Japan Working Holiday Visa by Country

What the working holiday visa lets you do

Japan runs working holiday programmes with 32 countries and regions. They let young people spend an extended holiday in Japan and take paid work to cover their travel costs. The visa is for a holiday first: if your main aim is full-time work, Japan expects you to apply for a work visa instead.

You can work in most jobs without any further permission. The legal exception is places that affect public morals, such as bars, cabarets, nightclubs and gambling venues. Working there can get you deported.

The general requirements

Each embassy sets its own details, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists the common rules:

• ✓Living in your country of nationality when you apply (Hong Kong and Taiwan have their own passport rules)
• ✓Aged 18 to 30 inclusive when you apply
• ✓Mainly intending to holiday in Japan
• ✓No dependants or children travelling with you
• ✓A valid passport, plus a return ticket or the money to buy one
• ✓Enough money to support yourself when you first arrive
• ✓Good health
• ✓Not having held the visa before, unless your country allows a second one (see the table)

Your first two weeks in Japan

Within 14 days of finding somewhere to live, register your address at the local municipal office. The visa is single entry, so get a re-entry permit before any trip out of the country. For job hunting, the Employment Service Centres for Foreigners (Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka) and some Hello Work offices help in English.