In April 2019, Japan introduced a new visa known as the specified skilled visa (tokutei ginou) to address labor shortages in different industries in the country, including:

• Agriculture
• Airport ground handling and aircraft maintenance
• Building cleaning
• Construction
• Electronics and electric machinery
• Fisheries
• Food and beverage
• Hotels and hospitality
• Industrial machinery
• Materials processing
• Nursing care
• Restaurants and catering
• Shipbuilding
• Vehicle maintenance

The specified skilled visa 1 (SSV1) is good for five years but only allows limited renewals, and foreign workers with these visas cannot bring their families into the country.

Introduced in 2021, specified skilled visa 2 (SSV2) allows visa holders indefinite renewals and permission to bring family members into the country. Both visas require certain levels of proficiency in the Japanese language.

Working visas require a Japanese company, school, university or individual to act as a sponsor for the job applicant, who must fill out a form from the Japanese embassy or consulate. These visas are normally granted for periods of one year or three years, with the exception of entertainers, who are granted working visas for periods of three months, six months, and one year (these usually can be extended).

The Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) is a great opportunity for people to get a one-year contract (extendable over five years) working in their field in Japan, as well as round-trip airfare. Visas are issued for instructors, in the case of assistant language teachers (ALTs), or as specialists in humanities/international services as coordinators for international relations (CIRs).

Your local Japanese embassy or consulate does interviews for these opportunities and has a JET desk or coordinator who can provide the documents you need to apply for a work visa.

Japan has mutual working holiday visa agreements with Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, The Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom. It allows young people, usually ages 18 to 25 (but sometimes as old as 30), to work part time during a one-year stay in the country.

The idea is to make some money while experiencing Japan on holiday, not to move there for full-time work.

Foreign nationals who have resided in Japan for a long time can sometimes apply to become permanent residents, which would allow them to do any kind of legal work in Japan. Typically, this period is 10 years, or less for people with Japanese ancestry or a Japanese spouse.

Besides the long-term stay in the country, other conditions for becoming a permanent resident include:

• Being able to support yourself financially
• Having made contributions to taxes and Social Security
• Having exhibited good conduct (especially not having a criminal record)
• Still meeting the requirements of your current visa (such as being employed, married and so on)

You will learn from the closest Japanese embassy or consulate what is required for a specific work visa. Anyone who enters Japan on a long-term basis, including for work, usually must obtain a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) from the country’s Ministry of Justice, Immigration Bureau. Since it takes a few months to arrange and work visa applications often depend on having one, you should obtain your COE before handing in your work visa application. Your prospective employer in Japan actually handles this on your behalf through a domestic immigration office, but requires information and documentation from you to do so.

The COE does not replace a work visa but is usually a prerequisite for getting one. It serves to show that you meet the entry requirements set by the government authorities.

While waiting for your COE, you can put together items specified on the visa application form, such as a valid passport, a recent photograph, a letter from your new employer stating your position and salary, a curriculum vitae (CV) or resume, and any required graduation certificates.

Depending on factors like your profession and the duration of your work contract, you can get work permits ranging from three or four months to five years. Often, work visas can be extended if you make an application before they expire.

While the processing time for a work visa may just be a week or two, getting the COE can take up to three months. Once you have your visa in your home country, you will travel to Japan and receive a landing permit at your port of entry, basically giving you permission to enter the country.

You will also need a residence card. You will receive one automatically with your landing permit if you enter through the Narita, Haneda, Kansai or Chubu airports. If you enter elsewhere, you will have to go to the closest municipal office to where you live to obtain one. Within 14 days of setting up your living arrangements, you are required to go to the local ward office to register your status of residence.