Hiring a foreign national in Japan means sponsoring their work visa — preparing and filing a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) with the Immigration Services Agency, and confirming that the role genuinely matches an eligible status of residence. Oak Immigration Services manages this for employers end to end, in English and Japanese.
What "sponsorship" actually involves
Unlike some countries, Japan has no separate employer "sponsor licence." Instead, for each hire the company supports a status-of-residence application by supplying corporate documents and a clear job description, and by demonstrating that the duties fall within a work status such as Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services, Highly Skilled Professional, or Business Manager.
The sponsorship process, step by step
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Pre-hire eligibility check | Written confirmation the candidate can be sponsored for the role, before you make the offer. |
| 2. Document preparation | We assemble company and candidate documents and draft the application. |
| 3. COE filing | We file the Certificate of Eligibility with Immigration and respond to any queries. |
| 4. Issuance & visa | On COE issuance, the candidate applies for the visa abroad, or changes status if already in Japan. |
| 5. Onboarding verification | At day one we verify the residence card and status against the role, with written confirmation for your records. |
Documents the company provides
- Company registration (履歴事項全部証明書) and, where relevant, recent financial statements
- A detailed job description and the employment contract or offer
- Company overview / brochure and, for some cases, the reason for hiring
Oak prepares the full set and tells you exactly what is needed for your situation.
Timeline & cost
Document prep typically takes one to two weeks; COE issuance is then about one to three months (Immigration-controlled). Our professional fee for a work-visa COE starts at ¥165,000 (tax included); see the fees page for change-of-status and renewal pricing, and for corporate retainer options.
Beyond the first hire — ongoing compliance
Sponsorship is not a one-off. Statuses expire, roles change, and employers are responsible for verifying the right to work and keeping records. Our corporate immigration retainer adds expiry monitoring, renewal reminders, onboarding verification and audit support across your whole foreign workforce.