The Specified Skilled Worker visa — 特定技能, often shortened to SSW or Tokutei Ginou — was created in 2019 to let Japan recruit foreign workers directly into industries with labour shortages.
It matters because it is, for most people reading this, the most realistic route to working in Japan. It does not require a degree, it does not require sponsorship by a university, and the language bar is A2 rather than fluency.
Verify before you act on this. The Specified Skilled Worker system is revised frequently — fields are added, caps are imposed, and requirements change. The Immigration Services Agency of Japan and the ministry responsible for your field are the sources that bind. This page is orientation, not authority.
The four things you need
| Requirement | How you meet it |
|---|---|
| 1. Japanese ability | JFT-Basic 200+ or JLPT N4+ |
| 2. Skills for your field | A sector-specific skills evaluation test |
| 3. An employer | A signed contract with a Japanese company |
| 4. Immigration status | Certificate of Eligibility, then the visa |
Most candidates spend all their attention on requirement 1, because it is the one a language school can help with. Requirements 2 and 3 are what actually determine your timeline. See what happens after you pass.
SSW (i) and SSW (ii)
This is the distinction that decides whether Japan is a job or a life.
SSW (i) — 特定技能1号
- Maximum stay of five years in total
- Family cannot accompany you
- Requires the language test and the skills test
- This is the status essentially everyone starts on
SSW (ii) — 特定技能2号
- No five-year cap; renewable indefinitely
- Family may accompany you — spouse and minor children
- Requires a higher-level skills test, not a further language test
- Counts towards permanent residency
Originally SSW (ii) existed in only a couple of fields. It has since been extended across most of the programme, which changed it from a technicality into the actual point of the route. See SSW (i) versus SSW (ii).
The exception is nursing care, which has no SSW (ii). Care workers instead move to the separate 介護 (Caregiver) status by obtaining the national Certified Care Worker qualification — which has no maximum stay and does allow family. See the nursing care route.
Which fields
Sixteen at present, with a government decision in January 2026 pointing towards further expansion. The current list and what each involves is in the SSW fields.
One current fact worth knowing before you choose: new applications in food service were suspended in April 2026 when the field hit its cap. Fields have quotas, and quotas can close. Check the status of your intended field before you invest a year in its skills test.
What it is not
It is not a visa you get and then use to look for work. It is tied to a specific employer and a specific field. You need the job first.
It is not a student visa or a working holiday. You are going to work, full-time, in the field you tested in.
It is not permanent on day one. SSW (i) is capped at five years. The route to staying runs through SSW (ii) or, in care, through the Caregiver status.
The realistic timeline
From a language pass to landing in Japan: six months to a year, assuming nothing goes wrong.
The compressible parts are the skills test and the employer search. Both are compressed by starting them now rather than after your language certificate arrives.
Where to start
If you have not yet met the language requirement, JFT-Basic is usually the fastest route — it runs roughly monthly, against the JLPT’s twice a year. Our free practice test will tell you where you stand in about fifteen minutes.
And before you hand money to anybody: agency red flags.