行政書士法人BEYOND
When working visa holder quits job
Make a report to the immigration within 14 days.
After you start working for a new company, make a report to the immigration within 14 days again.
What you could/should do after leaving your company depends on the reasons.
Due to worker's personal reasons
Find a new job as soon as possible.
If the immigration notices that you have been out of job for more than 3 months, you might be called for an interview as part of visa cancellation procedure.
If you make your next visa extension or visa change application before the immmigration notices, you need to explain your situations very well in your application reason statement (Riyusho).
Please make sure you give a notice following your company rules before you quit. In many cases, you give 1 month's notice.
Due to company reasons
When you are fired or you receive contract termination letter, that is, contract-not-renewed (for fixed-term contract), and if you are in difficult financial situations, the immigration has special measures for you.
1. you want to continue job hunting activities
You can continue job hunting activities with your current visa till your visa expiry date.
You could get arubaito permit (within 28 hours per week) for your living if you can prove that you are continuously searching a new job, for example, by presenting Hellowork card. You will get an arubaito permit stamp on the back of your residence card and a sticker on your passport. This arubaito permit is valid for 90 days or till your visa expiry date whichever comes first.
If your arubaito permit expires and if you are still searching a job, you could apply for arubaito permit again.
Arubaito permit is not mandatory. If you can manage without working, concentrate on job hunting activities.
You can apply for visa change into "Designated Activities (4 months)" if you are still searching a new job when your visa is to expire and if your residential situations are good. You cannot work with this visa, but you could apply for arubaito permit. This "Designated Activities" visa cannot be renewed.
In any case, you need to explain what happened during your unemployed period when you submit your next visa application.
2. you want to leave Japan
You would be granted "Short term visa (90 days)." You cannot work with this visa.
If you have been under employment insurance, you will receive Rishokuhyo (離職票 separation notice) when you leave your company. This is necessary to apply for unemployment allowance at Hellowork. The reason of your leaving the company is written on Rishokuhyo. As you might have noticed, what is written here is very important. If it clearly says it is due to company reasons, you could get unemployment allowances sooner and you could get arubaito permit from the immigration more easily.
Unfortunately, however, Japanese companies generally do not want to write "Due to company reasons." In this case you will need to explain to the immigration how you needed to leave your company upon submitting arubaito permit application.
If you are encouraged to resign, please have a good discussion over the compensation package and how they will state the reasons in your Rishokuhyo.
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