Highly Skilled Professional Point System Q&A (Part 2)

This document is part 2 of a Q&A that provides an overview of Japan's Highly Skilled Professional Point System, which grants preferential immigration treatment to foreign nationals recognized as "highly skilled professionals" in order to promote the acceptance of such talent. It covers topics such as the benefits granted to highly skilled professionals, eligibility criteria, accompanying family members, applicable procedures, and more.

The original document (PDF) is in Japanese, and this English version was created using machine translation.

Disclaimer:

This English translation was generated using machine translation software and was not created by a human translator. It is provided for informational purposes only and is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate or represent a perfect translation from the original Japanese content. For official guidance, please refer to the original documentation published by the Japanese government. This translated text should not be relied upon as an authoritative source, and no assurances of accuracy are provided. Any reader should confirm accuracy and seek professional advice as needed prior to relying on the information contained within this document. The provider of this translation is not responsible for any errors, omissions, or misinterpretations of the original text.

Advanced Academic Research Activities (Highly Skilled Professional (i))

Q20: What activities are permitted for highly skilled foreign professionals conducting advanced academic research activities?

A: Based on contracts with public or private organizations in Japan, activities such as teaching at educational institutions like universities or conducting research at research institutes of private companies are permitted. It is also possible to start and personally manage businesses utilizing the fruits of one's education and research in addition to such activities.

Q21: What are academic paper databases?

A: "Academic paper databases" are services provided by private companies that collect and provide information about researchers' academic papers worldwide. Specific examples include academic paper databases provided by companies like Thomson Reuters (headquartered in Canada) and Elsevier (headquartered in the Netherlands).

The Immigration Services Agency uses Elsevier's "SciVerse Scopus" academic paper database to verify papers submitted as "Research Achievements".

Advanced Specialized/Technical Activities (Highly Skilled Professional (ii))

Q22: What activities are permitted for highly skilled foreign professionals conducting advanced specialized/technical activities?

A: Based on contracts with public or private organizations in Japan, activities where the foreign national engages in work requiring specialized knowledge and skills related to natural sciences or humanities, such as working as an engineer engaged in product development at their company while also being involved in planning sales promotions etc., are permitted. It is also possible to start and personally manage businesses related to these activities in addition to engaging in such activities.

Q23: What national qualifications are eligible for points in advanced specialized/technical activities?

A: The national qualifications of Japan that are eligible for points are "exclusive licenses" and "protected titles", which not only certify that a certain level of knowledge and skills has been achieved through passing an exam, but legally restrict engagement in related business or use of the associated titles to holders of the qualification, giving these qualifications a different legal status from other qualifications. Specific examples include lawyer, doctor, certified public accountant, and certified scientist/metrology engineer.

Information technology-related tests and certifications listed in the "Public Notice Specifying Criteria pursuant to Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ii) of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act" (Ministry of Justice Public Notice No. 437 of 2013) are also eligible.

Q24: If a foreign resident with highly skilled professional/technical activities status gets promoted to become a board member at the same company, is permission for a change of resident status required?

A: When a foreign national residing as an employee of a company under highly skilled professional/technical activities status gets promoted within the same company to become an executive, while the activities after becoming an executive also correspond to highly skilled business management activities, as long as the duties as an executive are based on a contract with the company and involve specialized knowledge/skills related to natural sciences or humanities, engaging in those duties also corresponds to highly skilled specialized/technical activities. Therefore, while it is possible in such cases to obtain permission to change from highly skilled specialized/technical activities to highly skilled business management activities, it is not mandatory to do so.

Advanced Business Management Activities (Highly Skilled Professional (iii))

Q25: What activities are permitted for highly skilled foreign professionals conducting advanced business management activities?

A: Activities such as managing a company or managing/operating a law firm or auditing corporation are permitted. It is also possible to start and personally manage businesses related to the business of such companies/firms in addition to engaging in such management activities.

Q26: Are only executives of large companies eligible for the status of a highly skilled foreign professional conducting advanced business management activities?

A: Highly skilled business management activities include directors, officers, and managerial staff responsible for management duties of departments equivalent to or higher than departments who are engaged in important decision-making regarding company operations or business execution, audit operations, etc., so the scale of the company or whether someone is an executive does not directly determine eligibility. The key factor is whether the actual activities involve management of company operations.

Highly Skilled Professional (ii)

Q27: What are the requirements to change to Highly Skilled Professional (ii) status?

A: All of the following requirements must be met:

The planned activities correspond to at least one of the three activity categories (a), (b), or (c).
The applicant engaged in activities under Highly Skilled Professional (i) status for at least 3 years.
The total points based on educational background, income, etc. are 70 points or higher.
The applicant has good conduct.
The applicant's residence is recognized to be in Japan's interests.
It is not found that the applicant's activities planned in Japan are inappropriate from the viewpoint of their impact on Japanese industry and livelihood.

