After high school, a child on Dependent status who wants to work: what the immigration page actually says

The page is about a child who entered with their parents on Dependent (家族滞在, kazoku taizai). A Japanese high-school diploma does not meet the education test for a work status. The Immigration Services Agency's page says the education requirements of work statuses in the immigration law, such as Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services (技術・人文知識・国際業務), are not met in that situation. The same page says that if every condition it lists is met, the person may be someone who can apply to change to Long-Term Resident (定住者, teijūsha) or to Designated Activities (特定活動, tokutei katsudō):

一定の要件を満たす場合には、「定住者」又は「特定活動」への在留資格の変更の対象となる場合があります。

The page does not say the change will be granted, and it does not set a fee. Its notes say it was updated on 24 July 2024 and 30 September 2024, including a later change from Designated Activities to Long-Term Resident and what counts toward five years of stay. Read those notes on the page. The lists below are the two application checks.

Change to Long-Term Resident (定住者)

The page says the person has to meet every one of these:

1. Finished compulsory education in Japan. The note says that means graduating from an elementary school under the School Education Act, including the lower years of a compulsory-education school and the elementary department of a special-needs school, and from a junior high, including night junior high, the upper years of a compulsory-education school, the lower course of a secondary school, and the junior-high department of a special-needs school.
2. Graduated from a Japanese high school, or be expected to. The note includes part-time and correspondence, the upper course of a secondary school, and the high-school department of a special-needs school. It also includes a college of technology, and an upper course at a specialized-training college that the Minister has designated as giving university-entrance qualification.
3. Since entering Japan, have kept the status Dependent. The note says a person on another status who still fits Dependent, and it gives Student (留学) as the example, is also in this handling.
4. Were under 18 when they entered Japan.
5. Have a job decided, including a job offer. The note says this is for work beyond the permission to work outside your status, which the page states as 28 hours a week.
6. Have done the public duties, including filing an address.

The papers the page lists for the change include the change form marked T for Long-Term Resident, a photo from the last three months, a CV that records finishing compulsory education in Japan, the elementary and junior-high diploma or certificate, the high-school diploma or a certificate that graduation is expected, the employment contract or the offer (and, if the offer omits the period, the type of employment and the pay, a job notice that shows those), a guarantor letter (身元保証書), a residence record for the whole household issued within three months with the My Number left off, and the passport and residence card to show. If you apply while still in high school, the page says to bring the diploma when the new card is issued.

Change to Designated Activities (特定活動)

This list is not the same list. The page does not ask, in these six lines, for elementary and junior-high graduation. It asks for every one of these:

1. Graduated from a Japanese high school, or be expected to, in the same sense as above. If the student transferred into the high school (編入), the page adds that they need Japanese at about the level of the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test N2, on top of graduating. The document list asks a transfer student to show N2 or higher, or 400 or above on the BJT Business Japanese Proficiency Test.
2. The supporter (the parent who has been the sponsor) is in Japan as the personal guarantor.
3. Since entry, have kept Dependent status, with the same note that someone on another status who still fits Dependent, again with Student (留学) as the example, is included.
4. Were under 18 at entry.
5. Have a job decided, including an offer, again for work beyond 28 hours a week.
6. Have done the public duties, including the address filing.

The papers use the change form marked U, a CV that records the date the student entered the Japanese high school, a certificate of enrollment that shows that date, the diploma or expected-graduation certificate, the job papers, and a guarantor letter from the supporter. The page says that when this status is later renewed, the guarantor still has to be the person who was the supporter during the Dependent years.

What the page does not do

The page does not say you may stay on Dependent and work full time after graduation. The job condition is for work beyond 28 hours a week. It sets no filing month and no period of stay. If you apply during high school, the diploma is handed over when the card is issued. The office may ask for more documents.

The two statuses are different applications. A student who did not finish Japanese elementary and junior high is outside the Long-Term Resident list as written. They may still read the Designated Activities list, which is built around the high school, the supporter as guarantor, age at entry, the job, and the public duties. A student who transferred into high school and cannot show the N2-level evidence the page asks for does not meet that extra line.

What to do now

1. Read the residence card. The status name has to be 家族滞在, or another status that the page says still fits Dependent. The page's example of that second group is 留学. It does not list every other status.
2. Write down age at entry. The page's line is under 18 at entry, not a different age.
3. Decide which list you are trying to meet. Long-Term Resident, on this page, includes finishing Japanese elementary and junior high. Designated Activities, on this page, turns on whether the high-school entry was a transfer.
4. Get the job offer in writing, with the period, the type of employment and the pay, before you file. The page is about work over 28 hours a week.
5. File at the regional immigration office with the form it names, T or U. Take the passport and the residence card even if someone else carries the papers in.
6. If the case is unclear, ask that office. The page lists 045-370-9755 and, for FRESC, 0570-011000. A phone call is not a permission.