Notification Calendar for Companies Employing Foreign Nationals | Immigration and Hello Work: When, Where and What to File
Notification Calendar for Companies Employing Foreign Nationals — Immigration and Hello Work: When, Where and What to File
Employing a foreign national gives rise to notification duties for the company. Yet in practice, “is it filed with immigration or with Hello Work?” and “does the person file it or does the company?” are frequently confused. In this article we confirm the governing provisions and deadlines against primary sources, and then set out, scenario by scenario — hiring, extension, job change, change of trade name, dissolution — who must file what, where, and by when.
Sources: e-Gov Law Search, “Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act” (Cabinet Order No. 319 of 1951), Articles 19-7, 19-9, 19-16, 19-17, 19-18, 71-2 and 71-5 / “Regulation for Enforcement of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act,” Article 19-16 and Appended Table 3-4 / “Act on Comprehensively Advancing Labour Measures, and Stabilizing the Employment of Workers, and Enriching Workers’ Vocational Lives” (Act No. 132 of 1966), Articles 28 and 40 / Immigration Services Agency of Japan, “Notification Procedures by Affiliated Organizations,” “Notification on Acceptance of Mid-to-Long-Term Residents,” “Notification on Affiliated (Activity) Organization,” “Notification on Affiliated (Contracting) Organization,” “Q&A on Notifications Concerning Affiliated Organizations,” “Notifications by Specified Skilled Worker Accepting Organizations and Registered Support Organizations,” “How to Confirm the Period of Stay on the New Format Residence Card” / Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “Notification of the Employment Status of Foreign Nationals”
There are two filing destinations — separate systems, so both apply
The first point to grasp is that the notification systems for the employment of foreign nationals exist side by side under two different statutes. Filing one does not exempt you from the other (although, as explained below, the immigration side does contain an exclusion).
| Item | Notification to immigration | Notification to Hello Work |
|---|---|---|
| Governing law | Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, Articles 19-16, 19-17 and 19-18 | Act on Comprehensively Advancing Labour Measures, and Stabilizing the Employment of Workers, and Enriching Workers’ Vocational Lives, Article 28, paragraph 1 |
| Purpose | Residence management (ascertaining whether activities match the residence status) | Improvement of employment management and re-employment support |
| Principal obligor | The foreign national (Article 19-16) / the accepting organization (Articles 19-17 and 19-18) | The employer |
| Where filed | Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency (regional immigration bureau or the electronic notification system); place of residence is filed with the municipality | The Hello Work with jurisdiction over the place of business |
| Penalty | Breach by the person: fine of not more than 200,000 yen (Article 71-5, item 3). No penalty under Article 19-17 | Fine of not more than 300,000 yen (Article 40, paragraph 1, item 2), with dual liability |
Cases in which the company files with immigration are limited
This is the most misunderstood point in practice. Article 19-17 of the Immigration Control Act provides that an organization accepting a mid-to-long-term resident “shall endeavour to notify” the commencement and termination of acceptance. Article 19-16, paragraph 1 of the Regulation for Enforcement then expressly excludes from the covered organizations any employer who must file the notification under Article 28, paragraph 1 of the Labour Policy Comprehensive Promotion Act.
The Immigration Services Agency Q&A explains the point as follows: an organization that is required to submit the notification of employment status of foreign nationals need not additionally submit the notification by the affiliated organization to immigration once it has submitted that notification.
In short, an ordinary company that employs a foreign national as an employee need not duplicate the “notification by the affiliated organization” to immigration, provided it files the notification of employment status of foreign nationals with Hello Work. Who, then, files under Article 19-17? Organizations such as the following.
- Organizations accepting a person without an employment relationship (for example where a foreign national is appointed as a director, so that no Hello Work duty arises)
- Organizations accepting a person with the residence status of “Trainee”
- Educational institutions accepting a person with the residence status of “Student” (in addition to commencement and termination, they must also report the acceptance situation as of 1 May and 1 November each year)
In every case the deadline is within 14 days from the day the event arises. The matters to be reported are set out in Appended Table 3-4 of the Regulation for Enforcement, and are limited to the commencement and the termination of acceptance. A change in the company’s name or location is not among the organization’s reporting grounds.
