Hello, this is Tsuji, an administrative scrivener specializing in immigration application in Takadanobaba, Shinjuku.
In this article, I would like to explain the two types of crimes of activities outside the status of residence while delving further into it.

１、Review of illegal work activities for one having a status of residence

The basis for illegal work activities for those who are residing in Japan with a status of residence is Article 19, Paragraph 1 of the Immigration Control Act.

Immigration Law, Article 19, Paragraph 1
A person residing in Japan with the status of residence listed in the upper column of appended table 1 shall not engage in any of the activities listed in the following items according to the classification listed in the respective items, except with the permission set forth in the following paragraph.
(i) Those residing in Japan with the status of residence listed in the upper column of Tables 1, 2 and 5 of Appended Table 1: Activities to operate a business that involves income that does not belong to the activities listed in the lower column of these tables according to the status of residence, or activities to receive remuneration (excluding remuneration for lectures that are not performed as a business, temporary remuneration for daily life and other remuneration specified by an Ordinance of the Ministry of Justice. The same shall apply hereinafter.
(ii) Those residing in Japan with the status of residence specified in the upper column of Tables 1-3 and 1-4 of Appended Table 1: Activities to operate a business that generates income or activities to receive remuneration.

The "No. 1" category applies to those who have a status of residence that allows them to work, but they work beyond the scope of that status.
On the other hand, "No. 2" is applied to those who have a status of residence that does not allow them to work, but work without permission to engage in activities outside of resident status.

Those who allow this to happen (i.e., the company) will be charged with encouraging illegal employment. Furthermore, if the manager of the company is a foreign national, it is very easy to fall under the grounds for deportation and be kicked out of Japan.

So, what are the penalties for the person who has engaged in illegal work activities?

２、About the two types of crimes for engaging in activities outside of resident status.

A person who engages in illegal work activities is guilty of engaging in activities outside of resident status.
And, although it is very difficult to understand, there are two types of crimes.

The first is called the crime of exclusively engaging in activities outside of resident status. The basis for this is written in Article 70, Paragraph 1, Item 4 of the Immigration Control Act.

Immigration Law Article 70, Paragraph 1
Any person who falls under any of the following items shall be punished by imprisonment with or without work for not more than three years or a fine of not more than three million yen, or both imprisonment with or without work and a fine.
(iv) A person who is clearly recognized to be exclusively engaged in activities to operate a business involving income or activities to receive remuneration in violation of the provisions of Article 19, paragraph 1.

The important thing here is the expression "clearly" and "exclusively".
The meaning of "exclusively" and "clearly" will be explained in the next section.

The other crime of engaging in activities outside of resident status is called the crime of not-exclusively engaging in activities outside of resident status. The basis for this is Article 73 of the Immigration Control Act.

Immigration law Article 73
Except in cases falling under Article 70, paragraph (1), item (iv), a person who engages in activities to operate an income-generating business or activities to receive remuneration in violation of the provisions of Article 19, paragraph (1) shall be punished by imprisonment with or without work for not more than one year or a fine of not more than two million yen, or both imprisonment with or without work and a fine.

It says that all illegal work activities that are not the crime of exclusively engaging in activities outside of resident status fall under this category.

The words "exclusively" and "obviously" are not used here. However, I will explain later that the absence of these words has a very frightening meaning.

３、 What is the crime of exclusively engaging in activities outside of resident status?

In order to be guilty of the crime of exclusively engaging in activities outside of resident status, it is necessary to unravel the interpretation of the words "exclusively " and "clearly".
The final arbiter of the interpretation of the law is not the Immigration Bureau, but the Courts.

Therefore, we have to look at the precedents of the courts in this regard.

First of all, in the case of the status of residence of "Student", the Osaka High Court ruling of May 19, 2005 (Hei16 (Gyo-Ko) 114) says as follows.

