JCL Foreign Language School
Working part-time and your visa
The rules for working on a Student residence status, and how the school keeps track of your hours.
the weekly limit
a week in the long holidays
to file your weekly report
The limits are the law's. The counting is ours.
JCL Foreign Language School
Getting permission to work
PERMISSION
You cannot work before the permission is granted. Neither route costs anything.
At the airport, on arrival
At airports that issue your residence card — Kansai International among them — you can hand in the application at immigration and have the permission stamped on the spot. This is the quickest way.
Later, at the immigration bureau
If you forgot, or your card was not issued at the airport, you apply at the regional immigration bureau for your address. It can take a few weeks.
The permission is a blanket one attached to your Student status, so you do not reapply when you change employer. It never covers work connected with the adult entertainment industry.
JCL Foreign Language School
Counting the 28 hours
THE 28-HOUR RULE
This is the part people get wrong. The count does not reset at the end of a week: from any day you pick, the previous seven days must not exceed 28 hours.
It resets when Sunday ends
From any day, the previous seven days must stay under 28 hours
How you go over
| Day | Hours worked |
|---|---|
| Sat | 8 |
| Sun | 8 |
| Mon | 6 |
| Tue | 6 |
| Wed | 4 |
That is 32 hours across five days. By Wednesday the previous seven days exceed 28, so it is a breach — even though the calendar calls it 'last week and this week'.
JCL Foreign Language School
Holidays and jobs
HOLIDAYS ＆ RESTRICTIONS
Long school holidays
During the long holiday periods set in the JCL academic calendar, up to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week is allowed. Which periods count is fixed by the calendar and decided automatically in the weekly report. It is not for you to decide.
Work you may not do
Work connected with businesses regulated under the Adult Entertainment Business Act is outside what the permission covers. Washing dishes or cleaning at such a venue is still out, even with no contact with customers.
JCL Foreign Language School
The weekly report
WEEKLY REPORT
Reporting takes a minute, on your phone
Recounting seven-day windows yourself is not realistic. The counting is done by the school's system.
Register once
Your employer, entered at the start. You won't be asked again.
Put in your hours
Last week's hours, that's all. Didn't work? Tap 'no work'.
It warns you first
Nearing 28 hours, the screen tells you there and then.
Two jobs are added together for you. Your last ten weeks show as a chart — the same screen the school sees — and the records go straight into your residence renewal.
JCL Foreign Language School
If you go over
The heaviest consequence is the last one.
- Your residence period may not be renewed.
- You can become subject to deportation for unauthorised activity.
- Even with an offer from a university or vocational college, the change of residence status you need in order to take it up may be refused — the offer goes to waste.
Worth remembering
- Tuition and dormitory fees are paid before you enrol — don't count on part-time earnings.
- If attendance or results slip, we'll look at your hours together.
- Keep your payslips; they may be needed at renewal.
- Changed jobs, or left one? Update it there and then.
Kyoto’s minimum wage is about ¥1,100 an hour. A full 28-hour week (120 hours a month) is roughly ¥132,000 before tax — a help with living costs (¥40,000–60,000 a month), nowhere near tuition.
Sources: the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, and JCL's student regulations. Figures are approximate.
