Complete Guide to the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services Visa

What Is the Engineer Visa?

“Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services” (commonly called the Engineer visa) is a residence status for foreign nationals who work in Japan using specialized knowledge or skills. A wide range of occupations qualify, including engineers, programmers, interpreters and translators, marketing, accounting, and legal affairs.

Requirements

To obtain the Engineer visa, you must satisfy the following requirements.

1. Academic Background Requirement

As a rule, you must have graduated from a university with a major in subjects related to the work you will perform, or have graduated from a Japanese vocational school and obtained the “Diploma” (Senmonshi) title.

2. Relevance to the Job Duties

The specialized knowledge you studied at university or elsewhere must be relevant to the work you will perform in Japan. For example, a person who majored in information engineering working as an IT engineer would qualify.

3. Compensation Equal to or Above That of a Japanese National

It is a condition that you receive compensation equal to or above that of a Japanese national performing the same work. This is to protect foreign workers and maintain a fair labor market.

Differences Between “Engineer,” “Specialist in Humanities,” and “International Services”

Engineer: Work requiring knowledge in the natural sciences, such as science and engineering Examples: systems engineer, programmer, mechanical design, electrical engineer

Specialist in Humanities: Work requiring knowledge in the humanities and social sciences, such as law, economics, and sociology Examples: accounting, human resources, legal affairs, marketing, planning

International Services: Work requiring thinking and sensibilities grounded in a foreign culture Examples: interpretation and translation, language teaching, overseas trade operations, designer

Required Documents

The main documents required for the application are as follows.

• Application for a Certificate of Eligibility
• Photo (4 cm high x 3 cm wide)
• Return envelope
• Graduation certificate / degree certificate
• Résumé
• Copy of the employment contract
• Certificate of registered matters of the company
• Financial statements of the company
• Company brochure / description of business activities

Key Points for the Application

To obtain approval, you should pay attention to the following points.

Specific explanation of the job duties — You must clearly explain that the work is not unskilled labor.

Relevance between academic background and the work — It is important to explain logically the connection between your field of study and your job duties.

Stability and continuity of the company — The management condition of the accepting company is also subject to screening.

Our Support

Kaneko Hidetaka Administrative Scrivener Office supports Engineer visa applications with a track record of a 98% approval rate. Support in Chinese and Vietnamese is also available, so please feel free to consult us.