Changing jobs is a way to find better career opportunities. For foreign workers, you need to understand some procedures, documents, and paperwork to avoid risks during the job change process in Japan.
Finding a stable job in Japan is not easy for foreign workers. Besides a lack of confidence in their abilities, the job change procedures for foreigners in Japan are also very cumbersome and complicated. This is what prevents many workers from changing jobs and finding a better company.
If you are in this situation, please refer to the experiences of job change in Japan for foreign workers from the reputable Japanese labor export company Nhat Huy Khang in the article below.
Workers will have to go through many procedures if they want to change jobs in Japan.
1. The best time to change jobs in Japan
Workers who are dissatisfied with their current job often tend to want to quit immediately. However, quitting abruptly will greatly affect the company, especially in Japanese businesses, as it also affects visas, insurance, taxes, etc. Therefore, before making a decision to change jobs in Japan, workers should consider the following suggestions:
1.1. Based on the duration of stay: Only quit when your residence permit has more than 6 months remaining.
Normally, if your residence permit in Japan expires, you will have to ask the company to prepare some related documents to renew it. Therefore, if your residence permit expires at the time you quit or are looking for a new job, it will be very difficult to ask your old company to handle these procedures.
At the same time, since you are not affiliated with any organization or agency, handling procedures and paperwork becomes more difficult. Therefore, workers should choose an appropriate time to change jobs in Japan, ideally when their remaining stay in Japan is more than 6 months.
1.2. Based on the employment contract: Give notice of resignation 1-2 months in advance
For permanent employees, most companies clearly stipulate in their contracts that they must give at least one month’s notice before resigning. Depending on the company, this time may vary from 2 weeks, 3 weeks, or 2-3 months.
Therefore, to ensure that they do not violate the contract, when planning to resign, workers need to review their contract and notify the company within the stipulated time.
Workers should give notice of resignation 1-2 months in advance depending on the signed contract.
1.3. Employees should quit their jobs on the last day of the month.
In Japan, insurance contributions are calculated monthly and deducted from monthly salaries. If an employee quits on the last day of the month, it’s not a problem, but if they quit before or at the beginning of the month, they will have to pay the full amount themselves.
1.4. Avoid quitting during busy periods at the company.
Besides important factors like employment contracts and residency periods, employees should also avoid quitting during busy periods at the company. Holiday seasons or the end of the year are usually the busiest times for companies.
Changing jobs in Japan during these times may lead to being perceived as irresponsible and unprofessional. This could affect your future relationships within the industry.
According to the experience of long-time employees in Japan, December or the end of March/beginning of April are the times when companies recruit the most personnel. Therefore, you can give notice of resignation three months in advance, such as in September or January.
Avoid resigning when the company is busy to avoid being perceived as unprofessional.
2. Process and Procedures for Applying for a Job Transfer in Japan
Generally, employees have two ways to inform their company of their decision to leave: via email or by speaking directly with their supervisor/HR department.
However, employees should speak directly with their supervisor to ensure both parties understand the reasons and wishes for leaving. This way, you can also negotiate a shorter timeframe if you wish to leave earlier. Additionally, during your remaining time, you should prepare documents and hand over your work to your new employer.
2.1. Documents and Procedures to Receive from the Company
Before leaving, the company will provide you with several documents. You must compare them with the list below; if anything is missing, promptly inform the company to request that they be provided before your official departure date.
Unemployment Insurance Certificate (雇用保険被保険者証)
This is a certificate issued to employees when they participate in unemployment insurance. Normally, the company keeps the certificate to process the employee’s insurance contributions and returns it to the employee upon leaving the job.
However, some companies give this document to employees from the beginning. Therefore, in many cases, employees lose it and, when changing jobs, lack the document to submit to their new company and cannot continue participating in insurance. Therefore, please keep this important document carefully.
Employee Income and Tax Summary Statement (源泉徴収票)
Japanese companies usually create a summary statement of the employee’s total income for the year, deductible taxes, taxes paid, and insurance contributions. In the event that an employee wishes to resign to change jobs in Japan, the company is obligated to provide this summary statement so that the new company can adjust the year-end tax.
Therefore, depending on the payday and the official resignation date, the employee will receive this summary statement one month before or one month after the resignation date.
Companies are responsible for providing employees with a summary of their income and taxes.
- Employee Pension Book (年金手帳)
Companies usually issue pension books upon new employees starting work. However, some companies retain these books. Therefore, when changing jobs in Japan, employees should check if they have their pension book. If not, they should inform the company to retrieve it.
Certificate of Termination of Employment (退職証明書) or Termination of Employment Form (離職票)
Many employees often confuse termination of employment forms and certificates of termination of employment. However, these are two different types of documents. Termination of employment forms are issued by government organizations, while certificates of termination of employment are issued by companies.
