Specified Skilled Worker is a status of residence created to give foreign nationals more opportunities to work in Japan. There are two types of Specified Skilled Worker status of residence: type (i) and type (ii). The type (ii) status of residence requires more specialized skills than type (i). Source - www.ssw.go.jp

12 Employment Fields Covered by Specified Skilled Worker (i)

01 - Nursing Care, 02 - Building Cleaning Management, 03 - Construction Industry (Jobs constructing houses, buildings, and other structures), 04 - Machine Parts and Tooling Industries, Industrial Machinery Industry, Electric, Electronics and Information Industries, 05 - Ship building and Ship MAchinery Industries (Building Ships), 06 - Automobile and Repair Industries, 07 - Aviation Industry, 08 - Accommodation Industry, 09 - Agriculture Industry, 10 - Fishery and Agriculture Industries, 11 - Food and Beverage Manufacturing Industries, 12 - Food Service Industry

02 Employment Fields Covered by Specified Skilled Worker (ii)

01 - Construction Industry (Managing the work of constructing houses, buildings, and other structures), 02 - Ship building and Ship MAchinery Industries (Managing the work of Building Ships).

Technical Intern Training (TITP) is a status of residence for receiving training, but Specified Skilled Worker is a status of residence for working.

The general process for working as a SSW in Japan is as follows.

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People who are outside Japan

1. Pass a Japanese language test and a skills proficiency test. (People who have satisfactorily completed Technical Intern Training do not need to take any tests.)
   Proficiency Tests
2. Sign a contract with a company.
3. Submit a status of residence application to Immigration.
   Required Documents

In order to sign a contract with a company, you need to take and pass an employment interview. If you are not in Japan, the employment interview can be conducted directly with the company or through an employment placement company. If you are in Japan, there is a government agency called Hello Work that provides employment placement services in Japan. Please contact Hello Work if you want to find a new job. You can contact any Hello Work location.

Locations of the Employment Service Center for Foreigners (facilities that provide comprehensive services for foreign nationals) (Japanese only)

Hello Work locations with interpretation services (Japanese only)

All Hello Work locations in Japan (Japanese only)

If you have job-related problems or there is something you don’t understand, you can also contact the Foreign Workers Consultation Service (Advisor for Foreign Workers).

Foreign Workers Consultation Service (Advisor for Foreign Workers)