Hello. This is Takeuchi from IMS Legal Professional Corporation. Today, I would like to focus on the "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" residence status ("visa"), particularly in the natural sciences and humanities fields, and check the compatibility of the activities covered by the residence status with the workplace.
Even among work visas, this is the broadest range of work content. Many people who have graduated from university overseas or in Japan, or from a Japanese vocational school, are working with this residence status.
Activities and Requirements
The Immigration Services Agency of Japan presents the following as the activities for this qualification:
"Work that requires skills or knowledge in the fields of science, engineering, or other natural sciences, or in the fields of law, economics, sociology, or other humanities, performed under a contract with a public or private institution in Japan."
The following criteria are set as the criteria for eligibility: "If an applicant wishes to engage in work that requires skills or knowledge in the fields of natural science or humanities, the applicant must meet one of the following criteria for the work he or she wishes to engage in and must have acquired the skills or knowledge required for the work."
Basic requirements
- Graduated from university having majored in a subject related to the relevant technology or knowledge, or received an education equivalent to or higher than that.
- Completed a specialized course at a Japanese vocational school majoring in a subject related to the relevant technology or knowledge (only if the requirements for such completion specified by the Minister of Justice in a public notice are met).
- Have more than 10 years of work experience (including the period during which you majored in a subject related to the relevant technology or knowledge at a university, college of technology, high school, upper secondary school, or specialized course at a vocational school).
Those who meet these criteria will be granted a "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" status of residence and will be engaged in so-called "white-collar" work that requires specialized skills and knowledge.
Suitability of residence status at the place of employment
As mentioned in a previous article, it is said that the relationship between this residence status and the work content is "relatively flexible" for university graduates and some vocational school graduates, whose work content was relaxed in the recent revision. However, the standards announced by the Immigration Services Agency above are still the basic premise, and whether the work is suitable and conforms to them is always being questioned.
In fact, people who are engaged in work with a "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" residence status are assumed to be "activities that require a certain level of specialized ability or higher based on academic knowledge," so they cannot perform simple labor that does not require skills or knowledge at the place of employment. Neither can employees engage in work that can be performed through repetitive training--such as assembly line work in an assembly plant, copying (excluding incidental work), saving data on a computer, creating backups, etc.
If there is a person with a "Technical Intern Training" residence status at the place of employment and they are engaged in the same work, it will be determined that the "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" residence status is not suitable for them as it is "an activity that does not require specialized skills or knowledge."
"I didn't know..." is not an excuse
In addition, while status-based visas such as permanent resident and long-term resident have no activity restrictions and can engage in simple labor, work-based visas are approved based on the status of residence applied for at the Immigration Bureau. If the affiliated organization (sponsor company, etc.) has the employee engage in work that is outside the scope of the original status of residence, they may be charged with "facilitating illegal employment" as stipulated in Article 73-2 of the Immigration Control Act. This crime applies not only when the affiliated organization has the intention, but also when there is negligence on the part of the affiliated organization, so it is important to be careful.
We would like not only the employee but also the affiliated organization to check once again the applicability of the status of residence and its compatibility with the workplace.
Reference: Regarding clarification of the status of residence of "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" (Immigration Services Agency) (「技術・人文知識・国際業務」の在留資格の明確化等について（出入国在留管理庁）)
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Note that the information in this blog is current as of posting, and for the latest information, please check the official government websites on your own.
For more information, please contact us below ↓
https://imsvisa.support/en/contact/
