Japan 28-Hour Work Rule for Students (2026): Penalties + Recovery

Information current as of May 2026 based on the ISA student visa page, the ISA 資格外活動許可申請 guide, and the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (入管法) as published on e-Gov.

For most international students in Japan, part-time work is essential — tuition, rent in Tokyo, and daily expenses rarely fit on a remittance from home. The Japanese government allows this, but inside a hard frame: 28 hours per week, no adult-entertainment industry, and only with a permit stamped into your residence card. This guide walks through the rule, the most common ways students get tripped up, what happens when Immigration catches a violation, and — if you've already exceeded the limit — how to respond at renewal.

The 28-hour rule: what the law actually says

Two visa categories are bound by the 28-hour cap:

• 留学 (Student) — university, graduate school, technical college, Japanese language school, etc.
• 家族滞在 (Dependent) — spouse or child of a working-visa holder

The legal basis is 入管法 §19, which restricts activities outside the granted residence status. The permission to work part-time is granted only via a separate application — the 資格外活動許可 (Permission to Engage in Activity Other Than That Permitted Under the Status of Residence). See the ISA procedure 16-8 page for the controlling form.

Once granted, the back of your 在留カード shows "許可（資格外活動許可書を所持）" or a similar stamp. The permission covers up to 28 hours per week — not a specific job, not a specific employer, but a ceiling on total paid hours.

What 28 hours actually means

Question	Answer
Per week or averaged?	Per each individual calendar week — not averaged across the month
Multiple jobs?	Summed across all employers
Paid internships?	Counted if 有給 (paid)
Unpaid internships?	Generally not counted, but verify with your school/Immigration
Waiting time at workplace?	Counted if you are on standby and could be called to work
Commute?	Not counted
Online freelance for overseas client?	Still counted — the rule is about the worker, not the payer

Importantly, "28 hours/week" is interpreted strictly. The ISA's student visa policy page states the cap as a flat weekly limit, not a monthly average. Working 30 hours one week and 26 hours the next is two infractions, not zero.

Long-vacation exception: the 8-hour/day rule

During your school's officially designated long vacation periods (typically summer break, winter break, and spring break), the cap relaxes to 8 hours per day, up to 40 hours per week. The exact dates are set by your school, not by Immigration — your university's academic calendar is the controlling document.

Critical caveats:

• The exception applies only to 留学 visa holders. 家族滞在 holders remain at 28 hours/week year-round.
• "Long vacation" means the periods your institution formally designates as 長期休業 — not weekends or short national holidays.
• The 8-hour/day figure includes break time at the workplace if you're on standby; meal breaks where you're free to leave do not count.
• Language schools and vocational schools (専修学校) often have shorter "long vacations" than universities; check your school's syllabus.

Getting the 資格外活動許可

The permission is free and there are two paths:

Where	When	Document	Notes
Airport (Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka, New Chitose)	At first arrival, when receiving your 在留カード	Form 申請書 handed at counter	Simplest. Tick the checkbox on the disembarkation card and request it at the residence card counter.
Local Immigration Bureau	Anytime after arrival	"資格外活動許可申請書" (form 16-8)	Bring 在留カード, passport, 在学証明書, and (if you have an offer) a job-description note. Processing 2–8 weeks.

Starting work without the permit on your residence card is illegal employment (不法就労), even if you're within 28 hours. Your employer is also penalized under 入管法 §73-2 (the unlawful-employment-promotion provision).

Categorically prohibited industries

The permit explicitly excludes work in 風俗営業 and 性風俗関連特殊営業 (the Adult Entertainment Business and related sectors regulated by the Businesses Affecting Public Morals Regulation Act). The list is broader than most students realize:

• Pachinko and pachislot parlors (even cleaning, front desk, or hot food counter)
• Mahjong parlors
• Casinos, bingo halls, game centers with prize-cashing
• Hostess/host clubs, snack bars, kyabakura, girls bar
• "Fashion health," "deriheru," soaplands, image clubs
• Love hotels — including front-desk and cleaning staff
• Adult video shops, adult bookstores

The prohibition is categorical: zero hours, zero exceptions. Even if you only swept the floor of a pachinko parlor for one shift, it is grounds for visa cancellation under 入管法 §22-4. See the ISA illegal-stay/illegal-work policy page for the official position.

The most common ways students trip up

1. Summing two part-time jobs

A student works 20 hours at a convenience store and 12 hours at a tutoring center. Total: 32 hours — over by 4. Many students assume each job is counted separately. It is not. The 28-hour cap applies to you, not to each employer.

2. Counting only "working" time, not "shift" time

If you're scheduled for an 8-hour shift but spent 1 hour on a break, Immigration may still count the full 8 if you were on the employer's premises and obligated to return to work. Read your 雇用契約書 carefully.

3. Forgetting the calendar week starts Monday

"This week" runs Monday to Sunday in the standard interpretation. Working a long Saturday-Sunday push then another Monday-Tuesday push without checking the calendar boundary causes accidental overages.

4. "Just this once" overtime

A 4-hour shift extended to 5 because the next worker called in sick. If you were already near 28 for that week, you're over. The fact that you were doing your boss a favor does not matter to Immigration.

5. Online gig work

Uber Eats, Wolt, and gig platforms count as work. Selling on Mercari at scale, freelance writing, and online English tutoring all count. The fact that payment goes to a foreign account does not exempt the hours.

