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Guarantor Letter for Foreign Nationals (身元保証書・外国人用)

Company-issued moral guarantee letter addressed to the Minister of Justice (法務大臣) for Certificate of Eligibility, change-of-status, and renewal filings. Covers living expenses, return travel costs, and compliance with Japanese law.

Emmanuel Gendre, Founder of SaiyouTeam
By Emmanuel Gendre
Founder, SaiyouTeam · 12 years recruiting in Japan

Last reviewed: · Aligned with Immigration Services Agency 身元保証書 guidance for foreign-national filings

Guarantor Letter for Foreign Nationals generator

2026年6月1日

法務大臣　殿

身 元 保 証 書

（外国人用）

下記の外国人が日本国に上陸（又は在留）するに当たり、私（当社）はその身元を保証し、滞在費・帰国旅費及び日本国の法令の遵守について以下のとおり保証いたします。

記（被保証人）

氏名：JOHN MICHAEL SMITH（ジョン・マイケル・スミス）

性別：男性　国籍：アメリカ合衆国

生年月日：1992年8月15日　旅券番号：A12345678

在留資格：技術・人文知識・国際業務

入国目的：就労　在留期間：5年

  1. 第1項（滞在費の保証） 本人が日本国に在留する間における滞在費（住居費・生活費を含む）について、本人がこれを負担できない事由が生じた場合、当社が責任をもって支援することを保証いたします。
  2. 第2項（帰国旅費の保証） 本人が在留期間満了その他の事由により日本国を離れる必要が生じた場合における帰国旅費について、本人がこれを負担できないときは、当社が責任をもって支援することを保証いたします。
  3. 第3項（法令遵守の保証） 本人が日本国に在留する間、本人が日本国の法令を遵守するよう指導・監督するとともに、本人による法令違反が生じないよう必要な措置を講じることを保証いたします。
  4. 第4項（保証期間） 本身元保証の有効期間は、本人の在留期間（5年）に準じるものとし、在留期間の更新があった場合は、当社の書面による更新意思の表明をもって継続する。
  5. 第5項（本書の性質） 本書面は出入国在留管理庁に対する身元保証人としての道義的責任を表明するものであり、当社に対する金銭債務の発生を意味するものではない。

以上、相違ありません。

【身元保証人】

会社名：株式会社サンプル

所在地：〒100-0005 東京都千代田区丸の内1-1-1

代表者：代表取締役 山田 花子　　印

電話番号：03-1234-5678　メール：hr@sample.co.jp

資本金：10,000,000円　従業員数：25名

設立年月日：2018年4月1日

事業内容：ソフトウェア開発・ITコンサルティング

本人との関係：雇用関係（採用予定）

Ready to file? Download a PDF of the letter you see above. Your email is used only to receive the file. At least one of the three guarantee articles (living expenses, return travel, legal compliance) must be selected for the PDF to generate.

Official sources

This template is built on the following primary Japanese government sources. Open each link to verify the underlying rule against the issuing authority.

Reference

What the Guarantor Letter for Foreign Nationals (身元保証書・外国人用) is

The Guarantor Letter for Foreign Nationals (身元保証書・外国人用) is the immigration-form variant of 身元保証書. It is signed by a sponsor in Japan and addressed to the Minister of Justice or, in practice, to the Director of the relevant Regional Immigration Services Bureau. When the foreign national is being hired by a Japanese company, the guarantor is the host company itself and the document is signed by the representative director under the company seal. The three substantive guarantees are living expenses (滞在費), return travel costs (帰国旅費), and compliance with Japanese law (法令遵守). This document is the immigration-filing variant of 身元保証書 and is completely separate from the workplace 身元保証書 used in Japanese HR practice (which is a money-claim guarantee from a family member to the employer governed by the 1933 Personal Guarantee Act and the 2020 Civil Code amendment that requires a written 極度額).

When to use

When to use this document

  • Certificate of Eligibility (在留資格認定証明書 / CoE) applications for a new foreign hire under work statuses such as Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services (技術・人文知識・国際業務)
  • Change of Status of Residence (在留資格変更許可申請) when an existing resident in Japan is being newly hired by the sponsoring company
  • Extension of Period of Stay (在留期間更新許可申請) in cases where the Immigration Bureau specifically requests a fresh 身元保証書 from the employer (typically when stability of sponsorship is being reviewed)
  • Family-stay / dependent (家族滞在) and Spouse of Japanese National (日本人の配偶者等) filings, where the guarantor is a family member rather than the employer
  • Long-term Resident (定住者) filings where Immigration is checking ongoing sponsor capability

Mandatory items

What to include

  • Issue date and recipient (法務大臣 or the relevant Regional Immigration Services Bureau Director)
  • Title "身元保証書" with a subhead noting it is the foreign-national variant (外国人用)
  • Opening statement that the guarantor stands behind the foreign national for living expenses, return travel, and compliance with Japanese law
  • Foreign national block: name (passport romaji), katakana name if applicable, gender, nationality, date of birth, passport number, intended residence status, intended purpose of stay, intended period of stay
  • The three substantive guarantee articles (滞在費 / 帰国旅費 / 法令遵守), each addressable on or off depending on what Immigration requests for the case
  • Term of guarantee tied to the residence period
  • Closing assurance ("以上、相違ありません")
  • Guarantor (company) block: registered company name, registered head office address, representative + title (with 印), registered phone, email, paid-in capital, employee count, business description, date of incorporation, relationship to the foreign national (e.g. 雇用関係（採用予定）)

