Specified Skilled Worker “nursing care”: requirements and hiring checkpoints for system compliance and hiring practice

In hiring practice, it is risky to assume that “any foreign national who can work at a nursing care facility will do.” Technical Intern Training, study abroad, Designated Activities, the “Nursing Care” status of residence, and Specified Skilled Worker differ in the scope of permitted work, renewal requirements, and the individual’s career design. Before hiring, always confirm the candidate’s current status of residence, period of stay, whether a job change is allowed, exam pass status, Japanese ability, and past work history.

System checkpoints to confirm before hiring

When hiring under Specified Skilled Worker “nursing care,” some items should be confirmed before the interview. Even if a candidate’s character and motivation are strong, employment cannot begin unless the status of residence requirements are met.

First are skills assessment and Japanese ability. In nursing care, the Nursing Care Skills Evaluation Test, the Nursing Care Japanese Language Evaluation Test, and certain Japanese language tests are relevant. Confirm which route makes the candidate eligible for Specified Skilled Worker and retain the supporting documents. For those transitioning from Technical Intern Training, simply having “experience in Japan” is not enough. Confirm whether they completed Technical Intern Training in good standing and whether the relationship to transferable occupations and tasks is appropriate.

Second are employment conditions. Remuneration for Specified Skilled Worker foreign nationals must be equal to or higher than that of Japanese nationals engaged in the same work. The idea that “we can hire foreign workers more cheaply” runs counter to both the purpose of the system and practical risk. Base pay, night-shift allowances, qualification allowances, treatment-improvement related items, bonuses, deductions, company housing fees, meal costs, and similar items must be explained in a form the individual can understand.

Third are the standards as an accepting organization. Facilities are required to comply with laws, properly enroll in social and labor insurance, fulfill tax obligations, and secure a support system. Past inappropriate handling of immigration or labor-related laws can affect acceptance.

Fourth is the support plan. Accepting Specified Skilled Worker (i) requires a plan to support occupational life, daily life, and social life. Even when outsourcing to a Registered Support Organization, the hiring employer’s responsibility does not disappear. Rather than fully handing off support, it is important to clarify the division of roles among the facility contact person, on-site leaders, and the Registered Support Organization.

Fifth is confirmation of the duties to be assigned. Talent hired under Specified Skilled Worker “nursing care” must not be regularly assigned to duties not permitted under the system. Even when cleaning, transport, cooking assistance, or clerical work is included, you need to organize whether those are the primary duties or fall within the scope incidental to nursing care work.

Requirements that apply only to the nursing care field

The five points above apply to every field. In nursing care, accepting organizations are subject to additional field-specific requirements. Before deciding to hire, confirm that your facility can meet the following.

Under the operational policy for the nursing care field, Specified Skilled Worker (i) foreign nationals may be employed only directly. The conditions imposed specifically on accepting organizations are that they perform nursing care work; that the number of Specified Skilled Worker (i) foreign nationals a business site can accept is capped, per site, at the total number of full-time care workers who are Japanese nationals or equivalent; and that they become members of the nursing care council established by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and take the measures agreed in the council (Source: “Operational policy on the Specified Skilled Worker status of residence in the nursing care field (介護分野における特定技能の在留資格に係る制度の運用に関する方針)”).

The council is currently called the “Council for Specified Skilled Worker and Employment for Skill Development in the Nursing Care Field.” Corporations accepting foreign talent in nursing care under Specified Skilled Worker must become council members and obtain a membership certificate registering the accepting business site before filing status of residence applications with the regional immigration bureau. Membership is applied for through the council’s application system (Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “Accepting Specified Skilled Worker foreign nationals in the nursing care field (介護分野における特定技能外国人の受入れについて)”).

Home-visit services such as home-visit care are now open to technical intern trainees and Specified Skilled Worker foreign nationals who have completed the initial caregiver training course or equivalent and, in principle, have at least one year of work experience at care facilities. Accepting business sites must explain the arrangement to users and families in advance and comply with the required measures, and must submit a report on the home-visit service requirements to the designated visiting and inspection organization beforehand (Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “Foreign care workers engaging in home-visit services (外国人介護人材の訪問系サービスへの従事について)”).

Before hiring, checking these three points helps avoid rework.

