Bangladesh has a memorandum of cooperation with Japan covering Specified Skilled Worker placement, and the number of candidates has grown steadily. Overseas employment from Bangladesh is administered through the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) and licensed recruiting agencies.
Confirm current requirements with BMET, the Japanese embassy and the official Japanese bodies - procedures change.
The steps
- Language test - JFT-Basic or JLPT N4 and above. JFT-Basic in Bangladesh, how to register.
- Sector skills test for your chosen field: the skills test explained.
- Registration and clearance through the official Bangladeshi system, including BMET registration and the associated documentation.
- Employer and contract - verify the employer exists and read the contract: reading an SSW contract.
- Certificate of Eligibility from Japan: Certificate of Eligibility explained.
- Visa, then departure clearance.
- Arrival, registration and work. Your first month of Japanese at work.
Where candidates lose time
Waiting to start Japanese. The language test is the longest lead time and the only step entirely within your control. Nobody can sit it for you and no agency can accelerate it.
Deciding the sector late. The skills test is field-specific, so an undecided candidate cannot prepare: the sectors list.
Inconsistent documents. Your name must be spelled identically on your passport, your certificates and every form. A mismatch stalls a Certificate of Eligibility application.
On agencies and fees
Get every cost in writing, itemised, before paying anything. Verify any licence independently. No legitimate employer or agency holds your passport, and no legitimate arrangement requires a penalty payment for leaving a job.
Debt-funded migration is the single biggest risk to a worker’s wellbeing in Japan, because it removes the ability to walk away from a bad employer. Agency red flags and reading an SSW contract.
A specific caution
Bangladesh has a large, competitive recruitment industry and a long history of workers paying excessive fees for overseas placement. The SSW route is not exempt.
Use only licensed agencies, verify the licence with BMET rather than taking a photograph of a certificate as proof, and treat any request for very large payments as a reason to stop and check.
Common sectors
Construction, manufacturing, food and beverage manufacturing, agriculture and building cleaning.
Begin today
The language requirement is the gate, and it is free to measure. Sit our free exam demo - a complete JFT-Basic mock under exam conditions - and you will know your position within an hour.