Labor administration before entry for a foreign worker hired abroad: waiting for the Certificate of Eligibility and travel delays

Bottom line first: A foreign worker hired abroad cannot start work until the Certificate of Eligibility (CoE) is issued and they enter Japan. Design the employment contract so that entry and acquisition of residence status are the start date or a condition precedent/subsequent, and so that no duty to pay wages arises before work begins. The CoE application is filed by a Gyoseishoshi with the filing-agency qualification; the social insurance, labor insurance and work rules after joining are the Shakai Hoken Roumushi's field.

From informal offer to joining, how long does the Certificate of Eligibility (CoE) take?

The flow of bringing a foreign national over from abroad to employ them differs in order from hiring within Japan. First the receiving organization (the company that hires) applies for the Certificate of Eligibility (CoE); the issued certificate is sent to the worker; the worker obtains a visa at a Japanese embassy or consulate-general overseas; they come to Japan and receive landing permission; and only then can they work with a residence status. Until this chain of procedures is complete, the worker cannot work in Japan.

The CoE is a certificate under Article 7-2 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act. The Minister of Justice (the Immigration Services Agency) certifies in advance that the conditions for landing are met; those seeking to enter on a short-term stay and the like are not covered. The article provides that this application may be filed through an employee of the receiving organization or another person prescribed by Ministry ordinance as a representative, which is also the basis on which a Gyoseishoshi with the filing-agency qualification can file as a representative.

The time to issue varies with the application category, the season and the ebb and flow of immigration administration. The Immigration Services Agency publishes a standard processing period, but it is not a figure that can be given as settled; it moves with each application. When setting a planned joining date, this article does not give a specific period as a settled figure; we recommend confirming the latest standard processing period on the Immigration Services Agency's announcement. It is safer to build the hiring plan with room to spare, on the premise that issuance may be later than expected. For how the whole set of procedures for employing a foreign national divides up, see whom to ask for what when employing a foreign national.

When should the "start date" of the employment contract be set (start date / condition subsequent)?

An informal job offer is generally understood as a labor contract whose taking effect is tied to a future date (a labor contract with a start date and a reserved right to cancel). In overseas hiring, where to place this "start date" is the crux of practice, because conditions that neither the company nor the worker can fully control—issuance of the CoE and entry/acquisition of residence status—sit in between.

The design combines, broadly, two elements.

Element	Content	Aim
Start date (effective start date)	Place the effective date of the labor contract on a specified day after entry and acquisition of residence status	Arrange it so the labor contract does not fully take effect before entry
Condition precedent / subsequent	Make "acquiring residence status and being able to work lawfully" a condition	Define in the contract the consequence if the CoE is not issued or entry is not possible

At the time of hiring there is a duty to clearly state the working conditions in writing and the like. Article 15, paragraph 1 of the Labor Standards Act requires the working conditions—wages, working hours and others—to be stated on concluding the labor contract, and the amendment effective 1 April 2024 added the scope of change of the workplace and the duties to be performed to the items that must be stated. At the recruitment stage, Article 5-3 of the Employment Security Act requires the working conditions to be stated. In overseas hiring, leave in writing, together with the mandatory items, the start date, the fact that acquisition of residence status is a premise, and the treatment of travel and pre-entry-training costs. For the scope of the 2024 amendment on stating working conditions, see the reform of the working-conditions statement rule. For the relationship between residence status and labor administration when hiring talent from China or Taiwan under the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services status, see labor administration and residence status when hiring China/Taiwan talent under that status.

If issuance is delayed and they cannot travel, how are wages and withdrawal of the offer treated?

Before work begins, in principle no duty to pay wages arises. If the effective date (the start date) of the labor contract is placed after entry and acquisition of residence status, there is usually no duty to pay wages before entry. But this depends on how the contract is set; if the start date or conditions are written vaguely, a dispute can arise over when wages begin.

