TITP — Technical Intern Training
The general worker route. No degree, no prior Japanese, and a structured three-stage program that ends with a transfer into Specified Skilled Worker if you want to stay on.
TITP Visa
Technical Intern Training sends workers to Japan to learn a trade on the job, through a government-approved sending organization here and a supervising organization there. It is the entry point for candidates who have neither a degree nor a skills test behind them — and, since 2024, it is a system in transition.
This program is being replaced — read this before you apply
A law enacted in June 2024 abolishes Technical Intern Training and replaces it with Employment for Skill Development (Ikusei Shuro), scheduled to launch in 2027 and to have fully taken over by 2030. The new status is designed to fix the criticism of TITP: it lets a worker change employer within the same sector after a set period and a language and skills check, and it is built as a direct bridge into Specified Skilled Worker. Anyone who departs under the current program keeps their status; anyone planning to go from 2027 onwards will be going under the new one. We track the transition and will tell you which system your file will actually fall under.
Who this route is for
General workers
No degree, no skills test and no Japanese yet — the lowest entry bar of the four routes on this site.
Young candidates
18 and over, physically fit, willing to do manual work and to learn a trade properly rather than chase quick money.
SSW candidates who are not ready
If the skills test or N4 is out of reach today, TITP gets you there — and TITP (ii) completion then waives both.
Families sending one earner
A documented, lawful, government-supervised route, with every step on paper.
The three stages
Year one. Arrival, mandatory Japanese and safety training, then supervised work. Ends with a basic-grade skills exam.
Years two and three, after passing the year-one exam. Completing this stage is what qualifies you to transfer into SSW (i) with no further test.
Years four and five, available in approved categories after another exam and a short return home. Takes the total to five years.
Dependants cannot join you on this status. If family matters, SSW type 2 or Engineering is the route to plan for.
What you need to qualify
- 18 years or older.
- Applied through a government-approved sending organization in Bangladesh and accepted by a supervising organization in Japan.
- Pre-departure Japanese language and safety training — normally three to four months, and compulsory.
- No previous technical intern training in Japan.
- Medically fit, with a clean police record.
- A stated intention to take the skill back home — that is what the program is legally for.
Job categories
Around 90 job categories are approved, covering roughly 165 specific operations. The main groups are:
How your file moves
- 1ScreeningTrade, physical fitness and documents checked before anything is promised.
- 2Employer interviewSelection by the Japanese company through its supervising organization.
- 3Pre-departure trainingJapanese language, workplace safety and daily-life orientation at our Dhanmondi center.
- 4Training plan approvalThe supervising organization files the technical intern training plan in Japan.
- 5Certificate of Eligibility and visaFiled in Japan, then the visa at the embassy in Dhaka.
- 6Departure and afterAirport pickup, dormitory, residence card and city hall registration — and, later, guidance on transferring into SSW.
Documents you will be asked for
- Passport
- SSC / HSC certificates, or whatever formal education you hold
- Experience letters for the trade, if you have them
- Pre-departure Japanese and safety training certificate
- Medical fitness certificate and police clearance
- Passport photographs to Japanese specification and a signed training agreement
Discovery arranges the attestation, notarisation and certified translation of every document on this list.
TITP questions
Five years at most, across three stages — one year, then two, then two more. Each stage needs a skills exam pass before you can move to the next.
Under the current program, essentially no — that restriction is the main criticism of TITP and the reason it is being replaced. The new Ikusei Shuro system that replaces it does allow a change of employer within the same sector, subject to conditions.
It is being replaced, not switched off overnight. The law was enacted in 2024 and the changeover runs over several years, with a transition period before TITP closes for good. The exact dates are set by the Japanese government and have already moved once, so ask us for the current position rather than planning around a year you read anywhere. Anyone who has already departed keeps their status. Whether you should wait depends on when your file would realistically be ready — bring it to us and we will work it out honestly.
Yes, and this is the most valuable thing about the route. Completing TITP (ii) lets you transfer into SSW (i) in the matching field without sitting either the skills test or the Japanese test.
You do not need a JLPT certificate, but the pre-departure Japanese and safety training is compulsory, and the interns who cope best are the ones who arrive around N5. We teach that here.
No. Dependants are not permitted on technical intern training. If your family joining you is the goal, plan for SSW type 2 or the Engineering visa instead.
The other routes
Talk to us before you commit
TITP is being replaced. Come to our Dhanmondi center and we will tell you which system your file would actually fall under, and whether SSW is the better route for you.
- Free first counseling session at our Dhanmondi center
- Document processing, attestation and certified translation
- Embassy interview preparation and post-arrival support