What is the “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services” Visa?

“Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services” (often referred to as “Gijinkoku”) is one of the working statuses of residence. It is a necessary visa for graduates of universities and other institutions to take up jobs that utilize their respective majors, such as science or humanities. Among the 19 types of working visas, it is utilized by the largest number of foreign nationals.

Here, we will break it down into “Engineer,” “Specialist in Humanities,” and “International Services” to explain the meaning of each.

• Engineer：

  “Engineer” refers to work engaged in by people who majored mainly in science fields, such as physical science or engineering. For example, development-related work utilizing technology unique to science fields, such as programmers, systems engineers, CAD operators, mechanical engineers, and architectural/civil engineering designers, are central to this category.

  Specialist in Humanities：”Specialist in Humanities” refers to work for people who majored mainly in liberal arts fields, such as law or economics. Examples include paralegals assisting lawyers in law firms, marketing, public relations, and management consultants.

• International Services：

  “International Services” refers to work that utilizes the unique strengths and sensibilities of a foreign national. Typical examples include private language teachers, interpreters, and translators.

  “Fashion designers” and “advertising designers” are also part of International Services.

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Requirements for Gijinkoku: Because the Gijinkoku visa requires a close relationship between the field of study at university and the content of the work at the place of employment, the “Educational Requirement” is particularly emphasized. Here we will explain the educational requirements and other requirements separately.

Educational Requirements

In principle, the Gijinkoku visa is granted to foreign nationals who fit into one of the following three patterns:

Graduated from a university, junior college, or graduate school in their home country (obtained a Bachelor’s degree, Associate degree, or higher).

Other Academic Requirements and Exceptions

1. Graduated from a university, junior college, or graduate school in Japan (obtained a Bachelor’s degree, Associate degree, or higher).
2. Graduated from a vocational school in Japan (obtained the title of “Senmonshi”).

Note: Vocational schools in foreign countries are not eligible.
In addition, even without the above academic background (degree or title), there are two special exceptions that allow for eligibility.

1. The first exception is “Relevant Work Experience.” If applying for work under “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities,” you can apply by proving 10 years or more of practical experience. If applying for “International Services,” you need to prove 3 years or more of practical experience.
2. The second exception is “Information Technology Qualifications.” In addition to Japan’s “Information Technology Security Support Practitioner Examination” and “Information Technology Engineer Examination,” obtaining IT-related qualifications administered in China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Singapore, and South Korea will satisfy the application requirements for Gijinkoku.

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1. Other Requirements:

   There are 6 requirements (checkpoints) other than the educational requirement.

   1. Relevance between Education and Job Duties: The Gijinkoku examination requires that the content learned at university is closely related to the job to be performed in Japan. If the field of specialization does not match the job content, the status of residence will not be permitted.

   [Note] Specific Example of Denial: A graduate of a Voice Acting department joined a hotel with many foreign customers and applied for permission to engage in translation and interpretation work as lobby staff. → Result: Denied because no relevance was recognized between the majored subject and the work.

   2. Professionalism of the Work: It is also an important factor that the job content has a level of professionalism. If the work is “unskilled labor” that does not require specialized knowledge or technical skills, permission cannot be obtained.

2. Specific Example of Denial: A graduate of a Faculty of Education joined a company manufacturing and selling bento boxes and applied for permission to engage in bento boxing work as a site worker.
   • → Result: Denied because it was not recognized as requiring knowledge in the field of humanities.
     • 3. Remuneration Equal to or Greater than Japanese Nationals: If the job content is the same, the company must pay the foreign employee remuneration equal to or greater than that of Japanese employees (confirmed by the employment contract submitted at the time of application).
     • Specific Example of Denial: A graduate of a Japanese-Chinese Interpretation and Translation department joined a company engaged in import/export business and applied for permission to engage in translation of contract documents with overseas companies and interpretation during business negotiations for a monthly reward of 170,000 yen.
     • → Result: Denied because a Japanese employee hired at the same time engaging in the same type of work received a monthly reward of 200,000 yen, so the applicant was not receiving remuneration equal to or greater than a Japanese national.

   [Note] 4. Stability of the Employer’s Business Condition: Companies hiring foreign nationals are required to have a business condition that allows them to properly pay remuneration to employees (confirmed by financial statements submitted at the time of application). In particular, newly established companies and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) generally undergo a more detailed examination.

5. Necessity of Hiring Foreign Nationals

Since the company is hiring a foreign national with specialized skills, the company must have a certain scale and business content. For example, if a small company with few people hires a foreign employee specializing in labor management, or if a company with almost no foreign customers hires a foreign employee as an interpreter, permission will not be granted.

