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Status of residence · 技能実習 → 育成就労

Technical Intern Training (技能実習) and the new Employment for Skill Development (育成就労)

Technical Intern Training lets foreign nationals work for a Japanese company for up to 5 years to learn skills. From 1 April 2027 Employment for Skill Development replaces it. How the program works, who can take part, the official forms and what happens to current interns.

Forms and documents

Specified Skilled Worker

Checked against the Immigration Services Agency of Japan on 7 October 2026 · All work visas

Maximum length5 years: 1 + 2 + 2

Minimum age18

Employment for Skill Development starts1 April 2027

FamilyCannot join

How it works

Three stages — up to 5 years

By law the purpose of the program is to transfer skills to the intern’s home country, not to fill labor shortages.

Stage Length Conditions
No. 1 (1号) — first year Up to 1 year At the end: the basic grade of the national trade skills test (技能検定 基礎級) or an equivalent, written and practical, to move to No. 2
No. 2 (2号) — years 2 and 3 Up to 2 years At the end: the practical part of the grade 3 trade skills test (技能検定 3級) or an equivalent, to move to No. 3
No. 3 (3号) — years 4 and 5 Up to 2 years Only if the supervising organization and the company are rated excellent (優良); at least one month at home after No. 2 or within the first year of No. 3; at the end: the practical part of the grade 2 test (技能検定 2級) or an equivalent

There are two types of training: in your own company that has a branch or partner abroad (企業単独型), and through a supervising organization (監理団体) that places interns with member companies (団体監理型) — most interns come this way. Every training plan is approved by the Organization for Technical Intern Training (OTIT, 外国人技能実習機構), set up under the Technical Intern Training Act. According to ISA (29 July 2026), 96 job types and 174 operations are eligible for No. 2 and No. 3 (移行対象職種・作業) — from agriculture and construction to food manufacturing; No. 1 is not limited to that list.

Who can take part

Requirements and sending countries

Requirements

Who is accepted

  • Age 18 or over
  • Through a supervising organization: as a rule, experience in the same kind of work in your own country
  • You are selected by a sending organization (送出機関) in your country — you cannot apply to the program on your own
  • At the start: compulsory lectures (講習) on Japanese, Japanese law and daily life
  • No degree needed

Sending countries

Where interns come from

Japan has bilateral Memoranda of Cooperation on technical intern training (二国間取決め) with 17 countries: Vietnam, Cambodia, India, the Philippines, Laos, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bhutan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal, Timor-Leste and Fiji.

An agreement is not strictly required: interns also come from countries without one, such as China. Under Employment for Skill Development, as a rule only countries with a separate agreement for the new system will send workers — as of 6 October 2026 there are four: Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Laos. More are being signed one by one.

Forms and documents

Official forms and the documents you need

Three procedures: entry, moving between stages, and extension. Japanese certificates must be no older than 3 months; foreign documents need a Japanese translation.

The Certificate of Eligibility is filed by the organization — the supervising organization or the company. For a change of status and an extension the intern is the applicant, and the supervising organization can submit the papers as an agent (取次者). The key document is the training plan approved by OTIT. Below are the ISA forms and the document list with the Japanese names.

Certificate of Eligibility (CoE) — the intern’s first entry

The intern does not apply. The organization in Japan does: under the supervising-organization type (団体監理型) it is the supervising organization (監理団体); under the company type (企業単独型) it is the company itself. First OTIT approves the training plan, then immigration issues the CoE, and the intern gets the visa at a Japanese embassy or consulate.

Application formPDF · moj.go.jpApplication formExcel · moj.go.jp

Files open from the website of the Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA). Forms are in Japanese and English; links checked 6 Oct 2026.

Documents

  1. Application for a Certificate of Eligibility 在留資格認定証明書交付申請書
  2. Photo, 4 × 3 cm 写真Attached to the application form; it can also be printed in the photo box.
  3. Return envelope with your address and stamps for registered mail 返信用封筒For paper applications.
  4. OTIT notice of approval of the technical intern training plan and a copy of the approval application 技能実習計画認定通知書及び認定の申請書の写しThe plan must match the type of training applied for: for example, for 1号ロ, the first-year plan under a supervising organization (監理団体). The organization prepares these documents.

Immigration may ask for other documents too. Full list: the ISA checklist above and the status page.

Where to apply
The regional immigration services bureau for the place where the training takes place
Fee
Free
Standard processing period
1–3 months
Online
Possible; under a supervising organization (監理団体) only in that organization’s name
Documents for my caseYour list for your category and family — with checkboxes and a PDF

Change of status — from No. 1 (1号) to No. 2 (2号), or from No. 2 to No. 3 (3号)

The intern is the applicant; the supervising organization (監理団体) can submit the papers as an agent (取次者). File once the intern has passed the skills test and OTIT has approved the plan for the next stage. ISA asks you not to delay: a status can be revoked if you are not doing the activity it is for.