Penalties: what the law allows

Provision	Penalty
入管法 §73 (unlawful work)	Up to 3 years imprisonment or up to ¥3 million fine, or both
入管法 §73-2 (employer who hired knowingly)	Up to 3 years imprisonment or up to ¥3 million fine
入管法 §70-1-4 (work outside permitted activity)	Up to 3 years imprisonment or up to ¥3 million fine, or both — plus deportation eligibility
入管法 §22-4 (status revocation)	Revocation of residence status; designated departure period of 30 days or less, or immediate deportation
入管法 §70-2-2 (false statement at renewal)	Up to 1 year imprisonment or up to ¥2 million fine

In practice, criminal prosecution of students for hour overages is rare. Far more common is administrative action at the next renewal: refusal, shortening of the period, or — in the most serious cases — revocation under §22-4.

How Immigration discovers violations

課税証明書 cross-check at renewal

The renewal packet typically asks for 住民税課税証明書 from your municipality. This shows annual income. Immigration divides by ¥1,100/hour (a typical part-time wage) — if the result is far above 28 hours × 52 weeks (~1,456 hours), they ask questions. A student earning ¥2.5 million on a 留学 visa is implausible at 28 h/week unless wages are extraordinary.

Employer audit

Hello Work and Immigration occasionally conduct joint audits of employers known to hire foreign students (convenience stores, izakaya chains, language schools as employers). Payroll records and shift schedules are reviewed.

Anonymous tip

The ISA accepts anonymous reports of suspected illegal work. Disputes with employers, jealous coworkers, and ex-partners are documented sources of tips.

School notification

Schools are obligated to report enrollment status to Immigration. A student who skips classes to work — the typical pattern of an over-hours student — flags both attendance issues at the school and indirectly at Immigration.

If you've already exceeded the limit

The instinct is to renew silently and hope. This is usually the worst choice. Immigration's enforcement is data-driven now, and silent renewal with mismatched 課税証明書 is the textbook scenario for §22-4 revocation.

The safer path is voluntary disclosure with an explanation letter (reasons letter / 理由書). It does not guarantee renewal, but it materially improves your odds compared to the silent path. The components:

1. Acknowledge the overage — specific weeks, specific number of hours over
2. Explain the circumstances — financial hardship, miscommunication with the employer, miscounting (do not blame the employer outright; tone matters)
3. Show corrective action — reduced hours since, separation from one of the jobs, written statement from current employer that you are now under 28
4. Demonstrate study commitment — recent 在学証明書, attendance records, GPA report
5. Apologize and request leniency — explicit phrasing in Japanese: 「深く反省しております」「猶予を頂きたく」

Voluntary disclosure outcome matrix

Profile	Likely outcome
1–3 weeks of overage in past year, <5 hours over, voluntary disclosure	Reprimand, normal renewal
Sustained overage 6+ months, voluntary disclosure with corrective action	Shortened period (6 months or 1 year instead of standard 2)
Sustained overage + adult entertainment industry	Refusal even with voluntary disclosure
Silent renewal attempted, 課税証明書 mismatch	§22-4 revocation, 30-day designated departure

A real-world example: Linh in Osaka

What to bring to your renewal

• 住民税課税証明書 from your current municipality (most recent fiscal year)
• 在学証明書 and 成績証明書 from your school
• 出席率証明書 if your school issues one (must be over 80% generally; below 70% is a red flag)
• 在職証明書 from each part-time employer (including past ones in the relevant period)
• 給与明細 records for at least the past 6 months — keep all paper or PDF copies
• Bank statements showing inflows aligned with declared hours
• 理由書 if disclosing any irregularity (overage, gap, change of school)

The renewal application form itself (在留期間更新許可申請書) has a section asking about part-time work and hours. Misreporting here is §70-2-2 territory — a separate offense from the hour overage itself.

Practical safeguards

• Track hours yourself — weekly, on paper or in a phone note. Do not trust the employer's payroll to flag overages; they often don't.
• One employer or two — never three — three jobs make summation errors near-inevitable
• Save every 給与明細 — Immigration and the 行政書士 will both want a paper trail
• Read your employment contract — clarify break vs. on-call time, and confirm your hourly rate matches your municipality's minimum wage
• Verify your school's "long vacation" dates — get the academic calendar in writing before you accept extra shifts
• Never accept work at any of the prohibited industries — even one shift can end your visa

Related ISA and government resources

• ISA — 留学 visa overview
• ISA — 資格外活動許可申請 (form 16-8)
• ISA — 資格外活動の取扱いについて
• ISA — 不法就労対策
• e-Gov — 出入国管理及び難民認定法 (入管法)
• 厚生労働省 — 外国人雇用対策
• JASSO — Study in Japan

Related LO-PAL articles

• Japan Employment Contract Guide for Foreigners (2026)
• Freelance Tax in Japan (2026): Foreign Sole-Proprietor Survival Map
• When Immigration Asks for Extra Documents (2026)
• Residence Card Expired in Japan (2026)

Get help with your renewal documents

Renewal letters and 理由書 are technical Japanese — wording can change the outcome. Post your situation on LO-PAL for free, and a local Japanese helper can review your draft 理由書, translate your 課税証明書 figures into a clean weekly breakdown, and walk you through what to expect at the Immigration counter. You only pay if you accept the hands-on task help.