Japan HSP points calculator 2026

Sources checked: 2026-11-08.

For the other ways to move to Japan, start with Japan visa requirements 2026. This page covers the points visa only.

Enter your details below to count your points against the official table. The sections under the calculator explain each item, the document that proves it, and the traps the Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA) warns about in its own Q&A.

Calculator

Japan HSP points calculator

Your points under the official table, line by line, with the document that proves each line. Rules as of 8 November 2026. Your answers stay on this page and in its link: nothing is sent or saved.

1. Your kind of work

Each type has its own table. Most engineers and office professionals are 1(b).

1(b): Specialized or technical workWork that needs specialist knowledge in natural sciences or humanities, such as an engineer or a lawyer (Q&A 22). 1(a): Academic researchResearch, research guidance or teaching under a contract with a Japanese organisation (Q&A 20). 1(c): Business managementRunning or managing a business, such as a company executive or a department manager (Q&A 25, 26).

2. Degrees you hold

Tick all that apply. The highest one counts.

Doctorate Business management professional degree (MBA, MOT)From a business school, in Japan or abroad. Master's or professional degree University degree or equivalentJunior college, kosen and "kodo senmonshi" count; "senmonshi" does not. My postgraduate degrees are in two or more different fieldsDoctorate, master's or professional degrees only; a bachelor's does not count.

3. Experience in the work you will do

Up to today. Only the same kind of work as your job in Japan counts, and each employer must confirm it in a letter.

Years Months

I will keep doing this kind of workExperience then keeps growing in the future-date check below.

4. Annual pay in this job

Yen per year, before tax

What counts as annual pay

The pay you are expected to receive in this job, not what you earned before. Bonuses count. Overtime pay does not count, at renewal either. Non-taxable commuting, family and housing allowances do not count. If you transfer from an overseas office and it pays you, that pay counts (Q&A 7, 8, 9; proof list item 3).

5. Date of birth

Date of birth

Age gives points and decides the lowest pay that counts: from 30, 35 and 40 that floor rises.

6. Japanese

No test passed JLPT N2, or BJT 400 to 479 JLPT N1, or BJT 480 or more Degree from a foreign university, majoring in JapaneseCounts the same as N1, no test needed.

I graduated from a Japanese university or completed a Japanese graduate school, with a degreeWith this, N2 adds nothing, but N1 still adds 15. My university is on ISA's listRanked (list), Top Global University Project (list) or Innovative Asia partner (list). A Japanese university needs to be ranked in just one ranking.

7. Research achievements

One or more give 15 in total.

A patented invention with you as inventorThree or more research projects funded by a foreign governmentThree or more papers in listed databases, as corresponding authorScopus, Web of Science or PubMed. ISA's one-page table also accepts first author by contribution.Another achievement the Minister recognises (such as a major award)

8. Qualifications related to your work

Two of one kind, or one each of two kinds, give 10. One gives 5. The IT notice lists exams such as the Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination (IT notice).

Japanese national qualifications None12 or more IT notice exams passed None12 or more IT notice qualifications held None12 or more

9. Your employer and other extras

Ask HR about the first four: many people qualify without knowing.

My employer receives an innovation support measure on ISA's listList of measures. 10 points, or 20 for a small or medium-sized company. My employer is a small or medium-sized companyManufacturing and most industries: capital up to 300 million yen or up to 300 employees. Wholesale: 100 million or 100. Retail: 50 million or 50. Services: 50 million or 100 (Q&A 13). It spent more than 3% of revenue on R&D last business yearSmall or medium-sized companies only. My employer gets local-government support for hiring foreign professionalsList of measures I work on a growth-field project on ISA's listList of projects I work in a designated financial business (investment management and similar) I hold a foreign qualification or award on ISA's listList. Not if it already counted under research or qualifications. I completed JICA Innovative Asia training of 1 year or more

Your result

0 points

70

80

Type 1(b), specialized or technical work. Pass mark 70, plus annual pay of at least 3,000,000 yen.

Not yet: 70 points short of 70, and pay must be at least 3,000,000 yen.

Cheapest next points

Every change that would add points to your answers, the easiest first.

Permanent residence: your score on a future date

Age and experience change with time, so the score on the day you apply can differ from today's.

Date you might apply

In 1 year In 3 years

Annual pay for that period (leave empty to use today's)

Living in Japan continuously since (optional)

Documents to prepare

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The calculator gives an estimate, not legal advice. ISA decides each case, so check your score against ISA’s official points table before you apply.

What is Japan’s Highly Skilled Professional visa?

The Highly Skilled Professional visa (高度専門職, kodo senmonshoku) is a work status for people who score 70 points or more on a table of education, experience, pay, age and bonus items. In return, ISA gives faster processing and a shorter path to permanent residence (ISA HSP Q&A, as of April 2026).