• For each accepting business site, count the full-time care workers who are Japanese nationals or equivalent, and confirm the planned number of hires stays within the cap
• Make sure the schedule allows you to obtain the council membership certificate before applying for status of residence
• If you plan to assign the worker to home-visit services, confirm the worker’s training and experience, and prepare the site’s report and required measures

Diagram: pre-hiring confirmation flow

Below is the basic flow facilities should confirm before hiring under Specified Skilled Worker “nursing care.”

Pre-hiring confirmation flow

• Candidate application
• Confirm current status of residence and period of stay
• Confirm Specified Skilled Worker “nursing care” requirements (skills assessment, Japanese ability, nursing care Japanese, eligibility to transition from Technical Intern Training, etc.)
• Confirm employment conditions (remuneration equal to or higher than Japanese nationals, night shifts/allowances/deductions, working hours and days off)
• Confirm planned duties (centered on physical care, and whether the scope of incidental duties is appropriate)
• Confirm the support system (life orientation, consultation desk, housing and administrative procedures, Japanese learning support)
• Prepare application documents, employment contract, and support plan
• Start employment after residence application and permission
• Post-hire retention support and regular one-on-ones

What matters in this flow is confirming system requirements before making an offer. If you discover after hiring momentum builds that “the requirements were not actually met,” both the candidate and the facility bear the burden. Especially when hiring people living overseas, you need to build a schedule that includes the period until entry, document preparation, housing, getting daily life started, and Japanese language follow-up.

Common questions from the field

In hiring support for Specified Skilled Worker “nursing care,” the questions we hear most often concern on-site operations more than the system itself.

One common question is whether they can take night shifts. Under the system, night shifts are not uniformly prohibited. However, placing someone on night shifts early without considering their experience, Japanese ability, understanding of user care, emergency response, and the facility’s guidance system is risky. Especially right after joining, a phased design is preferable: first understand users’ conditions, documentation methods, reporting and consultation, and care procedures on day shifts, then transition gradually.

Next most common is how much Japanese is needed to function on site. Passing an exam is not the same as communicating safely in the workplace. Nursing care settings require understanding users’ dialects, speech by people with dementia, short instructions in emergencies, and the context of handovers. In interviews, it is useful to check conversation based on actual care scenarios, not only answers to standard questions.

There is also the question of how other staff should interact with international talent. This is often not the individual’s problem but insufficient preparation on the accepting side. Creating opportunities to understand culture and life background—how names are used, religion and meals, leave, family remittances, contact with the home country, and how to give feedback—greatly reduces friction on site. For nationality-specific communication insights, resources such as ourarticle on workplace communication with Myanmar talentcan also be helpful.

Another question is whether they should aim to become certified care workers. In short, if the individual’s wishes and the facility’s development policy align, it is better to support that early. Because Specified Skilled Worker (i) has a cap on the total period of stay, if you want people to work longer, career discussions that keep certified care worker qualification and transition to the “Nursing Care” status of residence in view are important.

Failure patterns and how to avoid them

Common failures in hiring under Specified Skilled Worker “nursing care” fall into three stages: hiring, immediately after joining, and retention.

Failure at the hiring stage is insufficient requirements checks. Some cases rely only on the candidate’s résumé or an agency’s explanation and do not adequately confirm the residence card, exam certificates, work history, and Technical Intern Training completion status. The remedy is to list candidate information and confirm original documents or accurate copies. Even when using an introduction agency or Registered Support Organization, you need the stance of holding confirmation responsibility as the final employer.

Failure immediately after joining is leaving everything to the floor. Operations that say “we are short-staffed, so put them on the shift as soon as they start” exhaust both the individual and existing staff. No one can perfectly understand care methods, documentation, handovers, incident reporting, infection control, and user-specific cautions from day one. Onboarding that is necessary even for mid-career Japanese hires must be designed even more carefully for international talent.

Failure at the retention stage is underestimating anxiety about daily life. Housing, commuting, government procedures, banking, mobile phones, hospitals, remittances to the home country, contact with family, and isolation in the community all directly affect work performance. Even when outsourcing to a Registered Support Organization, it is important for the facility to have a one-on-one system that can notice changes in the individual.