Therefore, the process and procedures for issuing termination of employment forms are often more complex and time-consuming. Therefore, if an employee wants to apply for unemployment benefits, they should ask their company to provide a certificate of termination of employment.
On the other hand, these two documents are not mandatory; many companies will not provide them to employees, so you don’t necessarily need to request them. However, if you fall into one of the following categories, you should request a certificate of termination of employment from your company:
The new company requires it;
You want to register for unemployment benefits under the national health insurance and labor insurance schemes;
You want to obtain a certificate of employment status (就労資格証明書) to avoid risks when renewing your visa.2.2. Documents to Return to the Company
Before changing jobs in Japan, there are two things employees should return to their company:
Health insurance card (健康保険証)
When working in Japan, companies provide health insurance cards to their employees. Unlike in Vietnam, this health insurance card belongs to the company. Therefore, you should return it before your last day or by mail.
Company items such as computers, phones, access cards, and name tags…
Your health insurance card should be returned to the company before your last day of employment.
3. Things to do after changing jobs at your old company
When leaving your old company, you need to notify the relevant authorities to avoid visa rejection during your next visa renewal. At the same time, you should register for insurance packages to ensure sufficient financial resources while searching for a new job.
3.1. Notifying the Immigration Bureau about your job change and new workplace
Employees must notify the Immigration Bureau of their job change within 14 days of starting work at the new company. This is the “Notification to the Contracting Authority” (契約機関に関する届出). This procedure is extremely important and must be completed immediately after changing jobs in Japan. Otherwise, you will encounter problems when renewing your visa.
Declaration Documents
A sample notification form for each specific case is available here.
Residence permit (if sent by mail, please send a photocopy of both sides)
How to submit declaration documents. Workers can submit the declaration form in the following three ways:
Submit directly to the local immigration and residence management agency, or to a one-stop information/consultation center.
Submit by mail to the address “〒160-0004 東京都新宿区四谷一丁目６番１号四谷タワー１４階東京出入国在留管理局在留管理情報部門届出受付担当”
Register online
3.2. Applying for a Certificate of Employment Eligibility (就労資格証明書)
Even if you have notified the Immigration Bureau about your job change in Japan, if you are unsure whether the new job falls under your current residency status, you should apply for a Certificate of Employment Eligibility. Although this document is not mandatory, you may be denied a visa in your next application if you do not have it.
A Certificate of Employment Eligibility is a document issued by the Immigration Bureau. This document certifies that the company and the new job are compatible with the residency status you were granted for your previous job.
To apply for this, you must submit documents related to your new job, such as your employment contract and company letter. If the agency issues the Certificate of Employment Eligibility, you only need to submit this document with your visa application in your next visa application.
Workers in Japan need to apply for a work permit.
3.3. Registering for National Health Insurance and Unemployment Insurance
If you find a new company immediately after changing jobs in Japan, your company will register you for national health insurance. Conversely, if you haven’t found a job yet, you should consider registering for health insurance yourself or applying for unemployment benefits to cover your daily living expenses.
Participating in health insurance is very beneficial; you won’t have to pay 100% of hospital fees if you need hospitalization. Immediately after starting work at your new company, you can cancel your national health insurance because your company will register you for social insurance.
4. Things to do after changing jobs at a new company
When moving to a new company, workers need to do the following things immediately to ensure a smooth work process.
4.1. What documents do I need to prepare when joining a new company?
After changing jobs in Japan and being accepted into a new company, you should prepare all the documents that the company requires. Typically, these documents relate to taxes and insurance, such as:
- Employee pension book (年金手帳)
Employee income and tax summary from previous company (源泉徴収票)
Unemployment insurance certificate (雇用保険被保険者証)
Hello Work termination form (離職票) or termination certificate from previous company (退職証明書)
Copy of bank account number
My Number card
Residence card (在留カード)
Residence registration documents (住民票)
Documents Required When Joining a New Company in Japan
4.2. Other Notes
Before deciding to change jobs in Japan, workers need to carefully consider their finances. Because the cost of living in Japan is very high, you must consider whether your current finances are sufficient to cover living expenses during unemployment. In addition, if you are living in company-provided housing or are being sponsored, you should consider finding new housing or changing your sponsor.
In short, working in Japan for a while and then changing jobs is not a simple matter. It involves many changes in life. Especially if you are a foreigner, you must anticipate all the problems that may arise before deciding to quit. Therefore, thoroughly research the information and the necessary steps before and after quitting your job to avoid being caught off guard. Hopefully, Nhat Huy Khang’s experiences with changing jobs in Japan will be helpful to you when searching for a new job.