In the case of a request for revocation of a deportation order issued to a foreign national residing in Japan with the status of "Student," whether or not the foreign national can be said to be "engaged exclusively" in the activity of receiving remuneration under item (ii) of the same paragraph shall be determined by comprehensively considering the degree of time spent in the activity, its continuity, the amount of remuneration, and whether or not it interferes with the performance of the studies, which is the purpose of the foreign national's stay. 

The most important expression is the last one, which says that the court will judge whether or not a person has clearly been engaged in activities outside of resident status based on whether or not the activity has reached the point where it can be said to have been changed to an other resident status's activity.

In addition, the Osaka District Court's January 25, 2006 judgment (Hei 16 (Gyo-U)15) says the same thing.

Article 24(4)(ii) of the said Act states that a case in which it is "clearly recognized that the foreign national is engaged exclusively" in activities to operate an income-generating business or receive remuneration in violation of Article 19(1) of the said Act means that the activities to operate an income-generating business or receive remuneration in violation of the said paragraph to such an extent that the purpose of stay pertaining to the status of residence granted to the foreign national has substantially changed. It is reasonable to conclude that it refers to the case where the foreigner is engaged in activities to operate an income-generating business or activities to receive remuneration, in violation of the provisions of the said paragraph to the extent that the purpose of stay pertaining to the status of residence granted to the foreigner has substantially changed. It is appropriate to decide the case by comprehensively taking into consideration the content of the status of residence granted to the foreigner, the regulations of the law concerning the status of residence, etc., the content, manner and degree of the activities outside the status of residence which the foreigner is engaged in, the status of the activities pertaining to the status of residence granted to the foreigner, whether or not there is any impediment to the performance of such activities, and the degree of impediment.

In the judgment, the court further elaborated on the judgment for the status of residence "Student" as follows

In order for a foreign national residing in Japan with the status of residence of "Student" to be clearly recognized as engaging exclusively in activities other than those permitted under the status of residence, i.e., as engaging in activities other than those permitted under the status of residence, to the extent that the purpose of the foreign national's stay in Japan has substantially changed, it is necessary that the activities other than those permitted under the status of residence of "Student" are at least equivalent to those permitted under the status of residence of "Student" during the period of the foreign national's stay in Japan. In order to be able to say that the activity outside the status of residence previously granted is an activity outside the status of residence previously granted to the foreign national, at least in cases where the activity outside the status of residence previously granted is conducted as a means to cover school expenses or other living expenses during the period of the foreign national's stay in Japan, and the degree and manner of the activity outside the status of residence previously granted deviates from the scope and limit of covering part of the deficiency in living expenses that cannot be covered by other means, or where the activity outside the status of residence previously granted to the foreign national is an activity pertaining to the status of residence as a college student (i.e., an activity to receive an education at a university, etc. in Japan). It is reasonable to conclude that the activity outside the status of residence previously granted must be beyond the scope and limit of covering a part of the shortfall in living expenses, or the activity outside the status of residence previously granted must be to the extent that it interferes with the performance of the activity pertaining to the status of residence as a college student.

It is important to note that the article concludes that the income from activities outside of resident status deviates from the original purpose "OR" activities outside of resident status interferes with academic work.

Therefore, in the case of foreign students, even if they work part-time to the extent that it does not interfere with their studies in terms of time, if they earn the same amount of money as those with work-related status of residence, it will be recognized as a crime of exclusively engaging in activities other of resident status.

Finally, the Nagoya District Court's ruling on February 18, 2016 (Hei 26 (Gyo-U) 128) says this about the status of residence "Engineer".

A foreigner with a status of residence of "Engineer" is considered to be "engaged exclusively" as defined in Article 24(4)(ii) of the Act when the following factors are taken into consideration: the relationship between the activity corresponding to the resident status and the current employment activity, the circumstances that led the foreigner to engage in the employment activity, the recognition of the foreigner, the status, manner, continuity and fixity of the employment activity, etc. It is reasonable to conclude that it is necessary that the work activity, etc. has been carried out to the extent that the activity which is the purpose of the alien's stay in Japan has already been substantially changed, by comprehensively taking into consideration such factors as the relevance of the work activity. The term "clearly recognized" as stipulated in (ii) of the same item is interpreted to mean that it is clearly recognized from the evidentiary materials, the statement of the individual, the statement of the person concerned, etc., that the person is engaged exclusively in activities outside of resident status.