Another failure is not showing a career outlook. Specified Skilled Worker talent also think about the future. In workplaces where it is unclear whether pay will rise, whether qualification acquisition will be supported, whether night-shift readiness will be recognized, or whether they can aim for certified care worker status, people more readily consider changing jobs or returning home.

The remedy is to present a development roadmap from before hiring for “three months after joining,” “six months,” “one year,” and “if aiming for certified care worker status.” Do not separate system compliance from talent development; manage hiring through retention as one project.

Points hiring managers often overlook

What hiring managers often overlook is on-site acceptance preparation. Even if the hiring team advances system checks and interviews, friction arises after joining if the staff who will actually work together have been told nothing.

First, advance briefing for on-site leaders is needed. From which country, under which status of residence, in which scope of duties, from when, and on which shifts will the person work? What is their Japanese level? What support is needed? Sharing these in advance prevents first-day confusion.

Next is selecting the training lead. Educating international talent is not simply a matter of assigning any staff member who can do the job. People who explain concretely, do not scold emotionally, and can check the other person’s level of understanding are a better fit. It is important to choose someone who can bridge both care skills and Japanese communication.

Third is evaluation criteria. It is easy to conclude that international talent “cannot be evaluated because their Japanese is still insufficient,” but evaluation items should be separated—care skills, attendance, learning attitude, reporting and consultation, user interaction, team collaboration, and more. Judging ability by Japanese alone means missing growth opportunities.

Fourth is understanding of home-country culture. Religious dietary restrictions, views on leave, remittances to family, how names are used, and how hierarchy is received differ by country and individual. You do not need to treat everything as a special case, but judging only by Japanese common sense without knowing the background creates misunderstandings.

Fifth is management of status of residence renewals. Do not leave the period of stay solely to the individual; the facility should also create a management chart and begin preparation several months before renewal. If document deficiencies surface just before renewal, the individual’s continued employment is affected.

Practical checklist

Before proceeding with hiring under Specified Skilled Worker “nursing care,” confirm the following items.

• Confirmed the candidate’s current status of residence and period of stay
• Confirmed the skills and Japanese requirements needed for Specified Skilled Worker “nursing care”
• If transitioning from Technical Intern Training or similar, confirmed transition requirements
• Decided how to confirm the residence card, exam certificates, work history, and similar documents
• Prepared to explain the employment contract and notice of working conditions in a form the individual can understand
• Can explain that remuneration is equal to or higher than that of Japanese nationals
• Clarified handling of night shifts, allowances, deductions, company housing fees, and meal costs
• Planned duties fit within the scope of Specified Skilled Worker “nursing care”
• Decided the structure for preparing the support plan
• If outsourcing to a Registered Support Organization, organized the scope of outsourcing and the facility’s role
• Decided how to support housing, commuting, bank accounts, mobile phones, and administrative procedures
• Created an onboarding plan from day one through the first month
• Have a plan to brief on-site leaders and the training lead in advance
• Decided how to follow up on Japanese learning and care documentation
• Decided the frequency and recording method for regular one-on-ones
• Created a management chart for period of stay and renewal preparation
• Considered a policy for medium- to long-term career support such as certified care worker qualification

This checklist is effective when used as shared material not only by hiring managers but also by facility directors, on-site supervisors, general affairs and labor staff, and Registered Support Organizations.

Post-acceptance retention support determines hiring success

Hiring under Specified Skilled Worker “nursing care” does not end with an offer or entry into Japan. Rather, the three months after joining are the most important. Whether the individual feels “I can continue at this workplace” during this period greatly changes retention rates.

Right after joining, it is important not to overload the workload. On day one, carefully explain the facility’s philosophy, user population, staff introductions, break areas, documentation methods, and emergency contact procedures. In the first week, learning centers on users’ names, daily routines, the flow of care, and how to listen to handovers. In month one, separate duties the person can do from those that cause anxiety, and have the training lead provide feedback.

Japanese support is also key to on-site retention. Beyond school-style study, organizing expressions used on the floor is effective. For example, practice scenario by scenario phrases such as “Please wait a moment,” “Does it hurt anywhere?,” “We will help you stand,” “Please press the nurse call,” and “I will share this in the handover.”

Support for care documentation is also needed. Many people can speak Japanese to a certain degree but struggle to write records. Providing record templates, lists of frequently used expressions, and abbreviation lists reduces the individual’s burden and stabilizes record quality.

