Engineering Visa
Japan's main professional work visa. Its full name is Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services — one status of residence covering technical, humanities and international roles.
Engineering Visa
This is the visa most Bangladeshi graduates should be aiming at. There is no quota, no sector list and no maximum stay — but there is one hard rule that decides almost every case: what you studied has to match what you will actually do in Japan. A computer science graduate hired as a software engineer is straightforward. The same graduate hired to work on a production line is not, and will be refused.
Who this route is for
Engineering graduates
BSc in computer, electrical, mechanical, civil, electronics or industrial engineering with a job offer in the same discipline.
IT professionals
Developers, network and infrastructure engineers, QA and data specialists — the largest single group on this status.
Humanities graduates
Business, accounting, economics, law and marketing graduates in planning, sales, finance or HR roles.
International services roles
Translation, interpreting, language teaching, overseas trade and design. Three years' experience is enough here instead of ten.
How long it runs
5 years, 3 years, 1 year or 3 months — decided by immigration from your employer's size and your contract.
No maximum. The status renews for as long as you hold a qualifying job.
Spouse and children can join you on a Dependent visa and may work part time with permission.
Normally 10 years of residence; a Highly Skilled Professional points score can shorten that considerably.
Allowed within the same field. You notify immigration within 14 days — you do not restart the visa.
What you need to qualify
- A completed bachelor's degree — a four-year program, or a Japanese senmon gakko diploma (専門士).
- Your major must be related to the work you are hired to do. This is the requirement that decides most cases.
- A job offer and employment contract from a company in Japan.
- Ten years of documented practical experience can replace the degree; for international-services roles such as translation or language teaching, three years is enough.
- A salary at least equal to what a Japanese national would be paid for the same job.
- Professional, not manual, work. Factory line, construction and general labouring roles belong on SSW or TITP, not here.
Typical approved job titles
Not an official list — these are the roles Bangladeshi applicants are most often approved for on this status.
How your file moves
- 1Degree and job match checkWe read your transcript against the job description first. If they do not match, we say so before you spend anything.
- 2Japanese languageNot legally required, but N4–N2 is what turns a CV into an interview at most Japanese employers.
- 3CV and interview preparationJapanese-format rirekisho, plus online interview practice.
- 4Job offer and contractSigned contract with the salary and the job description immigration will read.
- 5Certificate of EligibilityFiled in Japan by your employer. Roughly one to three months.
- 6Embassy visa and landingVisa in Dhaka, then residence card, city hall registration, bank account and accommodation on arrival.
Documents you will be asked for
- Passport
- Degree certificate and full academic transcript
- Detailed CV with dates that match your certificates
- Employment contract and job description from the Japanese company
- Experience letters, if you are qualifying on experience instead of a degree
- JLPT certificate if you hold one, and a passport photograph to Japanese specification
Discovery arranges the attestation, notarisation and certified translation of every document on this list.
Engineering visa questions
A completed bachelor's degree is the core requirement, yes — but on its own it is not enough. The degree has to be related to the job you are hired for, and you need a real job offer from a company in Japan. Graduation opens the door; the match between your subject and the work is what gets you through it.
Legally, no. Practically, it decides whether you get hired. Most employers outside a handful of English-speaking IT firms interview in Japanese, so we push Engineering candidates to N4 at the very least, and to N2 if they want a real choice of offers.
Then this is not your route, and applying anyway is how a file gets refused. The honest alternatives are Specified Skilled Worker, or a Japanese vocational college that gives you a matching qualification first. We will tell you which one fits.
Yes. Spouse and children can apply for a Dependent visa, and your spouse can work part time once they have the separate permission. This is one of the biggest differences between Engineering and SSW type 1.
Yes, as long as the new job is still within the scope of the status. You notify immigration within 14 days of leaving and of joining. Moving to work outside the scope — manual labour, for example — is not permitted and puts your status at risk.
Check whether your degree qualifies
Bring your transcript to our Dhanmondi center. We will read it against the roles Japanese employers are hiring for right now and tell you plainly where you stand.
- Free first counseling session at our Dhanmondi center
- Document processing, attestation and certified translation
- Embassy interview preparation and post-arrival support