your residence status, as well as to administrative measures such as deportation for activities in violation of your residence status.

Period during which you may stay in Japan and its relation to possible revocation of residence status

Your residence card states a five-year period of stay; however, this is merely the maximum period for which you are permitted to remain in Japan.

If, after your resignation, you do not engage—without justifiable grounds—for more than three months in activities related to your current residence status “Highly Skilled Professional (i)(b)” (namely, work based on a contract with a public or private institution in Japan), the immigration bureau may treat your residence status as subject to revocation.

These “justifiable grounds” are considered to include, for example, the period during which you are looking for your next place of employment, but there is no clearly defined period set out in law or regulation.

If you fail to engage in such activities for more than three months, there is a risk that the immigration bureau will require you to explain your activities and situation, and that it may proceed with procedures to revoke your residence status.

Therefore, in order to continue residing in Japan after your resignation, you must, in principle, either secure your next employer within three months and file the necessary notification with the immigration bureau, or obtain permission to change to another appropriate residence status. If you are unable to do so, you will need to prove the existence of justifiable grounds, because otherwise there is a risk of a future denial or revocation.

Legal basis: Immigration Control Act, Article 22-4, Paragraph 1, Item 6

Translation: Tanishima Legal Corporation

【Q2】
If I resign from my current company, will the company be affected in relation to the immigration bureau?

Answer:
The company where you were employed also has an obligation to notify the immigration bureau.

Obligation of the company (affiliated institution) to submit a notification

The company must notify the immigration bureau within 14 days from the date on which the foreign employee (a mid- to long-term resident) ceased to be affiliated with the organization due to resignation or dismissal.

If the company submits a report on the employment status of foreign workers to the appropriate government agency, a separate notification may not be required.

Legal basis: Immigration Control Act, Article 19-7, Paragraph 1

Translation: Tanishima Legal Corporation

Regarding the impact on the company

The mere fact that an employee has resigned does not typically have any immediate negative effect on the company’s immigration-related procedures or credibility. Employee turnover is a natural occurrence at many companies.

However, if the applicant and the company conspired in advance and intentionally entered into an employment contract solely to obtain residence status, and the individual resigned shortly thereafter as planned, both parties may be subject to criminal penalties and administrative sanctions. Criminal penalties may include the offense of fraudulent acquisition of residence status.

If the employment relationship genuinely ended without prior planning or collusion, the primary risk to the company arises if it fails to submit the required notification, or if problems involving foreign employees recur. In such cases, future immigration processes (such as applications for Certificate of Eligibility or extension of period of stay) may be reviewed more strictly, and the company’s reliability may be questioned.

In your company’s situation, as long as the notification is properly submitted, it is unlikely that this case will negatively affect future immigration procedures.

▶Continued in Part 2