Working Holiday gives 18–30 year olds from partner countries a year in Japan with broad work rights and no employer sponsorship — the lowest-friction legal way to try living in Japan. Its catch is that it is once per lifetime and does not directly extend.
Key facts
- Age
- 18–30 — but 18–25 for Australia, Canada, South Korea and Ireland unless extended
- Duration
- Typically 1 year
- Partner countries/regions
- 32 (MOFA, 1 Apr 2026)
- Employer sponsorship
- Not needed
- Repeatable
- Once — twice for 10 countries/regions (see below)
The honest positioning
For nationals of partner countries (much of Europe, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and others), working holiday is the cheapest legal experiment: live anywhere, work almost any job, no sponsor. For everyone else, the equivalent trial paths are the student route or a directly sponsored work visa.
Using the year well
The visa’s value depends entirely on what you convert it into:
- A work visa. Use months 1–6 to reach interview-ready Japanese and build a local network; use months 7–12 for the job hunt. See how to find a job in Japan.
- A verified decision. A year of real rent, real winters and real commutes answers “could I live here?” better than any research — compare your spending against the cost-of-living budgets.
- Savings and skills. Resort and seasonal work with dormitories included can bank a surprising amount.
The mistakes that waste it
Spending the whole year in an English-speaking service bubble; taking the first Tokyo bar job instead of dormitory-included seasonal work that saves money; and starting the job hunt in month eleven. The year is generous — but only once.
The full partner list, and how many visas each gets
As of 1 April 2026 Japan runs working holiday programmes with 32 countries and regions. Most have an annual cap on the number of visas issued, and some of those caps are small enough to run out — Iceland issues 30 a year, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta and Uruguay 100 each. Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Portugal and Sweden have no cap at all.
| Country / region | Since | Visas per year to Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1980 | no limit |
| New Zealand | 1985 | no limit |
| Canada | 1986 | 6,283 |
| South Korea | 1999 | 10,000 |
| France | 2000 | 1,800 |
| Germany | 2000 | no limit |
| United Kingdom | 2001 | 6,000 |
| Ireland | 2007 | 800 |
| Denmark | 2007 | no limit |
| Taiwan | 2009 | 10,000 |
| Hong Kong | 2010 | 1,500 |
| Norway | 2013 | no limit |
| Portugal | 2015 | no limit |
| Poland | 2015 | 500 |
| Slovakia | 2016 | 400 |
| Austria | 2016 | 200 |
| Hungary | 2017 | 200 |
| Spain | 2017 | 700 |
| Argentina | 2017 | 400 (to Japan) |
| Chile | 2018 | 200 |
| Iceland | 2018 | 30 |
| Czech Republic | 2018 | 400 |
| Lithuania | 2019 | 100 |
| Sweden | 2020 | no limit |
| Estonia | 2020 | 100 (to Japan) |
| Netherlands | 2020 | 200 |
| Uruguay | 2023 | 100 |
| Finland | 2023 | 200 (to Japan) |
| Latvia | 2023 | 100 |
| Luxembourg | 2024 | 100 |
| Malta | 2026 | 100 |
| Italy | 2026 | 500 |
Who can go twice
The visa used to be strictly once in a lifetime. That is no longer true everywhere:
- Canada and the United Kingdom — two stays, which may be taken as two consecutive years (since 1 Dec 2024).
- New Zealand, Denmark and Austria — two separate one-year stays (since 1 Dec 2024).
- Germany, Ireland and Slovakia — two separate one-year stays (since 1 Jan 2025).
- South Korea — two separate one-year stays (since 1 Oct 2025).
- Taiwan — two separate one-year stays (since 1 Feb 2026).
For every other partner country it remains once per lifetime. Applicants must also be residing in their country of nationality when they apply, must not bring dependents or children, and must hold a return ticket or the funds to buy one.
What is prohibited — and the scam to know about
Working at bars, cabarets, nightclubs, gambling establishments and other premises affecting public morals is prohibited outright — doing so is treated as a violation of the immigration act and leads to deportation, and the businesses that hire working-holiday staff for such work can face criminal charges.
One more thing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states plainly: no organisation in Japan works with MOFA on the working holiday programme. Any agency claiming a special relationship with the ministry to “help you get” a working holiday visa is misrepresenting itself. Apply at the Japanese embassy or consulate in your own country — for Taiwan, at the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association.
After you arrive, the ordinary rules apply: notify your ward or city office of your address within 14 days of settling in, and enrol in health insurance and pension like any other resident.
Japanese you will use on this page (tap ▶)
| 在留カードはここで受け取れますか。 Zairyū kādo wa koko de uketoremasu ka. Can I receive my residence card here? | |
| 乗り継ぎです。 Noritsugi desu. I am in transit. | |
| スーツケースが出てきません。 Sūtsukēsu ga dete kimasen. My suitcase has not come out. | |
| 両替はどこでできますか。 Ryōgae wa doko de dekimasu ka. Where can I exchange money? | |
| 在留カードはこれです。 Zairyū kādo wa kore desu. Here is my residence card. |
Audio synthesized with VOICEVOX:Meimei Himari at standard pace for shadowing; real conversations run faster and carry accents.
Common mistakes & warnings
- Not available to nationals of non-partner countries — China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nepal and Brazil currently have no agreement with Japan, so this route does not exist for most of our readers' countries. Check MOFA's current list.
- Work in bars, clubs and other adult-entertainment-adjacent venues is prohibited even where the establishment seems ordinary.
- The visa's purpose is officially holiday-first. Immigration can question applicants whose plans look like pure full-time employment.
Frequently asked questions
Can I convert a working holiday into a work visa?
Yes, and this is its best strategic use — job-hunt while legally in Japan, then change status to a work visa when you land an offer that qualifies. The change is examined like any fresh application.
Does working holiday time count toward permanent residency?
It counts as residence time but not as work-visa time, and short stays matter little in practice. Treat it as a trial year, not a PR step.
Are taxes and insurance required?
Yes — residents register for National Health Insurance and pension like anyone else, and income is taxable. Employers sometimes wrongly treat working-holiday staff as exempt; they are not.
Official sources
This page provides general information only and is not legal advice. Immigration rules change; always confirm details with the official sources listed above before making decisions.