Legal nature

The Immigration Services Agency treats 身元保証書（外国人用） as a moral guarantee (道義的責任). It is filed alongside the CoE or change-of-status application to confirm that a Japan-based sponsor stands behind the foreign national, but Immigration cannot use the letter to directly recover living expenses or return airfare from the company as a civil money claim. This is fundamentally different from the workplace 身元保証書 governed by the Personal Guarantee Act, which is a real civil-law money-claim guarantee subject to the 2020 Civil Code amendment that requires a written maximum liability cap (極度額) under Article 465-2(2). The 2020 amendment has no application to the immigration variant. Practical exposure for the company is reputational: a sponsor whose foreign hires systematically overstay or fail to depart will be flagged in future filings, which can affect approval rates and renewal timelines for that same sponsor.

Frequently asked

Common questions about the Guarantor Letter for Foreign Nationals

Is the Guarantor Letter for Foreign Nationals (身元保証書・外国人用) legally enforceable in monetary terms?

No. This is a moral guarantee (道義的責任), not a contract enforceable as a monetary debt under Japanese law. The Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁) treats the document as confirmation that a Japan-based sponsor stands behind the foreign national, but it does not create a civilly enforceable obligation against the company to pay living expenses or return airfare. It is fundamentally different from the workplace 身元保証書 governed by the Personal Guarantee Act, which is a real money-claim guarantee subject to the 2020 Civil Code 極度額 rule.

Who can sign the Guarantor Letter for Foreign Nationals as guarantor?

For a company-sponsored filing the guarantor is the host company (employer), signed by its representative director (代表取締役) with the company seal (会社印). For dependent or spouse visas the guarantor is typically the family member in Japan (a Japanese national or a foreign national with stable residence status). The Immigration Services Agency does not require the guarantor to be a Japanese national, but in practice the guarantor must be resident in Japan with verifiable income or, for corporate sponsors, a registered Japanese company with filed financials.

How is this different from the workplace 身元保証書 (Letter of Personal Guarantee)?

Two completely different instruments that share a name. The workplace 身元保証書 is signed by a family member of a new hire and is a civil-law money-claim guarantee covering damages caused by employee misconduct, governed by the 1933 Personal Guarantee Act and the 2020 Civil Code amendment that requires a written 極度額. The immigration 身元保証書 (this template) is signed by a company or family sponsor and addressed to the Minister of Justice, covering living expenses, return travel, and legal compliance for a foreign national. It is a moral guarantee, not enforceable as a money debt.

Does the company actually have to pay if the foreign national does not return home?

No automatic legal obligation. The Immigration Services Agency cannot directly enforce return-airfare costs against the company through this letter. The practical exposure is reputational and administrative. Immigration may flag a sponsor whose foreign nationals systematically overstay or fail to depart, which can affect the sponsor's standing for future CoE (Certificate of Eligibility) applications. Companies that issue 身元保証書 for several foreign hires therefore tend to vet sponsorship cases carefully because of the reputational track record at the Immigration Bureau, not because of direct legal liability.

Is a Japanese national required as guarantor, or can a foreign-owned company sign?

Any company registered in Japan (登記済) with filed financial statements can sign, regardless of who owns it. Foreign-capital subsidiaries, branch offices of foreign companies, and Japanese KK with foreign directors all sign 身元保証書 for their foreign hires. The Immigration Services Agency reviews the company's registered presence, capital, employee count, and business description (the same package supplied with the CoE application) to decide whether the sponsor is substantive. There is no statutory requirement that a Japanese individual co-sign for a corporate sponsor.

About the author

Emmanuel Gendre, Founder of SaiyouTeam
Emmanuel Gendre
Founder, SaiyouTeam · TechieCV K.K.

Emmanuel advises small and mid-sized companies (SMBs) on HR and recruiting in Japan. He brings 12 years recruiting in Japan as a Recruitment Consultant placing IT professionals, plus prior experience hiring engineers across EMEA as a Google recruiter. Emmanuel routinely signs 身元保証書 on behalf of SMB clients sponsoring foreign engineers, supports the immigration paperwork end to end (CoE, change of status, and renewal filings), and built this template as part of that advisory work to give clients a clean, defensible draft before the case goes to a licensed administrative scrivener (行政書士).

For case-specific immigration matters, Emmanuel works with licensed Japanese professionals (行政書士 and 弁護士). This template is a planning tool used in those conversations, not a substitute for professional advice on an individual case.

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Important. This template is provided for general planning purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Immigration filings are case-specific and depend on the foreign national's status history, the sponsor's track record, and the bureau handling the application. Before submitting this document in any non-routine case, consult a licensed administrative scrivener (行政書士) or an immigration lawyer (弁護士).