Article 19-17 is framed as a duty to endeavour and carries no penalty. Even so, the Agency advises that although no criminal penalty is imposed for failing to file, the residence examination may become more cautious. There is no positive reason to omit the filing.
Notifications made by the foreign national — the company cannot file on their behalf
By contrast, the notifications under Article 19-16 and related provisions are duties of the foreign national personally. They are not something the company submits by proxy; the company’s role is to prompt the person to file within the deadline and to hand over the necessary information, such as a new trade name or address.
| Type of notification | Covered persons | Grounds | Deadline and destination | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notification of place of residence | Mid-to-long-term residents | Fixing a place of residence after new landing; change of place of residence | Within 14 days, to the municipality (presenting the residence card) | Article 19-7, paragraph 1; Article 19-9, paragraph 1 |
| Notification on affiliated (activity) organization | Professor, Highly Skilled Professional (i)(c) and (ii)(c), Business Manager, Legal/Accounting Services, Medical Services, Instructor, Intra-company Transferee, Technical Intern Training, Student, Trainee | Change of name or location of the activity organization, its disappearance, withdrawal from it, or transfer to another | Within 14 days, to the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency | Article 19-16, item 1 |
| Notification on affiliated (contracting) organization | Highly Skilled Professional (i)(a) and (b) and (ii)(a) and (b), Researcher, Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, Nursing Care, Entertainer, Skilled Labour, Specified Skilled Worker | Change of name or location of the contracting organization, its disappearance, termination of the contract, or conclusion of a new contract | Within 14 days, to the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency | Article 19-16, item 2 |
| Notification on spouse | Dependent (spouse), Spouse or Child of Japanese National, Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident | Divorce from or death of the spouse | Within 14 days, to the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency | Article 19-16, item 3 |
Failure to file is punishable by a fine of not more than 200,000 yen (Article 71-5, item 3), and a false notification by imprisonment for not more than one year or a fine of not more than 200,000 yen (Article 71-2, item 1). Neglecting these filings may also be taken into account when revocation of residence status is considered, so please also see Revocation of Residence Status (Article 22-4) and Notification Duties. Notifications may be filed online through the electronic notification system, in person at a counter, or by post.
Filing with Hello Work — notification of employment status of foreign nationals
This is the filing the company must not miss. Article 28, paragraph 1 of the Labour Policy Comprehensive Promotion Act requires an employer, when it newly hires a foreign national and when a foreign national in its employment leaves the job, to confirm the name, residence status, period of stay and other prescribed matters and to notify them to the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare. Note that both hiring and separation are covered.
| Category | Form | Deadline for hiring | Deadline for separation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Person who becomes insured under employment insurance | Entered in the remarks column of the Notification of Acquisition of Insured Status (Form No. 2) or Notification of Loss of Insured Status (Form No. 4) | By the 10th day of the following month | Within 10 days counting from the day after separation |
| Person who does not become insured | Notification of Employment Status of Foreign Nationals (Form No. 3) | By the last day of the following month | By the last day of the following month |
The notification covers persons who do not hold Japanese nationality; those with the residence status of “Diplomat” or “Official” and special permanent residents are not covered. Part-time work by students is covered, and in that case you must confirm that permission for activities outside the status qualification has been obtained. Failing to file, or filing falsely, is punishable by a fine of not more than 300,000 yen (Article 40, paragraph 1, item 2), and under the dual liability provision in paragraph 2 the same penalty is imposed on the corporation. How to check a residence card and how this relates to the offence of promoting illegal work are set out in The Zero Illegal Residents Plan — Practical Steps for Companies Employing Foreign Nationals.
