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Work & Employment

Unemployment Benefits雇用保険・失業給付·koyō hoken / shitsugyō kyūfu

If you lost your job and were enrolled in employment insurance, you can claim. Foreign residents are eligible and most never do.

Not verified yet

Drafted from general knowledge. Amounts, thresholds and deadlines change and vary by insurer and municipality — confirm with the office named here before you rely on it.

Why it matters

If your employer enrolled you in employment insurance — and they are generally required to for regular employment — you can claim benefits when you lose that job. Foreign residents on work-based statuses are eligible on the same terms as anyone else. Almost nobody claims, either because they assume it is not for them, or because they do not know the paperwork exists. The single most important thing: you cannot start without the document your employer gives you on leaving, so ask for it before you walk out.

Deadline
Generally claimable within 1 year of leaving your job — apply as early as you can
Cost
Free
Time
First visit 1–2 hours, then periodic appointments

What to bring

  • Separation notice離職票·rishokuhyō

    The key document. Your former employer issues it, usually a week or two after you leave. Chase them if it does not arrive — nothing can start without it.

  • Residence Card在留カード·zairyū kādo
  • ID photos証明写真·shōmei shashin
  • Your bank account details本人名義の口座·honnin meigi no kōza
  • My Numberマイナンバー·mai nambā

How it goes

  1. 1

    Ask for your 離職票 before you leave — do not wait

    This is the one thing that stalls people for months. Tell your employer you want it, in writing if you can. It usually arrives a week or two after your last day. If the company is slow or unhelpful, Hello Work can chase them for you.

    Say this

    離職票を発行してください。

    Rishokuhyō o hakkō shite kudasai.

    Please issue my separation notice.

  2. 2

    Register at Hello Work — the public employment office

    Hello Work (ハローワーク) handles both job-seeking and benefits, and the two are linked: benefits are for people actively looking for work, so you register as a job seeker at the same time. Go to the one covering your address.

    Say this

    失業給付の申請をしたいのですが。

    Shitsugyō kyūfu no shinsei o shitai no desu ga.

    I would like to apply for unemployment benefits.

  3. 3

    Understand the waiting period, and why it differs

    There is a waiting period before payments start. It is short if you were made redundant or the company closed, and considerably longer if you resigned voluntarily. This is why how your departure is recorded on the 離職票 matters — check what reason it gives, and query it with Hello Work if you disagree.

  4. 4

    You must keep showing up

    Benefits are conditional on continuing to seek work. You attend Hello Work periodically, report your job-search activity, and payments follow. Miss the appointments and payments stop.

  5. 5

    Mind the interaction with your status of residence

    Losing your job matters for a work-based status of residence as well — see the 14-day notification to Immigration. Claiming benefits does not solve the status question, and a long gap without employment can matter at renewal. Handle both.