[Important Note] Specific Example of Denial: A graduate of an Information Systems Engineering department joined a company operating restaurants and applied for permission to engage in computer-based accounting management and labor management for a monthly reward of 250,000 yen. → Result: Denied because the scale of 12 employees meant there was no recognized necessity for the employment.

• 6. Good Conduct:
  • The “conduct” of the applicant is also important. Specifically, it will be examined whether there is any criminal record, whether tax obligations are fulfilled, and whether the applicant is acting in accordance with their residence permission.
  • Specific Example of Denial: A graduate of a Faculty of Commerce joined a company engaged in trading and overseas business and applied to engage in overseas transaction work. → Result: Denied because it was revealed that while residing under the “Student” status, the applicant had been working part-time for more than 200 hours a month for over a year. Note: Part-time work for international students (activity other than that permitted under the status of residence) is in principle limited to 28 hours per week.

Application Method for Gijinkoku: The application procedure for Gijinkoku is divided into “Category 1” to “Category 4” depending on the size of the employing company/organization. Here, we explain the necessary documents and the flow for each category.Required Documents。

• Required Documents (Example)：
  • [Common to All Categories] ① Application for Certificate of Eligibility 1 copy
  • ② Photo (4cm vertical x 3cm horizontal) 1 sheet ※Must be taken within 3 months prior to application
  • ③ Return Envelope (with 404 yen worth of stamps attached) 1 envelope
  • ④ Document proving that the company falls under one of the categories
  • ⑤ (For vocational school graduates) Document proving the grant of the title of “Senmonshi” or “Advanced Senmonshi”
    
    

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Category 3 and 4 Common and Other Documents

[Common to Categories 3 and 4] 6. Materials clarifying the content of activities 7. Documents proving academic background, work history, and other career details 8. Certificate of Registered Matters (Tokibo) 9. Materials clarifying business content

[Category 3 Only] 10. Copy of financial statements for the most recent fiscal year

[Category 4 Only]

1. 10. Copy of financial statements for the most recent fiscal year OR Business Plan (in case of a new business) 11. Materials clarifying the reason why the Statutory Report on Total Withholding Tax for the previous year’s employee salary income cannot be submitted.
2. Screening Period: The screening period for working visas varies greatly depending on the circumstances of the applicant and the company.
3. The average processing time for Gijinkoku is said to be about 50 days for new applications and about 40 days for change applications, but in reality, it ranges widely from about one week to over six months.
4. Generally, the screening period tends to be shorter for large companies.

Period of Stay for Gijinkoku:

The period of stay for Gijinkoku is either 3 months, 1 year, 3 years, or 5 years.

• Period of Stay Details:
  • In most cases, the period of stay granted at the time of a new application is 1 year, and it is common for this to extend to 3 years or 5 years as the status is repeatedly renewed. There is no limit to the number of renewals.

Difference between Gijinkoku and Highly Skilled Professional (HSP): A status of residence very similar to Gijinkoku is “Highly Skilled Professional.” Both are qualifications for work related to the applicant’s educational background, etc., but the Highly Skilled Professional visa awards “points” according to the foreign national’s education, qualifications, etc., and gives special preferential treatment to those whose total score is above a certain level.

Highly Skilled Professional (HSP) Distinction and Preferential Treatments:

Incidentally, first-time applicants are subject to “Highly Skilled Professional (i),” and those who have engaged in activities for more than 3 years under (i) are subject to “Highly Skilled Professional (ii).”

• Preferential Treatments (Merits) are the following 6 points:
  • ① Period of stay extended to “5 years” or “Indefinite.”
  • ② Relaxation of permanent residence requirements (Application for permanent residence is possible after 1 year or 3 years, whereas normally 10 years or more of stay in Japan is required).
  • ③ Priority processing of entry and residence procedures (Processing time for immigration examination is significantly shortened).
  • ④ Spouse’s employment permission (Activities falling under “Education,” “Gijinkoku,” etc. are permitted even without meeting educational requirements).
  • ⑤ Accompanying parents (Subject to certain conditions).
  • ⑥ Accompanying domestic servants (Subject to certain conditions).

Summary and Recommendation:

On the other hand, Highly Skilled Professional has the disadvantage that the procedure for proving points is complicated. If you do not feel the appeal of “uniform 5 years” or other benefits, Gijinkoku might be more convenient as the procedure is simpler.