Application path · Job hunting

Tokutei Katsudo · Post-Graduation Job-Hunt Bridge Visa

This is not a path for newly arriving in Japan — it's the official safety net for students already in Japan who graduate without a job offer but want to keep job-hunting here. The moment you graduate, your "留学" status no longer matches your activity, so you change status inside Japan to "特定活動 (継続就職活動)" to stay legally, keep job-hunting, and do limited part-time work within the granted permission. Its two hard gates are a recommendation letter from your alma mater and a clean residence record — and you must apply before your current residence period expires to get the grace-period protection. It is not a work visa, just a buffer: once you land an offer you change again into a working status like "技術・人文知識・国際業務" to truly settle. It fits graduates of universities, graduate schools, junior colleges, kosen, and 専門学校 graduates holding the "専門士" title; non-regular students, those whose school won't issue a letter, and those with almost no job-hunting track record are not eligible.