Japan’s Highly Skilled Professional Visa: Benefits, Points and FAQ

Japan’s Highly Skilled Foreign Professional visa (koudo senmonshoku, sometimes called the “high-end talent” visa) is designed for highly qualified foreign professionals working in Japan. Awareness of this points-based route to Japan’s permanent residency has been growing among foreign nationals. As of the end of 2019, holders of this visa included 9,850 people from mainland China (including Hong Kong), 619 from the United States, and 502 from Taiwan.

The visa is granted under a points-based system: applicants who score 70 points or more on the official assessment table qualify as a “highly skilled professional,” and can apply before moving to Japan.

What Is the Highly Skilled Professional Visa?

There are three categories of Highly Skilled Professional visa, each with its own requirements and points calculation:

1. Advanced academic research work (koudo senmonshoku 1-gou-i)
2. Advanced professional/technical work (koudo senmonshoku 1-gou-ro) — also covering work related to investment management business
3. Advanced business management work (koudo senmonshoku 1-gou-ha) — also covering work related to investment management business

Applicants first need to work out which of the three categories fits their situation, since the requirements and points calculation differ between them.

Seven Advantages of the Highly Skilled Professional Visa

Compared with an ordinary work visa, the Highly Skilled Professional visa carries seven distinct advantages:

1. Foreign nationals are normally restricted to activities within the scope of their visa category, but a Highly Skilled Professional visa holder can undertake activities equivalent to several visa categories at once. For example, a foreign employee at a Japanese company can also use their own knowledge and skills to start a business in Japan.
2. The maximum period of stay is a flat 5 years, and of course the visa can be extended.
3. Conditions for permanent residency are relaxed. Normally, permanent residency requires 10 years of living in Japan. But under the Highly Skilled Professional “green card” system in effect since April 26, 2017, someone who has carried out highly skilled professional activity continuously for 3 years, or in some cases 1 year, can apply for permanent residency — a fast track to Japanese permanent residency.
4. Applications receive priority review at Japanese immigration, under what is called the “Highly Skilled Foreign Professional Visa Fast Track.” In principle, a residency-status certification application under the Highly Skilled Professional category is reviewed within 10 working days.
5. The visa holder’s spouse can also work in Japan. Even if the spouse’s own education or occupation would not otherwise qualify them for a work visa, they can still obtain one.
6. Parents living with the visa holder in Japan can also obtain a visa. Japan does not normally issue visas to foreign nationals’ parents, but if the Highly Skilled Professional visa holder (or their spouse) has an annual income of JPY 8 million or more and needs to care for a child under the age of 7, both the visa holder’s parents and the spouse’s parents can obtain visas.
7. The visa holder can bring a domestic helper. If annual income is JPY 10 million or more, and the helper’s monthly income is JPY 200,000 or more, a visa can be obtained allowing the helper to accompany the visa holder.

How the Points System Works

The Highly Skilled Professional points table scores applicants on education, work experience, annual income (the expected income after arriving in Japan), and age (younger applicants score more favorably). A score of 70 points or more qualifies the applicant as a Highly Skilled Professional, and the application can be filed before moving to Japan.

Since the points table was updated on April 26, 2017, bonus points are available for graduates of universities ranked in the world’s top 300 (beyond Japanese universities), and for holders of multiple specialized master’s or doctoral degrees; passing the Japanese Language Proficiency Test N2 also adds points. As of the sources reviewed, foreign talent finds it easier to qualify than before. The listed world-top-300 universities included, among mainland Chinese institutions, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Beijing Normal University, University of Science and Technology of China, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhejiang University, Nanjing University, Harbin Institute of Technology and Wuhan University; in Taiwan, National Taiwan University; in Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the University of Hong Kong; and in Singapore, the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University.

Detailed Points Criteria by Category

Education

Points are available for holding a doctoral degree, a master’s degree, a bachelor’s degree, or double doctoral/double master’s (professional) degrees. Only the highest qualification counts unless the applicant holds two or more degrees in genuinely different research fields, in which case multiple-degree bonus points may apply (for example, holding both a doctorate and a master’s counts only the doctorate for the base 30 points, unless the multiple-field bonus applies).
Required documents: graduation certificate and degree certificate. Where claiming a multiple-field bonus (two or more doctoral, master’s or professional degrees), documentation proving the fields are genuinely distinct is required.

