Q&A
01. Frequently Asked Questions about the Specified Skilled Worker System

In order to address the serious labor shortages facing small and medium-sized businesses and other small-scale enterprises, this system was launched on April 1, 2019 to accept foreign workers who have a certain level of expertise and skills and can immediately contribute in 16 fields, including the construction industry.

The Technical Intern Training scheme aims to transfer skills to developing countries through Technical Intern Training in Japan. On the other hand, the Specified Skilled Worker system aims to accept foreign human resources who will be ready to work to solve the labor shortage. Therefore, Specified Skilled Worker are required to have a considerable degree of knowledge or skills.

Foreign nationals with a considerable degree of knowledge or experience can go through certain procedures and be granted a "Specified Skilled Worker (i)" residence status, which limits their period of stay to a total of five years and in principle does not allow family members to accompany them.

Foreign nationals with advanced skills can go through certain procedures to be granted a "Specified Skilled Worker (ii)" status of residence, which allows unlimited renewal of the period of stay and allows the foreign national to be accompanied only by his or her dependent spouse and children. This "Specified Skilled Worker (ii)" status of residence is to be granted in 15 fields other than the nursing care field.
*The nursing care field is not included in the scope of Specified Skilled Worker (ii) category because there is currently a "nursing care" status of residence in the professional and technical field.

To become a Specified Skilled Worker (ii) in the construction field, you need to have at least a certain period of experience as a team leader and pass the The Specified Skills (ii) Evaluation Exam for Construction Industry or Grade 1 of the National Trade Skill Test & Certification.

For information on team leader experience for a certain period of time or more, please check the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism website.
https://www.mlit.go.jp/tochi_fudousan_kensetsugyo/tochi_fudousan_kensetsugyo_tk3_000001_00003.html

For information on the implementation status of The Specified Skills (ii) Evaluation Exam for Construction Industry please see the "The Specified Skills Evaluation Exam for Construction Industry Page."

For Grade 1 of the National Trade Skill Test & Certification (Implementing entity: JAVADA), please check the website of the Central Vocational Skills Development Association.

Specified Skilled Worker (i) can be accepted for all positions in the construction field. For details, please check the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism website.​

"Operational Guidelines for Acceptance Specified Skilled Worker Specific Fields - Standards for the Construction Field -"Appendix 6-2 to Appendix 6-7 Please check the work content for each job category that is eligible for acceptance. Specified Skilled Worker may engage in the "main business contents" and "mainly expected related operations" listed in the attached table, but are not allowed to engage exclusively in "mainly expected related operations". In addition to the related work listed in the attached table, Japan personnel engaged in construction work may also be engaged in incidental work (work preparation, transportation, cleanup, etc.) that are normally engaged in work.

here for a table showing the correspondence between Specified Skills business categories and construction industry licenses.Please see

For information on the relationship between the business category and the completed Technical Intern Training, etc., please refer to Appendix 6-1 of the Operational Guidelines (Guidelines).
To see which business category the work performed by Specified Skilled Worker corresponds to, please check the correspondence table with the construction business license of the Specified Skills business category.

<How to read Attached Table 6-1>

In addition, Specified Skilled Worker may engage in "main business contents" and "mainly expected related work" as defined in Appendix 6-2 to Appendix 6-7 of the "Operational Guidelines for Acceptance of Specified Skilled Worker in Specific Fields - Standards for the Construction Field", but it is not allowed to engage exclusively in "mainly envisioned related work".
In addition to the related work listed in the attached table, Japan personnel engaged in construction work may also be engaged in incidental work (work preparation, transportation, cleanup, etc.) that are normally engaged in work.

For information on the relationship between the business category and the corresponding exams that require passing, please refer to Appendix 6-1 of the Operational Guidelines (Guidelines).
To see which business category the work performed by Specified Skilled Worker corresponds to, please refer to the correspondence table with the construction business license of the Specified Skills business category.

<How to read Attached Table 6-1>

In addition, Specified Skilled Worker may engage in "main business contents" and "mainly expected related work" as defined in Appendix 6-2 to Appendix 6-7 of the "Operational Guidelines for Acceptance of Specified Skilled Worker in Specific Fields - Standards for the Construction Field", but it is not allowed to engage exclusively in "mainly envisioned related work".
In addition to the related work listed in the attached table, Japan personnel engaged in construction work may also be engaged in incidental work (work preparation, transportation, cleanup, etc.) that are normally engaged in work.