Engineer Visa Salary Requirements | Criteria for “Equal to or Above Japanese Nationals”

In obtaining and renewing an Engineer visa, the remuneration (salary) requirement is an extremely important screening point. The legal requirement is “to receive remuneration equal to or greater than that received by a Japanese national performing the same work,” but exactly how much is enough to be approved? This article explains the criteria for the remuneration requirement in detail.

Reference: Ministerial Ordinance Establishing the Criteria under Article 7, Paragraph 1, Item 2 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Landing Criteria Ordinance)

Legal Basis for the Remuneration Requirement

The Landing Criteria Ordinance stipulates the Engineer visa remuneration requirement as follows.

“To receive remuneration equal to or greater than that received by a Japanese national performing the same work”

The purpose of this provision is to prevent unfair exploitation of labor through employing foreign workers at low wages, and to prevent adverse effects on the employment and working conditions of Japanese nationals.

Specific Criteria for “Equal to or Above”

1. Comparison Within the Same Company

The most fundamental criterion is comparison with the remuneration of Japanese nationals engaged in the same work within the same company.

Comparison Target	Method of Determination
A Japanese national with the same job type and years of experience exists	Compare with that person’s remuneration
A Japanese national with the same job type but different years of experience exists	Determine whether the level is reasonable in light of years of experience
No Japanese national with the same job type exists	Determine from the wage regulations / salary table

2. Consistency with Wage Regulations and Salary Tables

If the company has wage regulations or a salary table, it will be checked whether the foreign national’s remuneration conforms to those rules.

• If there is a table for starting salaries of university graduates, the foreign national’s remuneration must also be based on that table
• Setting remuneration lower than that of Japanese nationals for the reason that the person is “a foreigner” is not permitted

3. Comparison with Other Companies in the Industry and Industry Standards

If there is no comparison target within the company, the salary levels of other companies in the same industry or the industry as a whole are used as a reference.

Note: The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s “Basic Survey on Wage Structure” is sometimes used as reference material for general salary levels.

Salary Level Guidelines for New Graduates

For new graduate hires, the following levels serve as one guideline.

Educational Background	General Starting Salary Guideline
Graduate school (master’s)	Approx. ¥240,000-¥280,000 per month
University	Approx. ¥210,000-¥250,000 per month
Vocational school (Diploma of Specialist)	Approx. ¥190,000-¥230,000 per month

Caution: The above are only general guidelines. They vary considerably by region and industry. What matters is “whether it is equal to or above that of Japanese nationals at the same company.”

Consideration of Regional Differences

There are differences in prices and wage levels between Tokyo and regional areas. This point is also taken into account in screening.

• For regional companies, it is not a problem if the level is not the same as that of large Tokyo companies
• It will be approved as long as it is not markedly lower than other companies in the same industry in the same region
• However, falling below the minimum wage is absolutely never permitted

Treatment of Allowances and Bonuses

In determining remuneration, not only base salary but also various allowances and bonuses are taken into consideration.

Item	Included in Remuneration?
Base salary	Included
Job allowance / position allowance	Included
Commuting allowance	Not included (reimbursement of actual expenses)
Housing allowance	May be included
Bonus	Determined by including in the annual amount
Overtime allowance	Not included (not fixed)

Point: Remuneration refers to “base salary and allowances paid on a fixed monthly basis.” Overtime pay fluctuates and is therefore not included in remuneration.

Risk of Denial When Salary Is Low

In cases such as the following, it may be determined that the remuneration requirement is not met.

Cases Likely to Be Denied

1. ¥150,000 or less per month — For a university graduate engaged in Engineer visa work, this may be judged markedly low
2. Lower than Japanese new graduates at the same company — Denied as clearly discriminatory treatment
3. Calculation falls below the minimum wage — Certain denial as a violation of law
4. Substantially below industry standards — Risk of denial if low without reasonable grounds

Measures When Remuneration Is Low

• Review the employment contract — Revise to appropriate remuneration before applying
• Set allowances — Appropriately set job allowances and qualification allowances
• Explain in a statement of reasons — If a small regional company has a low salary level, explain the reasonableness by showing the local market rate

Thinking in Terms of Annual Income

Determination may be made on an annual income basis, not just on monthly base salary.

How to calculate annual income:
Base salary × 12 months + bonus (estimated amount) + fixed allowances × 12 months
= Estimated annual income

For example, even if the base salary is ¥180,000 per month, if bonuses equivalent to four months are paid annually, the annual income becomes ¥2,880,000, which may be an acceptable level depending on the industry and region.

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