The Japanese Visa Series, Chapter 7: Training Visa

Having said that, did you take a look at our article section? Don’t miss the chapter 6 of our series, we showed you how to sponsor your own visa and not die trying!

Ready? All right, let’s move on!

Trainees in Japan

On Tuesday last week we introduced you the Technical Intern Training Program, a plan that allows thousands of youngsters - mainly from China, Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia - to come to Japan and receive training in a whole 79 fields that are hard to be mastered at their home countries. The objective of the program is the acquisition of the necessary skills and knowledge for the students to implement the principles they have learned after their return and play a protagonist role in the development of their country of origin.

An open door to tackle the labor crunch

As the work market faces a severe crisis, Japan noticed that the 260,000 young trainees accepted by public and private institutions all across the country could be a temporal solution to the workers shortage, so the companies started to take more trainees in order to fill the empty vacancies. At the moment, holders of a training visa can live in Japan up to 3 years but the period of stay is expected to lift up to reach a total of 5 years after the new, long-awaited immigration policies come to force in April 2019. This measure keeps up with the regulations destined to slack off the severe immigration laws and draw 500,000 foreign workers to Japan by 2025.

Becoming a trainee in Japan

Due to the labor shortage, there are many companies (especially in rural areas) that are willing to accept trainees from overseas. This visa represents a great opportunity for those who want to acquire skills and abilities in a cutting-edge country while spending some time working abroad.

Requirements for applicants

In order to be eligible for a training visa, the applicants should fit some conditions:

• Being at least 18 years of age.
  
• Willingness to apply the acquired skills and experience in their home country.
  
• Being enrolled in an institution overseas able to transfer you to Japan.
  
• The skills expected to be learned in Japan should be difficult to master in the country of origin.
  
• The skills the applicants want to learn should not be those that can be learned through repetition of simple tasks.
  
• The activities to be performed should fall into categories permitted for a training visa holder.
  
• Applicants have to return to their home country after the completion of the program.
  

Requirements for host companies

To ensure the trainees are going to have the best possible experience, companies have also to fulfill a list of requirements:

• Provide all the necessary documents for the process
  
• Assign a mentor with more than 5 years expertise in the field to guide the trainee through the training.
  
• Keep the trainees at least 1 year, notifying the Immigration Bureau immediately if the company can’t maintain them anymore.
  
• Support the trainees during the period of stay and to pay the agreed wages.
  

List of documents

After applying for the visa, you have to make sure to have the following documents:

• Documents explaining the purpose, location, and duration of the training.
  
• Documents arranging the conditions of the training.
  
• Documents certifying that, after returning to the country of origin, the trainee will engage in activities related to the training.
  
• Documents proving the professional and educational background of the trainee.Documents showing the outline of the sending institution.
  
• Registration documents of the host country, along with a balance of profit-loss, a full list of staff and trainees (if any).
  

As always, we deeply encourage you to check with the Immigration Bureau the final list of necessary documents.

Once you gather all the documents, your accepting company has to apply for your COE and, after you receive it, you have to head to your nearest embassy and get your visa stamp in your passport.

There are plenty of options to come and make your way through Japan - you only have to find the most suitable path for you. Register on IZANAU and let us help you to land in your dream job!

*Visa applicants are responsible for their own application and IZANAU cannot be held responsible if authorities applied changes after the redaction of this article.