How to treat the case where the CoE is not issued, or is issued but entry is not possible, changes meaning depending on whether you frame it as withdrawal of the informal offer or as the non-fulfilment of a condition precedent/subsequent. Withdrawal of an informal offer is treated on a par with dismissal and is said to require a reason that is objectively reasonable and acceptable by social norms. By contrast, if "acquiring residence status and being able to work lawfully" is built into the contract as a condition, there is room to frame it as a case where the condition was not fulfilled. Which structure is appropriate, and whether that withdrawal or non-fulfilment is held valid in an individual case, is a legal determination against the contract and the circumstances, and is the lawyer's field, not the Shakai Hoken Roumushi's. For how to divide referrals, see when letting an employee go, which to rely on, a Shakai Hoken Roumushi or a lawyer; for the domestic new-graduate joining date of international students and the treatment of a change of residence status, see the new-graduate joining date of international students and the change of residence status. The determination of whether an informal offer may be withdrawn itself is set out in can an informal offer be withdrawn.

Travel delay is an issue that often arises for reasons not attributable to the worker. The practical approach is to define, before trouble arises, the treatment of the wait on delay, the cost burden and the re-setting of the planned joining date in the contract and internal rules.

How are pre-entry training and the waiting period handled, and who bears the cost?

If training is given before joining, where that training takes on the character of work—where participation is effectively compelled and it is done under the company's direction and command—it can count as working time and be subject to wages. The same thinking applies to online training before entry. Because voluntary self-study and compelled training are treated differently, make clear at the recruitment and contract stage which it is.

The cost burden is also a design matter.

Item	Angle to consider
Travel costs (air tickets, etc.)	Whether borne by the company or the worker, and if borne, state the conditions in the contract (including the treatment on early departure)
Pre-entry training	If it has the character of work, it is working time = wages. Make clear whether voluntary or compelled
Waiting period	Define in the contract whether the wait until entry is paid work or outside wages as before the start date
Housing	Securing housing after entry is the real-estate field. If a dormitory is provided, check whether dormitory rules or a wage-deduction labor-management agreement are needed

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An arrangement requiring the return of travel and other costs on early departure must be shaped so that it does not amount to a predetermined indemnity prohibited by the Labor Standards Act (Article 16), and the design needs care. An arrangement on the cost burden presupposes that the worker has agreed with a full understanding of its content.

Who handles the residence procedures and the labor administration after joining?

Dividing the roles at the outset keeps the procedures before and after joining from stalling.

Who	What
Gyoseishoshi (filing-agency qualification)	Filing the CoE application as an agent and organizing the eligibility of the residence status. Because a Shakai Hoken Roumushi cannot file residence-status applications, this goes to a Gyoseishoshi
Shakai Hoken Roumushi	Designing the contract's start date and conditions, stating working conditions, acquiring social insurance and labor insurance after joining, and preparing work rules and wage rules
Lawyer	Individual legal disputes such as the validity of withdrawing an informal offer
Tax accountant	The treatment of income tax and tax treaties
Real estate	Securing housing after entry

Filing residence-status applications is the Gyoseishoshi's work, and it is contracted separately from the Shakai Hoken Roumushi's work, each as an independent entity. Social insurance and employment insurance after joining apply, regardless of nationality, once the conditions for an insured person are met. For the whole picture of foreign employment after joining, see whom to ask for what when employing a foreign national.

Frequently asked questions

Q. In overseas hiring, must we pay wages during the waiting period before entry too?
A. In principle, if the effective date (start date) of the labor contract is placed after entry and acquisition of residence status, there is usually no duty to pay wages for the waiting period before entry. But this depends on how the contract is set. If the start date or conditions are vague, a dispute can arise over when wages begin. We recommend defining clearly in the employment contract or the offer notice whether the wait before entry is treated as paid, or as outside wages because it is before the start date.

Q. If the Certificate of Eligibility (CoE) is not issued, can we withdraw the informal offer?
A. If "acquiring residence status and being able to work lawfully" is built into the contract as a condition, there is room to frame it as a case where the condition was not fulfilled. On the other hand, where you process it as withdrawal of the informal offer without setting a condition, a reason that is objectively reasonable and acceptable by social norms is said to be required, on a par with dismissal. Which structure is appropriate, and whether that processing is held valid in an individual case, is a legal determination that depends on the contract and the circumstances, and is the lawyer's field, not the Shakai Hoken Roumushi's. Preparing the contract's conditions at the hiring stage prevents later disputes.

