The Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa: which jobs qualify
Most foreign office workers in Japan hold the status called Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, often shortened to gijinkoku. The Immigration Services Agency (ISA) publishes a guideline with the requirements and real examples of approved and refused applications. Here is what it says.
Which jobs qualify
The ISA guideline on clarifying the status (in Japanese, first issued in 2008 and last revised in April 2026) describes three groups of work:
- Engineer: work that needs skills or knowledge from the natural sciences such as science, engineering, agriculture or medicine
- Specialist in Humanities: work that needs knowledge from fields such as law, economics, sociology, literature, education or business
- International Services: translation, interpreting, language teaching, public relations, advertising, overseas trade, fashion or interior design, product development and similar work that needs a way of thinking rooted in a foreign culture
All of them need specialist ability built on academic learning. The guideline says that jobs advertised as "no experience needed, you will pick it up quickly" do not qualify, and neither do jobs usually done by Japanese staff who do not meet the degree or experience requirement. The ISA judges your activity over the whole period of stay. If only a small part of the job qualifies and the rest is simple or repetitive work, the application is refused.
How your background must connect to the job
You also need to meet the landing criteria. For engineering and humanities work, one of the following is required.
| Requirement | How it is judged |
|---|---|
| A degree in a subject related to the job | For universities (including overseas universities and technical colleges), the link between major and job is judged flexibly. For vocational schools (senmon gakko), a substantial link is normally required |
| 10 years of practical experience | Time studying related subjects at university counts, and so does related work |
Vocational school graduates get flexible treatment if their program was certified by the Ministry of Education, and after about 3 years in a job accepted as related, the link to your next job is also judged flexibly. For International Services, 3 years of related experience is required, except that university graduates doing translation, interpreting or language teaching need no experience. In every case, your pay must be equal to or higher than what a Japanese employee would receive for the same work.
Why applications get refused
Attachment 3 of the guideline, the list of approved and refused cases (in Japanese), shows four main patterns.
- The work is not specialist: an education graduate packing lunch boxes in a factory; factory work almost identical to what technical intern trainees do; a nutrition school graduate making Western pastries (judged learnable by repetition); a dispatch contract listing the job as "shop staff" where the real work was retail sales
- No link between major and job: a voice acting graduate as a hotel interpreter; an illustration graduate selling clothes
- Pay below Japanese colleagues: a new Japanese graduate hired at the same time earned 180,000 yen a month while the applicant was offered 135,000 yen
- Poor conduct during the previous stay: a student who worked part time more than 200 hours a month for over a year; a student with 70% attendance who worked during the absences
How much on the floor training is allowed
Many companies start new hires in shops or factories. Attachment 1 of the guideline (in Japanese) now sets it out:
- Serving in a restaurant, selling in a shop or working on a factory line can be accepted as part of practical training, if Japanese university graduate hires go through the same training and it does not take up most of the period of stay
- Training longer than one year from hiring requires a training plan, and its reasonableness is checked. A two year training period on a three year contract with no renewal planned is not accepted
- Training set only for foreign staff, or different from what Japanese staff receive, is not accepted unless there is a sound reason such as Japanese language training
- Where training is planned, the period of stay granted is normally one year, and at renewal the ISA checks that you have moved on to qualifying work
The case list includes a supermarket chain head office hire who spent two years in stores, as Japanese graduates do, before moving to sales or overseas business: approved. A resort hotel career track hire with some restaurant duties but mainly front desk interpreting, reservations and concierge work: approved. A "manager candidate" at a restaurant chain who would work in restaurants for an undefined number of years and reach head office only if selected: refused, since that is not training required of everyone hired for qualifying work.
Before you apply
- Write out the actual duties and check that the specialist part is most of the job
- Be ready to explain how your major or work history connects to those duties
- Confirm that the pay matches Japanese staff doing the same work
- If there is floor training, check that it matches what Japanese hires do and that the plan shows its length and end point
For help with an application or a judgment on a specific case, consult a specialist such as a gyoseishoshi (administrative scrivener). Sincero Global answers questions about residence status and daily life in Japan in several languages. You can reach us by phone at +81 90 7841 8887, by email at info@sinceroglobal.jp, or on LINE.
