Japan Gijinkoku Visa: Japanese Language Requirement? CEFR B2-Equivalent Proof for Interpreting, Customer Service

Note: This article is based on Japanese laws and materials published by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA) as of October 9, 2026.

For "Gijinkoku" (the common short name for the status of residence "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services", 技術・人文知識・国際業務), documents showing language ability equivalent to CEFR B2 are required when the person will engage in work dealing directly with people that mainly uses language ability. This began with applications filed on or after April 15, 2026. The documents are submitted at the time of application when the organization the foreign national belongs to (所属機関: the company or other body where the foreign national works) falls under Category 3 or 4.

Companies in Category 1 or 2 may also be asked to submit them in the course of the examination. What is covered is not limited to Japanese; it is the language used in the work. This article explains who submits what, and when, following the materials published by the ISA.

From which applications, and what changed?

Starting with applications filed on or after April 15, 2026, organizations in Categories 3 and 4 are to submit two additional documents.

Source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Status of Residence "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services"" (in Japanese), "Notices" (お知らせ)

CEFR is the abbreviation of the "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages," and B2 is one of its levels.

On the same day, the ISA also published a document summarizing its approach to the examination. It is Attachment 4 to the "Clarification of the Status of Residence "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services"" (「技術・人文知識・国際業務」の在留資格の明確化等について).

Attachment 4 states that, when a person will engage in work dealing directly with people, etc. that mainly uses language ability, it is premised that the applicant has language ability equivalent to CEFR B2. Without this language ability, the person is not found to be engaging in "work of at least a certain level" (一定水準以上の業務) that falls under Gijinkoku.

Source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Attachment 4 (Clarification of the Status of Residence for Those Engaging in Work Dealing Directly with People Using Language Ability, such as Translation and Interpretation)" (in Japanese), Section 1

Who submits the proving documents, and when?

The proving documents are submitted at the time of application when the organization falls under Category 3 or 4 and the application is for a person who will engage in work that mainly uses language ability. For extension applications, the treatment differs depending on whether the job duties have changed.

The table shows the treatment when the application is for a person who will engage in work that mainly uses language ability.

For the first extension after a job change to an organization in Category 3 or 4, the checklist for extension applications lists these documents among the additional documents to be submitted. It is safe to regard "has been continuing the same kind of work as before" as applying when the person has been continuing it at the same organization.

Source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Status of Residence "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services"" (in Japanese), "Notices" (お知らせ), Notes 2 and 3, "Checklist of Documents to be Submitted (Extension)" (in Japanese)

Even where "submission is not required" or "not requested," the documents may be requested in the examination

Even in the cases the table shows as "submission is not required" or "not requested," this does not mean that no documents are needed at all. The ISA clearly states the following three points.

• Even for organizations in Category 1 or 2, it may request the submission of documents in the course of the examination (Attachment 4)
• Even where a case is not subject to submission, it may request submission in light of the content of the application (Note 2)
• Even for an extension where the person has been continuing the same kind of work as before, it may request submission as necessary during the examination (Note 3)

The idea itself of premising language ability equivalent to CEFR B2 is not differentiated by category. What changes with the category is whether the documents are attached at the time of application.

Which category does your company fall under?

A category is a classification of the organization. Organizations are divided into Categories 1 to 4 according to whether they are listed, the amount of withholding tax for the previous year, and so on.

Source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Status of Residence "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services"" (in Japanese), "Category (of the organization)"

If a document certifying the category cannot be submitted, the organization is treated as Category 4.

Within Category 2, the classification based on a request to use the online system has conditions. It covers organizations that wish to apply with the same attached documents as Category 2 and have submitted documents for the category examination.

In an Application for Change of Status of Residence, the organization may be treated as Category 2 depending on the applicant's conditions. This is the case, for example, for a change from "Student" (留学) by a person who has graduated from a graduate school, university or junior college in Japan (including a person expected to graduate). In this case the organization is treated as Category 2, so submission at the time of application is not requested (the documents may still be requested during the examination).

The full set of documents to be submitted for each category is summarized in our Complete Guide to the Gijinkoku Visa.

Which work is covered?

What is covered is the case where the person "mainly" engages in work that uses language ability, such as Japanese. The ISA gives the following two examples.

