From July 2026: Stricter Japanese Proficiency Checks for the Student Visa | 150 Study Hours Are No Longer Enough

The Immigration Services Agency of Japan has revised part of its handling of the Student status of residence, tightening how the Japanese proficiency of applicants entering Japanese language institutions is verified. Proof based on “150 or more hours of Japanese study,” which was previously accepted, can no longer be used on its own; verification by a test certificate or an interview becomes mandatory. This article explains what has changed, when it applies, the exceptions, and how to prepare, based on primary sources.

Sources: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, “Partial Revision of the Handling of Persons Enrolling in Japanese Language Institutions”; “To Those Considering Enrolling in a Japanese Language Institution”; and the Agency’s summary document and Q&A (as of May 19, 2026)

The basics: studying at a Japanese language institution on a Student visa

To reside in Japan under the Student status of residence for the purpose of studying at a Japanese language institution, the applicant must enroll in a Japanese language institution designated by public notice of the Ministry of Justice, or an accredited Japanese language institution. Enrollment at a Japanese language institution is normally limited to a maximum of two years.

On top of that, immigration examination at the time of enrollment confirms that the applicant has Japanese proficiency equivalent to A1 or above under the Reference Framework for Japanese Language Education. A1 is the most basic of the six CEFR levels (A1 to C2), corresponding to the ability to understand basic phrases. For the CEFR levels themselves, see our article on the CEFR B2 language requirement for the Engineer visa. If you would like an overview of the residence status system, please also see What is a status of residence? The basics explained.

What changes — the “150 study hours” route is closing

The Immigration Services Agency has revised its handling as follows.

Item	Previous handling	Revised handling
Proving A1-equivalent or above	150 or more study hours accepted as proof	Test certificate or verification by interview is mandatory
Conducting an interview	No explicit requirement	Conduct an interview wherever possible, whether or not a test certificate exists
Confirmation forms	—	Prepared by the institution and always submitted with the application
Recording the verification method	—	Describe in detail and specifically that objective methods were used

Key point: On the confirmation forms, either the “test” box or the “interview” box must be filled in. Where Japanese proficiency is verified by a test certificate, the certificate must be submitted with the residence application regardless of whether the institution is a designated “appropriate” school.

In addition, if the institution of enrollment has not changed since the previous residence application, the confirmation forms need not be submitted. This handling also applies to Japanese language departments (bekka) of universities.

When the change takes effect

The start date differs by application type, so this point deserves particular attention.

Type of application	Applicable from
Change of status of residence / extension of period of stay	Applications filed on or after July 1, 2026 (Reiwa 8)
Certificate of Eligibility (COE) application	Applications relating to students scheduled to enroll from October 2026 (Reiwa 8) onward

For COE applications, the trigger is the scheduled enrollment date, not the filing date — a significant difference from change and extension applications. If you are coming to Japan from abroad, treat the October 2026 intake as the first one covered.

The basis for this revision is the “Comprehensive Measures for the Acceptance of Foreign Nationals and Orderly Coexistence” (decision of January 23, 2026 (Reiwa 8) by the Ministerial Conference on the Acceptance of Foreign Nationals and the Realization of an Orderly Coexistence Society). That document lists the tightening of the Student status of residence among its measures.

Japanese tests that prove A1-equivalent proficiency or above

The Immigration Services Agency states that, for the time being, the following tests are treated as demonstrating Japanese proficiency equivalent to A1 or above.

Test	Required level
Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)	N5 or above
BJT Business Japanese Proficiency Test	300 points or more
J.TEST Practical Japanese Proficiency Test	Level F or above, or 250 points or more on the FG level test
Japanese NAT-TEST	Level 5 or above
STBJ Standard Test for Business Japanese	350 points or more
TOPJ Test of Practical Japanese	Elementary A or above
J-cert Japanese Proficiency Test for Life and Work	Elementary or above
JLCT Japanese Language Certification Test	JCT5 or above
Practical Japanese Communication Test - Bridge (PJC Bridge)	C- or above
JPT Japanese-Language Proficiency Test	315 points or more, or 68 points or more on JPT Elementary
Japanese Online Test	JT5 or above
Sundai Japanese Examination for Proficiency (S-JEP)	300 points or more

If you plan to go on to further study, N5 is not enough. The Agency notes that students progressing to a university or vocational school after completing a Japanese language institution need proficiency of N2 or above in order to follow classes conducted in Japanese. The A1 (N5-equivalent) admission requirement is only the entry threshold.