In the case of "exclusively", the relevance, situation, mode, continuity, and fixity should be judged comprehensively, while "clearly" should be judged from the evidence and statements.

As described above, the crime of exclusively engaging in activities outside of resident status will be applied when the purpose of residence has already been changed in consideration of various circumstances.

４、What is the crime of non-exclusively engaging in activities outside resident status?

As I explained in section 2, all illegal working activities in violation of activities other than those listed in section 3 fall under this category.

Let's read the article again.

Immigration Law Article 73.
Except in cases falling under Article 70, paragraph (1), item (iv), a person who engages in activities to operate an income-generating business or activities to receive remuneration in violation of Article 19, paragraph (1) shall be punished by imprisonment with or without work for not more than one year or a fine of not more than two million yen, or both imprisonment with or without work and a fine.

It is true that there are no limiting words such as "exclusively" or "clearly" written here.

However, this is why it is a terrible fact that if one engages in any activity outside of your status of residence without permission, it will fall under this crime of engaging in activities outside of resident status.

In other words, for example, if you are working at a desk at a large chain store with a "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" status of residence, and you are carrying in packages, you are guilty of engaging in activities outside of resident status.
It is a very scary horror story that if the article is applied straightforwardly, the crime of non-exclusively engaging in activities outside resident status can be established in any situation.

However, the immigration authorities also know that in order to operate a company, one has to perform a variety of jobs.
Therefore, they explain that even if one engages in activities outside resident status one has, it does not immediately mean that the one is guilty of engaging in activities outside resident status.

That's what you see on the Immigration Bureau's website here.
http://www.moj.go.jp/isa/publications/materials/nyukan_nyukan69.html (←click to jump, however the Immigration has only in Japanese version.)

What is written in this is the expression "the activities during the period of stay will be judged as a whole".

For example, as written in Exhibit 1, if a person is employed by a company as a "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" employee, but all new employees are scheduled to receive on-the-job training, even if there is a one-year training period within the three-year period of stay, it is judged that there is no problem even though the training is outside of the "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" status of residence.

In this case, the judgment will be made by submitting the purpose and plan of the practical training, such as whether the practical training will be provided to all employees, including Japanese employees, and what the subsequent career development plan is.

Furthermore, for example, as written in Exhibit 4, if you are employed at a hotel as a front desk clerk with a status of residence of "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services", but there is a group check-in and you have to carry luggage to the guest room in a hurry, it is true that carrying luggage is not included in the "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" status of residence. However, if it is only a temporary situation and the person returns to one's original work immediately, there is no problem.

Even in this case, if you spend most of one's time carrying luggage, cleaning, making beds, etc., the first step is to deny the extension of the status of residence, and in severe cases, one will be charged with the crime of non-exclusively  engaging in activities outside of resident status.

As mentioned above, the Immigration Bureau says, "Whether or not the activity one intends to engage in in Japan falls under the status of residence stipulated in the Immigration Act will be judged by taking the activities during your period of stay as a whole.

However, it is not allowed to casually engage in activities outside of resident status, and according to the article, it is an act that falls under the crime of non-exclusively engaging in activities outside of resident status.

It should be noted that if the Immigration Bureau gets serious at any time, they can stake out your workplace, check whether you are "mainly" engaged in activities outside of your status of residence, and make a case against you.

It is very important to keep a clear understanding of the scope of work you can do with your status of residence.

In addition, it should be noted that if you engage in work activities with a status of residence that does not allow you to work, it is immediately a crime of non-exclusively engaging in activities outside of resident status.

５、 What will happen if it becomes a crime of engaging in activities outside of resident status?

