Specified Skilled Worker Visa: Employer Requirements and Support

特定技能 (Specified Skilled Worker, SSW) is a status of residence that allows employers in labour-short industries to hire foreign nationals with a defined level of skill and Japanese ability as immediately productive staff. Host companies must meet standards covering the employment contract, the company itself and its support arrangements. Workers on Type (i) must receive support under a support plan, which may be outsourced to a registered support organization.

Specified Skilled Worker (i) and (ii) compared

The status has two types. Type (i) covers work requiring “skills that need a considerable degree of knowledge or experience”; Type (ii) covers work requiring “proficient skills”. The two differ markedly in length of stay, whether family may accompany the worker and whether support is mandatory.

Eligible sectors

The system began in April 2019. A Cabinet decision of 29 March 2024 added four sectors (automobile transport, railways, forestry and the timber industry), bringing the total to 16.

A further Cabinet decision of 23 January 2026 set out the sector-specific operating policies for Specified Skilled Worker and Employment for Skill Development as a single framework, and indicated a policy of adding three new sectors, including logistics warehousing. When hiring in the new sectors will actually begin, and which tasks will be covered, depends on the relevant ordinances and operating guidelines being put in place. Check the Immigration Services Agency’s sector-by-sector information for the latest position on which sector and job category your business falls under.

A Cabinet decision in June 2023 extended Type (ii) to 11 sectors, all except nursing care. Nursing care has its own separate status of residence, Nursing Care, so no Type (ii) exists for it. Whether Type (ii) workers can be accepted in the sectors added from 2024 onwards should be checked in the latest sector-specific operating policies. Moving from Type (i) to Type (ii) requires, among other things, passing a test set for each sector. If you expect the worker to stay long term, explaining the route to Type (ii) at the hiring stage helps with retention.

Requirements for the worker (Type (i))

Type (i) workers must, in principle, pass a sector-specific skills test and a Japanese-language test. Those who have satisfactorily completed Technical Intern Training (ii) may be exempt from the tests in related sectors.

Standards for host companies (affiliated organizations)

Standards for host companies fall into three groups: the terms of the employment contract, the eligibility of the company itself, and its support system. If any one is missing, the status of residence will not be granted.

Employment contract standards

• Pay must be at least equal to that of Japanese employees doing the same work
• Scheduled working hours must be the same as those of the company’s regular employees
• The worker must not be treated less favourably on pay or benefits because they are a foreign national
• If the worker wishes to return home temporarily, they must be allowed to take leave
• For dispatch arrangements, the host site and the dispatch period must be specified

Standards for the company itself

• Compliance with laws on labour, social insurance and taxation
• No involuntary dismissals of workers in the same type of work within the past year
• No workers having gone missing within the past year due to fault on the host’s side
• Membership of the council set up for each sector by the competent ministry
• Providing the necessary cooperation when a local government requests cooperation with its policies for coexistence with foreign residents

The last item was added by ordinance amendments effective 1 April 2025. Some localities ask companies to submit a “confirmation of cooperation” (協力確認書) to the local government before hiring. Social insurance enrolment is also checked, so it is wise to put this in order in advance.

Form of employment

Direct employment is the rule. In the agriculture and fishery sectors, dispatch arrangements are also permitted.

Support for Type (i) Specified Skilled Workers

Companies hiring Type (i) workers must draw up a support plan and provide support in line with it. Support must be given in a language the worker fully understands. There are ten mandatory support items, all of which must be implemented.

1. Pre-arrival guidance (explaining working conditions and other matters after signing the employment contract and before applying for the status of residence)
2. Pick-up and drop-off on arrival and departure
3. Help securing housing and opening a bank account, mobile phone and utility contracts
4. Life orientation (rules in Japan, use of public services, what to do in a disaster, etc.)
5. Accompanying the worker to public procedures at municipal offices and similar
6. Providing opportunities to learn Japanese
7. Handling consultations and complaints
8. Promoting interaction with Japanese people
9. Job-change support if the employment contract is terminated for the company’s reasons
10. Regular interviews at least once every three months, and reporting to the authorities if any legal violation is found

Outsourcing to a registered support organization

If you cannot provide support entirely in-house, you can outsource it to a 登録支援機関 (registered support organization). If you outsource all of it, you are deemed to meet the support-system standards.

• A registered support organization is an individual or body registered by the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency.
• Registration is valid for five years and lapses unless renewed.
• Registered organizations are listed on the Immigration Services Agency’s website.
• The cost of support may not be passed on to the foreign worker, directly or indirectly.

When choosing a provider, check the languages it can cover, the sectors in which it has a support track record, how it conducts the regular interviews and how its fees break down. Outsourcing does not remove your responsibilities as employer: paying wages, managing working hours and handling procedures arising from changes to contract terms remain the company’s job.

Hiring process and notifications

1. Confirm that your work falls within an eligible sector and job category
2. Secure candidates who meet the requirements, such as those who have passed the tests or completed Technical Intern Training (ii)
3. Sign the employment contract and draw up the support plan (and, if outsourcing, contract with a registered support organization)
4. Provide pre-arrival guidance and, where required, submit the confirmation of cooperation to the local government
5. For candidates overseas, apply for a Certificate of Eligibility; for candidates already in Japan, apply for a change of status of residence
6. After arrival and start of work, provide support in line with the support plan

Notifications to the Immigration Services Agency continue after hiring. Changes to or termination of the employment contract, changes to the support plan and similar events must be reported each time they occur. Periodic notifications on the employment situation and the support provided are also required. Because the timing and forms of these notifications may be revised, check the agency’s latest guidance and build the deadlines into your company’s annual calendar.

Internal checks before hiring

• Materials allowing comparison with the pay of Japanese employees doing the same work (wage rules or payroll ledgers)
• Work rules, written notices of working conditions and an overtime agreement in place
• Appointment of a support manager and support staff, and a consultation system in a language the worker understands
• How housing will be secured, and a plan for delivering life orientation
• Enrolment in employment and social insurance, and how payroll deductions will be explained

All of this is reflected in the status-of-residence application. Inadequate preparation can lead to requests for additional documents during the review and delay the start of work.

From Technical Intern Training to Employment for Skill Development: the April 2027 change

A 2024 legal amendment created the 育成就労 (Employment for Skill Development) system to replace 技能実習 (Technical Intern Training). A Cabinet order sets its effective date as 1 April 2027. The new system aims to develop and secure talent in labour-short sectors, with the goal of bringing workers up to the Specified Skilled Worker (i) level, in principle within three years.

A transition period will apply after it takes effect, with transitional measures for technical intern trainees already in Japan. The January 2026 sector-specific operating policies cover Specified Skilled Worker and Employment for Skill Development together. Companies should plan recruitment around a long-term development path leading from Employment for Skill Development to Specified Skilled Worker (i) and then to Type (ii).

When hiring university graduates and similar candidates for white-collar roles, the main route is Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services rather than Specified Skilled Worker. The differences are explained in Hiring foreign employees and work visas.

Summary: hiring Specified Skilled Workers

Hiring Specified Skilled Workers means managing sector confirmation, employment terms, support arrangements and post-hiring notifications as one process. Type (i) is in principle capped at five years in total, and note that time spent on it does not count towards the period on a work status required for permanent residency. Moving to Type (ii) also makes it possible to bring family to Japan on the Dependent status.

Together with partner administrative scriveners and 社会保険労務士 (labor and social security attorneys), TIMOA supports you through sector confirmation, preparation of the employment contract and support plan, the status-of-residence application, social insurance procedures and management of post-hiring notifications. For details, see our Visas, Talent & Living services.