Please note the new format residence card. The Immigration Services Agency states that residence cards issued in the new format on or after 14 June 2026 (Reiwa 8) do not show the period of stay on the face of the card, and advises that for the time being the period of stay should be confirmed from the certificate of residence. A revised version of the card reader application is scheduled for release around September 2026 (Reiwa 8). Because the notification requires the period of stay, please make sure this change in verification method is shared internally.
Specified Skilled Worker, Technical Intern Training and registered support organizations are separate regimes
Depending on the residence status, further notification systems apply on top of the above.
The notifications by a Specified Skilled Worker accepting organization rest on Article 19-18 of the Immigration Control Act and are a statutory obligation, differing in character from the duty to endeavour under Article 19-17. Ad hoc notifications — changes to, termination of or conclusion of an employment contract, changes to the support plan, or difficulty in continuing acceptance — are due within 14 days from the day the event arises. As for periodic notifications, the Immigration Services Agency states that from 1 April 2026 (Reiwa 8) the former quarterly submission was replaced by a single annual filing (due by 31 May of the following year) covering the period from 1 April to 31 March. Registered support organizations also have notifications on the implementation of support. For details, see Obligations of Companies Accepting Specified Skilled Workers — Support Plans and Notifications.
Technical Intern Training sits within a separate framework based not on the Immigration Control Act but on the Technical Intern Training Act, with reporting to the Organization for Technical Intern Training. The Employment for Skill Development system, which will develop and replace the Technical Intern Training system, is scheduled to begin accepting workers on 1 April 2027 (Reiwa 9).
Notification calendar by scenario
We have organized the duties scenario by scenario so that the table can be used as it stands. The “company to immigration” column assumes that an employer subject to the notification of employment status of foreign nationals is in principle excluded.
| Scenario | Company to immigration (Art. 19-17) | Person to immigration (Art. 19-16 etc.) | Company to Hello Work (Art. 28) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hiring a foreign national | In principle not required (excluded). Directors, trainees and students: notify commencement within 14 days | On a job change or new contract, notify “conclusion of a new contract” within 14 days | Insured: by the 10th of the following month / not insured: by the last day of the following month |
| Extending the period of stay | No ground for notification | No ground for notification (file the extension application before expiry) | No ground for notification |
| Changing the residence status | No ground for notification | Applies where the contracting organization changes (within 14 days) | Only where it amounts to “hiring” |
| The person changes jobs or resigns | In principle not required (excluded). Non-excluded organizations notify termination within 14 days | Notify “termination of the contract” within 14 days; notify “conclusion of a new contract” with the new employer within 14 days | Notify separation (insured: within 10 days from the day after / not insured: by the last day of the following month) |
| Change of trade name or address | Not among the reporting grounds | Notify the change of name or location of the contracting (activity) organization within 14 days | No ground for notification |
| The company ceases to exist (dissolution, merger) | Notify termination of acceptance within 14 days (non-excluded organizations) | Notify the disappearance of the contracting organization within 14 days | Notify separation |
| The person moves house | — | Notify the change of place of residence within 14 days to the municipality | — |
| The person divorces or is bereaved | — | File the notification on the spouse within 14 days (for the covered statuses) | — |
Three commonly missed items
First, the documents the company must prepare for an extension. An extension of the period of stay is not a ground for notification, but the application requires documents from the company. The category assessment changes according to how the company’s tax filings have been submitted, and the required documents change with it, so please begin preparation around three months before expiry. See Checklist to Avoid Denial When Renewing an Engineer Visa for details.
Second, the filing on separation. Even where the hiring notification is built into HR procedures, the separation notification is easily overlooked. The Hello Work deadline for separation is short — within 10 days from the day after separation for a person insured under employment insurance. At the same time, please tell the person that he or she must file the “termination of the contract” notification within 14 days. The overall procedure on a job change is summarized in Procedures When Changing Jobs on an Engineer Visa.
Third, the filing on a change of trade name or head office address. Because the company itself bears no notification duty, the issue often goes unnoticed altogether. The person who bears the duty in this scenario is the foreign national, and the deadline is 14 days. A reliable approach is to build in a step whereby, once the change is registered, the affected employees are notified of the new trade name and address.
