Hello, this is Matsui of IMS Legal Professional Corporation. This time last year, I thought for sure that I would "travel during next year's Golden Week!" But a year later, there is still no sign of the end of COVID-19, and unfortunately, this year's Golden Week became another year of self-restraint. Our company IMS is an administrative scrivener office specializing in visas, and our main business is to provide services to foreigners entering Japan and those traveling from Japan to overseas. With the restrictions on foreigners entering Japan and the inability to travel abroad, a year ago I wondered if I would be able to continue my work. But fortunately, we have continued to receive various requests from many people both in Japan and overseas, and I am very grateful for that.
This time, I would like to talk about a recent phone inquiry we received.
I have an employee who has held a "Highly Skilled Professional (i)(b)" visa status for over three years now. A year and a half ago, he changed jobs and joined our company. Can he change to the "Highly Skilled Professional (ii)" visa?
The "Highly Skilled Professional (ii)" visa is not well-known, but it can be obtained by those who have held a " Highly Skilled Professional (i)" visa status for over three years.
In addition to receiving the preferential treatment of HSP(i) (easing of the requirements for permanent residence, spouse employment, parents allowed to come to Japan, accompanying a domestic worker), HSP(ii) has the same advantages but is also granted an "indefinite" period of stay.
At first glance, the question we received may not seem to be a problem, but when we asked for details, there was a serious problem.
It can be difficult to understand, but if someone with an HSP(i) visa changes jobs, they must again apply for the same visa. You might be thinking, "Why do they need to reapply when the status is the same?" This is because a small piece of paper called a "Designation" (指定書) is attached to your passport when you are granted this status. This paper also has your place of activity (employer) listed on it. Therefore, if you change your job, you need to reapply at the Immigration Bureau to determine if your new place of work falls under the HSP(i) category or not.
In the case of the phone inquiry, I explained to the client that since the employee had not applied for a change of status due to his change of job, he could not apply for a HSP(ii) visa status immediately. On the other hand, even if you have changed jobs several times in the past three years, you can still apply for the HSP(ii) visa if you have properly reapplied for the HSP(i) change of status beforehand.
This is a difficult subject to understand, and even the people in charge at companies that handle a lot of visa-related work seem to be confused. As we provide visa consulting services to universities, we have dealt with many cases related to the Highly-Skilled Professional visa. Please feel free to contact us if you have any complicated questions.
For more information, please contact us below ↓
https://imsvisa.support/en/contact/
