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Specified Skilled Worker (i) — Agriculture

JapanWork

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

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What type of worker, employment situation, occupation or professional activity is this pathway actually designed for?

Jobs growing and harvesting crops and raising animals: general crop farming (cultivation management, collection/shipping/sorting of agricultural products) and general livestock farming (breed management, collection/shipping/sorting of livestock products, etc.).

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Does the applicant need a job offer, employer, sponsor, transfer relationship or other employer involvement? What is important about that employer relationship?

An employment contract with a public or private organisation in Japan designated by the Minister of Justice is required, and the contract and the receiving organisation must meet Article 2-5 of the Immigration Control Act, with a support plan for SSW (i). An official case study describes foreign nationals farming under contract with farmers through a worker dispatch company set up on the prefectural government's initiative.

See recorded sources
  • https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/status/specifiedskilledworker.html?lang=ja
    法務大臣が指定する本邦の公私の機関との雇用に関する契約（入管法第２条の５第１項から第４項までの規定に適合するものに限る。次号において同じ。）
  • https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/api/1/lawdata/402M50000010016
    申請人に係る特定技能雇用契約が法第二条の五第一項及び第二項の規定に適合すること及び特定技能雇用契約の相手方となる本邦の公私の機関が同条第三項及び第四項の規定に適合すること並びに申請人に係る一号特定技能外国人支援計画が同条第六項及び第七項の規定に適合すること
  • https://www.ssw.go.jp/en/about/visa/agriculture_1/
    In Nagasaki, foreign nationals are farming lettuce and other vegetables under contract with farmers. The prefectural government has taken the initiative of establishing a worker dispatch company.

What are the few decisive professional characteristics of the pathway: occupation, qualifications, experience, salary, skill level, shortage status, labour-market condition or equivalent?

Pass the Agriculture Skill Assessment Test Level 1 and the Japan Foundation Test for Basic Japanese or JLPT N4 or higher (both waived for those who satisfactorily completed Technical Intern Training (ii) in related job categories / any job category respectively); applicants must be 18 or older. Expected intake is 78,000 over April 2024–March 2029.

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What work does the permission allow? Is the holder tied to an employer, occupation or sector? Can family accompany where clearly established?

Allows agriculture jobs: general crop farming cultivation management and collection/shipping/sorting of agricultural products; general livestock farming, breed management and collection/shipping/sorting of livestock products. Holders can change jobs within the same field (changing industry requires that field's skill test). Family cannot be brought under SSW (i).

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How long is the permission normally granted for, how is it renewed, and what longer-term residence direction exists if officially stated?

SSW(i): each grant is a period designated individually by the Minister of Justice within a range not exceeding 3 years; to keep doing the same activity, an extension application must be filed before the granted period expires; total SSW(i) stay is capped, in principle, at 5 years (SSW(ii) has no such cap). Permanent residence: one requirement is 10 or more years of continuous residence including 5 or more years with a work or residence status; time in SSW(i) or Technical Intern Training does not count as work-status time and SSW(i) stay is at most 5 years, so changing to Permanent Resident is difficult, whereas time in SSW(ii) counts. SSW(ii) is for workers with proficient skills, higher than SSW(i), confirmed by tests; it does not follow automatically from SSW(i). SSW(ii) accepts foreign nationals in 11 of the 16 SSW(i) fields, excluding nursing care, automobile transportation business, railway, forestry and wood industry.

See recorded sources
  • https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/policies/ssw/faq.html?lang=ja
    １号特定技能外国人については、３年を超えない範囲内で法務大臣が個々の外国人について指定する期間が、２号特定技能外国人については、３年、２年、１年又は６月の在留期間が付与され、引き続き同じ活動を行うために日本での在留を希望する場合には、付与された在留期間が満了する前に、在留期間更新許可申請を行ってください。 　また、１号特定技能外国人については、特定技能１号としての在留期間の上限があり、原則通算して５年を超えることはできません（２号特定技能外国人については、そのような上限はありません。）。
  • https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/policies/ssw/faq.html?lang=ja
    永住許可を受ける要件のひとつとして、「引き続き１０年以上本邦に在留していること。ただし、この期間のうち、就労資格（在留資格「技能実習」及び「特定技能１号」を除く。）又は居住資格をもって引き続き５年以上在留していることを要する。」と定められているところ、要件にあるとおり「特定技能１号」や「技能実習」の在留資格で日本にいる期間は就労資格として在留している期間に含まれないほか、「特定技能１号」の在留資格で日本に在留できる期間は最長５年であるため、「永住者」の在留資格へ変更することは難しいです。 　一方、「特定技能２号」の在留資格で日本にいる期間は就労資格として在留している期間に含まれるため、「永住者」の在留資格へ変更することが可能です。
  • https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/policies/ssw/faq.html?lang=ja
    「特定技能２号」は、熟練した技能を持つ外国人向けの在留資格であり、「特定技能１号」より高い技能を持つことが必要です。このような技能水準を持っていることは試験等によって確認されます。よって、「特定技能１号」を経れば自動的に「特定技能２号」に移行できるわけではありません。
  • https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/policies/ssw/faq.html?lang=ja
    「特定技能１号」の16の特定産業分野のうち、介護分野、自動車運送業分野、鉄道分野、林業分野及び木材産業分野を除く11の特定産業分野が「特定技能２号」による外国人の受入れ対象分野となっています。

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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