Teach English in Japan requirements database
Last checked: 2026-11-06
Search the rules and fees for each route into teaching in Japan. Each row shows what the source says, what to check for your own case, and how we read that source. This does not tell you whether you qualify. Your embassy, employer or the Immigration Services Agency can confirm that.
38 entries
| Route | Topic | What the source says | What to check | How we read it | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JET Programme | Degree | Bachelor's degree or higher by the designated arrival date. Some embassy pages say any subject is accepted, including the UK, Ireland and Canada. | The 2027 guidelines from your own embassy. | Opened directly | 2027 JET guidelines (India) |
| JET Programme | Degree | JET Program USA says a junior college or associate's degree does not qualify. | Whether your award is a bachelor's degree. | Opened directly | JET Program USA: associate's degree FAQ |
| JET ALT | Degree | As an alternative to a degree, a certificate of completing a course of 3 years or more to teach at primary or secondary schools. | Whether your course fits this wording. Ask your embassy. | Opened directly | 2027 JET guidelines (India) |
| JET Programme | Nationality | You must be a national of the country where recruitment takes place. Permanent residency is not enough. | That your country runs recruitment. Apply through the embassy for your country of citizenship. | Opened directly | 2027 JET guidelines (India) |
| JET Programme | Nationality | A dual citizen of Japan and another country must give up Japanese citizenship if accepted. Sources give different timing. | Your embassy's rule on timing. Take legal advice first, because this is a serious legal step. | Opened directly | JET Program USA: dual citizenship |
| JET Programme | Language | Strong pronunciation and ability in the designated language. This is English in English-speaking countries. | The guidelines from your own embassy. The New Zealand and India copies do not use the words native speaker, but the UK page asks for a native level of English. | Opened directly | 2027 JET guidelines (Philippines) |
| JET ALT | Language | The UK embassy says prior Japanese is not mandatory. | Your own embassy's wording. Applicants are also expected to make an effort to study Japanese. | Opened directly | UK JET Programme (Embassy of Japan) |
| JET CIR | Language | A working command of Japanese. Singapore's guidelines say equal to JLPT N1 or N2. The UK embassy says you need not have passed the test, but your level should be enough to pass it. | Your own embassy's wording. The two sources put this differently. | Opened directly | 2027 JET guidelines (Singapore) |
| JET Programme | Certificate | A TEFL, TESOL or teaching certificate is not required to take part. The FAQ calls such certifications an asset, and the 2027 guidelines say extra consideration is given. | The guidelines from your own embassy. No certificate promises a place. | Read through a search tool | JET Programme FAQ |
| JET Programme | Age | JET Program USA says there is no age limit. The Philippines embassy's 2026 FAQ says applicants of any age may apply if they meet the rules. | Your embassy's guidelines. The New Zealand copy of the 2027 guidelines has no age rule, and we did not find a 2027 statement on age from an embassy. One third-party site says under 40, and official pages we found do not support it. | Opened directly | JET Program USA: general FAQ |
| JET Programme | Past residence | You must not have lived in Japan for 6 or more consecutive years in total since 2017, at the time of application. | Wording differs. The UK page says 6 or more years in total in the 10 years before your departure year, and JET Program USA uses a similar 10-year rule. If this applies to you, ask your embassy. | Opened directly | 2027 JET guidelines (India) |
| JET Programme | Past JET time | Not on the Programme since March 2024, and not more than 6 years in total, under the 2027 guidelines. | Your dates against your own embassy's guidelines. | Opened directly | 2027 JET guidelines (India) |
| JET Programme | Past JET time | JET Program USA says former JETs must have finished three or more years before the departure year, must not have lived in Japan for six or more years in the 10 years before it, and must not have withdrawn after placement in the year before it. | This is the US wording. Read your own embassy's rule. | Opened directly | JET Program USA: former JETs |
| JET Programme | Criminal record | No disqualifying criminal history. | The guidelines from your own embassy. | Opened directly | 2027 JET guidelines (India) |
