Those who can work in Japan as a SSW (Specified Skilled Worker) must be over 18 years old in a good health, have the necessary occupational skills and Japanese language ability to work immediately without receiving any particular training. Skills and Japanese proficiency will be confirmed by a unified test conducted by Japan. In principle, you can work for up to 5 years in total, but you cannot bring your family. In addition, the major difference from other status of residence to work in Japan is a support system. You can receive a wide range of support for life and work from your employer while you are in Japan, from the time you arrive to leave for your home country.
There is another program called “Technical Intern Training”, which aims toward providing international contributions by having workers share skills and knowledge that they acquired through on-the-job training in Japan throughout their home country after returning. Those who have satisfactory completed Technical Intern Training are able to switch their status of residence to SSW in the same field without taking occupational skill exams and Japanese proficiency tests.
This is a status of residence applicable to foreign nationals who work in jobs that require a considerable knowledge of or experience in Specified Industry Fields.
| Period of Stay | Renewed every 1 year, 6 months or 4 months, up to 5 years in total |
|---|---|
| Skill Standards | Confirmed by exams, etc. (those who have completed Technical Intern Training (ii) are exempted from exams, etc.) |
| Japanese Language Level | Proficiency in Japanese language required in daily life and at the workplace needs to be confirmed by exams, etc. |
| Accompanied by family members | basically not permitted |
Eligible for support by Accepting Organizations or Registered Support Organizations
*Specified Skilled Worker (ii) is a status of residence for foreign nationals to engage in jobs that require proficient skills in specified industry fields.
