Engineer/Specialist Visa (Gijinkoku): Requirements, Period of Stay and Checklist

Who this is for

Graduates in Japan moving on from Student status, professionals abroad who have an offer from an employer in Japan, and people already in Japan on another status who have found qualifying work. Employers can use the same points to design a role and a contract that fit the status.

• IT: software development, infrastructure, QA, data work
• Engineering: mechanical, electrical, civil and production engineering
• Business: accounting, finance, marketing, planning, HR, sales strategy
• International services: translation, interpretation, language teaching, overseas trade, design

Requirements

Duties. The work must genuinely need professional knowledge or skills. Work made up mainly of simple, repetitive tasks that anyone could learn quickly, such as line work, cleaning, serving or shelf stocking, does not qualify, whatever the job title says. The ISA looks at the actual work, the workplace and the balance of tasks.

Education or experience for technical and humanities work. The usual route is a university degree, from Japan or abroad, or a Japanese vocational school diploma with the title 専門士, in a subject related to the duties. The ISA reads the link between a university major and the job fairly broadly, but expects a closer match for vocational school graduates. Without a relevant qualification, 10 years or more of practical experience in the field can meet the requirement, and time spent studying a related subject at university, high school or vocational school counts toward those years. For certain IT roles, passing or holding an information technology qualification designated by the Minister of Justice can substitute for the education requirement.

Experience for international services. For translation, interpretation, language instruction, public relations, overseas trade, and design or product development that draws on a foreign cultural background, the standard is at least 3 years of practical experience in related work. University graduates working in translation, interpretation or language instruction are exempt from the 3-year requirement.

Pay and employer. Pay must be at least equal to what a Japanese employee would receive for comparable work, under a contract with an organization in Japan. The ISA also considers whether the employer's business is stable and likely to continue. Dispatch (haken) employment is possible when the duties at the client company fit the status. The rules set no fixed Japanese-language level, but many jobs need Japanese in practice.

Step by step

The route depends on where you are now. If you already hold this status and are changing employers, the job-change page covers the notification and optional certificate instead.

• 1. Map the role: list the main daily duties and roughly how much time each takes, and check they need professional knowledge.
• 2. Match your background: the subject of your degree or diploma, or documented years of experience.
• 3. Get the terms in writing: duties, salary, working hours, contract period and workplace.
• 4. From abroad: the employer, or an agent acting for it, applies for a Certificate of Eligibility (在留資格認定証明書) at a regional immigration bureau. You then apply for the visa at a Japanese embassy or consulate and enter Japan.
• 5. In Japan on another status: you apply for a change of status at the regional bureau for your address, in person or through a registered agent.
• 6. Respond quickly to any request for more documents.
• 7. On approval of a change of status, a revenue stamp fee applies (check the ISA site for the current amount) and you receive a new residence card. New arrivals at major airports usually receive the card on entry.
• 8. After moving in, register your address at the city or ward office within 14 days.

Documents

The ISA publishes the required documents for this status by employer category, from listed companies and similar organizations, which submit the fewest papers, to small or newly established companies, which submit the most. The categories below are typical; they are not a complete list, and preparing them does not guarantee approval. Foreign-language documents usually need a Japanese translation.

• Application form with a photo in the specified size; passport and residence card if you are in Japan
• Degree or diploma certificate and transcript; for vocational graduates, proof of the 専門士 title
• Letters from previous employers showing role, duties and dates, if you rely on experience
• The IT qualification certificate, if you rely on the IT exception
• Employment contract or notice of working conditions showing duties, salary and period
• Company registration certificate and recent financial statements, or a business plan for a new company
• Documents showing the employer's category, such as the annual summary of withholding tax records
• A job description and, where helpful, a letter explaining why the role needs your knowledge

Period of stay and timing

The period of stay granted is 5 years, 3 years, 1 year or 3 months. The ISA chooses it based on factors such as the employer's category, the length of the contract and your own record. Nobody can promise a particular length, and it is not unusual to receive a shorter period first and a longer one at later renewals.

Processing time varies by bureau, season and case, so plan months ahead. A Certificate of Eligibility must be used to enter Japan within its validity period, normally three months from issue. If you are in Japan, file any change or extension before your current period of stay expires; extensions can be filed from about three months before expiry.

Common pitfalls

Experience-based applications, small or new employers and roles that mix office and front-line work deserve extra care. In those cases, ask a certified scrivener or immigration lawyer to review the plan before filing.

• A professional title on paper, but mostly manual or front-line work in practice
• Long training periods on the shop floor with no explanation. Temporary on-the-job training can be acceptable when it is part of a plan that applies equally to Japanese hires, but it has to be explained
• Salary below that of Japanese colleagues doing the same work
• A degree subject far from the duties, with no explanation of the link
• Taking side jobs outside the status without a permission to engage in activity outside status
• Forgetting the 14-day notification to the ISA when you leave or join an employer
• Dispatch workers moved to a client where the duties no longer fit the status