Q. Does having them do online pre-entry training before entry count as working time?
A. Where that training takes on the character of work—that is, where participation is effectively compelled and it is done under the company's direction and command—it can count as working time and be subject to wages. If it is voluntary self-study, the treatment differs. Even before entry and before work begins, training the company compels can generate wages, so make clear at the recruitment and contract stage whether it is voluntary or compelled, and state it as a working condition.

Q. Can we ask a Shakai Hoken Roumushi to file the Certificate of Eligibility application?
A. Filing residence-status applications is the work of a Gyoseishoshi (one with the filing-agency qualification); a Shakai Hoken Roumushi cannot do it. Article 7-2 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act provides that the application may be filed through an employee of the receiving organization or another person prescribed by Ministry ordinance as a representative, and the filing-agent Gyoseishoshi falls here. The Shakai Hoken Roumushi handles designing the employment contract and the social insurance, labor insurance and work rules after joining. The two are contracted separately, each as an independent entity.

Basis for this article

• Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Cabinet Order No. 319 of 1951), Article 7-2, paragraph 1 — the Minister of Justice may, on an application from a foreign national seeking to land in Japan (excluding short-term stay and the like), issue a certificate (the Certificate of Eligibility) that the conditions for landing are met; paragraph 2 — the application may be filed through an employee of the organization seeking to receive the foreign national or another person prescribed by Ministry ordinance as a representative
• Labor Standards Act (Act No. 49 of 1947), Article 15, paragraph 1 — on concluding a labor contract the employer must state the working conditions, including wages and working hours; the amendment effective 1 April 2024 added items such as the scope of change of the workplace and the duties to be performed (Article 5 of the Enforcement Ordinance)
• Article 16 — the employer must not set a penalty or predetermine an amount of damages for non-performance of the labor contract
• Employment Security Act (Act No. 141 of 1947), Article 5-3 — public employment security offices, fee-charging employment placement businesses, those seeking to recruit, and others must state to job seekers and prospective workers the content of the work, wages, working hours and other working conditions
• The legal nature of an informal offer (a labor contract with a start date and a reserved right to cancel) is an understanding formed by case law; the validity of an individual withdrawal of an informal offer is a legal determination that depends on the contract and the circumstances (the lawyer's field)
• The standard processing period until issuance of the Certificate of Eligibility varies with the application category and the season, so no settled figure is given. The latest standard processing period is to be confirmed on the Immigration Services Agency's announcement (this point confirmed as of 1 November 2026)
• Provisions checked on e-Gov Law Search on 1 November 2026. The soundness of framing a case as withdrawal or as non-fulfilment of a condition where the CoE is not issued, whether pre-entry training has the character of work, and the validity of a cost-return arrangement must be confirmed for each individual contract and case

This article does not determine whether any particular case qualifies. 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 can advise on designing the start date and conditions of the employment contract for a foreign worker hired abroad, stating working conditions, building pre-entry training, the waiting period and the cost burden into internal rules, and acquiring social insurance and labor insurance on entry and joining. Filing the Certificate of Eligibility (CoE) application is the Gyoseishoshi's work and is contracted separately from the Shakai Hoken Roumushi's work, each as an independent entity. Individual legal disputes such as the validity of withdrawing an informal offer are the lawyer's field, income tax and tax treaties the tax accountant's, and housing after entry the real-estate field; each is contracted separately, and there is no referral fee. Fees are set out in the fee schedule, and frequently asked questions are collected in the FAQ.

This article is general information. Individual determinations are made by a qualified professional after a consultation, in light of individual circumstances. Written by Joji Uramatsu (Shakai Hoken Roumushi, Gyoseishoshi, Registered Real Estate Transaction Specialist).