When a Specified Skilled Worker changes jobs, how are social and employment insurance handed over?

In short: When a Specified Skilled Worker changes employer, insured status for social insurance (health insurance and employees' pension) and employment insurance is lost at the former company and acquired again at the new one, because insurance attaches to the employment relationship, not the residence status (Health Insurance Act, Articles 35 and 36; Employees' Pension Insurance Act, Article 27; Employment Insurance Act, Article 7). The former company files the loss — within 5 days for social insurance and 10 days for employment insurance from the day after the leaving date — and the new company files the acquisition on the same deadlines. A job change itself also requires a fresh application to change the residence status (unlike a technical intern, this is not a free transfer), plus a notification from the accepting organisation. From a shakai hoken roumushi's labour-management viewpoint, this page organises the loss and acquisition of social and employment insurance and the steps to avoid any uninsured gap, leaving the application to change the residence status and the support plan to a gyoseishoshi or a registered support organisation, and disputes over termination to an attorney, under separate engagements as independent business entities.

A Specified Skilled Worker (ichigo) may change jobs within a certain range, but not "just by filing a notice." The immigration procedure and the social- and employment-insurance procedures move at the same time, and getting the order or the deadlines wrong can create an uninsured gap or make the stay unstable. This page is for the HR staff of small and medium-sized enterprises that accept or release Specified Skilled Workers.

Can a Specified Skilled Worker change jobs freely?

Unlike a technical intern, who in principle cannot freely change training sites, a Specified Skilled Worker (ichigo) can change jobs of their own accord. However, a job change requires a fresh application to change the residence status; the worker cannot move to the next company merely by filing a notice. A change within the same specified industrial field and work category is the most common, while moving to a different field requires meeting the skills test and Japanese-language test requirements anew. Starting work at the new company before permission is granted can amount to unauthorised activity, so the start date is set after permission.

Where the worker moves from a technical intern to a Specified Skilled Worker (ichigo) but stays at the same company, no loss or acquisition of insured status arises. The details of the in-house transition are covered in Transition from technical intern to Specified Skilled Worker and social insurance. The loss and acquisition below arise only when the company changes.

	Technical intern	Specified Skilled Worker (ichigo)
Job change / transfer	In principle not free	Possible at the worker's will
Immigration procedure needed	(On transition) change of residence status	Change of residence status at each job change
Social and employment insurance	Attaches to the employment relationship	Attaches to the employment relationship (loss/acquisition when the company changes)

How do the former and the new company handle social and employment insurance?

Social insurance (health insurance and employees' pension) and employment insurance attach to the employment relationship with the company, not to the residence status. So when the company changes, insured status is lost at the former company and acquired again at the new one. The procedures and deadlines do not change with nationality or residence status — they are the same as for a Japanese person joining or leaving mid-career.

Procedure	Who / where to	Deadline	Basis
Health insurance & employees' pension — loss notice (former)	Employer → Pension Office (or health-insurance society)	Within 5 days of the day after leaving	Health Insurance Act, Art. 36; Employees' Pension Insurance Act, Art. 27
Health insurance & employees' pension — acquisition notice (new)	Employer → Pension Office (or health-insurance society)	Within 5 days of the joining date	Health Insurance Act, Art. 35; Employees' Pension Insurance Act, Art. 27
Employment insurance — loss notice (former)	Employer → Hello Work	Within 10 days of the day after ceasing to be insured	Employment Insurance Act, Art. 7
Employment insurance — acquisition notice (new)	Employer → Hello Work	By the 10th of the month after becoming insured	Employment Insurance Act, Art. 7

The date of losing insured status is not the leaving date itself but the day after the leaving date (Health Insurance Act, Article 36). If the former company hands the worker the employment-insurance separation slip and a document confirming loss of health insurance (such as the certificate of loss of insured status) at the time of leaving, the new company's acquisition procedure goes smoothly. Because a Specified Skilled Worker (ichigo)'s pay must be equal to or above that of a Japanese worker, a pay rise on the job change may require a revision of the standard monthly remuneration (monthly-change notice) at the new company.

