Approved or Refused? 3 Official ISA Cases on the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services Visa

1. Where these cases come from

The ISA has published guidelines titled “Clarification of the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services status of residence” (Japanese only). Their purpose is to make the screening more predictable for applicants. Attachment 3 of the guidelines lists dozens of approved and refused cases, grouped by the applicant’s background: graduates of foreign universities, graduates of Japanese universities and graduates of Japanese vocational schools (senmon gakko).

Many people focus only on whether their degree matches the job. The cases below show that applications also fail for other reasons that the applicant and the employer can check in advance. For the basic requirements of this visa, see our Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa guide.

2. Case 1: Paid less than a Japanese colleague (refused)

What happened

A graduate of a Japanese university’s faculty of engineering applied to work as an engineer for a company providing computer-related services, at a monthly salary of JPY 135,000. During the screening, it became clear that a Japanese new graduate hired at the same time for the same type of work was paid JPY 180,000 a month. The ISA found that the pay was not at least equal to what a Japanese employee would receive, and the application was refused.

The guidelines include similar refusals: a vocational school graduate hired as a translator and interpreter at JPY 170,000 when a Japanese new graduate in the same role received JPY 200,000, and a front desk hire at a ryokan (Japanese inn) at about JPY 150,000 when Japanese colleagues hired at the same time received about JPY 200,000, with no reasonable explanation for the difference.

What to learn from it

• The rules require pay equal to or higher than what a Japanese person would receive for the same work. The first comparison is usually with Japanese employees in the same company, such as new graduates hired in the same year.
• Allowances that reimburse expenses, such as commuting, family and housing allowances, are not counted as pay (unless they are taxable). A high total that relies on these allowances may not pass.
• Being a foreign national, or being “new”, is not a reason to pay less. If your offer is lower than your Japanese colleagues’, ask the employer before the application is filed.

3. Case 2: “Training” in a store — one approved, one refused

Work such as serving customers, operating a cash register or stocking shelves does not by itself qualify for this visa. However, the ISA looks at your activities over the whole period you are expected to stay with the employer. Two published cases show where the line is drawn.

Approved: two years in a supermarket

A graduate of a Japanese university’s faculty of letters was hired with no fixed term as a career-track employee at the head office of a food retailer. For the first two years, the plan was practical training in a supermarket: stocking shelves, operating the register, serving customers and learning customer needs. The company’s career plan showed that, like its Japanese university graduates, the employee would then move to sales or administration at the head office or to a group trading company as a future manager. This was approved.

Refused: “management candidate” at a restaurant chain

A graduate of a Japanese university’s faculty of business administration applied as a management candidate at the head office of a restaurant chain. However, the employee was not guaranteed qualifying work. The career plan required several years, with no fixed end, of serving customers and cooking in the restaurants, and only selected employees would eventually move to qualifying work. The ISA found that this was not training given uniformly to everyone hired for qualifying work, and the application was refused.

What to learn from it

• Training must be the same as the training Japanese graduates receive. Training set only for foreign employees, or different from the training for Japanese employees (for example, longer), is generally not accepted unless there is a reasonable reason, such as Japanese language training.
• The training must have a clear end and lead to qualifying work. “We will decide later who gets promoted” is a warning sign.
• The training should not take up most of the time you are expected to stay. For example, two years of training under a three-year contract with no planned renewal will not be accepted.
• If the training lasts more than one year, the ISA asks for a training plan. When training is included, the first period of stay is in principle one year, so that the ISA can check at the extension that you have moved to qualifying work.

4. Case 3: An “interpreter” with little to interpret (refused)

What happened

A graduate of a translation and interpreting vocational school, who had studied Japanese–English interpreting, applied to work as a translator and interpreter. The workplace was a restaurant. The “interpreting” turned out to be taking orders in English, which was only simple interpreting as part of serving customers, and the “translation” was only the menu. The ISA found there was not enough work, and the application was refused.

In another refused case, a building cleaning company planned to hire an interpreter for its foreign student part-timers and to translate its manuals. The ISA noted that student part-timers usually already speak some Japanese, so interpreting was not needed, and that manual translation does not arise constantly.

What to learn from it

• The guidelines say the employer must have enough translation or interpreting work. The ISA may ask between which languages you will work and what the work actually is.
• Your skills must also match. For jobs that mainly use language skills with people, the ISA expects a level equivalent to CEFR B2. For Japanese, this can be shown by, for example, JLPT N2 or higher, a BJT score of 400 or higher, an EJU Japanese score of 200 or higher or a JPT score of 525 or higher (see EJU and JPT Scores Now Accepted as Proof of Japanese). If the employer is in Category 3 or 4, proof must be submitted with the application. Even with a Category 1 or 2 employer, the ISA may ask for it during the review.
• A job title such as “interpreter” does not decide the case. What matters is the actual daily work, and the ISA may check it with the employer.

5. A quick check before you apply

Based on these cases, it is worth asking your employer the following questions before the application is filed:

1. Is my basic salary at least the same as that of Japanese employees hired for the same work (for example, new graduates hired in the same year)?
2. If there is training, do Japanese graduates receive the same training for the same length of time, and what job do I move to afterwards?
3. Is the end of the training fixed, and is it a small part of my expected time with the company?
4. If my job is translation or interpreting, what will I translate or interpret, between which languages, and how often?
5. Can I show language ability at CEFR B2 level, if the job mainly uses language skills?

Disclaimer: This article is provided for general information only and is not legal advice on any individual case. The information is based on sources available as of October 29, 2026. Laws, guidelines and their application may change without notice. The cases described are summaries of examples published by the Immigration Services Agency and do not guarantee the outcome of any other application. TKG Immigration Consulting Office accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising from the use of this information. In case of any difference between our English descriptions and the original Japanese texts, the Japanese texts prevail.