What is the Highly Skilled Professional (HSP) Visa? What are its advantages and how can I obtain it?

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Created At: 8/11/2025Updated At: 8/17/2025
Answer (1)

Okay, no problem! Let me break down the "Highly Skilled Professional" (HSP) visa for you in simple terms.

What is the "Highly Skilled Professional" (HSP) Visa?

Think of it as a VIP-tier work visa specially created by the Japanese government to attract top global talent to work and live in Japan.

Unlike ordinary work visas like the "Technical Intern Training / Specified Skilled Worker" visas, which are categorized by job type, the HSP visa operates on an "points-based system". The Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA, often called "Immigration") uses a scoring table to assign points based on your educational background, work experience, annual income, age, and other criteria.

As long as your total score reaches 70 points, you qualify to apply for this "Highly Skilled Professional" status and enjoy a range of preferential policies.

This visa is mainly divided into three categories, covering most high-level professionals:

  1. Advanced Academic Research Activities (Researchers): Primarily university professors, researchers at institutions, etc.
  2. Advanced Specialized/Technical Activities (Technical Experts): This is the most common category, e.g., IT engineers, R&D personnel, financial experts, doctors, designers, etc.
  3. Advanced Business Management Activities (Corporate Executives): Primarily refers to company owners, presidents, directors, and other senior management personnel.

Simply put, you first need a job offer in one of these fields, then prove you're a "highly skilled" expert in that field through the points calculation to obtain this VIP status.

What are its "Exceptional" Advantages?

The HSP visa is called a VIP work visa because its benefits are incredibly attractive, far surpassing those of ordinary work visas. The main advantages are:

  1. "Fast Track" to Permanent Residency (PR)

    • Holders of ordinary work visas generally need to live in Japan continuously for 10 years to apply for PR.
    • With the HSP visa, if your score reaches 70 points, this period can be shortened to just 3 years!
    • If you're even more exceptional and your score reaches 80 points, the time can be dramatically reduced to just 1 year! This is a huge draw for those wanting to stay in Japan long-term.

  2. Greater Work Flexibility

    • Ordinary work visas have strict limitations; for example, if you're an IT engineer, you can only do IT-related work.
    • HSP visa holders can engage in relevant side activities alongside their main job, such as starting their own small company. There's much more freedom.

  3. Bringing Parents to Japan

    • This is a very unique advantage of the HSP visa. Under certain conditions (e.g., household annual income exceeding 8 million yen, purpose is childcare), you can apply for visas for your own or your spouse's parents to live in Japan long-term. This is a huge benefit for families needing to care for elderly parents and children.

  4. Hiring a Domestic Helper

    • Similarly, upon meeting certain income requirements, you can bring a domestic helper or housekeeper from abroad specifically to handle household chores.

  5. Easier for Spouses to Find Work

    • Spouses of ordinary work visa holders have a "Dependent" visa with strict work hour limits (28 hours per week).
    • Spouses of HSP visa holders can apply for a work visa with almost no restrictions, allowing full-time employment, even if they don't meet specific education or experience requirements. This greatly facilitates family career planning.

  6. Priority Processing for Visa Applications

    • Whether applying for the HSP visa itself or later for permanent residency, the Immigration Services Agency will prioritize processing your application, making approval much faster.

How to Apply?

The application process essentially involves three steps: Calculate Points -> Prepare Documents -> Submit Application.

Step 1: Calculate Points! This is the Core!

You need to download the official "Point Calculation Table for Highly Skilled Professionals" from the ISA website. Key areas include:

  • Education: Points differ for PhD, Master's, Bachelor's degrees.
  • Work Experience: Longer work history yields higher points.
  • Annual Income: This is a major factor! Higher income means more points. Note: Income requirements vary by age group.
  • Age: Younger applicants have an advantage; those under 39 get bonus points.
  • Additional Points:
    • Japanese language proficiency (e.g., JLPT N1 certificate adds 15 points, N2 adds 10 points).
    • Graduation from a Japanese university or a world-renowned university.
    • Holding nationally recognized professional qualifications relevant to your field.
    • Outstanding contributions in research (e.g., published papers).

Step 2: Confirm Your Score

Add up your points item by item using the table to see if your total score exceeds 70 points.

Step 3: Submit the Application

If you meet the points threshold, there are two main ways to apply:

  1. Apply Directly from Abroad: If you are outside Japan and have a job offer from a Japanese company meeting HSP criteria, you can apply directly for the "Highly Skilled Professional (i)" visa at a Japanese embassy/consulate.
  2. Change Status Within Japan: This is the most common method. If you are already working in Japan on a regular work visa and your income, experience, etc., meet the 70-point requirement, you can submit an "Application for Change of Status of Residence" to your local immigration office to upgrade your regular work visa to the "Highly Skilled Professional (i)" visa.

Required documents essentially include everything that proves your points. For example:

  • Educational certificates (diplomas, degrees)
  • Proof of work experience (employment certificates, letters of separation)
  • Proof of income (employment contract, annual tax certificate)
  • Japanese language proficiency certificate (JLPT score report)
  • Supporting documents for any other bonus points

In summary, the HSP visa is Japan's "premium package" to attract global talent. Its core principle is exchanging your outstanding credentials (high education, high income, valuable skills) for various conveniences in living and developing your career in Japan, especially the super benefit of obtaining PR in just 1 or 3 years.

If you think your qualifications are strong, especially if you have a well-paying job offer in Japan, be sure to download the points calculation table from the ISA website and check your score. You might just be the "highly skilled professional" Japan is looking for!

Created At: 08-11 12:15:00Updated At: 08-12 02:18:48