Bringing Local Employees from Overseas Branches to Japan/Japan Immigration Support for HR

1. Two Main Transfer Options

For companies with overseas operations, there are two primary ways to bring local employees to Japan. The first is for the Japanese entity to directly hire the employee under a work-eligible status of residence such as the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services Visa. The second is to transfer the employee under the Intra-Company Transferee Visa, based on a secondment agreement or transfer order between affiliated companies.

2. Direct Employment Transfer

When the Japanese company directly employs the individual, the applicable status of residence will be “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services.” The procedures are essentially the same as those for standard foreign hires. If the employee is relocating from overseas, the company must apply for a Certificate of Eligibility (COE).

For details on the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa, please refer to the page below:

Obtaining an Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services Visa

This is the most common visa category among Japan’s 15 types of work visas.

3. Intra-Company Transferee Transfer

If the employee is relocating to Japan as part of an internal transfer within a related company, the applicable status of residence will be the “Intra-Company Transferee Visa.” Unlike direct employment, this framework is treated as a temporary personnel transfer, and certain requirements—such as specific academic background—are relaxed in the application process.

For more details on the Intra-Company Transferee Visa, please refer to the page below:

What Is an Intra-Company Transferee Visa?

The Intra-Company Transferee Visa is typically required when transferring an employee from an overseas headquarters to a branch or office in Japan.