How to prepare in practice
Most missed filings arise not from a lack of knowledge but from the absence of a system. Putting the following three things in place will make practice markedly more stable.
First, maintain a roster of your foreign employees managing in one place their names, residence statuses, expiry dates of the period of stay, and whether they are insured under employment insurance. Second, attach notification checkpoints to internal events: hiring, resignation and changes to the commercial register. Third, for the filings made by the person, we recommend explaining the 14-day deadline at the induction on joining, right down to how to use the electronic notification system. For the broader picture of what is expected of an accepting company, see also Requirements and Points to Note for Companies Hiring on an Engineer Visa.
Every deadline runs from “the day the event arose.” Not the day internal approval came through, and not the day the paperwork reached the administration department. A mistaken starting date is the single most common cause of a missed deadline.
Summary
The notification duties of a company employing foreign nationals fall into two systems: immigration and Hello Work. Where the person is employed as an employee, the company is in principle excluded from the immigration filing, and its duty is concentrated in the notification of employment status of foreign nationals to Hello Work. The deadlines are: for a person insured under employment insurance, hiring by the 10th of the following month and separation within 10 days from the day after; for a person not insured, both hiring and separation by the last day of the following month.
By contrast, the filings on a change of trade name, a change of head office address, and a job change or resignation are duties of the foreign national, in every case within 14 days. Precisely because the company bears no duty, these are easily missed, so we suggest linking internal events to the corresponding notifications. For individual treatment not covered here and for the latest forms, please check the websites of the Immigration Services Agency of Japan and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
Our Support
For advice on the notifications and residence procedures that accompany the employment of foreign nationals, please turn to the Kaneko Hidetaka Administrative Scrivener Office.
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Frequently asked questions
When we hire a foreign national, must we file with both the Immigration Services Agency and Hello Work?
Where you hire the person as an employee, the notification by the affiliated organization to the Immigration Services Agency is in principle not required. Article 19-16, paragraph 1 of the Regulation for Enforcement of the Immigration Control Act excludes from its scope employers who must file the notification under Article 28, paragraph 1 of the Labour Policy Comprehensive Promotion Act. What the company files is therefore the notification of employment status of foreign nationals to Hello Work. However, organizations accepting a person without an employment relationship (for example an appointment as a director), and organizations accepting trainees or students, do fall within the immigration notification.
What are the deadlines for the notification of employment status of foreign nationals?
For a person who becomes insured under employment insurance, hiring must be notified by the 10th day of the following month and separation within 10 days counting from the day after the separation. For a person who does not become insured, Form No. 3 is used and both hiring and separation must be notified by the last day of the following month.
What happens if we fail to file?
Failing to file, or filing a false notification, of the employment status of foreign nationals is punishable by a fine of not more than 300,000 yen (Article 40, paragraph 1, item 2 of the Labour Policy Comprehensive Promotion Act). Paragraph 2 of the same Article contains a dual liability provision, so the same penalty is imposed on the corporation as well. A breach by the foreign national of his or her own notification duty is punishable by a fine of not more than 200,000 yen (Article 71-5, item 3 of the Immigration Control Act).
When our trade name or head office address changes, does the company notify the Immigration Services Agency?
No. The matters an organization must report under Article 19-17 of the Immigration Control Act are limited by Appended Table 3-4 of the Regulation for Enforcement to the commencement and the termination of acceptance; a change of name or location is not included. A change of name or location is a matter the foreign national must notify within 14 days under Article 19-16. In practice the company's role is to inform the person of the change and of the new trade name and address.
Is a notification required when the period of stay is extended?
The grounds for notification under Article 28, paragraph 1 of the Labour Policy Comprehensive Promotion Act are limited to two: newly hiring a foreign national and a foreign national in your employment leaving the job. An extension of the period of stay is not in itself a ground for notification. That said, the application for extension requires documents from the company, so deadline management and document preparation are still necessary.
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