Accompanying Family Members and Domestic Workers

Q28: When entering Japan as a highly skilled foreign professional, can family members accompany you?

A: In addition to a spouse and children dependent on the highly skilled foreign professional, the working spouse of the highly skilled foreign professional, and parents of the highly skilled foreign professional or their spouse who will be raising a child of the highly skilled foreign professional or their spouse aged under 7 or assisting a pregnant highly skilled foreign professional or their pregnant spouse, can enter Japan together with the highly skilled foreign professional if they meet certain requirements.

Q29: When entering Japan as a highly skilled foreign professional, can you bring along domestic workers employed by you in your home country?

A: Domestic workers employed in their home countries by people entering Japan as highly skilled foreign professionals can enter Japan together with the highly skilled foreign professional who is their employer if certain requirements are met.

Q30: After first entering Japan as a highly skilled foreign professional, can family members and domestic workers be called over later from your home country?

A: The spouse and children of the highly skilled foreign professional, and parents of the highly skilled foreign professional or their spouse who will be raising the highly skilled foreign professional's or spouse's child aged under 7 or assisting a pregnant spouse of the highly skilled foreign professional or a pregnant highly skilled foreign professional, can be called from the home country after the highly skilled foreign professional first enters Japan, by meeting the same requirements as when entering Japan together.

Regarding domestic workers, if the highly skilled foreign professional has a child aged under 13 or circumstances such as a spouse who is unable to engage in daily housework due to illness or work, and employs the domestic worker for that reason, the worker can be called from the home country later. On the other hand, for cases of continuing employment of a domestic worker who had already been employed overseas continuously for one year or longer, since it is necessary to enter Japan together with the highly skilled foreign professional who is the employer, the domestic worker cannot be called after the highly skilled foreign professional enters Japan alone. However, in any case, requirements such as those related to remuneration (see Q34) must be met.

Q31: Can parents be called over for the purpose of raising adopted children? Also, can adoptive parents be called over?

A: Since "children" aged under 7 who are to be raised include adopted children, parents can be called over for the purpose of raising adopted children. Also, "parents" who can be called over are not limited to biological parents, so adoptive parents of a highly skilled foreign professional or their spouse can also be called over to raise a child aged under 7 or assist a pregnant highly skilled foreign professional or their pregnant spouse.

Q32: Can the spouse of a highly skilled foreign professional work in Japan?

A: For the spouse of a highly skilled foreign professional to work in Japan, the following options are available:

Enter as a dependent spouse and obtain permission to engage in activities outside resident status

If the spouse enters as a dependent spouse of a highly skilled foreign professional, they cannot work unless they obtain separate "permission to engage in activities other than permitted under the status of residence". With that permission, they can work within the permitted scope, similar to spouses residing under "Dependent" status (blanket permission for up to 28 hours per week (excluding adult entertainment business)).

Enter as a working spouse of a highly skilled foreign professional

Under this system, spouses of highly skilled foreign professionals can be permitted to engage in work activities corresponding to "Instructor", "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" or "Entertainer" (performing arts activities other than entertainment) statuses by being granted "Designated Activities" status as working spouses of highly skilled foreign professionals, without needing to meet the normal educational/professional background requirements for those statuses. Unlike permission for activities outside status, there are no restrictions such as a 28 hour per week limit, so full-time work is possible.

Enter with a work status

Instead of entering based on spouse status in relation to a highly skilled foreign professional, the spouse can directly acquire and enter Japan under a work status permitting work activities (such as "Instructor" or "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services"), which allows work activities corresponding to that status.

Q33: If the working spouse of a highly skilled foreign professional separates from the highly skilled foreign professional, can the spouse continue working?

A: To be permitted as a working spouse of a highly skilled foreign professional, the spouse must continue residing with the highly skilled foreign professional. If they separate during the period of stay, the permitted work activities are no longer allowed (working in such a case would be unauthorized activities outside status and may be subject to penalties or forced deportation).

Q34: The requirements for accompanying parents and employing domestic workers include "annual household income of 8 million yen or more" and "annual household income of 10 million yen or more." What is included in this income? Is the spouse's income included?

A: "Annual household income" here refers to the combined annual amount of remuneration received by the highly skilled foreign professional and remuneration received by the highly skilled foreign professional's spouse.

"Remuneration" refers to "payment made in return for providing a certain service", and includes base salary as well as diligence allowances, adjustment allowances, etc. Commuting allowances, dependent allowances, housing allowances and other payments that are reimbursement of actual expenses (except those subject to taxation) are not included.

