Mismatch Between Your Major and Your Job? Mastering the Engineer Visa Relevance Requirement

In Engineer visa applications, the relevance between “the field of study at university” and “the job duties to be performed in Japan” is one of the most important points of screening. However, one does not necessarily take up an occupation that completely matches one’s major. In this article, we explain the approach to the relevance requirement and the measures to take where there is a mismatch.

Reference: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, “Clarification of the ‘Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services’ Residence Status”

Legal Basis of the Relevance Requirement

The relevance requirement for the Engineer visa is provided for in Appended Table 1, Table 2 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Immigration Control Act).

• Engineer and Specialist in Humanities fields: “Activities to engage in services which require technology or knowledge pertinent to physical science, engineering or other natural sciences, or to jurisprudence, economics, sociology or other human sciences, based on a contract with a public or private organization in Japan”
• The Ministerial Ordinance on Landing Permission Standards provides that the applicant must have “graduated from a university having majored in a subject relevant to the technology or knowledge necessary for the services in which they intend to engage”

In other words, the subjects majored in at university must be relevant to the “technology or knowledge necessary” for the work to be performed.

How Far Is “Relevance in a Broad Sense” Accepted?

In the practical operation of the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, it is understood that the major and the work do not necessarily need to match completely. There are cases where “relevance in a broad sense” is accepted.

Combinations Where Relevance Is Readily Accepted

Major Field	Job Duties	Relevance
Information engineering	Systems engineer	Directly relevant
Business administration	Marketing	Directly relevant
Economics	Accounting and finance	Relevance present
Law	Human resources and labour management	Relevance present
Sociology	Market research and planning	Relevant in a broad sense
Linguistics	Translation and interpretation	Directly relevant

Combinations Where Judgments Tend to Be Divided

Major Field	Job Duties	Point of Judgment
Faculty of Letters	Planning position at an IT company	Whether there are IT-related subjects among the courses taken
Economics	Technical sales	Whether it is sales requiring technical knowledge
Faculty of Engineering	General position (assigned to sales)	Whether it is work that makes use of the technical background
Education	Corporate training officer	Whether it can be explained as work making use of teaching skills

Humanities Graduates Taking On IT Roles

A case that has been increasing in recent years is that of graduates of humanities faculties finding employment at IT companies.

Cases That May Be Accepted

• Having taken subjects in information science or programming at university
• Having passed the Information Technology Engineers Examination (Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination or above)
• Having belonged to a seminar related to data science or IT at university

Difficult Cases

• Not having taken any IT-related subjects at all
• Having neither a qualification nor practical experience
• The job duties being a highly technical role such as programming

Countermeasure: If you are a humanities graduate aiming for an IT role, take as many IT-related subjects as possible while enrolled, and consider obtaining the Information Technology Engineers Examination.

How to Write a Letter of Reason Asserting Relevance

Where there is no direct relevance between the major and the work, preparation of a letter of reason (statement of reasons for application) is extremely important.

Content to Include in the Letter of Reason

1. Details of the subjects taken — State not only the major field but also related minors and elective subjects
2. Graduation thesis and research theme — If research relevant to the work was conducted, emphasize it
3. Concrete explanation of the job duties — Make clear what specialized knowledge is required
4. How the knowledge from the major will be used — Explain logically how the knowledge learned at university will be applied to the work
5. Explanation of the career path — Show what expertise will be demonstrated in the future

Example Structure of a Letter of Reason

1. Overview of the applicant's academic background and major
2. List of relevant subjects taken at university
3. Specific content of the work to be performed
4. Explanation of the relevance between the major and the work
5. Reasons why the company hired the applicant

The Effect of Subject Selection on Relevance

For those about to enter university, or those currently enrolled, it is necessary to know that subject selection has a major effect on a future Engineer visa application.

• Use of the minor system — Obtaining a minor in a field different from the main major broadens the scope of relevance
• Strategic enrolment in elective subjects — Deliberately choose subjects related to the industry you wish to enter in the future
• Description on the academic transcript — Because the names of the subjects taken appear on the academic transcript, the subject names also matter

Making Use of a Change of Major at Graduate School

Where the fields majored in at undergraduate and graduate level differ, the major of the final academic background becomes the standard for screening.

For example, if a person majored in literature at undergraduate level and in business administration at graduate school, eligibility for work related to business administration is more readily accepted. This point can be an effective strategy in choosing one’s course.

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