More than two years have already passed since the Specified Skilled Worker status of residence was established, but the requirements for obtaining Specified Skilled Worker status of residence continue to be updated and changed on a daily basis.

In particular, foreign nationals holding Thai, Vietnamese, or Cambodian nationality must complete the procedures prescribed by their respective countries and must also submit documents to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan certifying that those procedures have been completed.

This article explains the Recommendation Letter that, among these three nationalities, Vietnamese nationals in particular must obtain and submit.

Procedures Required When Foreign Nationals of the Three Nationalities Obtain Specified Skilled Worker Status of Residence

For Cambodian Nationals

When a Cambodian national wishes to come to Japan after obtaining Specified Skilled Worker status of residence, they must first obtain a registration certificate from Cambodia’s Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training.

They must also submit that registration certificate to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan when applying for Specified Skilled Worker status.

Issuance of the registration certificate takes approximately two to three business days, and the application procedures must be carried out through a sending organization certified by the Cambodian government.

Even when a Cambodian national already in Japan becomes a Specified Skilled Worker, the registration certificate must still be issued through a certified sending organization.

When concluding an employment contract, for talent in Cambodia the introduction of candidates and conclusion of the employment contract must go through a certified sending organization, but for talent already in Japan the accepting organization may hire and conclude the employment contract directly.

For Thai Nationals

Thai nationals must apply for documents at the Office of Labour Affairs of the Royal Thai Embassy in Japan and submit the authenticated employment contract to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan.

Note that the submission obligation applies only to Thai nationals already in Japan.

When accepting Thai nationals who are in Thailand, there are methods that go through a sending organization and methods that do not. Even when not going through a sending organization, Japanese companies are prohibited under Thai law from visiting Thailand to conduct recruitment activities directly.

Even when hiring Thai nationals in Thailand, documents such as the employment contract that require authentication must be submitted to the Office of Labour Affairs of the Royal Thai Embassy in Japan for authentication.

After that, the authenticated documents must be mailed once to the foreign national in Thailand or the sending organization, and the employment contract and other documents authenticated by the Office of Labour Affairs of the Royal Thai Embassy in Japan must be submitted to the Ministry of Labour of the Kingdom of Thailand to apply for and obtain an exit permit.

When hiring a Thai national already in Japan, the company concludes the employment contract and other documents directly and submits the employment contract signed by the individual and other documents to the Office of Labour Affairs of the Royal Thai Embassy in Japan.

The authenticated employment contract must then be submitted to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan when applying for Specified Skilled Worker status of residence.

In this case, procedures up to obtaining Specified Skilled Worker status of residence go through the Thai Embassy, and if there are corrections or additions to the submitted employment contract or other documents, screening may take more than one month, so procedures must be started with more lead time than for foreign nationals of other nationalities.

For Vietnamese Nationals

When a Vietnamese national obtains Specified Skilled Worker status of residence, they are required to conclude a “labor supply contract” that sets out the industries to be recruited for, the number of workers to be recruited, working conditions, and other matters with a sending organization certified by the Department of Overseas Labour (DOLAB) of Vietnam’s Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

After concluding the labor supply contract, the accepting organization must apply for approval of the labor supply contract to DOLAB through the certified sending organization and obtain DOLAB’s approval.

Candidates matching the job information based on the concluded labor supply contract are recruited, and the accepting organization receives introductions from the certified sending organization and concludes the employment contract for Specified Skilled Worker.

An application for issuance of the Recommendation Letter must also be made to DOLAB through the certified sending organization.

This is a document that has been mandatory for submission to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan when applying for Specified Skilled Worker status of residence on or after February 15, 2021.

Note that Vietnamese nationals already in Japan must also obtain the Recommendation Letter and submit it to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan.

What Is the Recommendation Letter That Vietnamese Nationals Must Obtain

What Is the Recommendation Letter

Under Vietnam’s system, the Recommendation Letter is a document by which the Vietnamese government certifies that a Vietnamese national has completed Vietnam-side procedures for employment overseas.

The Recommendation Letter must be obtained both when inviting a Vietnamese national who is in Vietnam and when employing a Vietnamese national already in Japan.

Procedures for Vietnamese Nationals in Japan to Obtain the Recommendation Letter

Vietnamese nationals in Japan must obtain the Recommendation Letter before applying for Specified Skilled Worker status of residence, but whether submission is required also differs depending on the type of status of residence they currently hold.

Statuses of Residence That Require Submission of the Recommendation Letter and Their Conditions

● Vietnamese nationals holding “Technical Intern Training” status of residence

They must obtain the Recommendation Letter.

Among the documents to submit, particular attention is needed for a “copy of the Technical Intern Training completion certificate or a document certifying completion.” If a certificate of passing the specialized practical skills test taken under Technical Intern Training (ii) or a Technical Intern Training completion certificate has not yet been issued, a free-format statement of expected completion of Technical Intern Training may be substituted.

● Vietnamese nationals holding “Student” status of residence

Vietnamese nationals who have completed or are expected to complete a course of two years or more must obtain the Recommendation Letter.

Those who have completed or are expected to complete a course of less than two years do not need to submit the Recommendation Letter, but they do need a document certifying completion or expected completion of a course of less than two years (such as a graduation certificate).

For Vietnamese nationals who are currently enrolled or who withdrew mid-course, obtaining the Recommendation Letter is not required, but documents certifying enrollment (such as a certificate of enrollment) or documents certifying prior enrollment (such as a withdrawal certificate) are required.

● Vietnamese nationals holding a status of residence other than “Technical Intern Training” or “Student”

Obtaining the Recommendation Letter is not required.

Note that amid the ongoing spread of novel coronavirus infections, many former Vietnamese technical intern trainees have changed their status of residence from “Technical Intern Training” to “Designated Activities.”

Because returning to Vietnam has remained difficult since last year, the number of foreign nationals holding Designated Activities status of residence continues to increase.

Designated Activities is used for various purposes. Among them, the Designated Activities status granted for a six-month period that many former technical intern trainees obtain is operated under the system as something like an extension of Technical Intern Training; however, when a Vietnamese national holding Designated Activities status of residence becomes a Specified Skilled Worker, they do not need to obtain the Recommendation Letter.

Documents Required to Obtain the Recommendation Letter

For a Vietnamese national in Japan to obtain the Recommendation Letter, the following documents must be prepared and submitted to the Embassy of Vietnam in Japan.

Document screening takes approximately one week, so it does not take as long as procedures for Thai nationals, but because documents such as a copy of the residence certificate that only the Vietnamese national themselves can obtain are also required, early preparation is necessary.

● Application for Issuance of Specified Skilled Foreign National Form

● Passport (photo page)

● Specified Skilled Foreign National Form

● Copy of Technical Intern Training completion certificate or document certifying completion

● Copy of residence certificate

● Return envelope

Summary

Obtaining the Recommendation Letter for Vietnamese nationals to acquire Specified Skilled Worker status of residence is not a highly difficult procedure, but application forms and required documents must be prepared in an orderly manner so that Specified Skilled Worker status of residence can be obtained without delay.