Visa information
Specified Skilled Worker: Nursing Care (介護)
This guide covers the three tests for Japan's Specified Skilled Worker nursing-care field (Japanese, nursing-care skills, and nursing-care Japanese), direct-employment requirements, hiring capacity against the acceptance cap, and the long-term Certified Care Worker path from a care-facility hiring perspective.
Japan
At a glance
- Field
- Nursing care (long-term care and care services)
- Examinations
- Japanese-language test + 介護技能評価試験 + 介護日本語評価試験; all three must be passed
- Employment model
- Direct employment only; dispatch is not permitted
- Acceptance cap
- 126,900 people (under the operational policy in the January 2026 Cabinet decision)
- Long-term path
- Pass the national Certified Care Worker examination → residence status "Care" (long-term stay and family accompaniment)
Frequently asked questions
Why are there three examinations in the nursing-care field?
Other fields have two tests, a Japanese-language test and a skills test. Nursing care adds the 介護日本語評価試験 (nursing-care Japanese) because communication in care settings is important. All three—the Japanese-language, nursing-care skills, and nursing-care Japanese tests—must be passed.
There is no Specified Skilled Worker No. 2 for nursing care. What happens after five years?
Nursing care has a separate "Care" residence status instead of No. 2. A worker who works under Specified Skilled Worker No. 1 and passes the national Certified Care Worker examination can move to "Care," enabling long-term residence and family accompaniment. For facilities, this is a settlement path looking beyond five years.
Can we receive workers through a dispatch arrangement?
Only direct employment is permitted in nursing care; dispatch is not recognized. The facility must conclude a direct employment contract as the accepting organization and put a mandatory support system in place.
Are workers from Nepal actively taking the nursing-care examinations?
Nepal has a sufficient number of examinees to be reported as a separate category in the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's monthly test results. The nursing-care skills-test pass rate is generally in the 70% range, while nursing-care Japanese varies by test session (based on MHLW publications for 2025–2026).
Related visas and systems
Visa schemes and figures may change in line with government notices and Cabinet decisions. This page provides general information as of the date of writing; please contact us to confirm the requirements that apply to your company and the latest criteria.
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