HSP points: how to reach 70 and 80 without gaming the table

What the table rewards

Japan's Highly Skilled Professional (HSP) status is granted to applicants who score 70 points or more on a table set by ministerial ordinance, in one of three categories: advanced academic research, advanced specialised or technical work, and advanced business management. The ordinance is published by the Immigration Services Agency and the arithmetic is open. What is not open to interpretation is whether each claimed point is supported, and ISA examines every item.

In the research and specialist categories the main scoring items are education (doctorate 30, master's or professional degree 20, bachelor's 10, plus 5 for degrees in multiple fields), experience (research or teaching from 3 years at 5 points to 7 years at 15 in the research category; specialist experience from 3 years at 5 to 10 years at 20), annual income (from JPY4 million at 10 points to JPY10 million at 40) and age (under 30: 15; 30 to 34: 10; 35 to 39: 5). Research achievements add 25 in the research category for two or more of a patent as inventor, three or more competitive or foreign-government research projects, or three or more corresponding-author papers in a recognised database, and 20 for one; the specialist category gives 15 for one. Bonuses include a Japanese university degree (10), Japanese-language ability at the N1 level (15) or N2 level (10), a degree from a listed university (10), work in a designated growth sector (10) and employment with a certified innovative small enterprise (20).

The management category drops age and research and instead scores management experience (3 years at 10 to 10 years at 25), income on a higher scale (JPY10 million at 10 to JPY30 million at 50) and position (representative director 10, director 5), with an additional 5 for investing JPY100 million or more in the business.

The age-banded income rule

The most misunderstood element is the interaction of age and income. In the research and specialist categories the income bands available depend on the applicant's age at the decision: an applicant under 30 may score from the JPY4 million band, 30 to 34 from JPY5 million, 35 to 39 from JPY6 million, and 40 or over only from JPY8 million. A 42-year-old engineer earning JPY7 million scores no income points at all. Separately, the specialist and management categories require total income of at least JPY3 million regardless of other points; without it there is no application.

The practical effect is that the same person's score changes over time. A 29-year-old with a master's degree, five years' experience, JPY6 million of salary and N2 Japanese scores 20 + 10 + 20 + 15 + 10 = 75. At 35, with eleven years' experience and a salary of JPY7 million, the age points fall to 5, experience rises to 20 and income points are 25: 20 + 20 + 25 + 5 + 10 = 80. At 40 on the same JPY7 million, the income band disappears and the age points are gone: 20 + 20 + 0 + 0 + 10 = 50. The table rewards early application and salary growth, and it penalises a salary that stands still past 40.

Reaching 70: realistic combinations

The table shows three things. Research achievements and a doctorate carry a researcher a long way, so a post-doctoral scientist can reach 80 on a modest Japanese salary. An engineer without a postgraduate degree needs language, a Japanese degree or a higher salary; the N2 bonus is the cheapest ten points available and the most useful in the working environment. A manager reaches the threshold through experience, income and position rather than age, so the management category suits senior appointments.

Reaching 80: the permanent-residence threshold

Eighty points matters because a person who has held HSP activity with 80 points or more for one year may apply for permanent residence with a one-year residence period instead of ten, provided every other requirement is met. ISA examines the points at the application date and at the date one year earlier, so both calculations must be supported by evidence valid at each date: the salary actually contracted, the age on each date and the qualifications held.

The reliable additions to a 70-point score are a certified Japanese-language result, a Japanese degree, research achievements that are already published and a salary increase that lands in a higher band before the reference date. Less reliable are items that depend on lists the applicant does not control: the listed-university bonus requires the institution to appear on ISA's current list, and the growth-sector and innovative-enterprise bonuses depend on the employer's certification. These should be verified against the published lists, not assumed.

What gaming looks like, and why it fails

ISA's questions and answers describe the limits. Overtime pay is excluded from income because it is uncertain; bonuses are included; pay from a foreign parent counts only where proven; personal investment income does not count. The N2 bonus cannot be combined with the Japanese-major degree criterion. The three listed-university groups cannot be combined with each other. A score that falls below 70 during the period does not end the status, but an extension or a change to HSP(ii) requires 70 at the time of application.

Typical failures are a salary set at a band threshold for the application and reduced afterwards, which ISA sees at extension; an experience claim that the employment certificates do not support in duties or dates; a degree described as a master's that the issuing institution calls a diploma; and a research achievement claimed on a paper where the applicant was not the corresponding author. Each is checked against documents, and a failed item is both a points deduction and a conduct problem.

The honest approach is also the efficient one. Calculate the score on the actual facts, identify the items within the applicant's control, and plan the year so that they become true before the reference date. The table is arithmetic; the authority tests whether it is also true.