How the points system works

Highly-Skilled Professional is a residence status created to attract highly capable foreign talent to Japan, granted through a points-based assessment: you first identify which activity category applies, then accumulate points item by item, and may apply once your total reaches the threshold.

There are three categories — advanced academic research (research and teaching), advanced specialised/technical activities (specialist work in the natural or human sciences), and advanced business management. Each category weights the criteria differently, so the same résumé can score very differently depending on which one applies.

Scoring typically covers education, years of professional experience, annual income, and age, plus research achievements and various bonus items (Japanese language ability, alma mater, qualifications in designated fields, innovation-related criteria, and so on). The income criterion has a minimum floor below which no points are awarded.

What qualifying gets you

Reaching 70 points lets you apply for Highly-Skilled Professional (i), which carries a set of preferential measures: permission to combine several residence activities, a longer period of stay, employment for your spouse under certain conditions, the ability to bring a parent or domestic worker where the conditions are met, and a shortened residence requirement for permanent residency.

At 80 points or above, the residence requirement for permanent residency is shortened further. After residing for a set period while continuing to meet the conditions, you can move to Highly-Skilled Professional (ii), which carries an indefinite period of stay.

How to use this tool

Work through the fields on the page — education, work history, income, age and each bonus condition — and the calculator keeps a running total while showing which items still have room to score. Adding a single Japanese-language certificate or a qualification is often what carries a profile over the threshold.

Frequently asked questions