Japan will from the end of June wind down the issuance of special residence permits to those who are unable to go back home due to COVID-19 border restrictions imposed by their home countries, the Immigration Services Agency (ISA) said Tuesday.
When the COVID-19 situation escalated in 2020, many countries closed their borders, meaning foreign students, foreign technical interns and other non-Japanese planning to return home from Japan could no longer do so.
The temporary measure, which has been in place since the start of the pandemic, grants a six-month “designated activities” residence status to foreign students who have graduated from their schools, allowing them to work up to 28 hours a week. For technical interns who have finished their program, there is no cap on working hours with the permit.