Cases have emerged where foreigners in the process of applying for refugee status are able to change to a work visa.

It is generally difficult for foreigners in the process of applying for refugee status to change to a work visa

Previously, I wrote an article stating that foreigners in the process of applying for refugee status cannot change to a work visa, but recently, it seems that this trend has been changing.

The reasons are not certain, but cases where foreigners in the process of applying for refugee status have been allowed to change to statuses such as “Technical, Humanities Knowledge, International Business" have been emerging.

I have confirmed this matter with the Tokyo Immigration Bureau, and it seems that such permissions are gradually being granted. However, I could not specify the conditions, so I would like to summarize my thoughts below.

Conditions for foreigners in the process of applying for refugee status to change to a work visa

First of all, whether the foreigner is in the process of applying for refugee status or not, to obtain any visa, they must meet the conditions for obtaining that visa. This is obvious.

For example, regarding the typical work visa, the status of residence “Technical, Humanities Knowledge, International Business," detailed explanations are provided in the following article, so please refer to it.

Now, assuming that the conditions for obtaining a work visa are met, the following conditions must also be met.

1. The visa before applying for refugee status was the status of residence “Temporary Visitor." This means that in cases where someone came to Japan on a travel visa and immediately applied for refugee status, if someone who had another visa, such as “Student" or “Technical Intern Training," applied for refugee status for work purposes or due to some trouble, they absolutely cannot change to a work visa.
2. The current visa, that is, the residence status “Designated Activities," has a residence period of 6 months and has obtained a work permit. People with residence periods of 3 or 4 months, or those who have not received a work permit, are severely negatively evaluated by immigration, such as “this person is not a genuine refugee," so such individuals are unlikely to be allowed to change to a work visa.

If both of the above conditions 1 and 2 are met, and if the conditions for a work visa are also met, there is a possibility of changing to a work visa.

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