Once you have the new offer and you have lined up your resignation date and start date, the first thing most people think about is whether their visa is still okay. That instinct is not wrong. But there is another piece that is easier to miss: changing jobs itself triggers a 14-day immigration filing, and in most cases nobody is going to chase you about it. HR will handle your health insurance, pension, and resignation paperwork, but 契約機関に関する届出 (notification of contracting organization) is legally your filing to make, not the company’s.
If your situation is straightforward, you are staying on a 技術・人文知識・国際業務 status of residence, moving to another company, and doing the same kind of technical or knowledge-based work, this filing is usually the main thing to deal with. You do not need to change your status of residence just because the employer changed. If the new job no longer matches your current status of residence, for example you are moving from an engineering role into work with a completely different legal basis, then the real issue may not be the filing at all but a 在留資格変更許可 (permission to change status of residence). I will come back to that in the section on edge cases. If you are on 高度専門職, the rules are different again, so it makes sense to jump to that section directly.
If you want a refresher on the application requirements and scope of the 技術・人文知識・国際業務 status itself, Got a Japan Job Offer? Here’s How the Engineer Visa Works covers that side. This piece is about a narrower stage: you are already working in Japan, and now you are changing jobs.
What 「契約機関に関する届出」 actually is
The legal basis is Article 19-16 of the Immigration Control Act. This reporting duty does not apply to every status of residence. It is limited to certain categories, and if you fall into one of them, the company or institution you are contracted with is treated as your “contracting organization” under immigration law.
- 技術・人文知識・国際業務, the status most software engineers are on
- 高度専門職 1号イ／ロ、高度専門職 2号（イ／ロ）
- 研究
- 介護
- 興行 (contract-based)
- 技能
- 特定技能
When the contracting organization itself changes, or your contractual relationship with that organization changes, you are required to notify the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency. That filing is what Japan calls 契約機関に関する届出.
What matters here is that this is not about telling your company you changed jobs. It is a legal reporting obligation to immigration. Your old employer and new employer are not the filing target. HR may help with leaving certificates, insurance transfers, and all the ordinary admin around a resignation, but they are not the one logging into the immigration system and submitting this notice for you. That part sits with you.
A job change usually means two separate filings
Under immigration law, changing jobs is not treated as one event. It is treated as two separate events, and each one has its own 14-day deadline:
| Trigger event | What it means | Filing deadline |
|---|---|---|
| ① Change of contracting organization name | The company changes its name | Within 14 days after the event |
| ② Change of contracting organization address | The company moves | Within 14 days after the event |
| ③ Contracting organization ceases to exist | Dissolution, merger absorption, and similar cases | Within 14 days after the event |
| ④ Contract with the contracting organization ends | You leave your current company | Within 14 days from your resignation date |
| ⑤ New contract with a new contracting organization | You join the new company | Within 14 days from your start date |
In a normal job change, you are dealing with both ④ and ⑤. That means one filing for leaving the old company, and another filing for joining the new one. Each 14-day clock runs from its own event date. They are not bundled into a single deadline.
Three ways to file
| Method | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Online (出入国在留管理庁電子届出システム) | Available 24 hours a day, all year; requires one-time user registration first; online filing does not require any supporting documents | The easiest option for most people |
| In person at the counter | File at the nearest regional immigration office for your address; bring your residence card | If you want to confirm things face to face or handle other procedures at the same time |
| By mail | Send it to 「〒160-0004 東京都新宿区四谷1丁目6番1号 四谷タワー14階 東京出入国在留管理局 在留調査部門 届出受付担当」, include a copy of your residence card, and write 「届出書在中」 on the envelope | If you are not near an immigration office and do not want to use the online system |
If you have never registered for the electronic notification system, search the ISA site for 「出入国在留管理庁電子届出システム」 and complete the one-time user registration first. After that, future filings can all be done online, and it is also the lightest option in terms of paperwork.
Of the three, online is usually the practical first choice. It is available 24/7, not tied to counter hours, and it does not ask for extra attachments. Around a job change, there is already enough going on with handover, moving, and new-hire paperwork. Filing online saves you the trip to immigration and the prep work for mailing. The counter and postal routes are still valid. They just cost more time and paperwork.
What happens if you do not file
If you do not submit 契約機関に関する届出 within 14 days, the penalty can be a fine of up to 200,000 yen. If the filing is false, the penalty can be imprisonment for up to 1 year or a fine of up to 200,000 yen.
Beyond the penalty itself, immigration also looks at whether you have properly fulfilled reporting obligations when reviewing things like a change of status or an extension of your period of stay. So even if a missed filing does not lead to a fine right away, ignoring this duty over time can still hurt you later when you apply for a 在留期間更新, or further down the road when permanent residence is reviewed. The point is not that permanent residence has a special standalone rule tied only to this notice. It is that the broader compliance record, whether you followed the rules and handled your obligations properly, is part of how these cases get looked at.
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Do these situations need a filing?
