Labor and social insurance when hiring a highly skilled foreign professional (IT engineer)

In short: Even if you hire an IT engineer under the Highly Skilled Professional or the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services status, the labor and social insurance treatment is the same as for a Japanese national. As long as the person is continuously employed at a covered workplace, regardless of nationality or residence status, they become an insured person under health insurance and employees' pension (accident insurance covers everyone; employment insurance applies if the requirements are met), and premiums are deducted from pay. Double coverage with the home country's system can be adjusted, through a certificate of coverage, only with a country that has concluded a social security agreement with Japan. Notice of working conditions in Japanese satisfies the law, but showing it in a language the person can understand is safer in practice. This article sets out, from a Shakai Hoken Roumushi's viewpoint, the key points of labor and social insurance for HR staff hiring highly skilled foreign professionals and IT engineers, and for the individuals themselves.

"Since they are highly skilled, don't they skip social insurance?" "Do they pay pension twice, home and here?" "Do we have to make the employment contract in English or Chinese?" — these are questions we often hear from companies hiring foreign engineers. This page focuses not on the residence-status application itself but on the working conditions, social insurance and pay design after hiring. Judging whether a status applies or is likely to be granted is outside its scope.

Do highly skilled professionals and engineers always join social insurance?

In principle they do. Health insurance and employees' pension make an insured person of anyone continuously employed at a covered workplace, regardless of nationality or the type of residence status. You cannot treat someone as not joining because they are a highly skilled professional or because their stay is expected to be short.

Insurance	Treatment of highly skilled people / IT engineers
Workers' accident insurance	All workers are covered (regardless of nationality or status)
Employment insurance	Joins with prescribed working hours of 20 a week or more and an expected employment of 31 days or more
Health insurance / employees' pension	A regular employee continuously employed at a covered workplace joins in principle; for short hours, judged by the three-quarters rule and the specified-workplace requirements

When you hire a foreign national, you must also file a notification of the foreign national's employment status with Hello Work. The form and deadline vary with the residence status and whether the person joins employment insurance. For the whole picture of how the windows divide by qualification, see how many windows are needed to hire one foreign national.

How do you prevent double coverage with the home country's social security?

Double coverage can be adjusted only with a country that has concluded a social security agreement with Japan. A person sent temporarily from a country with an agreement may continue in the sending country's system and be exempt from Japan's system in some cases. The proof of this is the certificate of coverage issued by the sending country.

• Temporary posting (in principle within 5 years): where the person is temporarily posted from an agreement partner to a Japanese workplace, a certificate of coverage may exempt them from Japan's system
• Local hire (directly employed by the Japanese entity): as this is not a posting, they join Japan's system in principle
• Aggregation of periods: depending on the agreement, the pension periods of both countries can be aggregated to judge eligibility

Which systems an agreement covers (pension only, or medical too) and whether periods can be aggregated differ by country. For example, the agreement with China is limited to pension and has no provision to aggregate periods. For a fuller treatment of the mechanism, see adjusting double coverage under a social security agreement for a China posting; for the pension of an employee who resigns and returns home, see what happens to the pension of an employee returning home. For the current list of agreement partners and covered systems, check the materials published by the Japan Pension Service.

To what extent must the notice of working conditions be in a foreign language?

Notice of working conditions (Labor Standards Act, Article 15; Enforcement Regulations, Article 5) satisfies the legal duty if given in Japanese; there is no duty to prepare it in a foreign language. However, if the person starts work without understanding the content, a later mismatch of understanding becomes the seed of a dispute. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare recommends notice in a language the person can understand and publishes multilingual model notices of working conditions.

From April 2024, the items to be shown increased. For all labor contracts you must show the scope of change to the workplace and duties; for fixed-term contracts you must show the renewal cap and the opportunity for conversion to open-ended employment. For notice in the mother tongue to foreign workers and the details of the reform, see notice of working conditions to foreign workers and mother-tongue handling. For social insurance when receiving people through an intra-company transfer or secondment, see social insurance for foreign nationals received by intra-company transfer or secondment.

