【Status of Residence / Change of Nationality】
■Status of Residence
○Residence Status
・At a port of entry, immigration bureau officers determine foreign nationals’ status of residence, which defines the activities they are allowed to do in Japan and period of stay.
・When foreign nationals residing in Japan find work, change vocations or obtain permanent residency, they are required to do one or all of the following: (1) change their status of residence, (2) acquire a work permit and (3) obtain permission to engage in activities which are outside the limits of their visa status.
・For further information on extending period of stay or changing residence status, etc., please contact the Sapporo Regional Immigration Bureau.
＜Related Organizations＞
●Processing and general inquiries
・Sapporo Regional Immigration Bureau（Japanese/English）& Branch Offices
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/soshiki/kikou/sapporo.html
TEL：011-261-7502（Main）
・Ministry of Justice Immigration Services Agency（Multilingual）
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/index.html
・Ministry of Justice Immigration Information Center (Multilingual)
TEL：0570-013904、03-5796-7112
●Preparation and submission of official documents
・Hokkaido Certified Administrative Procedures Legal Specialists Association（Japanese）
https://www.do-gyosei.or.jp/
TEL:011-221-1221
■Change of Nationality（Naturalization）
・Naturalization applications by foreign nationals are processed by regional legal affairs bureaus.
＜Related Organizations＞
●Processing and general inquiries
・Ministry of Justice Nationality Q&A（Multilingual）
http://www.moj.go.jp/MINJI/minji78.html
・Ministry of Justice Sapporo Legal Affairs Bureau & Regional Legal Affairs Bureaus (Hakodate, Asahikawa, Kushiro)（Japanese）
http://houmukyoku.moj.go.jp/homu/static/hokkaido.html
TEL：011-709-2311（Main）