In retention support, do not forget care for existing staff. When accepting international talent, burden can concentrate on the training lead. Adjust the training lead’s workload, set up places to consult, share success stories, and build a system in which the whole floor develops people.

If you want to advance international talent hiring organizationally rather than as one-off cases, consulting viaForeign Talent Insights contactmakes it easier to organize everything from system confirmation to hiring design and retention support.

FAQ: common questions on Specified Skilled Worker “nursing care” hiring

Q1. Can Specified Skilled Worker “nursing care” talent be placed on night shifts immediately?

Under the system, night shifts are not uniformly prohibited. However, placing someone on solo night shifts immediately after joining carries practical risk. We recommend confirming understanding of users, emergency response, Japanese handovers, and incident reporting, then transitioning to night shifts in stages.

Q2. How do Specified Skilled Worker “nursing care” and the “Nursing Care” status of residence differ?

Specified Skilled Worker “Nursing Care” is a status of residence for working in the nursing care field based on a certain level of skills and Japanese language ability, and Specified Skilled Worker (i) is generally capped at a total of five years. By contrast, the “Nursing Care” status of residence is a specialized status premised on qualifications such as certified care worker. When considering long-term employment, it is important to support acquisition of the certified care worker qualification and to keep a transition to the “Nursing Care” status of residence in view. For related thinking on statuses of residence, Explaining Statuses of Residence for Highly Skilled Foreign Professionals is also a useful reference.

Q3. If we outsource to a Registered Support Organization, does the facility no longer need to take any action?

No, it does not. Even if you outsource support duties to a Registered Support Organization, the facility still retains its responsibilities as an employer for management and for on-site development. Clarify the division of roles for the scope of outsourcing, consultation response, daily living support, regular interviews, and emergency response.

Q4. How much weight should we place on Japanese language ability?

Passing the exam is important, but you should separately confirm the Japanese needed on site. It is essential to assess in interviews and practical checks whether candidates understand expressions specific to nursing care settings—such as speaking to care recipients, handovers, accident reports, and sharing changes in physical condition.

Q5. What is the most important point to watch when hiring under Specified Skilled Worker “Nursing Care”?

Do not treat confirmation of program requirements and post-hire retention support as separate matters. Even if you proceed with hiring based only on status of residence checks, people will not stay if on-site training and daily living support are weak. Conversely, even with a strong personality, you cannot employ someone who does not meet the program requirements. It is important to design pre-hire checks, employment conditions, the support plan, onboarding, and career support as an integrated whole.

Summary: Specified Skilled Worker “Nursing Care” Requires Both Regulatory Compliance and On-Site Design

Specified Skilled Worker “Nursing Care” is a strong option for facilities struggling with nursing care workforce shortages. Hiring success, however, cannot be achieved merely by “having international talent referred to you.”

Before hiring, you need to confirm status of residence, skills and Japanese language requirements, employment conditions, scope of duties, and the support plan. After joining, you need to continuously provide on-site training, Japanese language support, daily living support, regular interviews, and career development.

In particular, executives and HR leaders should position Specified Skilled Worker “Nursing Care” as a medium- to long-term talent strategy rather than a short-term vacancy fill. If you can design it to include support for obtaining the certified care worker qualification, development of on-site leaders, multinational team management, and reducing the burden on existing staff, hiring international talent becomes not mere headcount replenishment but an initiative that strengthens the facility’s sustainability.

Correctly understanding the program and building an acceptance framework in which both the person working on site and existing staff can feel secure—that is the most important point when hiring under Specified Skilled Worker “Nursing Care.”

Related Articles: Practical Topics Worth Reviewing Together

Please also review practical articles on related themes as needed.

• Hiring Guide for Foreign Care Workers [2026 Edition] | Explaining 4 Statuses of Residence, Cost Estimates, Hiring Steps, and Retention Support
• What Is a Registered Support Organization for Specified Skilled Worker? A Thorough Guide to Roles, 10 Mandatory Support Items, Costs, and How to Choose
• A Thorough Guide to Foreign Worker Hiring Procedures | A Practical Guide for Hiring Managers Covering Status of Residence Checks, Notifications, and Documents