TOKYO – The Japanese government is set to announce a new, simplified system for awarding highly skilled professional visas to international workers in a bid to attract new talent.
The Immigration Services Agency said that the system would be introduced next Monday under which the government will award the visa to foreign applicants and introduce preferential treatment for those who meet certain conditions, such as having an annual income of ¥20 million ($151,000) and a master’s degree.
The system in place at the moment in Japan is points-based system and points are allocated according to categories that consider academic and employment backgrounds, as well as annual income. The change is being introduced as this system is overly complicated and Japan’s competitors are swift to amend their laws to attract top talent.
Currently, applicants with points exceeding a certain level will be granted a five-year highly skilled professional visa and can get a visa allowing an indefinite period of stay after three years. The points based system would stay in place though.
Meanwhile, highly skilled professional visas would be granted for three types of activity — advanced academic research, advanced specialized/technical activities and advanced business and management activities.
The new system will allow applicants involved with advanced academic research or advanced specialized/technical activities to secure a five-year visa if they have a master’s degree or higher and an annual income upward of ¥20 million, or an employment record of 10 years or more and an annual income upward of ¥20 million.
For those applying for advanced business and management activities, five-year visas will be awarded if they have an employment record of five years or more and an annual income of ¥40 million or more.
The biggest advantage of this visa is the fact that those who are granted five-year visas under the simplified requirements will also become eligible for a permanent visa after residing in Japan for one year, against three years for current holders.
The changes come months after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed ministries to promulgate reforms to attract highly skilled human resources to Japan.
