ENGINEER / SPECIALIST in HUMANITIES / INTERNATIONAL SERVICES (技術・人文知識・国際業務; hereinafter referred to as “ENGINEER/HUMANITIES“) is a VISA STATUS to engage in activities which requires;

  1. the knowledge and skills in the field of Natural Science, Social Science or Humanities,
  2. skills and knowledge regarding engineering and information processing, or
  3. thought and sense based on culture and language of foreign countries.

OCCUPATION APPLICABLE TO ENGINEER/HUMANITIES

Note that you need to have educational background and/or work experience related to the occupation you intend to work in Japan.

ENGINEER
Occupation which requires knowledge in the field of Natural Science, engineering and information processing:
Software Engineer | System Engineer | Computer Programmer | Game Programmer | Project Manager or developer in the field of IT, software, computer, technology, science, architecture, bio technology, construction, automobile etc. | Automobile Engineer | Architect etc.

SPECIALIST in HUMANITIES
Occupation which requires knowledge in the field of Social Science and Humanities:
Accounting | Economic analyst | Financial analyst | HR (Human Resources) or Personnel management | Legal business | Consultant for business, planning, strategy, management etc. | Trading business | Store management, Inventory management, Quality management | Product Development | Sales and marketing position | Public Relations etc.

INTERNATIONAL SERVICES
Occupation which requires thought and sense based on culture, language and background of foreign countries outside Japan:
Teacher and instructor of foreign language | Translator/Interpreter | International PR (Public Relations) | Fashion or interior design deriving from foreign countries | International product development | Overseas transactions/trading | Copywriting relating to international services etc.

OCCUPATION NOT APPLICABLE TO ENGINEER/HUMANITIES

Most of so called “Blue collar job” and “Manual Labor” is NOT applicable to ENGINEER/HUMANITIES Engineer/Humanities, for example;
Waiter, Waitress and Bartender | Cashier at a store, supermarket and restaurant etc. | Drivers | Workers assembling, sorting and/or packaging parts and products | Blue-collar workers at construction/plant sites (on-site construction workers and/or electrical workers etc. whose job mission doesn’t include management of the schedule, operation, staffing etc., estimation of the cost, designing/planning of installment of electrical facilities etc.)

IF YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH VISA PROCEDURES IN JAPAN, JUMP TO INTRODUCTORY PAGES BELOW FIRST:

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BASIC REQUIREMENTS

Immigration Office judges your eligibility for ENGINEER/HUMANITIES visa status comprehensively – In order to be eligible for this visa status, you need to have specific career, work experience and/or educational background in the related field you wish to engage in and to satisfy other basic requirements.

Here’s the list of basic requirements for ENGINEER/HUMANITIES;

Basic Criteria

Regardless of which visa status you apply for, you need to satisfy basic criteria first;
>> WHAT IS VISA STATUS?

Condition

Your condition has to satisfy all items listed below;

  • AMOUNT of SALARY: You should receive the same amount of salary or more as a Japanese national who engages in the same or related job responsibility. It is considered that you should be paid 200,000yen or more monthly on average to make living in Japan.
  • TERM of EMPLOYMENT: The period of employment stated on the Employment Contract/Agreement (or equivalent document) should be at least one year if it is fixed.
  • BUSINESS STABILITY of contracting company/organization: Your visa sponsor (employer, contracting company/organization) must be recognized that they do the business properly, stably and continually. Also, they must be financially stable enough to employ you and other staff. If your visa sponsor is a newly established entity, 1-year business plan will be required to prove the business stability.

Type of Activity and Career Requirement

You need to fall under one of [A] – [C] below based on in what types of you intend to engage in working in Japan. Refer to the first section of this page for the example occupation.

[A] SPECIALIST in HUMANITIES category – In case you intend to engage in the work which requires the knowledge and skills in the field of Social Science or Humanities in Japan, you need to satisfy ONE of the following;

  1. You have graduated from university or college (obtaining Bachelor, License or Associate degree or more) specializing in the field of Social Science or Humanities which relates to your intended work in Japan.
    * NOTE: The relevant education includes in case that you hold A, B or C level on DOEACC (Department of Electronics Accreditation of Computer Courses) in India.
  2. You have graduated from vocational/special school/専修学校・専門学校 in Japan (obtaining Senmon-shi/専門士 degree) specializing in the field of Social Science, Natural Science or Humanities which relates to your intended work in Japan.
  3. In case you don’t obtain any applicable degrees: You have 10 years or more of work experience in the field of Social Science, Natural Science or Humanities which relates to your intended work in Japan.