Normally, this would be the annual amount of remuneration received from the organization the highly skilled foreign professional belongs to in order to engage in highly skilled foreign professional activities (1. For highly skilled foreign professionals engaging in advanced academic research/specialized technical activities, normally the employing organization; 2. For highly skilled foreign professionals engaging in advanced business management activities, the managed company etc.; 3. For highly skilled foreign professionals transferred from an overseas company etc. to a Japanese company etc. who receive remuneration from the overseas company etc., that overseas company etc.) plus the annual amount of remuneration received by the working spouse of the highly skilled foreign professional with a work status. Therefore, profits gained from personal stock investments etc. do not fall under "remuneration" and are not included, for example.

Q35: The requirement to employ domestic workers is that the employer has "annual income of 10 million yen or more." If the employer's annual income falls below 10 million yen during the period of stay, will the domestic worker no longer be permitted to stay?

A: To permit a domestic worker as a domestic worker of a highly skilled foreign professional, the highly skilled foreign professional who is the employer must have an annual household income of 10 million yen or more. However, if after permission is granted, the employer's annual household income falls below 10 million yen during the domestic worker's period of stay, it does not immediately invalidate the domestic worker's stay. However, if the employer's annual household income is less than 10 million yen at the time of applying to renew the domestic worker's period of stay, renewal of the period of stay will not be permitted. The same applies regarding the requirement for the highly skilled foreign professional's annual household income (30 million yen or more) when the highly skilled foreign professional engages in investment management business etc. and employs one domestic worker other than the applicant.

Q36: Is the income of accompanying parents themselves and cohabiting persons included in the "annual household income" requirement for accompanying parents and domestic workers?

A: The income of accompanying parents themselves and cohabiting persons is not included in "annual household income".

Q37: A domestic worker entered Japan under the activities specified by Appended Table II (2) of the Immigration Control Act, and the employer's child was under 13 years old at the time of entry, but has now reached 13 years of age. Will the domestic worker's continued stay be permitted?

A: The domestic worker's stay does not immediately become impermissible when the employer's child turns 13 years old. Also, if the employer's child has reached 13 years of age at the time the foreign national files an application to renew their period of stay, continued stay can be permitted as long as they continue to be employed by the same employer, since there is no change in the content of activities in Japan.

However, if the employer changes, at the time of filing an application to renew the period of stay based on a contract with the new employer, if the new employer has no children under 13 years old or a spouse unable to engage in daily housework due to illness etc., renewal of the period of stay will not be permitted.

Q38: If the parent of a highly skilled foreign professional accompanying the highly skilled foreign professional separates from the highly skilled foreign professional, can the parent continue to stay?

A: For parents of a highly skilled foreign professional or their spouse to be permitted as a parent who will be raising the highly skilled professional's or spouse's child aged under 7 or assisting a pregnant highly skilled foreign professional or their pregnant spouse, they must continue residing with the highly skilled foreign professional. If they separate from the highly skilled foreign professional during the period of stay, the permitted childcare activities etc. are no longer allowed. In such cases, while the status of residence is not necessarily revoked immediately, renewal of the period of stay will not be permitted.

Q39: The employer of a domestic worker, who is a highly skilled foreign professional, applied for an extension of period of stay but could not get approval to extend their period of stay as a highly skilled foreign professional due to insufficient points, and changed to another working status. Can the employed domestic worker continue to stay?

A: In principle, no. Domestic workers of highly skilled foreign professionals are permitted as a preferential measure for highly skilled foreign professionals, so if the employer is no longer a highly skilled foreign professional, the preferential measure of permitting domestic workers no longer applies, so continued stay of the domestic worker will generally not be permitted. However, if the employer's new status of residence is "Business Manager" or "Legal/Accounting Services" and the requirements of Appended Table II of the Immigration Control Act are met, continued employment by and stay with that employer as a domestic worker will be permitted.

Q40: If the child of a highly skilled foreign professional or their spouse turns 7 years old, can the highly skilled foreign professional's parent staying for the purpose of raising the child continue to stay?

A: No. The stay of parents of a highly skilled foreign professional or their spouse for the purpose of raising the highly skilled professional's or spouse's child is permitted for raising a child aged under 7. In such cases as well, while the status of residence is not necessarily revoked immediately, renewal of the period of stay will not be permitted.

Q41: If a highly skilled foreign professional with 80 points or more is granted permanent residence after staying continuously for 1 year or more, are their spouse and children also granted permanent residence at the same time?

A: No. The shortened minimum 1 year period of stay requirement for permanent residence applies only to highly skilled foreign professionals themselves, not their spouses or children.

Next: Highly Skilled Professional Point System Q&A (Part 3)