The Zero Illegal Residents Plan: What Employers of Foreign Nationals Should Do Now

The Immigration Services Agency of Japan published the “Zero Illegal Residents Plan for the Safety and Security of the People” and later compiled a “Powerful Promotion Package” to strengthen it. For companies employing foreign nationals, the most directly relevant element is the stated policy of actively cracking down on employers who promote illegal work. This article reviews the plan using primary sources and sets out what companies and foreign residents should each check. If you reside lawfully and employ people properly, there is nothing to fear.

Sources: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, “Zero Illegal Residents Plan for the Safety and Security of the People” (23 May 2025, Reiwa 7) / “Zero Illegal Residents Plan – Powerful Promotion Package” (posted 22 May 2026) / e-Gov Law Search, “Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act”

What the Zero Illegal Residents Plan Is

The “Zero Illegal Residents Plan for the Safety and Security of the People” was published by the Immigration Services Agency on 23 May 2025 (Reiwa 7). It is organised into three stages — entry control, residence management and refugee screening, and departure and deportation — with seven pillars.

#	Pillar (as titled in the original)	Stage
(1)	Early introduction of the electronic travel authorisation system (official abbreviation: JESTA)	Entry control
(2)	Approaches to countries with many foreign nationals subject to finalised deportation	Entry control
(3)	Speeding up the examination of refugee recognition applications	Residence management / refugee screening
(4)	DX (digital transformation) of immigration and residence management	Residence management / refugee screening
(5)	Promotion of state-funded deportation with escort officers	Departure / deportation
(6)	Promotion of voluntary return using the new system under the revised Act	Departure / deportation
(7)	Prevention of illegal work by persons on provisional release	Departure / deportation

Pillar (1), JESTA, screens travellers based on information provided online in advance. The original text states that the agency “aims to introduce it during FY2028, moving up the planned 2030 introduction.” The system itself is covered in our article on JESTA, the electronic travel authorisation system.

Pillar (3) on refugee screening and pillars (5) and (6) on deportation concern deportation procedures. This article simply notes them as facts and focuses on pillar (7), which bears directly on corporate practice.

What the Powerful Promotion Package Added

On 22 May 2026, the Immigration Services Agency published the “Zero Illegal Residents Plan – Powerful Promotion Package.” The agency’s page states that priority measures were examined under the leadership of the State Minister of Justice, and that “strengthened enforcement” was added as a new measure with a view to reducing the roughly 68,000 illegal overstayers (as of 1 January 2026, Reiwa 8).

In relation to pillar (7), the package lists the following:

Strengthened enforcement against those who promote illegal work; strict handling. / Measures against improper vehicle yards. / Propose incorporating the crime of promoting illegal work as a disqualification ground in each industry-regulating act (legislative amendment required).

(8) Strengthened enforcement [new] … Strengthening joint and immigration-only enforcement. / Realising cyber patrols. / Considering measures to promote information provision and reporting.

The proposal to make the crime of promoting illegal work a disqualification ground in industry-regulating acts is recorded as a proposal requiring legislative amendment. It has not been implemented. Directionally, however, it signals that promoting illegal work may come to affect the continuation of a business itself.

The Pillar That Directly Affects Companies: Preventing Illegal Work by Persons on Provisional Release

The seventh pillar reads as follows:

Focus on monitoring the movements of persons on provisional release and deter illegal work. In cooperation with the police, actively crack down on illegal work by persons on provisional release and on employers who promote illegal work.

The explicit reference to “employers who promote illegal work” is what matters. Enforcement is not aimed only at the foreign national who worked.

Provisional release is not a residence status. The agency’s guidance for employers explains that provisional release is a measure temporarily suspending detention for a foreign national undergoing deportation procedures, and that a person on provisional release cannot work because the reverse of the provisional release permit generally carries the condition that the holder “may not engage in an occupation or an activity for which remuneration is received.” A provisional release permit is not a residence card, so particular care is required when hiring anyone who cannot present a residence card.

The Crime of Promoting Illegal Work (Immigration Control Act, Article 73-2)

The crime is set out in Article 73-2 of the Immigration Control Act. Three types of conduct are covered.

Item	Conduct (statutory text)
Item 1	A person who, in connection with business activities, has caused a foreign national to engage in illegal work
Item 2	A person who has placed a foreign national under their control in order to cause them to engage in illegal work
Item 3	A person who, as a business, has brokered the act of causing a foreign national to engage in illegal work or the act in the preceding item

The statutory penalty is imprisonment for not more than 3 years or a fine of not more than 3 million yen, and both may be imposed. In addition, under Article 76-2 (dual liability), where an employee commits this offence in connection with the business, the corporation is also fined alongside the individual offender.

“I did not know” is not a defence. Article 73-2, paragraph 2 provides that a person “cannot escape punishment under that paragraph on the ground that they did not know” the relevant facts, “provided, however, that this does not apply where there was no negligence.” The agency’s guidance for employers likewise states that punishment cannot be escaped where there was negligence, such as not having checked the residence card.

Act No. 60 of 2024 (promulgated 21 June 2024) raises the penalty for this offence from “imprisonment of not more than 3 years or a fine of not more than 3 million yen” to “not more than 5 years or not more than 5 million yen (both may be imposed).” That Act is to come into force on 1 April 2027 (Reiwa 9), except for certain provisions.

What Counts as Illegal Work

The Immigration Services Agency explains that illegal work arises in the following three situations.