There are three types, each with its own points table:

What the status gives you, according to the same Q&A (question 3):

• A 5-year stay every time it is granted.
• Fast decisions: ISA aims to decide entry applications within 10 days and changes or renewals within 5 days, when the documents are complete.
• Permanent residence after 1 or 3 years, explained below.
• Family: a spouse can work full time in listed fields without the usual degree rules, if you live together and the pay matches what a Japanese worker would get. A parent can join to care for a child under 7, and a domestic worker can join, each with a household pay floor (8,000,000 and 10,000,000 yen).

After 3 years on type 1, you can move to type 2 (高度専門職2号, kodo senmonshoku nigo), whose stay has no time limit (Q&A, questions 3 and 27).

At the end of June 2026, 34,474 people held HSP status, 24,257 of them in type 1(b), according to ISA’s residence statistics for that date. Every other status is counted in Japan visa statistics 2026.

A separate route, J-Skip (特別高度人材, tokubetsu kodo jinzai), started in April 2023 and uses no points. Types 1(a) and 1(b) need a master’s degree or 10 years of experience, plus annual pay of 20,000,000 yen or more. Type 1(c) needs 5 years of management experience plus 40,000,000 yen (ISA J-Skip page).

How do HSP points work?

You add the points for every item you can prove. The pass mark is 70 for all three types (HSP points ordinance, ISA copy).

• Pay floor: types 1(b) and 1(c) also need annual pay of 3,000,000 yen or more. Below that, even 70 points fail (Q&A, question 12).
• You score yourself: you submit a points calculation sheet you fill in, with proof for each item you claim (Q&A, question 42).
• Proof only to 70: you only need documents for enough items to reach 70 (ISA proof-document list).
• When it counts: your score is judged on the decision date. If you met it on the day you applied, ISA treats you as meeting it on the decision date (ordinance, article 1, paragraph 2).
• After approval: falling below 70 later does not end your status, but you need 70 again to renew (Q&A, questions 10 and 11).

This guide uses the type 1(b) table, the one most office and IT workers use.

What does each calculator input mean, and which document proves it?

Each input below shows its points in type 1(b), what ISA counts, and the proof from ISA’s proof-document list.

Education (only your highest degree counts)

• Bachelor-level: a junior college degree, a technical college (高専, kosen) and an advanced vocational diploma (高度専門士, kodo senmonshi) count. An ordinary vocational diploma (専門士, senmonshi) does not (Q&A, question 4).
• MBA: a foreign MBA or MOT counts when it matches a Japanese professional business degree (question 6).
• The +5: needs two doctorates, master’s or professional degrees; a bachelor’s does not count. ISA may ask for transcripts to see the majors differ (question 5).
• Proof: graduation certificate and degree certificate.

Work experience in the kind of work you will do in Japan

• Proof: a letter from each employer stating your dates and duties.

Annual pay (yen a year)

• Expected pay: ISA counts the pay you will receive in the HSP job, never last year’s pay (proof list, item 3).
• In: base pay, bonuses and work allowances (Q&A, questions 7 and 8).
• Out: overtime pay, even at renewal, and non-taxable commuting, family and housing allowances (question 7).
• Transfers: if you move from an overseas office and the overseas company pays you, that pay counts (question 9).
• Proof: a document showing your expected annual pay.

Age

Research: 15 points in total for one or more of these four (ordinance):

• a patented invention with you as inventor (proof: patent certificate with your name);
• 3 or more research projects funded by a foreign government (proof: grant decision letters with your name);
• 3 or more papers in journals listed in an academic database, as corresponding author (proof: a list with title, authors, journal, volume, pages and year). ISA checks papers in Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed (Q&A, question 21);
• other research the Minister of Justice recognizes as equal.

Qualifications: 5 points for one, 10 for two or more. They count when they relate to your job and are either Japanese national qualifications that restrict a job or title to holders (lawyer, doctor, certified public accountant, professional engineer) or IT exams and qualifications on ISA’s IT list (Q&A, question 23). Proof: a copy of each certificate.

Which bonus points can you add for HSP?

Bonus items add to the six items above. In type 1(b), these are the bonuses and their points (ordinance):

BJT means the Business Japanese Proficiency Test.

• ISA’s university list: a foreign university in the top 300 of at least two of the QS, THE and Shanghai rankings, a Japanese university in any one of them, a Top Global University Project school, or an Innovative Asia partner school. These routes give 10 once, and they stack with the Japanese-degree 10 (Q&A, question 18). The ranking-based list on ISA’s points page is dated October 2026.
• Small or mid-sized firm: defined by capital or staff under Japan’s SME law, for example capital of 300 million yen or less, or 300 staff or fewer, in manufacturing (Q&A, question 13).
• Proof: copies of subsidy or approval notices for employer bonuses; company capital or staff records for the firm size; financial statements or a certificate from a tax accountant, certified public accountant or SME consultant for the 3% item; the ISA or ministry page listing your university plus your degree certificate; the JICA completion certificate.

How do JLPT N1 and N2 points work for HSP?

JLPT N1 gives 15 points and N2 gives 10. N2 points are never added on top of a Japanese degree or N1-level points (Q&A, question 16).

