Hiring Specified Skilled Workers involves various procedures. For foreign nationals from Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam in particular, you must comply with the procedures established between each country and the Japanese government and submit documents proving that compliance to the immigration authority.

This article focuses on the procedures for hiring Thai nationals as Specified Skilled Workers.

Required Embassy Procedures When Hiring Thai Nationals as Specified Skilled Workers

To hire Thai nationals as Specified Skilled Workers, you must apply to the Royal Thai Embassy and obtain approval. There are three patterns of procedures at the Thai Embassy, and the timing of the application and the documents to submit differ depending on how the foreign national is hired, so careful attention is required.

In terms of timing, particular care is needed when hiring Thai nationals already in Japan as Specified Skilled Workers. You must first submit application documents to the Thai Embassy, then submit to immigration the employment contract and statement of working conditions that have been returned with the authentication seal. Because of this rule, if you wish to hire Thai nationals as Specified Skilled Workers, you need to prepare early—for example, by starting the application process at least three months before the Specified Skilled Worker start date. This article explains two patterns that are used in many cases among the Thai Embassy procedures, focusing on the required documents for each.

When Hiring Talent Already in Japan as Specified Skilled Workers

When hiring Thai nationals already in Japan, common cases include continuing to accept Thai nationals who were technical intern trainees as Specified Skilled Workers, hiring Thai nationals who completed training at another company as Specified Skilled Workers, or hiring talent who are in Japan under another status of residence and have passed the exam required to become Specified Skilled Workers.

Thai Embassy procedures are strictly checked down to English and Thai spelling, so careful confirmation is needed before submission to ensure there are no errors. Also, if a page does not have the company seal, they will allow you to correct the error and replace only that page; however, if a page with the company seal has a correction, you must re-affix the company seal and resubmit, so those pages require especially careful checking.

Documents Required for the Application Procedure

  1. Employment contract, 2 copies
  2. Statement of working conditions, 2 copies
  3. Appendix to the employment contract, 2 copies
  4. Explanation of remuneration for the Specified Skilled Worker
  5. Copy of the Specified Skilled Worker’s passport (page with photo)
  6. Copy of the Technical Intern Training completion certificate or certificate of passing the exam to become a Specified Skilled Worker
  7. Certificate of registered matters of the company accepting the Specified Skilled Worker
  8. Reply Letter Pack

Regarding the required documents, originals of (1) the employment contract and (2) the statement of working conditions are each required in two copies.

After authentication, one copy is provided for the company and one for the individual to keep.

For the employment contract and statement of working conditions, you must submit to the immigration authority the versions bearing the embassy’s authentication seal.

(3) The appendix to the employment contract is also a document that the company and the individual each keep one copy of. This document is required only when applying to the Thai Embassy.

(4) The explanation of remuneration for the Specified Skilled Worker is also a document submitted to immigration when applying for a change of status of residence to Specified Skilled Worker. You submit one copy to the Thai Embassy, and that submitted document is not returned, so you will submit a newly prepared document with the same content to the immigration authority at the time of application. Note that, from February 19, 2021, all application documents submitted to the immigration authority other than the employment contract and statement of working conditions no longer require a seal. Of course, (4) the explanation of remuneration for the Specified Skilled Worker also does not require a seal for immigration, but a sealed version is required when submitting to the Thai Embassy.

(5) For the copy of the Specified Skilled Worker’s passport (page with photo), submit the passport of the foreign national who is scheduled to become a Specified Skilled Worker under the application. The employment contract, statement of working conditions, and appendix to the employment contract submitted to the Thai Embassy are documents that require the applicant’s own signature. For application documents submitted to the immigration authority, there is no specified form of signature, but for documents submitted to the Thai Embassy, the signature as recorded in the applicant foreign national’s passport is required, so caution is needed. Some Thai nationals forget the signature recorded in their passport, so when obtaining a signature on documents to be submitted to the Thai Embassy, please confirm the signature recorded in the passport before having them sign.

(6) For the copy of the Technical Intern Training completion certificate or the certificate of passing the exam to become a Specified Skilled Worker: if the person is a technical intern trainee, submit the Technical Intern Training (ii) or (iii) completion certificate. If an international student or a foreign national in Japan under another status of residence wishes to change to the Specified Skilled Worker status of residence, they must take the exam set for each field to become a Specified Skilled Worker and submit the certificate of passing. Also, if the Technical Intern Training completion certificate has not been issued at the time of application, a certificate of passing a specialized-level or higher exam taken during Technical Intern Training may be substituted.

(7) For the certificate of registered matters of the company accepting the Specified Skilled Worker, you must submit the original certificate of registered matters of the company that will accept the Specified Skilled Worker. Note that the certificate of registered matters must have been issued within the past three months.

(8) A reply Letter Pack is required because the documents submitted to the Thai Embassy will be returned in this Letter Pack after review is complete and the authentication seal has been affixed. If a Letter Pack is not enclosed, the documents will be mailed collect on delivery.

When Hiring Talent in Thailand as Specified Skilled Workers Through a Placement Agency

Documents Required for the Application Procedure

  1. Power of attorney
  2. Request form
  3. Employment contract
  4. Statement of working conditions
  5. Appendix to the employment contract
  6. Explanation of remuneration for the Specified Skilled Worker
  7. Copy of the Registered Support Organization permission certificate issued by a Regional Immigration Services Bureau
  8. Copy of the Technical Intern Training completion certificate or certificate of passing the exam to become a Specified Skilled Worker
  9. Certificate of registered matters of the company accepting the Specified Skilled Worker
  10. Reply Letter Pack

In this pattern as well, most documents are the same as those already introduced for hiring talent already in Japan as Specified Skilled Workers. The only different documents are (1) the power of attorney, (2) the request form, and (7) the copy of the Registered Support Organization permission certificate issued by a Regional Immigration Services Bureau.

(1) The power of attorney covers content such as entrusting an overseas employment placement business with job placement work within Thailand. This overseas employment placement business is often a sending organization. If requested, they will handle not only job placement but also various procedures in Thailand (such as passport acquisition and health examinations).

Also, applications under this pattern assume that the Specified Skilled Worker to be hired has not yet been selected, so signatures are not required on any documents, including the employment contract and statement of working conditions. Therefore, whereas procedures for talent already in Japan required signed employment contracts and similar documents for each person, this pattern requires only one unsigned copy of each document. However, two original copies of the power of attorney alone are required.

(2) The request form is a document stating that you request the overseas employment placement business you have entrusted with job placement of Thai Specified Skilled Worker talent under these wages and conditions.

(7) The copy of the Registered Support Organization permission certificate issued by a Regional Immigration Services Bureau is the permit issued by the immigration authority when the Registered Support Organization was registered.

Although (8) the copy of the Technical Intern Training completion certificate or the certificate of passing the exam to become a Specified Skilled Worker is listed among the required documents, it is noted in parentheses as “if available.” Because you are submitting a power of attorney and request form and applying to recruit Thai nationals under these conditions, submitting a pass certificate or similar would mean the candidate has already been selected before job placement; therefore, this document does not need to be submitted.

Summary

When hiring Thai talent as Specified Skilled Workers, you must go through Thai Embassy procedures, which takes more effort than hiring talent from other countries. It is important to begin preparations in advance, allowing for the time the procedures will take.