Work Experience

Only work experience matching the content of the work to be carried out in Japan is counted; experience gained outside Japan also counts.
Required documents: documentation from the employing institution proving the nature and duration of the highly skilled professional work performed.

Annual Income

For the advanced academic research or advanced professional/technical categories, the expected annual income must be JPY 3 million or more. This is not the income from a previous position, but the expected income for the highly skilled professional work to be carried out. If the applicant is transferring from an overseas branch to a Japan branch of the same organization, the income earned at the overseas branch also counts.
Required documents: annual income certificate (from the contracting institution and any overseas institution paying the applicant).

Research Achievements — Patents

Points are available for holding at least one patent as an inventor.
Required documents: documentation proving the applicant is named as the inventor on at least one granted patent (for example, a patent certificate clearly stating the applicant’s name).

Research Achievements — Grants

Points are available for having received three or more government grants or competitive research funding awards before entering Japan.
Required documents: documentation proving this research funding history.

Research Achievements — Papers

Points are available for having three or more papers published in an academic journal listed in an academic paper database, submitted with the paper’s title, author names, journal name, volume/issue and page numbers, and publication date (format is not fixed).
This is limited to applicants who are the sole/lead (“responsible”) author. An academic paper database refers to a commercial service that compiles scholarly papers on a global scale — for example, Thomson Reuters (headquartered in Canada) and Elsevier (headquartered in the Netherlands) both provide such databases.

Special Addition — Innovation Promotion Support Measures

Applicants should confirm with their employer in advance whether the employer is receiving this kind of support — common examples include recognition of a management innovation plan under the Act on Strengthening Industrial Competitiveness of Small and Medium Enterprises, research and development project approval under the Asia Hub Promotion Act (special measures concerning the promotion of research and development by specific multinational enterprises), or being a target enterprise under the National Strategic Special Zone’s highly skilled foreign talent acceptance promotion project.
Required documents: documentation proving the employing institution is receiving this kind of innovation promotion support measure (for example, a copy of a grant notification letter).

Special Addition — R&D Expenditure

Applies where the contracting institution qualifies as a small or medium-sized enterprise under the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Basic Act, and where research and development expenses plus development costs exceed 3% of total revenue (excluding gains from the disposal of fixed assets or securities) for the fiscal year before the residency application (or the year before that, if the application is filed within 2 months after the end of the prior fiscal year).
Required documents: financial statements showing research expenditure and revenue, supporting bookkeeping records (with research expenditure entries highlighted), an itemized list of research costs, and a certification letter (in any format) issued by a certified tax accountant, certified public accountant, or certified management consultant for small and medium enterprises.

Special Addition — Advanced Field Under the Growth Strategy

Applies to work related to an advanced field under the relevant ministry’s growth strategy.
Required documents: documentation relating to the relevant project (for example, a copy of the grant notification letter for that project, and material from the employing institution describing the applicant’s work on that advanced field project).

Special Addition — Innovative Asia Program

Applies to those who completed one year or more of training under JICA’s Innovative Asia program.
This cannot be double-counted with the points for completing a Japanese university or graduate program using the same home-country university coursework.
Required documents: a training completion certificate issued by JICA (submitting this certificate generally removes the need to submit separate education/work-history documents, except where claiming work-experience points, which still requires proof of work history).

Special Addition — JPY 100 Million Investment

Required documents: capital and investment proof documents (such as a shareholder register).

Special Addition — Investment Management Business

Required documents: a copy of the employing institution’s registration notice (business license) for Type II Financial Instruments Business, Investment Advisory and Agency Business, or Investment Management Business, plus a written explanation of the applicant’s role in this business.

Common Questions From Applicants

Is Japanese language ability required?
No. Not knowing Japanese at all is not a barrier to applying — because the Highly Skilled Professional visa runs on a points system, what matters is meeting the points threshold, not language ability.

