Can an International Student Study and Work in Japan?

It’s a common question for international students who want to study and work in Japan. Here’s what you need to know about how you can fit studying into your full-time job as a working student.

As an international student, it is hard for you to find out whether studying and working in Japan is possible. It takes a lot more effort to do so. But, don’t worry! Here we share all the information you should know before studying and working there.

To study in Japan, you must have a valid visa to enter the country and permission from local authorities if you plan to work while studying. Some types of visas permit study and employment under certain conditions; however, you will need to obtain permission from both immigration officers and your future employer.

After you have enrolled at a Japanese university, you can apply to work as a student. However, there are limitations as to how much you can work.

Can International Students Study and Work in Japan?

The answer is: YES! International students can study and work in Japan. But it’s not easy to get a work visa as an international student in Japan. Working while studying is only allowed if you’re on an ‘exchange’ program like one found in the IES Abroad World Guide country information. Other than that, it takes a lot of planning and effort to gain permission to be able to work in Japan while you’re a student here.”

In the previous article, I talked about the possibility of International students in the USA studying and working, this is totally different from Universities in Japan. In Japan, you can get a part-time job while you are still studying. Every school has a designated office whose duty is to announce to you different job openings and career paths for International students. To buttress this, the school enrolls you into Japan’s pension system because you must get a part-time job.

Also, the amount of scholarships in Japan is endless, it only depends on your academic performance and quality recommendation from your supervisor.

The work and study permit for international students called the “Designated Activities Visa,” is available to foreigners who have entered Japan to study at a school or university as full-time students or permanent teachers. It can also be issued to foreign employees working on assignments here. If you receive a visa as a student or teacher, you can study and work in Japan.

If you want to work then you shouldn’t exceed a max of 28hrs per week. The same thing is applicable if you want to work in the lab as a TA/RA position then you can earn 250,000 yen ($1,600) for 2 quarters (a quarter is 3months so we have 4 quarters in a year).

Additionally, we have Prof personal RA tips ($400) for TA/RA students if you are good at running deep learning models in the laboratory and good with paper formatting.

Finally, you can shorten your 2years master’s program to 1year so that you can cut down on school fees cost (this you have to discuss with your research advisor) but for Ph.D., you have 4 years maximum.

You can only be disturbed about fees if you have not secured a part-time job yet or yet to grab one of the big whale scholarships (MEXT, Rotary Yoneyama) to the University.

The living expense here is around 50k yen (400$) monthly (based on plenty management).

Language: All courses are taught in English but you must learn Japanese.

How Can an International Student Study and Work in Japan?

My personal experience as an international student working and studying in Japan; I have JASSO (Japan Student Scholarship Organisation) around 48k yen (380$) monthly then I got a TA position with a special Prof TA tip…I work in the lab as a part-time job. Usually, you have April to target MEXT (Around 145k yen monthly for 2years ) but the scholarship is something you must apply for before getting admission. It works just like Jamb UTME where you fill your first choice and second choice university. If you are among the selected applicants, MEXT will forward all your details to the University and you will be available 1year after to start your program (Works for Undergraduate and research students). On the other hand, you have December to target Rotary Yoneyama (140k monthly for 2years). They are part of my Ph.D. plans.