If you are found guilty of engaging in activities outside of resident status,

In the case of the exclusively one, the punishment is imprisonment with or without work for not more than three years or a fine of not more than three million yen, or both imprisonment with or without work and a fine.

This is a very serious criminal penalty.

In addition, the crime of exclusively engaging in activities outside of resident status falls under the grounds for deportation, and deportation proceedings will be taken as an administrative penalty.

In case of the non-exclusive one, you will be sentenced to

The penalty is "imprisonment with or without work for not more than one year or a fine of not more than two million yen, or both imprisonment with or without work and a fine.

This is also a serious criminal penalty.

In this case, it does not immediately fall under the grounds for deportation, but if the criminal punishment is "imprisonment or more (that is, imprisonment or imprisonment with work)," it falls under the grounds for deportation.
If the penalty is up to a fine, it is fine, but if it is higher than that, one will be moved to deportation proceedings.

６、Points to note for those who have a status of residence that allows them to work

The status of residence is basically determined by the content of the activities that the person performs in Japan. So basically, if one's duties do not change, the status of residence will remain the same even if one changes your workplace.

However, it is important to note that there are some types of status of residence that change depending on where one works.

For example, the duties of a teacher who teaches something, such as an English teacher.
However, if one teaches at an elementary or junior high school, which is considered a school by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), your status of residence will be "Education" and if one teaches at a university, your status of residence will be "Professor".

Therefore, if one is teaching English at a private international school or a major English cram school and one has a "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" status of residence, teaching at an elementary school is basically an activity outside of resident status, and one must apply for permission to engage in an activity outside of resident status.
If one teaches at an elementary school without obtaining permission for activities outside of resident status, one may be guilty of non-exclusively engaging in activities outside of resident status.

Thus, if one lack knowledge of the status of residence itself, one may be caught off guard, so careful judgment and caution are necessary.
On the other hand, the person who is letting the foreign national work may be considered to be encouraging illegal work activities, or if the manager is a foreign national, the one may be subject to deportation.

You can read more about this in the article "Q.What should foreigners do when they start a side business?"(←click to jump)

７、Points to note for those who have a status of residence that does not allow them to work

This is most likely the case for those with the status of residence "Dependent" and "Student".

Normally, these people can get permission to engage in activities outside of resident status, and work part-time within the scope of 28 hours for the last 7 days.
This is called the Comprehensive Permission to Engage in Activity outside of resident status, and it is a very special kind of permission.

However, since last year, the Immigration Bureau has changed the operation of the Permit to Engage in Activity outside of resident status, simply speaking, job that does not involve the pressing of a time card is outside the scope of the Comprehensive Permission.

For example, if a foreign student wants to work as a language tutor as a sole proprietorship, the student now needs to obtain an "Individual Permission" for activities outside of resident status.

If a foreign student does not obtain an individual license but rather a comprehensive license, the student may be guilty of the crime of non-exclusively engaging in activities outside resident status.

Of course, if one is a tutor with no continuity, there will be no problem, but if one has strategically had many tutoring clients over the course of a year, or if one has registered on a registration website and are doing it as a sole proprietor, one needs to be careful.

For more information on Permission to Engage in Activity other than that Permitted under the Status of Residence Previously Granted, please refer to this article (←click to jump).

As mentioned above, I have looked at the penalties for the individual who has engaged in illegal work activities: the crime of exclusively and non-exclusively engaging in activities outside of resident status.

The crime of exclusively engaging in activities outside of resident status is applicable if one works to the extent that one can be said to have changed the status of residence.

On the other hand, the crime of non-exclusively engaging in activities outside of resident status is a very simple offense, but the Immigration Bureau makes a comprehensive judgment on the period of stay.
Therefore, there is basically no problem in doing different activities temporarily, but it is only limited to temporary ones with reasonable reasons.

In either case, in the end, it is very important to have a clear understanding of what you can do with your status of residence and what is considered to be an activity outside of resident status.

The status of residence system in Japan is very complicated and difficult.
If you have any concerns at all, I strongly recommend that you consult with a specialist in your area.