Who arranges the change of residence status and the employment contract?

The application to change the residence status and its drafting and filing on the applicant's behalf are the work of the applicant or an accredited gyoseishoshi or a registered support organisation. A shakai hoken roumushi cannot file residence-status applications on behalf of the applicant. In the Specified Skilled Worker scheme, the new accepting organisation draws up the support plan for the ichigo worker and either provides the support in-house or entrusts it to a registered support organisation. These are the field of a gyoseishoshi or a registered support organisation, and are contracted separately from shakai hoken roumushi work, as an independent business entity.

On the other hand, the working conditions of the employment contract itself (working hours, wages, holidays, application of social insurance) and the drawing-up of work rules and wage rules are handled by a shakai hoken roumushi. The labour side of the accepting organisation's support system (in-house or entrusted) is in The in-house support system for Specified Skilled Workers and labour management, and matching the residence period with the contract period is in Residence period and employment-contract period. The accepting organisation also has a duty to notify the Immigration Services Agency when the employment contract is changed or ended (ad-hoc notification, in principle within 14 days of the day the event arises). This notification is an immigration procedure done by a gyoseishoshi, a registered support organisation or the person concerned, separate from the loss and acquisition of social and employment insurance.

How do you prevent gaps (uninsured periods) in the procedures?

The most common problem is a gap between the leaving date and the joining date, which creates an uninsured, no-pension period. If the worker can join the new company on the day after leaving the former one, no gap arises; but if a gap opens up — for instance while waiting for permission to change the residence status — the worker must enrol in National Health Insurance and the National Pension at the municipality for that period. Seeing a doctor while health insurance has lapsed means paying the full medical cost up front.

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The order that avoids an uninsured period is as follows. First, align the prospect of permission to change the residence status with the start date of work. Second, the former company should not delay the loss notice and the issue of the separation slip and certificate of loss of insured status at the time of leaving. Third, the new company should file the acquisition notice on the joining date so that the health-insurance card (or the insurance information for the My Number card) can be used quickly. Fourth, where a gap is unavoidable, guide the worker on switching to National Health Insurance and the National Pension for that period. Gaps in the procedures affect not only the worker's life but also the review at the time of renewing the period of stay (the record of fulfilling public obligations).

Common gap	Result	How to prevent
Gap between leaving and joining	Uninsured, no-pension period	Guide the switch to National Health Insurance / National Pension; adjust the joining date
Former company's loss notice is late	New company's acquisition stalls	Issue the certificate of loss of insured status and the separation slip on leaving
Pay rose but left unaddressed	Standard monthly remuneration out of step with reality	File a revision (monthly-change notice) at the new company
Work started before permission	Risk of unauthorised activity	Start work after permission to change the residence status

What can 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 do for you?

四葉社会保険労務士事務所 in Kohinata, Bunkyo Ward, handles, for the labour side of a Specified Skilled Worker's job change, the loss and acquisition of health insurance, employees' pension and employment insurance, designing the steps to avoid an uninsured period, a revision of the standard monthly remuneration (monthly-change notice) where pay changes, drawing up work rules and wage rules, and checking the working conditions of the employment contract. The initial consultation is free. We quote according to the content and number of employees; for how fees are thought about, see the fee schedule, and the questions we are asked most often are on the FAQ page.

The application to change the residence status and its filing on the applicant's behalf, drawing up the support plan for the ichigo worker, and the accepting organisation's notification are the work of a gyoseishoshi or a registered support organisation (a shakai hoken roumushi cannot file residence-status applications on the applicant's behalf), and individual disputes over termination or working conditions are the work of an attorney; we will guide you to contract with each separately, as an independent business entity. This office does not accept referral fees.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Can a Specified Skilled Worker move to the next company just by filing a notice?
A. No. A Specified Skilled Worker (ichigo) can change jobs of their own accord, but each job change requires an application to change the residence status. Starting work at the new company before permission is granted can amount to unauthorised activity, so the start date is set after permission. The application and its filing on the applicant's behalf are the work of the applicant or an accredited gyoseishoshi or a registered support organisation; a shakai hoken roumushi cannot file residence-status applications.

