Japan Specified Skilled Worker Type 2
No stay ceiling, a family allowed, and a work status that counts toward permanent residence. It exists in only eleven of the sixteen sectors, which is the detail that decides whether the SSW route is a job or a life.
Programme snapshot
| Item | Current rule |
|---|---|
| Main audience | Experienced SSW workers who pass the higher skills test in a sector that has a Type 2 track |
| Route family | skilled-work |
| Validity | No stay limit |
| Stay per entry | No limit, renewable |
| Threshold | Pass the Type 2 skills test. No language test at this level |
| Renewal | Indefinite while employed |
| Settlement | Discretionary, through the ten year route |
| PR clock | 10 years, of which 5 on a work status. Type 2 counts as a work status, so the route becomes possible |
| Citizenship clock | 5 years from Type 2 residence, with the 10 year screening standard |
| Family | Yes, spouse and children if requirements are met |
| Local employment | Yes, within the sector, with a registered accepting organisation |
| Tax headline | Salary at progressive rates with withholding, plus dependant-related obligations |
| Processing | 1 to 3 months, plus the higher skills test |
Why it exists
Type 1 was criticised as a rotating labour programme: five years, no family, no future. Type 2 was the answer, and it changes the character of the route completely. A worker can stay indefinitely, bring a family, and become a permanent resident.
The catch is coverage. Type 2 exists in eleven of the sixteen sectors, and the sectors that most need workers are often the ones without it.
Which sectors have it
Type 2 tracks exist in manufacturing, construction, shipbuilding, car repair, aviation ground handling, hotels, agriculture, fishing, food manufacturing, food service and cleaning. Nursing care, automobile transport, rail, forestry and wood products are Type 1 only.
A care worker, therefore, has no Type 2 exit. That is a fact worth knowing before committing five years, because the route ends with the cap.
The test, and the absence of a language test
Type 2 requires a higher skills examination in the sector. There is no language test at this level, on the assumption that a worker who has passed the sector exam and worked in Japan already functions in Japanese.
In practice the exam is demanding and sector-specific, and preparation takes months. Passing it is the gate between a five year posting and an indefinite stay.
Application flow
- Confirm the sector has a Type 2 track before starting on Type 1.
- Accumulate the sector experience required to sit the higher exam.
- Pass the Type 2 skills test.
- Apply to change status from Type 1 to Type 2 with the same or a new registered employer.
- Apply for family status for a spouse and children once Type 2 is granted.
- After five years on a work status, with ten years total residence, apply for permanent residence.
Good fit
A worker in a covered sector who intends to build a life in Japan, wants a family here, and is willing to sit a hard exam.
Poor fit
Anyone in a Type 1 only sector, anyone who needs a family immediately, and anyone who assumed the SSW route automatically led somewhere.
Watchpoints
- Eleven of sixteen sectors only. Check the specific sector, not the programme.
- Type 1 time counts toward the five year work element but the cap still applies. The switch has to happen before the cap is reached.
- The employer must remain a registered accepting organisation.
- Family status depends on income and housing conditions, which the accepting organisation’s support plan affects.
- Permanent residence still needs ten years total, with five on a work status.
- The higher exam is the real barrier. Plan for it from year one.
Sources
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Specified Skilled Worker overview and sector list, checked 2026-10-23
- Immigration Services Agency, SSW Type 2 guidelines, checked 2026-10-23
- Immigration Services Agency, PR guideline revised 1 October 2026, checked 2026-10-23