Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services

Eligibility requirements

• Have a contract with a public or private organisation in Japan for duties requiring natural-science or humanities expertise, or qualifying international-services work.
• For the technical/humanities pathway, demonstrate the appropriate relevant education or normally ten years of relevant experience, with recognised education periods and prescribed exceptions assessed under the rules.
• International-services activities normally require three years of relevant experience. University graduates doing translation, interpretation or language instruction can fall within the specified experience exception.
• Receive remuneration at least comparable to a Japanese worker performing comparable duties. The organisation must support a genuine and sustainable professional role.
• Apply the current documentary rules for the sponsor category. For relevant Category 3/4 cases involving interpersonal work based on language skills, ISA requests evidence of B2-equivalent ability in the language used; do not turn this into a universal Japanese-test requirement for every engineer.

Legal framework

Build the evidence

Prepare records that substantiate the relevant criteria. The final checklist depends on the applicant, route and filing authority.

• Detailed employment terms and job description, including the division of duties and why the role requires the applicant’s professional expertise.
• Degree, transcript or vocational qualification documentation, or employment certificates giving dates and relevant work; accepted IT qualification evidence where an exemption is claimed.
• Employer registration, financial and tax documents under the applicable company category, plus evidence of customer projects or real workload.
• Remuneration and comparator explanation, current required employer declarations, and language evidence where the actual role triggers that requirement.

How to apply

1. 01

   Classify the job

   Map day-to-day duties to the statutory activity. Separate engineering, design, analysis or international business work from production-line, cleaning or other routine tasks.

2. 02

   Match credentials to duties

   Build a short evidence matrix linking education and experience to the work. Address a change of discipline or non-standard credential directly instead of relying on a title.

3. 03

   Prepare the sponsor and applicant file

   Use the current ISA checklist for the sponsor category and application type. Review language-document requests and the actual contract before submission.

4. 04

   Complete entry and monitor changes

   Obtain the COE and visa where applying overseas, or the relevant status change in Japan. Monitor duties, employer notifications, remuneration and renewal dates after work starts.

After approval & family planning

• Periods can vary under the status; the permission actually issued controls the expiry date.
• A move to another employer may remain within the same activity category, but notifications and activity eligibility still need review.
• Eligible family members may seek Dependent status. Dependant work is subject to separate permission and limits.

Frequently asked questions

Points to consider

• Avoid using a professional job title to mask work that does not fall within the permitted activities.