[B] ENGINEER category – In case you wish to engage in the work which requires skills and knowledge regarding Natural Science, engineering or information processing (IT), you need to satisfy ONE of the following;

  1. You are satisfying [A] above.
  2. You have passed an examination or obtained a qualification regarding information processing (IT) designated by the Minister of Justice in public notice >> Jump to the list of qualifications on the webpage of Ministry of Justice (Japanese only)

[C] INTERNATIONAL SERVICES category – In case you wish to work in the field of international services which require thought and sense based on culture and language of foreign countries, you need to satisfy BOTH of the following;

  1. You intend to engage in the work which is considered as “international services”; e.g. Teacher and Instructor of foreign language, Translator, Interpreter, PR (Public Relations), Fashion or Interior design, Product development, Overseas transactions, Copywriting and any other job which require thought and sense of foreign culture and language.
  2. You have work experience or educational background which satisfies ONE of the following;
    • you have 3 years or more of work experience in the field of international services or related to.
    • you have graduated from the university or college (obtaining Bachelor, License or Associate degree or more) specializing in the field of study which relates to your intended work in Japan. * Deemed to be applicable to [A] even if you engage in the work related to international services.
    • you have finished the course of vocational/special school/専修学校・専門学校 in Japan and obtain Senmon-shi/専門士 degree which relates to your intended work in Japan.
  3. IN CASE YOU INTEND TO ENGAGE IN WORKING AS A LANGUAGE TEACHER/INSTRUCTOR or TRANSLATOR/INTERPRETER
    • You don’t need to satisfy the requirement of 2 above if you have Bachelor, License or Associate degree or equivalent to.
    • If you would like to teach the language which is not your mother/native tongue, it is considered that you should satisfy [A] above. However, it would be possible that the language is considered as your mother/native tongue if you can certify that you have received your education with the language you teach by providing a transcript etc. In case you don’t obtain any degree or educational background, you must have at least 3 years of work experience under the qualification to teach the language as the second language such as CELTA, EFL and TEFL etc. – however, in that case the Immigration Office will judge your eligibility comprehensively by referring to your career.
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POINTS TO NOTE

Possibility of Other Visa Status

HIGHLY SKILLED PROFESSIONAL (HSP)
in case you satisfy the requirements for Engineer/Humanities visa status as well as you are applicable to HSP, you should apply for HSP to benefit by a preferential Immigration treatment.
>> HIGHLY SKILLED PROFESSIONAL (HSP)

INTRA-COMPANY TRANSFEREE
in case your situation is applicable to Intra-company Transferee visa status, you need to apply for it instead of Engineer/Humanities visa status.
>> INTRA-COMPANY TRANSFEREE

LEGAL/ACCOUNTING SERVICES
in case you intend to engage in working in Japan as a qualified/licensed professionals such as lawyer, attorney, solicitor, barrister, judicial scrivener, land and house investigator, chartered/public accountant, tax accountant, labor and social security attorney, patent attorney, maritime procedure agent, administrative scrivener(弁護士、司法書士、土地家屋調査士、外国法事務弁護士、公認会計士、外国公認会計士、税理士、社会保険労務士、弁理士、海事代理士、行政書士)
>> LEGAL/ACCOUNTING SERVICES

Reference regarding Applicable Field of Study

NATURAL SCIENCE is referred as the following field:
Mathematical Sciences | Physical Sciences | Chemistry | Biological Science | Anthropology | Geoscience | Geography | Geophysics | Educational Science | Statistics | Informatics | Nuclear Science | Engineering Physics | Applied Physics | Mechanical Engineering | Electrical Engineering | Electronics | Information Engineering/Computer Science | Civil Engineering | Architecture | Metallurgical Engineering | Applied Chemistry | Resource Development Engineering | Naval Architecture | Measurement Control Engineering | Chemical Engineering | Aerospace Engineering | Nuclear Engineering | Industrial Engineering | Agriculture | Agricultural Chemistry | Forestry | Fisheries Science | Agricultural Economics | Agricultural Engineering | Animal Science | Veterinary Medicine | Silk Reeling | Domestic Science | Regional Agriculture | General Agricultural Science | Physiological Science | Pathological Science | Sociomedical | Dentistry | Pharmaceutical Science

SOCIAL SCIENCE and HUMANITIES is referred as the following field:
Languages | Literature | Philosophy | Pedagogics | Psychology | Sociology | History | Area studies | Basic law | Public law | International relations | Civil law | Criminal law Social law | Political science | Economic theory | Economic policy | International economics | Economic history | Science of public finance | Commercial science | Business administration | Accounting | Economic statistics

Example of Degrees

Since educational system is different in each country, name of diploma/degree and necessary period to acquire the degree/diploma may be different.