Source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Status of Residence "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services"" (in Japanese), "Notices" (お知らせ), Note 2

The ISA's wording is "cases such as 'translation/interpretation' and 'customer service' such as hotel front desk work" (「翻訳・通訳」やホテルフロント業務等の「接客」の場合等), and the examples are not limited to these two. No exhaustive list of occupations has been published (as of October 2026).

It is not only work that uses Japanese

What is required is ability in "the language used in the work" (業務上使用する言語). For work that involves interpreting or serving customers in a foreign language, what is looked at is whether the person is at a level equivalent to CEFR B2 in that foreign language.

The ISA has published the following as a case of denial at hotels and ryokan (Japanese-style inns). A person who had majored in Japanese language studies and graduated from a university in the home country applied on the basis that the person would interpret for foreign guests at a ryokan.

The language used by the greater part of this ryokan's foreign guests was different from the applicant's native language. Language ability equivalent to CEFR B2 in that language was not proven, and it was not found either that there was a sufficient volume of work using the native language, so the application was denied.

Source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Attachment 5 (Clarification of the Status of Residence for Foreign Nationals Working at Hotels, Ryokan (Japanese-style Inns), etc.)" (in Japanese), case of denial ②

The ISA states that the cases are only examples and that whether each individual application is approved is judged in an individual examination.

Conditions for being evaluated as equivalent to CEFR B2

The conditions differ depending on whether the language used in the work is Japanese or a language other than Japanese. In each case, a person who meets any one of the conditions is evaluated as equivalent to CEFR B2.

When the work uses Japanese

A mid-to-long-term resident is a foreign national to whom a residence card is issued (Article 19-3 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, 出入国管理及び難民認定法).

Condition エ comes with a condition of its own. It is limited to cases where relevance is found between the subjects majored in and the job duties. Having graduated from a university or vocational school (専門学校) in Japan does not mean the person automatically meets it.

For a person who has completed a department or advanced course of an advanced vocational school certified under the Career Development Promotion Program for International Students (外国人留学生キャリア形成促進プログラム), this relevance is judged flexibly.

When the work uses a language other than Japanese

The tests under イ are limited to those for which the CEFR level is shown on the certificate or on the test's official website.

The example the ISA gives for ウ is a case where a language other than the native language is needed for the work. What is envisaged is that experience of studying at a university in a country where that language is an official language is proven by a certificate of graduation or the like.

Source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Attachment 4 (Clarification of the Status of Residence for Those Engaging in Work Dealing Directly with People Using Language Ability, such as Translation and Interpretation)" (in Japanese), Section 2

What is submitted is a document showing that the person meets one of the conditions above. The ISA's list of documents to be submitted says "documents proving language ability: 1 copy" (言語能力を有することを証する資料 1通) and does not go so far as to specify the name of the document.

What hiring managers should check

Check the job duties and the language ability documents at two points: before making a job offer, and before applying for an extension for a current employee.

What to check before making a job offer

1. Confirm your company's category. Whether the amount of withholding tax in the Total Table of Statutory Reports for the previous year is 10 million yen or more is one of the criteria that separate Categories 2 and 3
2. Confirm whether the work to be assigned is work in which the person mainly engages in work that uses language ability. Translation/interpretation and customer service such as hotel front desk work are given as examples
3. Identify the language used in that work. The conditions differ depending on whether it is Japanese or a language other than Japanese
4. Confirm which condition in the tables above the candidate meets, and receive a document showing it
5. If the candidate meets a condition through graduation from, or completion of, a university or vocational school in Japan, also confirm the relevance between the subjects majored in and the job duties

If the person is not evaluated as having language ability equivalent to CEFR B2, then under the ISA's approach the work is not found to be "work of at least a certain level" that falls under Gijinkoku. Checking before the job offer gives you time to rework your hiring plan.

If companies in Category 1 or 2 make the same checks, they can submit the documents right away when asked for them in the course of the examination.