| Instructor status | Degree | At miscellaneous schools and similar institutions, and for posts other than teacher at other schools: a university degree or equal education, a qualifying diploma from a Japanese vocational school, or a license for the teaching. | Which post you hold. The criteria do not say which ALT posts count as non-teacher posts, so we could not confirm this. | Opened directly | Immigration Services Agency: Instructor criteria |
| Instructor status | Language | Language teachers need 12 or more years of education in that language. The item does not apply at such schools set up to teach the children of diplomats, officials or Dependent-status residents in a foreign language. | Ask your employer. Our reading is that this means education in the language, not in an English-speaking country. The agency gives no examples. | Opened directly | Immigration Services Agency: Instructor criteria |
| Instructor status | Documents | Category 1 is full-time work at a public school, and generally needs no other documents beyond the basic items. International school teachers do not need the proof of schooling or experience. | Your category. The page layout suggests that proof is for Categories 2 and 3, but this is not stated clearly. | Opened directly | Immigration Services Agency: Instructor status |
| Instructor status | Pay | You must receive at least what a Japanese person would receive for the same work. | Your written offer. Ask your employer. | Opened directly | Immigration Services Agency: Instructor criteria |
| Instructor status | Period of stay | 5 years, 3 years, 1 year or 3 months. | The period you are granted. The renewal fee depends on it. | Opened directly | Immigration Services Agency: Instructor status |
| Engineer/Specialist status | Degree | For language teaching at a private company, university graduates need no work experience. Others need 3 or more years of related work. The work must call for real skill, not simply being foreign. | Whether you can prove the degree or the experience. Ask the employer to confirm. | Opened directly | Immigration Services Agency: Engineer/Specialist guidance |
| Engineer/Specialist status | Degree | Graduates of a Japanese junior college count as university graduates. Graduates of a foreign school that matches a Japanese vocational school do not meet the standard. | An associate's degree from abroad. We found no clear official answer, so ask before you make plans. | Opened directly | Immigration Services Agency: work status Q&A |
| Engineer/Specialist status | Language | Since April 15, 2026, Category 3 and 4 applications for jobs that mainly use language skills with people need proof of CEFR B2 in the language used. The examples are translation, interpreting and customer service. | Language teaching is not named, so we could not confirm whether this applies to teachers. Ask your employer or the agency. | Opened directly | Immigration Services Agency: Engineer/Specialist status |
| Engineer/Specialist status | Documents | Employers are sorted into Categories 1 to 4. Categories 3 and 4 give a university graduation certificate or proof of equal education. Categories 1 and 2 generally do not need other documents. | Your employer's category. | Opened directly | Immigration Services Agency: Engineer/Specialist status |
| Engineer/Specialist status | Pay | Pay must be at least equal to what a Japanese person would receive for the same work. | Your written offer. Ask your employer. | Opened directly | Immigration Services Agency: Engineer/Specialist guidance |
| Engineer/Specialist status | Period of stay | 5 years, 3 years, 1 year or 3 months. | The period you are granted. The renewal fee depends on it. | Opened directly | Immigration Services Agency: Engineer/Specialist status |
| Status with no job limits | Work limits | Permanent residents, spouses of Japanese nationals or permanent residents, and long-term residents have no limit on work type under immigration law. | The employer's own rules, which still apply. | Opened directly | Immigration Services Agency: work status Q&A |
| Student or Dependent status | Work limits | With permission, work is usually limited to 28 hours a week. No degree rule is named. | Your permission and the hours in your job offer. | Opened directly | Immigration Services Agency: work status Q&A |
| Working Holiday | Age | 33 countries and regions as of November 1, 2026. The usual age range is 18 to 30, and the limit can be 25 for Australia, Canada and South Korea. | Your own country's terms. Work is allowed only as an incidental activity of a holiday, and the pages we read do not mention teaching. | Opened directly | Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Working Holiday Programmes |