Q. What happens to social and employment insurance when the company changes?
A. Insured status is lost at the former company and acquired again at the new one, because insurance attaches to the employment relationship, not the residence status (Health Insurance Act, Articles 35 and 36; Employees' Pension Insurance Act, Article 27; Employment Insurance Act, Article 7). The former company files the loss within 5 days (social insurance) or 10 days (employment insurance) from the day after leaving, and the new company files the acquisition on the same deadlines.

Q. What happens to insurance if there is a gap between leaving and joining?
A. That period is uninsured with no pension, so the worker must enrol in National Health Insurance and the National Pension at the municipality. Seeing a doctor while health insurance has lapsed means paying the full medical cost up front. If the schedule can be arranged so that the worker joins on the day after leaving, no gap arises.

Q. The pay rose on the job change. Is any procedure needed?
A. A Specified Skilled Worker (ichigo)'s pay must be equal to or above that of a Japanese worker, and if the pay rise meets requirements such as the standard monthly remuneration changing by two or more grades, a revision (monthly-change notice) may be needed at the new company. Whether it actually applies depends on the make-up of the pay and the size of the change, so a shakai hoken roumushi checks it.

Sources for this article

• Health Insurance Act (健康保険法, Act No. 70 of 1922), Article 35 (time of acquiring insured status) and Article 36 (time of losing insured status = the day after ceasing to be employed at the workplace) (confirmed against e-Gov on October 27, 2026)
• Employees' Pension Insurance Act (厚生年金保険法, Act No. 115 of 1954), Article 27 (notification by the employer of acquisition and loss of insured status and of the standard monthly remuneration and bonus amounts) (confirmed against e-Gov on October 27, 2026)
• Employment Insurance Act (雇用保険法, Act No. 116 of 1974), Article 7 (notification by the employer concerning insured persons) (confirmed against e-Gov on October 27, 2026)
• The acquisition and loss notices for health insurance and employees' pension are due within 5 days of the event (guidance of the Japan Pension Service, referenced October 27, 2026); the employment-insurance loss notice is due within 10 days of the day after ceasing to be insured, and the acquisition notice by the 10th of the month after becoming insured (Hello Work guidance, referenced October 27, 2026)
• A Specified Skilled Worker (ichigo)'s job change requires an application to change the residence status, and even a change within the field is subject to review and permission (Immigration Services Agency guidance on applications to change the residence status, referenced October 27, 2026); ad-hoc notification by the accepting organisation (change or end of the employment contract, etc.) is in principle within 14 days of the day the event arises (Immigration Services Agency guidance on notifications by the organisation of affiliation, referenced October 27, 2026)
• A Specified Skilled Worker (ichigo)'s pay must be equal to or above the amount paid to a Japanese worker doing the work (the ministerial ordinance on Specified Skilled Worker criteria, referenced October 27, 2026); where the standard monthly remuneration is out of step with reality by two or more grades, a revision applies (Health Insurance Act and Employees' Pension Insurance Act; monthly-change notice)

This article does not go so far as to decide whom you should consult. The loss and acquisition of social and employment insurance and the procedures, the steps to avoid an uninsured period, the revision, and drawing up work rules and wage rules are the work of a shakai hoken roumushi. The application to change the residence status and its filing on the applicant's behalf, drawing up the support plan, and the accepting organisation's notification are the work of a gyoseishoshi or a registered support organisation (a shakai hoken roumushi cannot file residence-status applications), and individual disputes over termination or working conditions are the work of an attorney; each is carried out by an independent business entity and contracted separately. This office does not accept referral fees. The cost of consulting 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 is set out in the fee schedule, and the questions we are asked most often are on the FAQ page.

This article is general information. Judgments that fit your particular circumstances are made by a qualified professional after a meeting. Written by Joji Uramatsu (Shakai Hoken Roumushi (Certified Social Insurance and Labor Consultant), Gyoseishoshi (Certified Administrative Procedures Legal Specialist), Registered Real Estate Transaction Specialist).