  • 短期大学士・準学士・専門士 in Japan or equivalent to;
    US and EU etc. – Associate
    UK – Foundation
    France – BTS, DUT (BAC+2)
    Hong Kong – 副学士
    China – 大学専科
  • 学士 (undergraduate) in Japan or equivalent to;
    US and UK etc. – Bachelor
    France – Licence, Professionnelle, DU, DIU (BAC+3)
    China – 学士
  • 修士 (graduate) in Japan or equivalent to;
    US and UK etc. – Master
    France – Maîtrise, DEA, DESS, Ingénieur diplômé (BAC+5)
    China – 硕士
  • 博士 (doctor) in Japan or equivalent to;
    US and UK etc. – Doctor/Doctoral
    UK – Higher Doctorate
    France – Doctorat (BAC+8)
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HOW to PROCESS

In case you are currently residing outside Japan yet or you are staying in Japan as a TEMPORARY VISITOR:
>> COE APPLICATION

In case you have been living in Japan under specific status and holding RESIDENCE CARD already:
>> CHANGE of VISA STATUS

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PERIOD of STAY

Each visa status has the expiration date – you can stay in Japan under the visa status during the specific period stated on Residence Card issued by Immigration Office.

Period of stay shall be decided by Immigration Office depends on the applicant’s circumstance, and it shall be either of 5 years, 3 years, 1 year or 3 months.

In case you wish to extend the period of stay granted, you may apply for EXTENSION of PERIOD of STAY before the expiry date.
>> EXTENSION OF PERIOD OF STAY (VISA RENEWAL)

In case you would like to travel outside Japan temporarily under the visa status.
>> RE-ENTRY PERMIT

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BASIC REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

The immigration office considers your eligibility for the visa status by your situation/career and by documents you provide. You must prepare documents which certify that the contents of the application are true and correct. The Immigration Office will request you additional documents at any time if they have any questions or would like to confirm the information you provided case by case.

Specific documents are varied depending on the situation of each applicant and the host organization/company, however, the basic documents for this visa status are as follows;

In case of COE APPLICATION and CHANGE of VISA STATUS

  1. Application form
  2. Photo
  3. [In case of CHANGE of VISA STATUS] Residence Card and Passport
  4. Records for Salary Payment and Withholding Tax (給与所得の源泉徴収票等の法定調書合計表)
  5. Documents to certify your job position/responsibility, salary, and term of employment; e.g. Employment Certificate, Notice of Employment etc.
  6. Documents to certify your educational background and work experience; e.g.
    • CV
    • [In case you prove your degree] Diploma or Certificate of Degree
    • [In case you prove your work experience] Employment Certificate, Confirmation Letter of Employment etc. issued by your ex-employer or equivalent documents to certify your work experience
    • Other documents you should prove your qualification (if any)
  7. Documents to certify your visa sponsor and its business;
    • Certificate of Company Register
    • Company Overview
    • Company leaflet (if any)
  8. Financial Statement as of the latest fiscal year-end
  9. [In case that the contracting company has not filed any tax return yet] Business Plan for at least 1 complete fiscal year
  10. In case that the company cannot provide Records for Salary Payment and Withholding Tax (給与所得の源泉徴収票等の法定調書合計表);
    • Notification of the establishment of salary payment office submitted to Tax Office (給与支払事務所設置届出書)
    • Payment slip for Withholding Tax (for the past 3 months) or Application for Payment of Withholding Income Tax on a Semiannual submitted to Tax Office
  11. In case that the company does not need to submit 10 above since the company is exempted from tax withholding;
    • Certificate of Exemption from Tax Withholding regarding foreign corporation (外国法人の源泉徴収に対する免除証明書) and/or documents to clarify the reason why the company doesn’t require the tax withholding.

In case of EXTENSION of PERIOD of STAY

  1. Application form
  2. Photo
  3. Residence Card and Passport
  4. Records for Salary Payment and Withholding Tax (給与所得の源泉徴収票等の法定調書合計表)
  5. Tax/Income Certificate and Tax Payment Certificate for the latest year’s Resident Tax (直近の住民税の課税・所得証明書および納税証明書)
  6. IN CASE YOU CHANGE THE CONTRACTING ENTITY (VISA SPONSOR) DURING CURRENT PERIOD OF STAY: need the almost same documents as “In case of COE APPLICATION and CHANGE of VISA STATUS” above.

NOTE / REMARK

  • All the documents written in foreign languages need to attach the Japanese translation.
  • Additional documents may be requested by the Immigration Office during the screening.
  • Some documents may be exempted in case your visa sponsor is classified under specific categories as follows: 1) listed corporation, government related organization, Independent administrative institution and other organization specified in this category 2) the total amount of annual withholding tax on the latest “Records for Salary Payment and Withholding Tax (給与所得の源泉徴収票等の法定調書合計表)” counts 10 million JPY or more, 3) your visa sponsor can submit a copy of the latest “Records for Salary Payment and Withholding Tax”.
  • Any certificate issued by the Japanese authorities (Tax/Income Certificate, Certificate of Residence, Certificate of Company Register etc.) has to be the one issued within 3 months before the date of application.
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