How the interview is conducted

The interview is conducted by the Japanese language institution as part of its admissions screening. The Agency’s summary document expressly states that verification is to be based on “an interview by the Japanese language institution (online acceptable),” so it can be held before the student comes to Japan.

On the standard of verification, the Agency’s Q&A states the following.

An example of an appropriate verification method is to pose ten questions taken from an A1-equivalent test or from questions of the same level, and to determine from the correct-answer rate whether the applicant is at or above the minimum passing score of that test. Other methods are acceptable, but the institution must explain that the method is equivalent to or above that standard. (Summary of Q4 of the Agency’s Q&A)

The confirmation forms must describe, in detail and specifically, that objective methods were used — for example, “in the interview, questions were posed in Japanese from an N5 workbook, and the applicant answered (correctly) X of Y questions in Japanese (the screening standard being X correct answers).” Attaching a separate interview record is also acceptable.

Crucially, the confirmation forms must be prepared by the educational institution (Q2 of the Q&A). Documents prepared by the applicant or by an agent do not satisfy the requirement.

Exception: when proof of Japanese proficiency is not required

Where all of the following are satisfied, the above handling does not apply and no proof of Japanese proficiency is required.

1. The applicant holds the nationality of a country or region listed in the appendix published on the Agency’s website
2. The applicant has graduated from a higher education institution abroad (a university, etc.)
3. The applicant submits the relevant graduation certificate

The appendix is organized by region: Asia, the Pacific, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The twelve countries and regions listed under Asia are the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, China, China (Hong Kong), China (Macau), Türkiye, Brunei, Malaysia, the Maldives and Mongolia.

Please note: Applicants whose nationality is not on the appendix are not covered by this exception. Also, even applicants from listed countries and regions must undergo the usual verification by test certificate or interview if they do not submit a graduation certificate from a higher education institution abroad. Always check the latest appendix on the Immigration Services Agency website.

Monitoring of activities outside the status qualification (part-time work) has also been strengthened

Alongside this revision, educational institutions accepting international students are now asked to confirm from enrolled students, once every three months by any method, whether they hold permission to engage in activities outside the status qualification, the names of the organizations where they work, the specific content of the work, and their daily working hours. Records of these confirmations and of any guidance given must be properly retained, and cases such as students who do not improve after guidance must be reported to the nearest regional immigration office.

Activities outside the status qualification for students are limited in principle to 28 hours per week (8 hours per day during long vacations). Working beyond that limit can lead to deportation or to an extension of period of stay being refused, making it impossible to continue studying. This topic raises a number of issues, so we will cover it in detail in a separate article.

How to prepare in practice

For students themselves

1. Obtain a test certificate if you can — Passing one of the tests listed above is the most reliable form of proof.
2. Build the basics for the interview — Expect to answer N5-level questions orally. Greetings and a self-introduction alone will not be enough.
3. Check whether you need a graduation certificate — If you are from a listed country or region and have graduated from a university abroad, start obtaining the graduation certificate early.
4. Work backwards from your plans after graduation — Progressing to a university or vocational school requires N2 or above. If you intend to move to a work-related status of residence after completing a Japanese language institution, see Changing from Student to the Engineer visa and Obtaining the Engineer visa as a vocational school graduate.
5. Do not believe sales talk that sounds too good — The Agency warns of unscrupulous brokers spreading false claims such as “you can earn over 300,000 yen a month from part-time work.” Covering all tuition and living costs through part-time work is not permitted.

For Japanese language institutions

What to put in place	Content
Documented admissions procedure	Build test-certificate checks and interviews into the screening flow
Objective interviews	Fix the number of questions, the screening standard and the required correct answers, and keep records
Capacity to prepare confirmation forms	The institution itself completes them, in detailed and specific terms
Submission of certificates	Submit the test certificate with the application regardless of “appropriate school” status
Monitoring of outside activities	Three-monthly confirmation, guidance, record retention and reporting where needed

Summary

• Japanese proficiency for those enrolling in Japanese language institutions must now be verified by a test certificate or an interview. 150 or more study hours alone are no longer enough.
• The change applies to change and extension applications filed on or after July 1, 2026 (Reiwa 8), and to COE applications relating to students scheduled to enroll from October 2026 (Reiwa 8) onward.
• The interview is conducted by the Japanese language institution during admissions screening, and may be held online.
• Applicants holding the nationality of a listed country or region who have graduated from a higher education institution abroad and submit the graduation certificate do not need to prove Japanese proficiency.
• The confirmation forms are prepared by the institution, and how specifically they are written has a direct bearing on the examination.

The rules may be revised further, so always check the latest handling on the Immigration Services Agency website before filing.

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