{"id":757,"date":"2025-12-01T00:49:58","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T15:49:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/workglobal.jp\/?p=757"},"modified":"2025-12-01T00:49:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T15:49:58","slug":"specified-skilled-workers-ssw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/workglobal.jp\/?p=757","title":{"rendered":"Specified Skilled Workers (SSW)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The <strong>Specified Skilled Worker (SSW)<\/strong> program\u2014known in Japanese as <em>Tokutei Ginou<\/em> (\u7279\u5b9a\u6280\u80fd)\u2014is a visa status designed to let foreign nationals work in specific Japanese industries facing severe labor shortages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike the older &#8220;Technical Intern&#8221; program, which was officially for training, the SSW is a dedicated <strong>employment visa<\/strong> that grants you the same labor rights and salary standards as Japanese workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. The Two Types of SSW Status<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are two levels to this visa. Most people start with SSW (i).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><td><strong>Feature<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>SSW (i) &#8211; The Standard Start<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>SSW (ii) &#8211; The Advanced Level<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Skill Level<\/strong><\/td><td>Considerable knowledge\/experience required.<\/td><td>Proficient skills + supervisory experience.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Max Stay<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>5 Years<\/strong> total.<\/td><td><strong>Indefinite<\/strong> (renewable indefinitely).<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Family<\/strong><\/td><td>generally <strong>Not allowed<\/strong> to bring family.<\/td><td><strong>Allowed<\/strong> (Spouse and children).<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Support<\/strong><\/td><td>Mandatory support from the employer (housing, daily life).<\/td><td>No mandatory support required (you are independent).<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Pathway<\/strong><\/td><td>Can switch to SSW (ii) if you pass higher exams later.<\/td><td>Can lead to Permanent Residency.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. The 16 Target Industries<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As of <strong>March 2024<\/strong>, the government expanded the list to <strong>16 industries<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Original 12 Fields:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Construction<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Shipbuilding and Ship Machinery<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Automobile Maintenance<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Aviation<\/strong> (Ground handling, maintenance)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Accommodation<\/strong> (Hotels\/Ryokan)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Agriculture<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fisheries<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Food and Beverage Manufacturing<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Food Service<\/strong> (Restaurants)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Nursing Care<\/strong> <em>(Note: Has its own separate path to permanent residency)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Building Cleaning<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Industrial Machinery \/ Electric \/ Electronics<\/strong> (Manufacturing)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The 4 New Fields (Added March 2024):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Automobile Transport:<\/strong> Drivers for taxis, buses, and trucks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Railway:<\/strong> Train drivers, conductors, station staff, maintenance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Forestry<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Timber Industry<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Requirements to Apply<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To get this visa, you generally need to meet two main criteria unless you are transitioning from the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A. Japanese Language Ability<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Requirement:<\/strong> JLPT <strong>N4<\/strong> level or higher, <strong>OR<\/strong> the <strong>JFT-Basic<\/strong> (A2 level).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Note: Nursing Care requires an additional technical Japanese vocabulary test.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>B. Skills Proficiency Test<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You must pass a practical exam specific to the industry you want to work in (e.g., a cooking test for Food Service, a farming test for Agriculture).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These tests are held in Japan and various countries abroad (Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, etc.).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>C. The Exemption (TITP Route)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If you have successfully completed <strong>3 years<\/strong> of the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP \/ <em>Gino Jisshu<\/em>) in a related field, you are <strong>exempt<\/strong> from both the language and skills tests.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Key Benefits for Workers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Direct Employment:<\/strong> You sign a contract directly with the company, not a broker or union.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Job Switching:<\/strong> Unlike the Intern program, <strong>you are allowed to change jobs<\/strong> (companies) within the same industry if you are unhappy or find a better offer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Equal Pay:<\/strong> By law, your salary must be equal to or higher than a Japanese person doing the same job.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Important Recent Updates (2024-2025)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>SSW (ii) Expansion:<\/strong> Previously, only Construction and Shipbuilding allowed you to stay indefinitely (SSW ii). Now, <strong>almost all<\/strong> original fields have an SSW (ii) pathway, meaning this visa can now effectively lead to a life-long career in Japan.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>TITP Replacement:<\/strong> The government is currently replacing the old &#8220;Technical Intern&#8221; system with a new &#8220;Training and Employment&#8221; system (likely starting 2027), which is designed specifically to feed workers into the SSW pipeline more smoothly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How can I help you next?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Would you like me to find the <strong>current test schedule<\/strong> for a specific industry (like Food Service or Agriculture) to see when the next exam is happening?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre id=\"tw-target-text\" class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><a href=\"https:\/\/workglobal.jp\/?page_id=244&amp;wpjobportalme=job&amp;wpjobportallt=newestjobs\">Jobseekerl<br><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ayucom.co.jp\/bangladesh\">\u30d0\u30f3\u30b0\u30e9\u30c7\u30b7\u30e5 AI\u30fbIT \u30a8\u30f3\u30b8\u30cb\u30a2<\/a><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) program\u2014known in Japanese as Tokutei Ginou (\u7279\u5b9a\u6280\u80fd)\u2014is a visa status designed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-japan-visa"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/workglobal.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/workglobal.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/workglobal.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workglobal.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workglobal.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=757"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/workglobal.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":758,"href":"https:\/\/workglobal.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757\/revisions\/758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/workglobal.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workglobal.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workglobal.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}