📑 Visa & Law
How to Switch from Technical Intern Training to Specified Skilled Worker
Transition steps so your 3 years of training don't go to waste
📖 7 min read📅 2026-06-22
"My technical intern training ends in 3 months. But I don't want to go home yet."
Tuan (25) from Hanoi, Vietnam kept repeating those words to himself in October 2024, at an auto parts factory in Aichi. 90 days remained until he completed Technical Intern Training Level 3. Going home would make his family happy — but the skills and Japanese ability he'd built up over 3 years... should they really end here?
A senior coworker — a Vietnamese man who had switched from Technical Intern Training to Specified Skilled Worker Level 1 — told him: "Pass the tests and you're free to change jobs. I switched last year, and my monthly salary went up ¥30,000."
Tuan started preparing the very next day. But he had no idea where to begin.
Application documents in Japanese, how to register for the skills test, the Ministry of Justice website, the cost of the transition application — the more he researched, the more scattered the information felt, and the more his anxiety grew. Another trainee at his workplace was made to redo the application because "documents were missing," delaying his transition by 3 months.
Knowing the steps — or not — can create a 3-month difference. Use the checklist below to work through it one step at a time.
If you've completed Technical Intern Training Level 3 (or Level 2), there's a system that lets you transition to Specified Skilled Worker Level 1 with the skills test and Japanese language test waived (an application to change your residence status to "Specified Skilled Worker Level 1"). Ideally, start your transition application **6 months before** your completion date.
01.Check your completion date — and start moving 6 months ahead
A residence status change application to Specified Skilled Worker Level 1 takes **1–2 months** from submission to the Immigration Services Agency until approval (sometimes 2–3 months during busy periods). Start early enough that approval comes before your Technical Intern Training completion date. Six months before completion is the best timing.
02.Confirm your employer (or your new employer)
Specified Skilled Worker Level 1 is a residence status that requires an employment contract. Check whether your current company can accept Specified Skilled Workers. If they can't, you'll need to move to a company that does. You can find jobs that accept Specified Skilled Workers on GloJob.
03.Check the exemption conditions for the skills test and Japanese language test
If you completed Technical Intern Training Level 2 or 3 in good standing, the **skills test and Japanese language test are waived** within the same industry sector (under the Immigration Control Act enforcement regulations and each sector's ministerial ordinance). To confirm you qualify, check that the sector code on your completion certificate matches the Specified Skilled Worker sector name.
04.Gather the required documents (about 15 types)
Main documents: ① residence status change application form, ② copies of your passport and Residence Card, ③ Technical Intern Training completion certificate, ④ employment contract, ⑤ Specified Skilled Worker employment contract, ⑥ support plan (prepared by a registered support organization), ⑦ proof of health insurance and pension enrollment, ⑧ residency certificate (Juminhyo). Check the full document list on the Immigration Services Agency website, on each sector's page.
05.Engage a registered support organization (cost: ¥10,000–¥30,000/month)
Under Specified Skilled Worker Level 1, employers often outsource the support plan to a **registered support organization (toroku shien kikan)**. These organizations also help with document preparation. The cost is around ¥10,000–¥30,000 per month (usually paid by the company). Not needed if the company handles the support itself.
06.Submit your residence status change application to the Immigration Services Agency
Submit it to the regional immigration bureau with jurisdiction over your address. The application fee is **¥6,000** (paid by revenue stamp; ¥5,500 for online applications). After submission, the standard processing period until your new Residence Card is issued is **1–2 months** (sometimes 2–3 months or more during busy periods). While under review, you can stay in Japan under "Designated Activities (application pending)."
07.After approval: receive your new Residence Card and start your support program
Once your Residence Card says "Specified Skilled Worker Level 1," you're done. A life orientation by the registered support organization (about 8 hours) is mandatory — covering daily life, administrative procedures, and emergency response. After transitioning, you are **free to change jobs** within the same industry sector.
Tuan used this list to prepare his application, and approval came 45 days before his completion date. After transitioning to Specified Skilled Worker Level 1, his monthly salary at the same factory went up ¥28,000. "I'm glad I didn't give up back then," he told us. For how to fill out the application forms and sector-specific requirements, check the Immigration Services Agency's "Specified Skilled Worker" page or ask FRESC.