The last three rows follow from the ordinance: the Japanese degree and N1 are separate bonuses that stack, and N2 drops out when either is counted. BJT 480 or more counts as N1 level and 400 or more as N2 level (Q&A, questions 15 and 16).

Our view: for many applicants, Japanese is the item most within their control. Age points only fall, pay depends on the employer, and degrees are finished. Moving from N2 to N1 adds 5 points for most applicants, and 15 for anyone counting a Japanese degree, because N2 counts for nothing next to it.

For the Japanese level each visa asks for, see Japan work visa requirements in 2026. Koboshi is a vocabulary app for people already studying: it saves the words you meet in N1 practice and brings them back for review.

What mistakes does ISA’s own HSP Q&A warn about?

These come from ISA’s HSP Q&A, as of April 2026 and its proof list:

• Counting overtime or non-taxable allowances as pay. ISA counts neither (question 7).
• Entering last year’s pay. ISA reads the pay you will receive in the HSP job (proof list, item 3).
• Counting a vocational diploma (専門士) as a degree. It earns no education points (question 4).
• Adding N2 on top of a Japanese degree or N1. N2 drops out (question 16).
• Counting the university lists twice. The three university routes give 10 once (question 18).
• Counting research items one by one. Type 1(b) gives 15 in total (ordinance).
• Applying at an embassy without a Certificate of Eligibility (在留資格認定証明書, zairyu shikaku nintei shomeisho). No HSP visa is issued without it (question 43).
• Changing employer without a new application. HSP type 1 is tied to your employer, so a new job needs a change of status application and a notification to ISA (question 49).
• Assuming the family gets the 1-year permanent residence route. It covers the HSP holder only (question 41).

Why does your HSP score change over time?

Age points fall at 30, 35 and 40, and lower pay bands stop counting at the same birthdays. Experience points rise as you work. So the same job and the same pay give a different score each year.

Example: an IT engineer aged 29, with a master’s from outside Japan, 3 years of experience, annual pay of 6,000,000 yen and JLPT N2, staying in the same kind of work at the same pay.

Each score is the sum of the ordinance points for that row. With N1 instead of N2, every score rises by 5: 75, 70, 75, 75 and 55. So the year you apply matters: at 30, this engineer needs N1, higher pay or a bonus to reach 70.

How does HSP shorten the wait for permanent residence?

The standard path to permanent residence (永住, eiju) needs 10 years in Japan, 5 of them on a work or residence status. HSP cuts that to 3 years at 70 points and 1 year at 80 points. Which version of ISA’s permanent residence guideline applies depends on when you file (ISA notice, 2026-10-01): the version revised 2026-02-24 for applications filed up to 2027-03-31, and the version revised 2026-10-01 from 2027-04-01. Both use the same wording for the HSP routes.

“For the past 3 years” can be met in two ways (guideline items 2(6) ア and イ): you lived in Japan for 3 years as an HSP holder keeping the required points, or you would have scored 70 when your points are recalculated at the date 3 years before your application and you have held 70 or more for 3 years without a break (「３年以上継続して７０点以上の点数を有し」). The 80-point route works the same way over 1 year (item 2(7)). ISA’s HSP Q&A (question 3) describes the second way more loosely, without “without a break”; the guideline is the rule ISA applies, so plan on the stricter wording.

• Score on the day: your points are counted again on the application date, with your age and pay on that day.
• The engineer above: applying at 32 fails the 3-year route, because the score fell to 65 for the year at 30, which breaks the 3 years. The first age with 3 unbroken years at 70 or more is 34. The calculator above shows this for your own dates. If your score ever dipped below 70, confirm your route with ISA before you apply.
• Family: the 1-year route covers the HSP holder only; a spouse and children are not included (Q&A, question 41).
• Japanese: from 2027-04-01, permanent residence applications consider Japanese at B1 level or above. HSP holders on these routes and their families are exempt (permanent residence guideline). As a reference, JLPT score reports since December 2025 show B1 or higher for an N3 pass at 104 points or more and for any N2 or N1 pass (JLPT CEFR reference).

How much do HSP and permanent residence applications cost from 2026-10-01?

Fees for a change of status or a renewal now depend on the length of stay granted. HSP type 1 is always granted 5 years (Q&A, question 3), so it falls in the most expensive band (ISA fee leaflet).

• Shorter stays cost less: from 10,000 yen at the counter for 3 months or less.
• Online payment adds a separate payment fee.
• Old fee: applications received by 2026-09-30 pay the old fee, even if approved later.
• Hardship: ISA may reduce the fee for people in serious financial need, on humanitarian grounds.

Before you apply: This page is general information, not legal advice. Meeting the points does not guarantee a visa; ISA decides each case. Rules change, so recount your points on ISA’s points page on the day you apply. For your own case, ask a lawyer registered in Japan (弁護士, bengoshi) or an administrative scrivener approved to file immigration applications (申請取次行政書士, shinsei toritsugi gyoseishoshi). Sources last checked: 2026-11-08.