How can an applicant reach 70 points without Japanese ability?
There are generally two routes to a higher score. One is through education — a higher qualification adds points, and a degree from a Japan-recognized institution can add further points. The other is through income — for example, in the business/management category, an annual income of JPY 30 million adds 10 points, and combined with a degree from a Japan-recognized university, this can be enough to reach the 70-point threshold.

What is the difference between the Highly Skilled Professional visa’s business/management category and an ordinary Business Manager visa?
The core difference is the points calculation. The Highly Skilled Professional business/management category has a points system, and the applicant must reach a passing score to qualify. An ordinary Business Manager visa is comparatively simpler — immigration mainly looks at whether the applicant’s future business plan shows the company can be run in Japan on an ongoing, planned basis; if the business plan is sound, the visa can be obtained without a points assessment.

Is there a minimum personal income requirement for each visa type?
For the Highly Skilled Professional business/management category, a basic annual income of JPY 3,000,000 is required — falling short of this disqualifies the application regardless of points. An ordinary Business Manager visa has no personal income requirement as such, but because applicants often bring family members to Japan, immigration will want to be satisfied the income is enough to support the family; a monthly income of around JPY 250,000 or more is commonly recommended. For the Highly Skilled Professional business/management category, once the points threshold is met, an income of JPY 3,000,000 or more is generally sufficient, regardless of family size.

Is income assessed based on current home-country earnings or future Japan earnings?
Based on the expected future income in Japan, not current income in the applicant’s home country.

Is there a minimum period of physical residence in Japan required to maintain the visa or qualify for permanent residency later?
There is no explicit written requirement on how long a holder must reside in Japan. However, if actual residence time is too short, immigration may question whether the visa is genuinely needed. It is generally recommended that an applicant plan to spend more than half a year physically in Japan.

Is there an age limit for applicants?
There is no official age limit. In practice, applicants across their 30s, 40s and 50s are commonly seen and generally unproblematic; the oldest applicant handled successfully in the sources reviewed was 62. Applicants aged 65 or older are not recommended, mainly due to a lack of track record at that age rather than a stated rule against it.

Does the new business or role in Japan need to match the applicant’s previous career?
Not necessarily. Prior experience in the same field is a positive factor at review, but a mismatch between past experience and the new Japan-based work is not automatically disqualifying. Immigration’s main concern is whether the proposed business in Japan appears viable, capable of generating profit and revenue, and able to meet its tax obligations.

For the professional/technical category, must an applicant already have a signed employment contract with a Japan-based company before applying?
Yes — the applicant needs to have signed an employment contract with the Japan-based company before applying for the professional/technical category of the Highly Skilled Professional visa.

If personal circumstances change during processing — for example, the applicant marries — can this be reflected in the application?
Yes. The applicant can notify immigration of the change (such as a marriage) and submit supplementary documentation during processing; this does not need to restart the application.

How long does a dependent family member’s visa application typically take?
Based on experience in the sources reviewed, generally around two months from the start of the application.

How much extra income is recommended for each additional dependent family member under the business/management category?
As a rule of thumb from the sources reviewed: an individual applicant considering a future permanent residency application is generally advised to show at least JPY 3,000,000 in annual income; for each additional dependent family member who does not work and relies on the applicant, an additional JPY 700,000 per year is generally recommended, with a minimum of an additional JPY 400,000 per year.

Do patents automatically count toward the points score?
Not automatically — this is assessed case by case. The applicant needs to provide the actual patent documentation for evaluation against the points criteria before it can be confirmed whether it qualifies.

What is the main advantage of the Highly Skilled Professional business/management category over an ordinary Business Manager visa?
The main advantage is the path to permanent residency: under the Highly Skilled Professional route, permanent residency can potentially be reached in 1 to 3 years, compared with the ordinary Business Manager visa route, which generally requires 10 years of residence including 5 or more years of qualifying work experience.

If you want to work out whether your background and expected income could qualify under this points system, ask Zagdim.

Have a question about this guide? Leave a comment below, or ask Zagdim directly.

Sources

• Japan Immigration Services Agency — Highly Skilled Foreign Professional System materials
• Points assessment table for the Highly Skilled Foreign Professional visa