Japanese Work Visas: Types and How to Choose [For HR, 2026 Edition] Comparing Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, Highly Skilled Professional, and Specified Skilled Worker Visas

Eligible Job Types: All professional duties requiring specialized knowledge and skills, such as IT engineers, software development, system design, marketing, accounting, finance, sales, trade, translation, interpretation, design, public relations.

Academic/Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree (4-year university) or higher, with the assigned duties related to the major.
• Or 10+ years of relevant work experience (3+ years for translation/interpretation).
• Salary must be equivalent to or higher than that of Japanese nationals.

Points for HR Managers to Note:

• The core of the review is the relevance between job duties and academic background/major. "IT graduate → Accounting duties" requires caution.
• Insufficient description in the job description may lead to requests for additional documents.
• Simple tasks or manual labor-intensive jobs are not permitted.

Main Differences from Gijinkoku (Preferential Treatment):

• Fixed period of stay of "5 years" (Gijinkoku is 1, 3, or 5 years).
• Spouse can work without restrictions (spouse visa has restrictions under Gijinkoku).
• Accompanying parents and domestic helpers are permitted under certain conditions.
• Permanent residency application possible in a minimum of 1 year (80+ points) or 3 years (70+ points).

Main Points for Addition:

• Academic background (Ph.D. 30 points, Master's 20 points)
• Annual income (10 million yen or more 40 points, 8 million yen or more 30 points)
• Work experience (10+ years 20 points, 7+ years 15 points)
• Age (under 30 years 15 points, under 35 years 10 points)
• JLPT N1 acquisition/graduate of Japanese university (+15 points)

14 Eligible Fields: Nursing care, building cleaning, industrial materials, industrial machinery manufacturing, electric/electronic information-related manufacturing, construction, shipbuilding, automobile maintenance, aviation, lodging, agriculture, fisheries, food and beverage manufacturing, food service industry.

Main Differences from Gijinkoku:

• No academic background/major requirements (skill test + Japanese language test pass required).
• "On-site work" not covered by Gijinkoku is also possible.
• No. 1 cannot bring family, No. 2 can bring family.
• Contract with a registered support organization is mandatory for No. 1 (some companies can provide in-house support).

This visa is for foreign employees who are transferred from an overseas parent company, subsidiary, or affiliated company to a Japanese entity.

• Must have been continuously employed for 1 year or more at the company before the transfer.
• Duties in Japan must be managerial or specialized/technical.
• The Japanese entity and the overseas entity must have a capital relationship (parent-child, sibling company, etc.).