Application formPDF · moj.go.jpApplication formExcel · moj.go.jp

Files open from the website of the Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA). Forms are in Japanese and English; links checked 6 Oct 2026.

Documents

  1. Application for change of status of residence 在留資格変更許可申請書
  2. Photo, 4 × 3 cm 写真Can be printed directly in the photo box of the form.
  3. Passport and residence card — to show パスポート及び在留カード（提示）
  4. OTIT notice of approval of the next-stage training plan and a copy of the approval application 技能実習計画認定通知書及び認定の申請書の写しThe No. 2 plan to move to No. 2; the No. 3 plan to move to No. 3.
  5. Resident tax certificates for the last year (income and tax paid) 住民税の課税（又は非課税）証明書及び納税証明書From the city office where you lived on 1 January; one certificate is enough if it shows both income and payment. If it cannot be issued yet (you arrived or moved recently), ask the immigration bureau.

Immigration may ask for other documents too. Full list: the ISA checklist above and the status page.

Where to apply
The regional immigration services bureau for your address
Fee
Paid only after approval. Applications received by 30 September 2026: ¥6,000 (online ¥5,500), even if the decision comes later. Received from 1 October 2026: the fee depends on the period granted — from ¥10,000 (up to 3 months) to ¥75,000 (5 years or more); online is cheaper except for periods up to 3 months. It can be higher if a specified residence card (特定在留カード) is issued with the permission. Full fee table
Standard processing period
1–2 months
Online
Possible; under a supervising organization (監理団体) only in that organization’s name
Documents for my caseYour list for your category and family — with checkboxes and a PDF

Extension of period of stay within the same stage

The intern is the applicant; the supervising organization (監理団体) can submit the papers as an agent (取次者). If you need to stay longer than your current period within the same stage of training, apply before it ends.

Application formPDF · moj.go.jpApplication formExcel · moj.go.jp

Files open from the website of the Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA). Forms are in Japanese and English; links checked 6 Oct 2026.

Documents

  1. Application for extension of period of stay 在留期間更新許可申請書
  2. Photo, 4 × 3 cm 写真Not needed for an extension of up to 3 months.
  3. Passport and residence card — to show パスポート及び在留カード（提示）
  4. Resident tax certificates for the last year (income and tax paid) 住民税の課税（又は非課税）証明書及び納税証明書From the city office where you lived on 1 January. If it cannot be issued yet, ask the immigration bureau.
  5. Only for nationals of Myanmar who could not go home before No. 3 because of the situation there: a written explanation 説明書ISA’s notice, the template and a filled-in example are linked.ISA notice · PDFtemplate · Wordexample · PDF

Immigration may ask for other documents too. Full list: the ISA checklist above and the status page.

Where to apply
The regional immigration services bureau for your address
Fee
Paid only after approval. Applications received by 30 September 2026: ¥6,000 (online ¥5,500), even if the decision comes later. Received from 1 October 2026: the fee depends on the period granted — from ¥10,000 (up to 3 months) to ¥75,000 (5 years or more); online is cheaper except for periods up to 3 months. It can be higher if a specified residence card (特定在留カード) is issued with the permission. Full fee table
Standard processing period
2 weeks – 1 month
Online
Possible; under a supervising organization (監理団体) only in that organization’s name
Documents for my caseYour list for your category and family — with checkboxes and a PDF

From 1 April 2027

Employment for Skill Development (育成就労): what has been decided

The law was published on 21 June 2024 and the system starts on 1 April 2027. The cabinet orders, ministry rules and the rules for each field have been published.

Decided

How Employment for Skill Development will work

  • Aim: train a worker to the level of Specified Skilled Worker (i) (特定技能1号) in 3 years
  • 17 fields — all Specified Skilled Worker fields except motor transport and aviation; two of them, warehouse logistics (物流倉庫) and resource recycling (資源循環), are not open yet
  • Before starting work: Japanese at A1 (for example JLPT N5 or JFT-Basic), or an equivalent Japanese course
  • Moving to Specified Skilled Worker (i): skills and Japanese tests at A2 level (for example JLPT N4)
  • Changing employer by choice: after 1 to 2 years with the first employer (each field sets the period), in the same field, after passing a skills test and a Japanese test
  • The fee a worker pays to the sending organization is capped at 2 months’ wages; the employer or the supervising body pays the rest
  • As a rule, family cannot join

Transition

What happens to current interns

  • Interns already in Japan on 1 April 2027 continue under their approved plan
  • Moving from No. 1 to No. 2 is still possible
  • Moving to No. 3 only if, on 1 April 2027, you have done at least 1 year on No. 2
  • New Technical Intern Training only if the plan was filed by 31 March 2027 and training starts by 30 June 2027
  • Years of Technical Intern Training count as years of Employment for Skill Development: after 2 or more years of training you generally cannot start Employment for Skill Development in a different field

Employers could apply for approval of their ESD plans in advance, from 1 September 2026.

