Highly-skilled Professional Visa (高度専門職ビザ in Japanese) is a residence status designed for highly-skilled foreign professionals who are expected to contribute to Japan’s economic growth. In order to attract highly-skilled foreign professionals, Japanese government introduced a points-based system. For foreigners who score at least 70 points, preferential treatment for immigration control will be granted.

Highly-skilled professionals generally refer to the professionals are complementary to Japan’s development and cannot be replaced. They can bring innovations to different industries, while promoting the development of professional technology and expertise, and improving the labour market efficiency.

The activities of highly-skilled foreign professional are classified into 3 categories: academic research activities, specialized/technical activities and business management activities. Points will be assigned by “Academic background”, “Professional experience” and “Annual salary” according to the nature of that category.

There are 2 types of residence status. " Highly Skilled Professional(i)" will be provided first. For Highly Skilled Professional(i) holder who has lived in Japan for more than three years, Highly Skilled Professional(ii) and further preferential treatment are provided. For the details, please refer to the following information.

1. Activity Categories of Highly-Skilled Foreign Professional
   
   

   (1)	Advanced academic research activities: " Highly Skilled Professional(i)(a)" Participating in, supervise, or direct research project through a contract with a public or private organization in Japan.
   (2)	Advanced specialized/technical activities: " Highly Skilled Professional(i)(b)" Activities carried out through a contract with a public or private organization in Japan which require specialized skills or knowledge in natural sciences or humanities.
   (3)	Advanced business management activities: " Highly Skilled Professional(i)(c)" Directly manage or supervise the management of listed or private Japanese company. The applicant’s annual salary should be at least JPY 3 million.

   
   
2. Preferential treatment
   
   

   (1)

   For Highly-Skilled Professional(i) : (a) Permission for multiple purposes of activities (b) Five-year stay (c) Faster way to obtain permanent residence (d) Permission for spouse of the highly - skilled foreign professional to work (e) Permission for parent to accompany under certain conditions (f) Permission for hiring a domestic worker to accompany under certain conditions (g) Preferential processing of immigration procedure

   (2)

   For Highly-Skilled Professional(ii) : (a) Permission for multiple purposes of activities (b) Unlimited period of stay (c) Eligible for the preferential treatments of the abovementioned (c) to (f) ※Holding the status of residence “Highly Skilled Professional(i)” more than 3 years

   
   
3. Service Procedures and Fees for Highly-Skilled Professional Visa Application
   
   Our fees for handling the application for Highly-Skilled Professional Visa in Tokyo is starting from JPY 400,000. Our fees cover the following services:
   

   (1)	Providing consulting services based on client’s conditions.
   (2)	Checking the points obtained by the document and resume received from client.
   (3)	To organize the application materials after confirming that client meet the requirement.
   (4)	Preparation of application form, other submission document and supplementary materials.
   (5)	Submission of application of Certificate of Eligibility “COE” to Immigration Bureau.
   (6)	Handling enquiries and notifications from Immigration Bureau
   (7)	Receiving COE from Immigration Bureau.
   (8)	Forwarding COE to client’s specified address.

   
   Note :
   

   (1)	Our service is up to the receipt of Certificate of Eligibility “COE” . After receiving the COE, client need to proceed to Consulate/Embassy of Japan with the required documents to apply for highly-skilled professional visa.
   (2)	Please note that the success of application for COE or visa depends on many factors. The final approval is determined by Immigration Bureau, so we cannot guarantee 100% success.
   (3)	Since all necessary documents for visa application must be provided in Japanese, the above quotation is for client to provide the document in Japanese or document with Japanese translation and does not include the translation fee of foreign language to Japanese. If document provided by client is in foreign language such as Chinese or English, we can assist in translation. Fee will be quoted separately.
   (4)	The above quotation is for applying the COE with Immigration Bureau in Tokyo. If client needs to apply COE in other prefectures, fee will be quoted separately.

4. Required Materials
   
   

   (1)	A copy of applicant’s passport (the validity is not less than 6 months)
   (2)	Applicant’s points calculation form;
   (3)	Applicant's resume;
   (4)	Applicant’s bank deposit certificate;
   (5)	Applicant's photo;
   (6)	Applicant’s certificate of academic and qualification (if any);
   (7)	Other supplementary proof for getting points;
   (8)	Other supplementary document requested by The Immigration Bureau

   
   Please note that depending on the situation, you may be asked for additional information.
   
   
5. Procedures and Time frame
   
   If applicant works closely with us, it will take approximately 4 - 6 months to complete all relevant application procedures. The actual time frame depends on the case and the approval time of Immigration Bureau. Each procedure and its time frame are as follow:"
   

   Item	Procedures	Time (Working days)
   1	Client provides the identity proof (e.g. passport copy), Japanese resume, English points calculation form. If the applicant invests and manages his/her own company, please provide the Certificate of registration information.	Client’s schedule
   2	Kaizen prepares relevant document for application of certificate of eligibility.	1-2 month
   3	Kaizen submits the application to Immigration Bureau.	2 weeks
   4	Receiving Certificate of Eligibility from Immigration Bureau.	1-2 months in average
   5	Kaizen delivers the Certificate of Eligibility to client’s designated address.	2 weeks
   6	Clients submits the visa application to the closest consulate /embassy with the Certificate of Eligibility.	Client’s schedule
   Total		Around 4-6 months

   
   
6. Application for Permanent Residence
   
   For Highly-Skilled Professional Visa holder, after living in Japan for one year, if your points still reach 80 points or above, you can apply the permanent residence. Kaizen can provide the service to assist client to apply permanent residence. For details, please contact our professional consultants.