Working While Studying in Japan: the 28-Hour Rule, Permission, Pay and Tax in 2026

International students in Japan may take paid work only with the Immigration Services Agency's "permission to engage in activity other than that permitted under the status of residence" (資格外活動許可, shikakugai katsudo kyoka). It allows up to 28 hours a week during term and up to 8 hours a day during the long vacations set by your university or language school. The permission is free, and students entering for the first time with "Student" status for more than three months can get it at the airport. From 1 October 2026 Tokyo's minimum wage is $8.11 (¥1,280) an hour, and according to JASSO the average international student earns $513 (¥81,000) a month from part-time work.

This guide explains the two types of permission, how the 28 hours are counted, where you may not work, pay by prefecture, taxes and contributions, the consequences of breaking the rules and how to move into work after graduation. Figures are converted at the ECB rate of 23 September 2026: $1 ≈ ¥157.9.

What "Student" status allows

The "Student" (留学, ryugaku) residence status covers study, not work. Any paid activity requires separate permission, which the Immigration Services Agency (ISA) issues in two forms:

Most students only need comprehensive permission. Individual permission is for cases such as a final-year student starting a long internship, or a student taking translation work under a service contract with no fixed hours.

One exception: since July 2010, university students do not need permission to be paid under a contract with their own university for assisting in teaching or research (teaching or research assistant roles). The Immigration Services Agency says so on its page about the permission.

How to get permission

At the airport. If you are entering Japan for the first time with "Student" status and a period of stay over three months, apply at immigration when your residence card is issued. The permission is noted on the back of the card. ISA publishes a separate form for this case, and your university or school usually sends it in advance.

At a regional immigration bureau. If you missed the airport, apply at the bureau covering your address. Points to know:

• You need the application form, your residence card and your passport.
• There is no fee.
• Standard processing time is two weeks to two months.
• Online applications are possible only together with an extension or change of status.
• Counters are open on weekdays from 9:00 to 12:00 and from 13:00 to 16:00, though some bureaus set their own hours.

The permission is valid while you hold "Student" status and are actually studying. ISA grants it on condition that the work does not interfere with your studies, that you have no record of misconduct and that the activity is not in a prohibited sector.

How the 28 hours are counted

• One combined limit. Twenty-eight hours is the total across all employers, not per job.
• Any seven consecutive days. The week is not tied to Monday or to the employer's payroll period. The Immigration Services Agency states it plainly in its Q&A for employers (July 2026): whichever day of the week you start counting from, the total for the week must always stay within 28 hours. If any seven consecutive days add up to 29 hours, you are over the limit.
• Official vacations only. The higher 8-hours-a-day limit applies only during the long vacations in your university's or school's academic calendar: summer, winter and spring breaks. Weekends and short breaks do not count.
• Labour law still applies. Under the Labour Standards Act the normal limit is 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week; longer hours count as overtime and require a labour-management agreement filed with the labour inspectorate. The 8-hour vacation allowance is the immigration ceiling, not something an employer has to offer.
• Studies come first. Study in Japan warns that every year some students have to leave Japan because part-time work hurt their attendance and their status was not extended.

Where you may not work

Permission never covers businesses licensed under the adult entertainment laws: bars and clubs where staff entertain guests, host and hostess clubs, pachinko and mahjong parlours and sex-industry businesses. The ban applies to every role, including cashier, cleaner and dishwasher. If an employer says "kitchen work is fine", it is not.

Delivery, freelancing and gig work

ISA spells out how non-employment work is treated:

• App-based delivery as a sole trader is allowed under comprehensive permission if your working hours can be objectively verified, for example from the app's records.
• Freelancing and service contracts without a clear number of hours require individual permission.
• Running a business. If you want to incorporate a company, hire staff or open an office, "Student" status is not enough; you would need the "Business Manager" status.

Internships over 28 hours a week

Individual permission for an internship above the limit is available to final-year students: undergraduates who have earned about 90% of the credits needed to graduate, second-year master's students and third-year doctoral students. It may also be granted when a placement is required for credit and closely linked to your major. You submit the company's contract or letter describing the work, hours and pay, a certificate from your university and, for undergraduates, a transcript. A paid internship within 28 hours falls under ordinary comprehensive permission.

How much you can earn

Each prefecture sets its own minimum wage, revised every autumn. The 2026 rates:

Dates can shift if objections are filed against a rate. Until then, previous rates apply; in Tokyo that is $7.76 (¥1,226).

JASSO's 2023–2024 survey, taken when minimum wages were lower, found that:

• 65.2% of international students had a part-time job: 48% at national universities, 60.1% at private universities and 68.9% at language schools;
• half (50.2%) earned $6.33–7.60 (¥1,000–1,200) an hour, and one in five earned less than $6.33 (¥1,000);
• the most common workload was 20–25 hours a week (37%), and 17.9% reported 25 hours or more;
• 64.2% work because they need the money to live in Japan.

The ceiling is easy to calculate: 28 hours a week at Tokyo's minimum wage comes to about $983 (¥155,000) a month before tax, if you work every week. The real average is almost half that. Study in Japan also warns that brokers' promises of $19 (¥3,000) an hour or $1,270–1,900 (¥200,000–300,000) a month are false.

