Our Application and Departure Process

Interested in a 2027 departure to Japan? Start your application today at jetapplication.com!

TIMELINE (2027 JET Program Cycle)

Application Available: Monday, September 21, 2026
Application Deadline: Friday, November 13, 2026 at 11:59pm HST
Interviews: Late January 2027
Announcement of Results: April 2027
Notification of Placement (for Summer Groups A & B): May 2027
Orientation and Preparation: June – July 2027
Departures (for Groups A & B): July 2027

*Please note that the interview dates are set by the individual interview locations and may vary depending on location.

MAIN ARRIVALS (2027 JET Program Cycle)

Main Arrival – “Group A” (Summer Departure): Departing Saturday, July 24, 2027 // Arriving Sunday, July 25, 2027

Main Arrival – “Group B” (Summer Departure): Departing Saturday, July 31, 2027 // Arriving Sunday, August 1, 2027

EARLY ARRIVALS (2027 JET Program Cycle)

Please see our 2027 Departure Groups and Dates and 2027 Application Guidelines for more specifics.

April Arrivals – CIRs (“Early Placement* Group”): Saturday, April 10, 2027 (Successful CIR candidates will depart on this date unless informed otherwise)

May Arrivals – ALTs (“Early Placement* Group”): Saturday, May 22, 2027 (Successful ALT candidates will depart on this date unless informed otherwise)

Additional Early Arrivals (“Early Placement* Group”): Between April – July 2027 (Applicants who request an Early Arrival placement at the time of application but are not placed for an April/May Arrival, as outlined above, will continue to be considered as candidates for arrival between April 12 and July 24, 2027)

Important Note: Very few Early Arrival positions open up each year. About 97-98% of our JET Program USA participants are selected to depart in the summer as Main Arrivals. Therefore, please keep in mind that most of our Early Arrival hopefuls are not chosen to depart in the spring.

*April/May or Early Arrival applicants are responsible for verifying their eligibility for early departure and must have their bachelor’s degree by the end of January 2027. The period between receiving an acceptance notification and a departure date for Japan for Early Arrival candidates will be extremely short. For these candidates, the date of departure between April – July 2027 is assigned by our Japan-side of the Program and cannot be changed even at the candidate’s request.

LATE ARRIVALS (2027 JET Program Cycle)

Late Arrival: After August 1st, 2027*

*Exact date will be determined later. This date(s) are reserved for alternates who are upgraded and JET participants who could not depart in the first or second wave due to extenuating circumstances. Alternate candidates for the 2027 JET Program can be upgraded between April – November 2027.

ROUGH TIMELINE (2028 JET Program Cycle)

Application Available: September 2027
Application Deadline: November 2027
Interviews: Late Jan – Early Feb 2028
Announcement of Results: April 2028
Notification of Placement: May 2028
Orientation and Preparation: June – July 2028
Departures: July/August 2028

          *As dates have yet to be determined, please check back in closer to the 2028 JET Program application cycle for updates.

Application Process

The JET Program application is open once a year between late September to mid-November. All applications must be submitted during this time via our secure online portal. The deadline is final, and no applications will be accepted after it has passed. After the deadline, applications are checked for completion and then evaluated. Incomplete applications are removed from consideration at this time. Regardless of the status of your application, you will receive your interview notification in January.

Interviews are typically held in late January or early February. Interview dates are set independently by each interview location. After successfully completing the interview stage, you will hear back about your final result in April.

Selection Results

Candidates who make it to the interview stage will receive one of three possible results after Tokyo has reviewed the results of their application and interview. Candidates typically receive notification of their results in late March to mid April.

Short-List Candidates

A short-list candidate is someone who scored highly in the selection process and is invited to participate in the JET Program. Candidates who are short-listed and receive a placement location but then drop out will not be eligible to re-apply for a one year period from the year they applied (ie. a short-listed candidate for the 2025 JET Program who drops out at this point will not be eligible to re-apply until the 2027 JET Program).

Alternate Candidates

Candidates who scored well in the selection process but did not make it onto the shortlist will be considered ‘alternate’ candidates. These candidates may be invited to participate in the JET Program if a position opens up between mid April and the second week of December of the departure year. If an alternate candidate accepts the invitation, they may have less time to prepare for departure compared to short-listed candidate. If a candidate refuses an upgrade invitation, they will not be offered a second one but will remain eligible to reapply for the next JET Program year if they so choose. If a candidate is not upgraded by September, they are welcome to re-apply for the next JET Program cycle.

Unsuccessful Candidates

Candidates who do not meet the standards we require for our participants will receive notification at the same time as successful candidates. If you are not invited to be either a short-list candidate or alternate candidate, you are still eligible to apply again the following year if you feel that the JET Program is the right career opportunity for you.

Departure

Departure Groups

On the application, applicants are asked to choose an interview location. In principle, the interview location will also be the candidate’s departure location if they are selected to participate. It is possible to interview at one location and depart from another. Please see all departure locations here.

April / May Arrival (Early Placement)

Candidates who are willing and able to depart on a faster schedule may request to be considered for an April/May Arrival. April Arrival candidates (CIRs only) leave on an assigned date in early April of their departure year. May Arrival Candidates (ALTs only) leave on an assigned date in May of their departure year. Candidates who request consideration for Early Arrival on their application must submit a Certificate of Health and FBI Background Check to their interview location by the time of their interview. They must also have their bachelor’s degree conferred no later than January of their departure year.

Very few Early Placement positions open up each year, so the majority of our Early Arrival hopefuls are not chosen to depart in the spring. Candidates who are not chosen for April/May Arrival will still be considered for a later Early Arrival date, or will be considered for a position in the Main Arrival group (Summer Departures). If you are selected for the Main Arrival group rather than the April Arrival group, you will receive your acceptance notification in April.

Summer Departure

Unless otherwise specified, all JET Program applicants apply to depart in the summer of the program year. Candidates who are seeking consideration for Main Arrivals (Summer Departures) do not need to prepare a Certificate of Health or FBI Background Check* in advance of their interview. The deadline for when Main Arrival candidates must have their degree conferred by is June 25, 2027. Candidates leaving in the summer will receive a 3 day orientation upon their arrival in Japan. To learn more about the training opportunities the JET Program offers, please see here.

*Candidates who indicate a criminal background on their application are required to provide an FBI Background Check prior to their interview without exception.