As working holiday visas are not renewable, if you wish to continue working in Japan after your working holiday period, you will need to change your status of residence.
Specifically, you must change your visa status to a working visa (Technology, Specialist in Humanities/International Service) or a special skills visa.
The following are examples of work that falls under each of the categories of Technology, Specialist in Humanities/International Service.
| Technology | Specialist in Humanities | International Service |
| Programmer Systems engineers Civil engineering and construction design Mechanical design etc., |
Planning Sales Accounting Legal etc., |
Interpreter Translation Language instruction Overseas trading etc., |
Technology refers to ‘work requiring specialist knowledge and skills in the field of science’, Specialist in Humanities refers to ‘work requiring specialist knowledge and skills in the field of humanities’ and International Service refers to ‘work requiring thinking and abilities specific to people from overseas’.
When changing from a working holiday to a work visa, it is a general rule that you must leave the country once. This is because many countries with working holiday agreements stipulate in their working holiday visa requirements that the intention is to leave Japan at the end of the period of stay.