Both sides of the date. Until 31 March 2027 the rules of Technical Intern Training apply; from 1 April 2027 new workers come under Employment for Skill Development, except for the transition cases above. For official details see ISA’s Outline of Employment for Skill Development Program (English).

Rights and life on the status

What an intern should know

Your rights

What no one may do to an intern

  • Pay must be at least what a Japanese worker gets for the same job; Japanese labor law applies to you
  • No one may take your passport or residence card from you
  • No deposit and no contract with a penalty for leaving early
  • If training cannot continue with your employer, OTIT helps you find a new place
  • OTIT gives advice to interns in their own languages

No family

The family of an intern cannot get a Dependent visa. That becomes possible after a move to Specified Skilled Worker (ii) (特定技能2号) or another work status.

14-day notifications

If the organization where you train changes, notify immigration within 14 days (活動機関に関する届出). After moving house, register the new address at the city office within 14 days.

Travel abroad

With a valid passport and residence card you can leave for up to 1 year without a separate permit (special re-entry, みなし再入国), but not beyond the end of your status. Tick the box on the embarkation card when you leave.

Specified Skilled Worker

After training you can move to Specified Skilled Worker (i). If you completed No. 2 in good standing and the job is related, no tests are needed — also after 1 April 2027 «for the time being» (当分の間). Exception: training under the rules before 1 November 2017 — from 1 April 2027 such graduates need both tests. After Employment for Skill Development, both tests are needed.

Permanent residency

For permanent residency, years of training count as years of living in Japan, but not toward the 5 years on a work status.

Other routes

Technical Intern Training is arranged through sending organizations, not by applying yourself. If you want to work in Japan on your own terms, look at Specified Skilled Worker or study Japanese in Japan first and then move to a work visa.

FAQ

Technical Intern Training questions

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What is Technical Intern Training (技能実習) in Japan?

A program under which a foreign national works for a Japanese company for up to 5 years to learn skills to use back home. From 1 April 2027 it is replaced by Employment for Skill Development (育成就労).

Interns are recruited through sending organizations in their own country. Japan has bilateral Memoranda of Cooperation with 17 countries: Vietnam, Cambodia, India, the Philippines, Laos, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bhutan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal, Timor-Leste and Fiji. An agreement is not strictly required — interns also come from countries without one, such as China. Under Employment for Skill Development, as a rule only countries with a separate agreement for the new system will send workers: as of 6 October 2026 there are four — Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Laos.

Up to 5 years: No. 1 (1号) up to 1 year, No. 2 (2号) up to 2 years, No. 3 (3号) up to 2 more years. Each move to the next stage needs a skills test; No. 3 is possible only with a supervising organization and company rated excellent (優良) and after at least one month at home.

They continue under their approved plan. Moving from No. 1 to No. 2 is still possible. Moving to No. 3 is possible only if, on 1 April 2027, the intern has already done at least 1 year on No. 2. New interns are accepted only if the plan was filed by 31 March 2027 and training starts by 30 June 2027.

Under Technical Intern Training only when the training cannot continue with the current employer — OTIT then helps to find a new place. Under Employment for Skill Development a worker may move by choice after 1 to 2 years with the first employer (each field sets the period), in the same kind of work, after passing the required skills and Japanese tests.

If you completed No. 2 in good standing and the new job is related to your training job, you can move to Specified Skilled Worker (i) (特定技能1号) without the skills and Japanese tests. ISA says this continues after 1 April 2027 for the time being (当分の間). Exception: training under the rules before 1 November 2017 — from 1 April 2027 such graduates need both tests. After Employment for Skill Development, both tests — skills and Japanese (A2 level, e.g. JLPT N4) — are required.

The CoE is free. A change of status or extension filed by 30 September 2026 cost ¥6,000 (online ¥5,500); from 1 October 2026 the fee depends on the period granted, from ¥10,000 to ¥75,000, and it can be higher if a specified residence card (特定在留カード) is issued. The law forbids taking a deposit from an intern or agreeing a penalty for leaving early. Under Employment for Skill Development the fee a worker pays to the sending organization is capped at 2 months’ wages.

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