“My current salary is tough, so I want to deliver for Uber Eats on weekends.”
“It’s okay to work part-time at a convenience store or izakaya up to 28 hours a week like when I was a student, right?”
If you hold a working visa such as “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services (Gijinkoku)” and are thinking this way, please discard that thought immediately.
If a foreigner with a working visa engages in part-time work without knowing the rules, in the worst-case scenario, it leads to an irreversible situation: “Deportation from Japan”. In this article, a visa procedure expert thoroughly explains the harsh reality of activities outside the scope of permitted activities on a working visa, and the only way to legally do a side job.
1. [Conclusion] Part-time jobs at Uber Eats or convenience stores are “100% Illegal”
To conclude, foreigners holding a Gijinkoku visa engaging in so-called “simple labor” part-time jobs—such as convenience stores, izakayas, factories, cleaning, or Uber Eats delivery—is never permitted for any reason.
A common misunderstanding among many foreigners is the rule for “Permission to Engage in Activity Other Than That Permitted under the Status of Residence Previously Granted (up to 28 hours a week)”. This comprehensive permission to “work up to 28 hours at any part-time job” is a privilege exclusive to international students and family visa holders. Even if an adult with a working visa goes to Immigration and applies saying, “Please give me permission because I want to work at a convenience store,” it will be 100% denied.
2. “They won’t know if paid in cash” is an illusion. You will be completely exposed by My Number
Some people naively think, “If I get paid in cash hand-to-hand, Immigration won’t find out,” but this is a complete illusion.
In modern Japan, companies hiring part-timers are obligated to report salary payment records to tax offices and municipalities. Thanks to the My Number system, your “income outside your main job (part-time wages)” is fully known to the government.
The moment you submit your “Taxation Certificate” at your next visa renewal, if the examiner detects that “There is unnatural income outside the main job = Engaging in illegal work,” the following terrifying penalties await you:
- “Denial” of Visa Renewal/Change and return to your home country
- Future permanent residency applications become hopeless
- In malicious cases, arrest by police and deportation
3. What are the “Permitted Side Jobs” even on a Gijinkoku Visa? (The wall of Individual Permission)
So, are foreigners on working visas absolutely unable to have side jobs?
Actually, if it is a side job that utilizes your “expertise,” it is possible to do it legally.
For example, the following activities:
- Working as a native language “Instructor” at a language school on weekends
- Receiving outsourced “Translation/Interpretation” work upon request from another company
- As an IT engineer, helping with system development for another company on holidays
If it is a “specialized task corresponding to working visa activities” like these, you can apply to Immigration for “Individual Permission (permission to do specific tasks at a specific company).” If approved, you can legally work a side job.
4. If you definitely want to start a side job, consult a Visa Expert
Obtaining this “Individual Permission” is incomparably more difficult and complex than a student’s part-time job permission.
You must perfectly prove to Immigration using contracts and a logical “Statement of Reason” that “the side job’s tasks are specialized,” “your main company allows the side job,” and “it will not hinder your main job.” If you apply on your own and are rejected, the path to working at that side job will be closed.