There are a few variations on a job change, and not all of them need a notice. These are the common edge cases:
| Situation | Filing needed? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Internal transfer to another branch or office within the same company | No | The contracting organization itself has not changed; it is still the same company |
| Renewal with the same employer for the same job | No | This is not treated as signing a new contract |
| Secondment while keeping the original employment contract | Yes | The contracting organization relationship has substantively changed |
| Dispatch work where your contract is with a staffing company | File once when you contract with the staffing company | Later placement at different client sites or different dispatch locations does not require additional notices |
| You receive permission to change status within the 14-day period | No separate filing needed for the resignation event | Once the permission is granted, the organization you were going to join also does not need a notification |
The pair people mix up most often is 出向 (secondment) and 派遣 (dispatch work). With secondment, you may physically work at another company, but your employment relationship with the original company has changed in a way immigration treats as reportable, so it still falls within the filing rules. Dispatch work works differently. Your actual contract is with the staffing company, so the filing happens when that contract is made. After that, it does not matter which client site you are sent to or how many project locations change. Those project moves do not create separate filings.
If you are on 高度専門職, the rule is different
If you currently hold 高度専門職 1号, the situation is not the same as an ordinary 技人国 job change. 高度専門職 1号 approval is tied to a specific employer, and your passport will have a designation sheet naming that organization. That means even if the new job would still qualify under 高度専門職, this article’s filing is not enough on its own. You also need to apply for 在留資格変更許可 and get a new designation for the new employer. The ISA Q&A makes that point directly: when a transfer or job change means the public or private organization in Japan changes, a change-of-status application is required.
So the practical takeaway is simple. If you are changing jobs on 高度専門職, the 14-day reporting duty in this article still exists, but it does not replace the change-of-status application. Both need to be handled. In practice, people usually sort out the change-of-status process first and then keep the reporting deadlines for each event in view.
Optional but useful: 就労資格証明書
Beyond the legally required filing, there is one document that is optional but can be genuinely useful after a job change: 就労資格証明書 (Employment Qualification Certificate). Its role is to give you written confirmation from immigration that your new job fits your current status of residence. In other words, you can get an official yes before your next extension application instead of waiting until then.
The fee is 2,000 yen for a paper application using a revenue stamp, or 1,600 yen online. If your employer or job content is different from what was approved when your status was granted, you may need to submit additional material about the new role, and processing can stretch to 1 to 3 months. If there has been no substantive change, it is often issued the same day. Applications are made at the regional immigration office for your residential area.
It is not a mandatory document. But if you are not fully confident that the new job still fits within 技人国 or 高度専門職, or you simply want to reduce uncertainty before your next extension, this certificate is a calmer way to get clarity than finding out only at renewal time.
Other checkpoints that are easy to miss during a job change
Besides the immigration filing this article focuses on, there are a few other things that often get overlooked around a move:
- The wording of the new contract matters: Whether the job title and duties actually match the work you will be doing affects whether your status of residence still holds up. How to Read a Japanese Job Offer or Employment Contract goes into that side.
- Whether the new role still fits your current status: If the job has really moved outside the knowledge-based scope of 技人国, the real issue is not this filing but a 在留資格変更許可 application. That is the first thing worth confirming if there is any doubt.
- A move at the same time is a separate filing: A change of address has its own 14-day reporting process at your local city hall or ward office. It is separate from the contracting organization notice in this article, so filing one does not cover the other.
Sources
Official sources below were checked on 2026-07-23.
- ISA: Overview of the 契約機関に関する届出 system
- ISA FAQ: Penalties related to reporting obligations (Q88, Q92)
- ISA: Guidelines for reviewing change-of-status and extension applications
- ISA: Q&A on Article 19-16 of the Immigration Control Act (PDF)
- ISA: Highly Skilled Professional points system Q&A, including job-change rules
- ISA: Application guide for 就労資格証明書
Frequently Asked Questions
- How soon do I need to notify immigration after changing jobs? Do both events need to be filed?
- Yes. Under Japan's immigration rules, a job change is split into two separate events: your contract with the old company ends, and you sign a new contract with the new company. Each one has to be reported within 14 days of when it happens. Filing once does not cover both. If your resignation date and start date are close enough, you can usually submit both within the allowed time.
- What happens if I do not file? Can it affect permanent residence?
- If you do not file within 14 days, the penalty can be a fine of up to 200,000 yen. If the filing is false, it can mean imprisonment for up to 1 year or a fine of up to 200,000 yen. On top of that, immigration looks at whether you have properly fulfilled reporting obligations when reviewing extensions of stay and later applications such as permanent residence, so even if you are not fined, a long pattern of missed filings can still work against you.
- If I am on 高度専門職, is filing the notice enough when I change jobs?
- No. 高度専門職 1号 is tied to a specific employer, and your passport will have a designation sheet for that organization. If you change companies, even if the new role still qualifies as 高度専門職, you also need to apply for 在留資格変更許可 and get a new designation. The reporting obligation still exists, but it does not replace the change-of-status application.
- Do I need to apply for a 就労資格証明書?
- It is not mandatory, but if you want written confirmation before your next extension that the new job still fits your current status of residence, this certificate can do that. The fee is 2,000 yen on paper and 1,600 yen online. If the employer or job content is different from what was approved before, you may need to submit extra material and processing can stretch to 1 to 3 months. If nothing substantive has changed, it is often issued the same day.
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