What jobs international students do

From the same JASSO survey, where students could list up to three jobs:

In practice, without Japanese your options narrow to kitchens, warehouses, factories and cleaning. Customer-facing and office roles need confident spoken Japanese, and lab assistant posts go mainly to master's and doctoral students.

Where to look

1. Your university or school. Notice boards, the career centre and the international student office. Study in Japan recommends starting here.
2. Government Employment Service Centers for Foreigners in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, run by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, plus a Hello Work office for new graduates in Fukuoka. Counselling is free, but these centres focus mainly on full-time jobs after graduation.
3. Hello Work, the national network of public employment offices.
4. Japanese job sites and notices in shop windows. These require Japanese.

Never pay an "agency" to find you a part-time job. Before accepting, check hours, how and when you are paid, accident insurance and workplace safety: the questions Study in Japan suggests asking before your first shift.

Documents your employer will ask for

• Residence card with the permission noted on the back; the employer checks it when hiring.
• Individual Number (My Number), assigned after you register your address at the municipal office.
• A Japanese bank account for wages.
• A Japanese-format résumé (rirekisho).

Tax, health insurance and pension

• Income tax. Your employer withholds it. Under 2026 rules there is no income tax on annual wages up to $11,272 (¥1,780,000); any over-withholding is refunded at the year-end adjustment. With several employers you may need to file a tax return yourself.
• Local inhabitant tax is charged the following year on the previous year's income, and the bill is posted to you.
• Health insurance. National Health Insurance premiums depend on last year's income, so higher earnings mean a higher premium the next year. You must declare income at the municipal office even if it was zero, otherwise you will not get the low-income reduction.
• Pension. The fiscal 2026 contribution is $113 (¥17,920) a month; students can apply for a deferral while studying.

Working 28 hours every week of the year at Tokyo's minimum wage would bring in about $11,800 (¥1,864,000), which is above the income tax threshold.

What happens if you break the rules

Study in Japan warns that working without permission, over the limit or in a prohibited sector can lead to punishment and deportation. The most common scenario it describes is that part-time work pushes attendance down and the status is not extended at the next renewal. Permission is also granted only to applicants with a clean record, so exceeding your hours can count against future applications. Study in Japan adds that earnings are meant to support study and living costs, not savings or remittances home.

If your employer breaks the rules

Unpaid hours, pay below the minimum wage, or shifts beyond 28 hours "because the manager asked" are reasons to get advice, not to put up with it. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare runs phone lines for foreign workers in English and about a dozen other languages:

• Advisor for Foreign Workers (0570-001-701 for English): weekdays 10:00–15:00 with a lunch break; standard call charges apply.
• Free working conditions hotline (0120-531-401 for English): weekdays 17:00–22:00, weekends and holidays 9:00–21:00, with days varying by language.

Keep your contract or written terms, payslips and your own record of hours: without them a dispute is hard to win. Never work over 28 hours even if your employer asks; you, not the employer, carry the risk to your status.

Can part-time work pay for your studies?

No, and official sources say so plainly. The average international student spends $665 (¥105,000) a month on living costs excluding tuition and earns $513 (¥81,000) from part-time work. Tuition and move-in costs must come from your own funds, a scholarship or family support. For a full budget see the cost of studying in Japan, and for housing options see student housing in Japan.

After graduation: job hunting and changing status

To work full time, you change to a work status, most often "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services". If you have no job by graduation, you can switch to "Designated Activities" for job hunting: granted for six months with one extension, so up to a year. Part-time work in that status also requires permission. In JASSO's survey, 54.4% of international students said they want to work in Japan after graduating.

By comparison, in Korea the weekly limit depends on your year and Korean level, and graduates can job-hunt for up to three years. See working while studying in Korea and our comparison of Japan and Korea for studying.

Common mistakes

• Starting work before the permission is on your residence card.
• Counting 28 hours separately for each job.
• Working 8-hour days at weekends or in short breaks that are not official long vacations.
• Accepting "cleaning" or "kitchen" work at a hostess bar or pachinko parlour.
• Taking freelance contracts without individual permission.
• Not declaring income at the municipal office and then facing a higher health insurance premium.

FAQ

Sources

• ISA: permission to engage in activity other than that permitted — conditions, documents, processing time and rules for "Student" status: comprehensive and individual permission (Japanese) — checked 24.09.2026
• Study in Japan: part-time work, internships, job hunting, changing status after graduation, insurance — checked 24.09.2026
• JASSO: 2023 survey of privately financed international students (PDF, Japanese) — checked 24.09.2026
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: 2026 minimum wages by prefecture (PDF) and Tokyo Labour Bureau: $8.11 (¥1,280) from 1 October 2026 — checked 24.09.2026
• National Tax Agency: basic deduction and employment income deduction for 2026; Japan Pension Service: fiscal 2026 contribution — checked 24.09.2026
• Immigration Services Agency: Q&A for employers, July 2026, on counting the 28 hours (PDF, Japanese) and general rules on the permission, including the exemption for university assistants (Japanese) — checked 24.09.2026
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: phone consultation for foreign workers — checked 24.09.2026
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: working hours under the Labour Standards Act (Japanese) — checked 24.09.2026
• Exchange rate: ECB, 23.09.2026, €1 = $1.1411 and €1 = ¥180.20, so $1 ≈ ¥157.9

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