Reporting foreign hires to Hello Work: who files, what to include and when
Every employer in Japan that hires a foreign national, or has a foreign employee leave, has to report it to Hello Work. The duty comes from Article 28 of the Act on Comprehensive Promotion of Labor Policies (in Japanese), and it applies to companies of any size. Hiring a single part time worker for a few weeks counts. It is one of the steps that most often slips through the cracks, so here is a plain walkthrough.
Who has to be reported
All foreign workers, except special permanent residents and people with Diplomat or Official status. That includes permanent residents, spouses of Japanese nationals and other residents who have no restriction on the kind of work they do.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) Q&A on the notification (in Japanese) clears up a few common questions. International students working part time must be reported, and the employer should also confirm that the student holds permission to work outside their status. Dispatched workers must be reported too. For registration type dispatch, a new hiring notification is due each time an assignment starts and an employment relationship begins. If an employer could not reasonably have told from someone's name or language that they were a foreign national, not filing is not treated as a violation.
For dispatched workers, the employer of record is the staffing agency, so the agency files. For people we dispatch, that duty sits with Sincero Global as the employer.
What goes in the report
The main items set by the law and its enforcement rules are the worker's name, status of residence, period of stay, date of birth, sex, nationality or region, whether they have permission to work outside their status, their residence card number, and the name and address of the workplace. The rules require the employer to check the personal details against the residence card, or a passport for people who do not hold one. You do not attach a copy of the card.
One practical wrinkle: residence cards issued from June 14, 2026 no longer print the period of stay. The latest version of the ISA's residence card reader app displays it.
Deadlines
| Situation | Form | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Hiring someone covered by employment insurance | Employment insurance enrollment form | By the 10th of the following month |
| Someone covered by employment insurance leaves | Employment insurance loss of eligibility form | Within 10 days, counting from the day after they leave |
| Hiring or losing someone not covered by employment insurance | Foreign Employment Status Notification (Form No. 3) | By the end of the following month |
For workers covered by employment insurance, filing the usual insurance forms also counts as the foreign employment notification. For everyone else you use Form No. 3. You can file online through e-Gov for insured workers, or through the MHLW's dedicated notification system for others (MHLW notification page, in Japanese).
The same page also posts a separate version of Form No. 3 with a note to use it from April 1, 2027. If you file after that date, check that you have the right version.
If you do not file
Failing to file, or filing false information, can lead to a fine of up to 300,000 yen under Article 40 of the act. The MHLW Q&A adds that it can also lead to official guidance and recommendations.
One detail that surprises people: according to MHLW's statistical report, when a worker moves from Technical Intern Training to Specified Skilled Worker status but stays with the same employer without leaving, no new notification is required (MHLW statistics report, in Japanese). A change of employer, or a new assignment under registration type dispatch, is different and needs its own filing.
Make it part of onboarding
The simplest way to avoid missing it is to handle the notification at the same time as employment insurance paperwork, as a fixed step in your hiring checklist.
Sincero Global is licensed for worker dispatch and fee charging job placement, and we work with foreign residents already living in Japan. If you have a question about the paperwork for hiring foreign staff, reach us by phone at +81 90 7841 8887, by email at [email protected], or on LINE.