| Japanese school teacher | License | MEXT says you cannot teach a class in a Japanese school without a Japanese teaching license, and a license from abroad does not simply carry over. | Whether the job is a licensed teacher post. JET's ALT role assists classes. | Not recorded | MEXT: teaching license Q&A |
| International school | License | Seisen International School asks for an active teaching license and at least 2 years of qualified experience. | This is one school. International schools set their own rules. | Opened directly | Seisen International School: employment |
| International school | License | Yokohama International School asks for a recognized teaching qualification and at least 3 years of experience after certification. | This is one school. International schools set their own rules. | Opened directly | Yokohama International School: application process |
| Private employer | Certificate | Varies, and we have no official source for employers in general. A 2022 Bridge TEFL guide says Westgate requires a TEFL and calls it a plus at AEON and Interac. Interac's own page says a TEFL is not mandatory. | The current job listing. This is a course seller's view from 2022, not the employers' current rules, and we did not confirm it with them. | Not recorded | Bridge TEFL: teaching in Japan guide, 2022 |
| Any work status | Certificate | The Instructor and Engineer/Specialist status pages do not name TEFL, TESOL or CELTA. No official source we read names IELTS, TOEIC, TEFL or CELTA as a visa rule for teachers. | What your employer asks for. A TEFL does not replace a degree where a degree is required. | Opened directly | Immigration Services Agency: Instructor status |
| Any work status | Fee | Certificate of Eligibility: the agency does not charge a fee. | Who applies. A staff member of the receiving organization can apply. | Opened directly | Immigration Services Agency: Certificate of Eligibility |
| Any work status | Process | Certificate of Eligibility: the standard processing time is 1 to 3 months. | The start date in your offer, and when your employer will apply. | Opened directly | Immigration Services Agency: Certificate of Eligibility |
| Any work status | Fee | Visa, single entry: about 15,000 yen. Several US missions list US$101. Visa, multiple entry: about 30,000 yen. Applies to applications accepted abroad from July 1, 2026. | Your embassy or consulate. Each mission sets its own amount in local currency, it depends on nationality and purpose, and some people pay nothing or a different amount. The New York consulate lists nationals of the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and other places as exempt. The fee pages we saw list no separate work visa fee. Older pages may show the former 3,000 yen. | Opened directly | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan: visa fees |
| Any work status | Fee | Change of status or extension of stay, received on or after October 1, 2026: from 10,000 yen at a counter or 10,330 yen online for 3 months or less, to 75,000 yen at a counter or 65,550 yen online for 5 years or more. For 1 year: 33,000 yen at a counter or 27,330 yen online. | The period you are granted, and who pays. Some applicants can get a reduced fee of 10,000 yen. Older pages may show the former 6,000 yen or 5,500 yen. | Opened directly | Immigration Services Agency: extension of stay |
| Any work status | Tax | The ministry warns that unpaid resident tax may stop you from renewing your residence status. For renewals, the Immigration Services Agency asks for tax certificates. | Your city's notice, and what to send if you were not in Japan on January 1 of the year before. | Opened directly | Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications: resident tax guide |
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How to read this data
- Filter by route first. The rules for JET, for each residence status and for each type of school are separate.
- Check how we read it. "Read through a search tool" means we could not open the page itself. "Not recorded" means our page does not say how the source was read. Confirm these rows at the source.
- JET rows are for the 2027 intake. Each embassy publishes its own copy, and the wording can differ. Read the one for your country.
- An employer must still choose to hire you. Meeting a rule here does not promise a job or a status.
How we checked: on November 6, 2026 the JET Programme website showed a maintenance notice, so we read its FAQ through a search tool. Embassy, Immigration Services Agency and JET Program USA pages were opened directly. Nothing here is legal advice. We did not cover the SEA position in detail. We left out pay here. See JET pay.
Read more in the JET requirements, the visa guide, teaching without a degree and non-native speakers. To budget for the fees, use the start-up cost calculator.