1. An illegal resident or a person subject to deportation works (e.g. a person whose period of stay has expired works)
2. A person works without having received permission to work from the Immigration Services Agency (e.g. a student works without permission)
3. A person works beyond the scope permitted by the residence status they currently hold (e.g. a student works beyond the permitted hours, in principle 28 hours per week)

The third type can arise even for people residing lawfully. On the scope of work permitted under each residence status, see also Requirements and Cautions for Companies Hiring Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services Workers.

What Companies Should Do

1. Check the residence card

The agency asks employers to check two places on the residence card.

Where to check	What to look for
Front, “Restrictions on Work"	"No restrictions” means no limits on the work. If it says “Work not permitted”, “Only activities permitted under the status of residence”, or “Only activities designated in the designation letter”, confirm the scope
Back, “Permission to engage in activities outside the status qualification”	Entries such as “Permitted (up to 28 hours per week in principle; excluding adult entertainment businesses)” allow work within that scope

Where the card says “Only activities designated in the designation letter”, and where the residence status is Specified Skilled Worker, the designation letter itself must be checked. The residence card also states the residence status and the expiry date of the period of stay (Article 19-4, paragraph 1). Employers should manage the expiry date on their side as well.

2. Verify by reading the IC chip

The agency distributes the “Residence Card Reader Application” free of charge. It reads the information recorded on the IC chip so that it can be compared against the printed card, making forgery or alteration easy to detect. Supported environments are Windows 11, macOS 13 or later, Android 12.0 or later, and iOS 16.0 or later. From 14 November 2025 (Reiwa 7), the card-number lapse inquiry can also be used from the app.

Because forged cards using genuine residence card numbers exist, the agency warns that a number inquiry result alone does not prove validity. Combining the IC chip reading with a visual check of the card is the reliable approach.

3. Keep records of your checks

Retain a copy of the residence card, the result from the reader application, and the date and name of the person who carried out the check. This is not a statutory obligation, but it is the material with which you demonstrate that there was no negligence. Keeping a register of expiry dates also prevents unintended illegal work caused by a missed extension.

4. File the employment status notification

Under Article 28, paragraph 1 of the Labour Measures Comprehensive Promotion Act, employers must confirm the name, residence status and period of stay of a foreign national on hiring and separation and notify Hello Work. Foreign nationals with the status of “Diplomat” or “Official”, and special permanent residents, are excluded.

Category	Form	Deadline
Covered by employment insurance (hiring)	Notification of acquisition of insured status	By the 10th of the following month
Covered by employment insurance (separation)	Notification of loss of insured status	Within 10 days from the day after separation
Not covered by employment insurance	Employment Status Notification (Form 3)	End of the following month, for both hiring and separation

Failure to notify, or a false notification, is punishable by a fine of not more than 300,000 yen (Article 40, paragraph 1, item 2), and paragraph 2 of that article imposes dual liability on the corporation. For notifications where you host Specified Skilled Workers, see Obligations of Companies Accepting Specified Skilled Workers.

What This Means for Foreign Nationals Residing Lawfully

Those who reside lawfully and work within the scope of their residence status will not be disadvantaged by this policy. What we ask you to confirm are the following basic duties.

Duty	Statutory basis	Deadline / content
Carrying the residence card	Art. 23, para. 2	At all times (not required under age 16 — Art. 23, para. 5)
Responding to a request to present	Art. 23, para. 3	Comply with immigration inspectors, police officers, etc., including submitting to measures to check the IC chip
Address notification after new landing	Art. 19-7, para. 1	Within 14 days of settling on an address
Notification of change of address	Art. 19-9, para. 1	Within 14 days of moving to the new address
Notification on the affiliated organisation	Art. 19-16	Within 14 days of the event arising

Failure to carry the residence card is punishable by a fine of not more than 200,000 yen (Art. 75-3), and refusing to present it by imprisonment of not more than 1 year or a fine of not more than 200,000 yen (Art. 75-2). Failure to file a notification carries a fine of not more than 200,000 yen (Art. 71-5), and a false notification imprisonment of not more than 1 year or a fine of not more than 200,000 yen (Art. 71-2).

Neglecting the address notification is also a ground for revoking the residence status. Article 22-4, paragraph 1, items 8 and 9 provide that failing to notify an address within 90 days of newly becoming a mid- to long-term resident, and failing to notify a new address within 90 days of leaving the registered address, are each grounds for revocation (unless there is a justifiable reason). On notifications when changing jobs, see Procedures When Changing Jobs on an Engineer Visa; on the revocation system generally, see Revocation Risks for the Engineer Visa.

The most common enquiry we receive is from people who forgot to extend their period of stay. The extension application must be filed by the expiry date. For the basics of residence status, see also What Is a Residence Status? The Fundamentals.

Summary

• The Zero Illegal Residents Plan was published on 23 May 2025 and consists of seven pillars.
• The Powerful Promotion Package of 22 May 2026 added “strengthened enforcement” as a new measure.
• What matters most for companies is the policy of “actively cracking down on employers who promote illegal work.”
• The crime of promoting illegal work (Art. 73-2) carries imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 3 million yen. Lack of knowledge is no defence, and corporations are fined as well.
• Corporate preparation comes down to four things: checking the two fields on the residence card, reading the IC chip, keeping records of the checks, and filing notifications with Hello Work.
• Those residing lawfully need only observe the duty to carry the card and the 14-day notification deadlines.

Our Support

For building compliance systems for employing foreign nationals, drafting residence card checking procedures, and advice on the various notifications, please leave it to the Kaneko Hidetaka Administrative Scrivener Office.

• 98% approval rate
• Languages: Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, English
• Free initial consultation
• Nationwide service centred on Chiba and Tokyo (online consultation available)

Contact us here