I’m finishing up my final semester of college right now. My plan is to get a job after classes end and just stay in Japan and change my student visa to a work visa cause I’m already here and already have part time jobs lined up, possibly full time jobs.
The only problem is that I see that the change to a work visa requires a diploma or proof of graduation. Because I’m studying abroad and my home university is in the US, I’m technically in between semesters right now. My grades will only be finalized and recognized by my home university a good few months after my classes are over.
My student visa will end on December 20th, but my graduation will be around the same time. Does anyone know if it possible to apply for my change to a work visa without the finalized diploma, even though I’ve completed my schooling?
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This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Shift from student visa to work visa?**
I’m finishing up my final semester of college right now. My plan is to get a job after classes end and just stay in Japan and change my student visa to a work visa cause I’m already here and already have part time jobs lined up, possibly full time jobs.
The only problem is that I see that the change to a work visa requires a diploma or proof of graduation. Because I’m studying abroad and my home university is in the US, I’m technically in between semesters right now. My grades will only be finalized and recognized by my home university a good few months after my classes are over.
My student visa will end on December 20th, but my graduation will be around the same time. Does anyone know if it possible to apply for my change to a work visa without the finalized diploma, even though I’ve completed my schooling?
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When does your study abroad end officially?
>My student visa will end on December 20th
Splitting hairs here, but your *visa* ended the moment you used it to enter the country and you received a status of residence.
It’s also important to note that your status of residence is tied to a ‘primary purpose’. In this case your primary purpose is to be a student in Japan. Within two weeks of you no longer being a student in Japan both you and your school are meant to inform immigration of the change of these circumstances. So if you’re finishing classes soon then you’ll probably not actually have permission to live in Japan until the end of December.
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>Does anyone know if it possible to apply for my change to a work visa without the finalized diploma
So there are two things you’ll need to worry about here. One is the proof of graduation thing you’d need to switch away from the student status of residence. The other is the proof of education that you’d need to switch *to* a relevant working status of residence. I suspect you’ll need the diploma for that. Check out the various details here: [https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/procedures/16-2.html?hl=en](https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/procedures/16-2.html?hl=en)
You can reach out to the foreign resident support center to see if they can offer any advice (or reassurances) but my feeling is that you’re going to have to go home soon and wait until you’ve got that diploma before you apply for a certificate of residence and a visa to come back.