What to check before applying for an extension for a current employee

1. Confirm whether the job duties have changed from those originally stated in the application, and whether the person has changed jobs
2. For a person who has come to mainly engage in work that uses language ability because of a change of job duties or a job change, submit the proving documents when applying for the extension (Categories 3 and 4)
3. For a person who has been continuing the same kind of work as before at the same organization, submission is not required. However, the documents may be requested during the examination, so keep track of whether such documents exist

If you are unsure whether the job duties can be said to have changed, we will review the job duties and the documents with you in our consultation on applications for Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services.

Two points to check in the same documents

Besides the language ability documents, the declaration for Categories 3 and 4 and the treatment of organizations that are not allowed to accept foreign nationals also need to be checked.

Declaration concerning the Representative of the Organization

Starting with applications filed on or after April 15, 2026, organizations in Categories 3 and 4 also submit this declaration. It is submitted for extension applications as well.

If the representative is a Japanese national or a special permanent resident (特別永住者), tick the applicable box. The representative's name and residence card number do not need to be entered. In other cases, write the representative's name (in the Latin alphabet) and residence card number. Only a staff member of the organization may prepare the declaration.

Source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Declaration concerning the Representative of the Organization (reference form)" (in Japanese)

Organizations in a period of suspended acceptance cannot, in principle, newly accept foreign nationals

Some organizations have received a finding of grounds for disqualification (欠格事由), etc. under the Specified Skilled Worker (特定技能) or Technical Intern Training (技能実習) system, for reasons such as assaulting foreign nationals or failing to pay remuneration. During the period in which acceptance is suspended, such organizations are, in principle, not allowed to newly accept foreign nationals under Gijinkoku. This includes organizations such as the companies receiving dispatched workers.

Source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Clarification of the Status of Residence "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services"" (in Japanese; last revised April 2026), Section 1(1), note

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a person who has not passed JLPT N2 not work under Gijinkoku?

Passing N2 is one of the conditions. For work that uses Japanese, a person is also evaluated on the basis of 400 points or more on the BJT, graduation from a university in Japan (when there is relevance between the subjects majored in and the job duties), and so on. Unless the person mainly engages in work that uses language ability, submission of these documents is not requested.

What should a person who serves customers in English, which is not the person's native language, submit?

If English is not the applicant's official language either, the result of an English test that proves CEFR B2 or higher, or an explanation of reasonable grounds, is needed. The test must be one for which the CEFR level is shown on the certificate or on the official website.

If documents are requested after the application, what happens to the number of days the examination takes?

The days until you submit the documents are also included in the examination period. The average number of days for Gijinkoku published by the ISA (for change of status and extension, the number of days until the notice of permission) is, for COEs issued and permissions granted in July 2026, 49.8 days for COE applications, 72.9 days for change of status and 40.8 days for extension. These figures include the days from when the submission of additional documents is requested until they are submitted.

Source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Processing Time for Residence Examinations" (in Japanese; COEs issued and permissions granted in July 2026)

Summary

For Gijinkoku, when a person mainly engages in work that uses language ability, language ability equivalent to CEFR B2 in the language used in the work is the premise. Organizations in Categories 3 and 4 submit the proving documents at the time of COE, change-of-status and acquisition-of-status applications, and at the time of an extension after a change of job duties or a job change.

The documents may also be requested during the examination for organizations in Categories 1 and 2 and for extensions of people who have been continuing the same kind of work. Start by confirming three things, namely your company's category, the work to be assigned and the language used in the work, and check with documents which of the conditions the candidate or current employee meets.

References

• Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Status of Residence "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services"" (in Japanese; accessed October 9, 2026)
• Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Clarification of the Status of Residence "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services"" (in Japanese; last revised April 2026)
• Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Attachment 4 (Clarification of the Status of Residence for Those Engaging in Work Dealing Directly with People Using Language Ability, such as Translation and Interpretation)" (in Japanese; published April 15, 2026)
• Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Attachment 5 (Clarification of the Status of Residence for Foreign Nationals Working at Hotels, Ryokan (Japanese-style Inns), etc.)" (in Japanese; updated April 15, 2026)
• Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Checklist of Documents to be Submitted (Extension)" (in Japanese)
• Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Declaration concerning the Representative of the Organization (reference form)" (in Japanese)
• Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Processing Time for Residence Examinations" (in Japanese; COEs issued and permissions granted in July 2026)
• Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, Article 19-3