Where a JLPT level is required, or rewarded

N1 and N2 earn immigration points that shorten the road to permanent residency. N4 opens the Specified Skilled Worker visa. Here is the full map.

Immigration: the points system and permanent residency

Japan's Highly Skilled Professional (高度専門職) system scores applicants on age, income, education, career and Japanese ability. N1 is worth 15 points and N2 is worth 10 points (a degree from a Japanese university gives another 10, which adds to N1 for 25 but not to N2). Reaching 70 points lets you apply for permanent residency after 3 years instead of 10; 80 points cuts it to 1 year. For many applicants the N1 or N2 certificate is the difference between the 70-point line and a decade-long wait.

The JLPT is not itself a requirement for ordinary permanent residency, but it is the only widely accepted proof of Japanese ability in the points table.

Work visas

• Specified Skilled Worker (特定技能) type 1: JLPT N4 or higher, or the JFT-Basic at A2, plus the industry skills test. Care work additionally needs the nursing-care Japanese test.
• Nursing care (介護) residence status: graduates of Japanese care-worker programmes; N4-level Japanese is the entry bar for the training route, with N3 expected in practice by employers.
• EPA nurses and care workers (Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam): N3 or higher shortens or waives pre-arrival training; candidates then sit the national exam in Japanese.
• Doctors, dentists, nurses and other licensed medical professions: the national examinations are in Japanese and the Ministry of Health requires N1 before foreign-qualified applicants may sit them.
• Fourth-generation Japanese descendants (特定活動): N4 to enter, N3 to extend the stay beyond the initial period.

Study

• Japanese universities: undergraduate admission normally requires N1 or N2, or an EJU Japanese score; many graduate programmes taught in Japanese ask for N1.
• Vocational schools (専門学校): N2, or 6 months at a Japanese language school with attendance records, is the standard entry condition.
• Japanese language schools: N5 (or 150 hours of study) is enough for a student visa at most schools.
• MEXT and JASSO scholarships: a JLPT level is often a selection criterion or gives extra points.

Employment

• N2 is the line most Japanese companies draw for office roles, and the level recruiters filter CVs on.
• N1 is expected for client-facing, legal, HR and government-related work, and by the large trading and consulting firms.
• N3 is common for part-time and service jobs, factory leads and hotel front desks.
• Some employers accept the BJT (Business Japanese Test) or JFT-Basic instead; the JLPT remains the certificate most HR departments recognise on sight.

Other uses

• Preferential treatment in Japan: N1 holders get points for the Highly Skilled Professional visa (above); some prefectures and municipalities use N1 or N2 as a condition for public-sector jobs open to foreign nationals.
• Overseas: Japanese companies abroad, tourism boards and translation agencies use N1 and N2 as hiring benchmarks.

Visa and licensing rules are set by the Immigration Services Agency and the relevant ministries and change with little notice. Confirm current conditions with the authority concerned before relying on a level. Checked in October 2026.