Pro GaijinSide work in Japan: what your residence status allows
Some residents can take any paid work. Most need permission from immigration first, and freelance gigs need a different permission from a normal part-time job. Here's how to tell which group you're in, and how to apply.
Last updated 4 October 2026
The short answer
| Your residence status | Paid side work |
|---|---|
| Permanent resident (永住者) | Any legal work. No permission needed. |
| Spouse or child of a Japanese national (日本人の配偶者等) | Any legal work. |
| Spouse or child of a permanent resident (永住者の配偶者等) | Any legal work. |
| Long-term resident (定住者) | Any legal work. |
| Working holiday (特定活動) | Usually any legal work, within the terms on your passport's designation. |
| Work visas (e.g. Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, 技術・人文知識・国際業務) | Only the work your status covers. Anything else needs individual permission from immigration first. |
| Student (留学) and dependant (家族滞在) | Only with permission. The usual permission covers up to 28 hours a week of part-time work, but freelance work needs individual permission. |
| Temporary visitor (短期滞在) | No paid work in Japan. |
This is general information, not immigration advice. Your own case can differ: check your residence card's back (資格外活動許可欄) and, if in doubt, ask immigration or an administrative scrivener registered for immigration filings (申請取次行政書士).
Check your residence card first
- Front, 就労制限の有無 (work restrictions): 就労制限なし means no restrictions. 在留資格に基づく就労活動のみ可 means only the work your status covers. 就労不可 means no work without permission.
- Back, 資格外活動許可欄 (permission for activities outside your status): if you have permission, it's stamped here, for example 許可：原則週28時間以内・風俗営業等の従事を除く (permitted: up to 28 hours a week, excluding adult entertainment).
Why freelance is different
Immigration grants two kinds of permission for activities outside your status (資格外活動許可, shikakugai katsudō kyoka):
| Permission | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Comprehensive permission (包括許可) | Part-time work up to 28 hours a week, typically a job with an employer who tracks your hours. Students and dependants usually get this. |
| Individual permission (個別許可) | Anything outside that. Immigration's own examples include working as a self-employed person, and work where the hours are hard to confirm objectively. |
Helping people as an independent, paid per job, is self-employed work. So if you're a student or a dependant, the 28-hour permission on your card may not cover it: you'd need individual permission for that activity.
If you're on a work visa
Your status covers your main job. Paid work outside it, including freelance gigs, needs individual permission. Immigration looks at things like:
- Whether the side work gets in the way of your main activity.
- Whether the side work itself falls under one of the working statuses. Interpreting and translation, for example, fall under the international services part of 技術・人文知識・国際業務.
- Whether your employer agrees, if your status is based on a contract with them.
- That the work is legal and not in adult entertainment.
How to apply
- 1Get the application form for permission to engage in activities other than those permitted (資格外活動許可申請書) from the Immigration Services Agency's website.
- 2Prepare a description of the work: what you'll do, for whom, roughly how many hours. For freelance help, explain the kind of tasks and how you'll keep within your main activity.
- 3Submit it at the regional immigration office for your address, with your residence card and passport, plus anything else listed for your status (and your employer's consent, if needed).
- 4Wait for the result before starting. Working first and applying later counts against you.
The Foreign Residents Support Center (FRESC, 0570-011000) can tell you which office to go to and what to bring. An administrative scrivener registered for immigration filings (申請取次行政書士) can prepare and submit the application for you.
Why it's worth getting right
Working outside your status without permission can mean a fine, losing your status, or a refused renewal later, and it can make permanent residence harder. Doing it properly is usually one application. And once you have it, you can take side work with a clear conscience.
Not in Japan? Helping clients online from abroad isn't a Japanese residence-status question at all; check your own country's rules on freelance income.
Keep reading
- Immigration Services Agency: permission for activities other than those permitted (Japanese)
- Immigration Services Agency: application procedure (Japanese)
- Foreign Residents Support Center (FRESC)
Facts checked against these official sources. Rules change and differ by city: if something here looks out of date, tell us at support@progaijin.com.