Skilled Labor Visa in Japan for Experienced Skilled Workers

最終更新日 2023-02-15

Foreigners with advanced skills and knowledge in the areas where Japan falls behind are highly in demand. The most appropriate status of residence for them is “Skilled Labor,” which currently accepts skilled foreign workers in nine industrial fields. In this post, I will give you an outline of this status of residence.

This article covers the following topics:

What is a Skilled Labor visa?

This status of residence was created to accept experienced, skilled workers from abroad. The nine industrial fields and the corresponding examples of activities or occupations are as follows:

  1. Preparation of foreign cuisine or production of foreign foods (for example, cooks of Chinese cuisine, French cuisine, Indian Cuisine, etc., food producers of dim sum, bread, desserts, etc., or pâtissiers);
  2. Architecture or civil engineering having characteristics of a foreign country (for example, those having skills relating to architecture or civil engineering such as Gothic style, Romanesque style, Baroque style, Chinese style, Korean style, etc., or two-by-four system or direct sticking construction method using imported stone materials);
  3. Manufacture or repair of products having characteristics of a foreign country (for example, those who manufacture or repair European glass products, Persian carpets, shoe fitters who explore shoes in the physiological aspect and produce therapeutic shoes);
  4. Processing of gems, precious stones, or fur (for example, craftspersons of precious jewelry stones or fur);
  5. Animal training (for example, animal trainers);
  6. Offshore drilling for oil exploration, drilling for geothermal development, or marine geological surveys for marine mineral exploration (for example, excavators or researchers in these fields);
  7. Piloting an aircraft (for example, airline transport pilots or co-pilots, commercial pilots or co-pilots; quasi-airline transport pilots or co-pilots);
  8. Coaching a sport (for example, sports instructors for competitive sports and lifetime sports, regardless of whether professional or non-professional, Quigong exercise instructors as physical training); and
  9. Appraisal, evaluation, and maintenance of a wine’s quality and supplying of wine (example: sommelier).

Requirements for a Skilled Labor visa

You need to satisfy all the following items:

  1. Your proposed activity falls under any of the above nine industrial fields.
  2. You will receive remuneration or salary equivalent to or more than the amount paid to a Japanese national for comparable work.
  3. You meet the required practical experience as outlined in the Ministerial order to provide for criteria. Find the status of residence “Skilled Labor” section in the left-hand column titled “Activities.” In the right-hand box, you can find the required length of practical experience, such as more than ten years, five years, three years, or 250 hours, depending on the industrial field to belong.
  4. You have entered a contract (for example, an employment contract) with a public or private entity in Japan.

Additional notes:

  • You will need to prove your practical experiences with supporting documents. They will be examined in detail as to the years or hours in total, where you worked, what activities you were engaged in, and what qualifications you got.
  • If the examiner finds your proposed activities as unskilled activities, the status of residence may not be granted. To avoid this, you may need to emphasize in your application document with supporting evidence that your skills are those having characteristics of a foreign country, that the level of the relevant skills is higher than that of Japan, or that a Japanese counterpart cannot efficiently perform the proposed activities.
  • In the case of a sports instructor for a sport that is not familiar in Japan, you may need to explain to the examiner that the sport in question falls under either a competitive sport or a lifetime sport by submitting reference materials. If you have any official qualifications for the sport, they will be of help.

Differences from other similar statuses of residence

  • If you have stayed in Japan for a long time with a Skilled Labor visa as an employed cook and you are going to be independent and set up your restaurant in the future, you may need to change your status of residence to “Business Manager.”
  • If you are engaged in activities as a flight engineer, not as a pilot, such activities will fall under “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services.
  • As to sport instructor, if you are a coach of a professional baseball team, participating in matches with the team, and accompanying the team on an international tour to Japan, such activities will fall under “Entertainer.”
  • A “Specified Skilled Worker” visa differs from a Skilled Labor visa in terms of its purposes and requirements. The former visa was created to accept foreign workers with a moderately sufficient level of skills or knowledge and who will be engaged in specified work under specified industrial fields to deal with a severe shortage of workers.

If you are not sure under which of the nine industrial fields your activities may fall, or if you are not sure whether your experience meets the requirements, I recommend contacting an immigration expert for help.