The Japanese government on Friday announced that it would establish a new, simplified track for granting special visas to high-income earners and graduates of high-ranking foreign universities.
It said this was necessary as the global race for talented workers intensifies.
The government said the new method for highly-skilled professionals would be implemented in April following a public comment process.
It said for the visa to be approved, foreign researchers and engineers must have an annual income of at least 20 million yen (148,000 U.S. dollars), and a master’s degree or more than 10 years of work experience.
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The government also decided to make it easier for “young people with high potential” to seek jobs in Japan.
A foreigner, who has graduated from a university ranked in the top 100 in two world ranking lists designated by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan within the last five years, will be granted a visa.
The foreigner should at least have 200,000 yen (1,480 U.S. dollars) upon arrival in Japan and will be granted a “designated activities” visa that will enable him or her to stay for up to two years for the purpose of job-seeking.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said that the new system “would recognize expanded preferential treatment to those with top-level abilities.”
