Japan does not issue work permits. Your right to work comes from your status of residence, and each status defines a narrow band of activity you are allowed to perform. Take a job outside that band and you are working illegally even though you hold a valid residence card.
That single fact shapes every decision below. Choosing a category is not paperwork admin; it determines what jobs you can accept, whether your family can join you, how long you can stay, and how quickly you can stop depending on an employer at all.
Start with the question that actually sorts you
Work visas in Japan divide on one line: does the job require a degree-level professional qualification, or a demonstrated practical skill?
Professional and technical roles go through Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, which asks for a matching university degree or ten years of experience. Hands-on work in the sixteen designated shortage industries goes through Specified Skilled Worker, which asks for a skills test and a Japanese language test instead. Neither one substitutes for the other, and applications fail when a job is filed under the wrong one.
The six main categories
- Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services. The default for office work. IT, engineering, finance, marketing, translation, teaching at private companies. Degree must relate to the job.
- Highly Skilled Professional. A points-scored status for strong earners and strong credentials. Five-year period of stay, broader work rights, and permanent residency in three years at 70 points or one year at 80.
- Specified Skilled Worker. Care, construction, farming, food service, hospitality and eleven other fields. Two tiers, with very different rules on family and renewal.
- Intra-Company Transferee. For a posting from an overseas office of the same corporate group. No degree requirement, but you must have been at the overseas office for the year immediately before the move.
- Business Manager. For running a company in Japan. The bar rose sharply in October 2025: capital of ¥30 million, a full-time employee, management experience and a professionally reviewed business plan.
- Digital Nomad. Six months of remote work for non-Japanese clients, ¥10 million income requirement, no residence card, no extension.
Several narrower categories exist alongside these: Instructor for teachers at public and private schools, Professor for university faculty, Skilled Labor for chefs of foreign cuisine and certain trades, Journalist, Artist, Religious Activities, Nursing Care, and Legal/Accounting Services for licensed practitioners.
What the categories have in common
Whatever the status, three rules apply across the board:
- Pay has to match the local rate. You must be paid at least what a Japanese national would receive for the same work. Underpaid offers get refused.
- Someone in Japan has to sponsor you. Almost every work status requires a Japanese employer or organisation to file a Certificate of Eligibility on your behalf before you can get a visa.
- Changes must be reported. Leaving a job, joining a job, or a change in your employer's name or address must be reported to immigration within 14 days.
Before you accept the offer
Two checks are worth doing while you still have leverage in the conversation with an employer:
Run the Highly Skilled Professional points table even if nobody has mentioned it. The scoring rewards salary, youth and credentials in combinations that surprise people, and the difference between an ordinary work status and HSP is years off your route to permanent residency.
Ask which company category your employer falls into for immigration purposes. A large listed employer files a thin document set and gets a fast decision. A newly incorporated company files a business plan and financials, and the review runs longer. This changes your realistic start date more than anything else in the process.
Where to go next
For eligibility screening, see Eligibility & Requirements. For the filing steps and timelines, see How to Apply and Processing Times.
Back to Visa Types.