Highly Skilled Professional (ii): indefinite residence for established professionals

Eligibility requirements

• Have held HSP(i) status, or Designated Activities for activity recognised as highly skilled, and have engaged in that activity for three years or more. ISA's Q&A confirms that a person on Designated Activities who has performed HSP activity for three years may apply directly for HSP(ii).
• Score 70 points or more on the current table at the time of application, including the education, experience and income items. The salary floor of JPY3 million for the specialist and management categories continues to apply.
• Continue an activity that falls within one of the three HSP(i) categories: advanced academic research, advanced specialised or technical work, or advanced business management with a Japanese organisation.
• Show good conduct and that the stay is in Japan's interest, and that the activity is not judged inappropriate in light of its effect on Japanese industry and daily life.
• Hold a complete compliance record: organisation notifications within 14 days, tax and social-insurance payments, and no activity outside the permitted scope.

Legal framework

Build the evidence

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

• A fresh points calculation for the application date with evidence for each item claimed, reconciled with the calculation used three years earlier.
• Employment or appointment documents describing the current activity, remuneration and the organisation, and evidence that the activity still falls within the original HSP category.
• Residence-tax and national-tax certificates and pension and health-insurance records for the HSP(i) period, showing payment on time.
• Copies of every organisation notification filed under Article 19-16, and of any change-of-status decision made when the employer changed.
• Passport, residence card and photograph, and a statement of reasons where the activity has evolved since the HSP(i) grant.

How to apply

1. 01

   Confirm the three years and the category

   WG establishes when the HSP activity began, whether any gap or employer change interrupted it, and whether the current role still fits the original category. A change from research to management, for example, needs careful treatment.

2. 02

   Re-run the points on current facts

   Age points fall as the applicant ages, and income points depend on current remuneration. A score that was 75 at entry may be 65 at year three; the application must be timed and structured around the real figure.

3. 03

   File the change-of-status application

   The application is lodged at the regional bureau with the points sheet and supporting documents. ISA may ask for further evidence on conduct or on the organisation.

4. 04

   Plan the permanent-residence application separately

   HSP(ii) does not replace permanent residence. Where the points and residence period support it, the permanent-residence application can be prepared on the same evidence base.

After approval & family planning

• The spouse-work, accompanying-parent and domestic-worker concessions continue under HSP(ii), subject to the household-income and other conditions.
• Although the period is indefinite, the status depends on continued HSP activity. Ceasing the activity for an extended period without a justifiable reason can lead to revocation of the status under the Act. Organisation changes must still be notified.
• Permanent residence remains available on the one-year or three-year points route; the applicant must hold the required points at the application date and at the earlier reference date.

What this route builds, and what it opens

WG assesses every route on three returns: the knowledge it adds, the cognitive capability that sustained work abroad develops, and the institutional opportunity it opens or closes. Real work is the mechanism in each case.

Programme context. Where a participant has held a genuine managerial role with a qualifying affiliate for three years under HSP(i), and the points remain at 70 or more, this stage may be assessed as a stable platform for the next placement. Read the framework ↗

Frequently asked questions

Points to consider

• The points table is revised from time to time; the application is assessed on the table in force at the application date.
• The indefinite period must not lead to neglect of notification and tax duties, which remain enforceable and feed into any later permanent-residence decision.