In pay and allowance design, is there anything that affects the residence status?

Yes. Under the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services and the Highly Skilled Professional statuses, the remuneration must be "equal to or higher than what a Japanese national would receive for the same work." Setting pay lower than a Japanese national's can affect whether the status applies or is renewed.

Point	What the labor / social-insurance side looks at
Remuneration level	Is it equal to or above a comparable Japanese national's? Is the make-up of base pay and allowances clear?
Nature of allowances	Are commuting, housing or in-kind allowances counted into the standard remuneration?
Bonus / variable pay	Treatment of inclusion in the base for social insurance premiums and premium wages

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However, whether that remuneration level meets the status criteria and whether it is granted is judged by the Immigration Services Agency, and the application is the work of a Gyoseishoshi. What a Shakai Hoken Roumushi handles is the wage design as a working condition, the calculation of the standard monthly remuneration, and the social and employment insurance procedures. The division of roles is set out in the next section.

Who handles the residence status, the labor and the social insurance?

In hiring highly skilled people, the residence status, labor and tax responsibilities divide by qualification.

What is done	Whose responsibility
Notice of working conditions, work rules, joining and notifying social and employment insurance, payroll, standard-remuneration calculation	Shakai Hoken Roumushi (this office)
Application for certification, change or renewal of the residence status; checking the point calculation	Gyoseishoshi (application agent)
Income tax, application of tax treaties, year-end adjustment	Tax accountant
An individual labor dispute; judging whether a dismissal is possible	Attorney

Working conditions and social-insurance procedures are the work of a Shakai Hoken Roumushi. The residence-status application is for a Gyoseishoshi, and income tax and tax treaties are the field of a tax accountant — each is an independent entity and you contract with them separately. Even when this office refers you to another entity, there is no referral fee. This article does not make concrete legal judgments such as whether a status applies or is likely to be granted.

What can 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 do?

四葉社会保険労務士事務所, in Kohinata, Bunkyo City, handles designing and giving notice of working conditions for highly skilled people and IT engineers, work rules, joining and notifying social and employment insurance, calculating the standard monthly remuneration, payroll, and the practice of applying for a certificate of coverage under a social security agreement. We also handle consultations in Chinese (traditional and simplified). Consultation is free. For fees, see the fee schedule; for frequently asked questions, see the FAQ.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Do highly skilled foreign professionals need to join social insurance?
A. In principle yes. Health insurance and employees' pension make an insured person of anyone continuously employed at a covered workplace, regardless of nationality or the type of residence status. Workers' accident insurance covers everyone, and employment insurance is joined with 20 hours or more a week and an expected employment of 31 days or more. You cannot exclude them because they are highly skilled or short-term.

Q. How do you prevent double coverage between the home country's and Japan's pension?
A. It can be adjusted only with a country that has a social security agreement with Japan. A person temporarily posted from an agreement partner may be exempt from Japan's system with a certificate of coverage issued by the sending country. Which systems are covered and whether periods aggregate differ by country, and a person directly hired locally by the Japanese entity joins Japan's system in principle.

Q. Must the employment contract be made in English or Chinese?
A. Legally, giving notice in Japanese satisfies the duty, and there is no duty to prepare it in a foreign language. But showing it in a language the person understands is safer in practice, and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare publishes multilingual model notices of working conditions. From April 2024, you must also show the scope of change, the renewal cap and the conversion opportunity.

Q. Does setting pay lower than a Japanese national's affect the residence status?
A. It can. Under the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services and the Highly Skilled Professional statuses, remuneration equal to or above a Japanese national's for the same work is required. But whether the criteria are met and whether it is granted is judged by the Immigration Services Agency, and the application is the work of a Gyoseishoshi. A Shakai Hoken Roumushi handles the wage design as a working condition and the social-insurance procedures.

Sources

• Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Cabinet Order No. 319 of 1951), Appended Table I-2 (Highly Skilled Professional) and Appended Table I-5 etc. (Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services). The Highly Skilled Professional uses a point system, and remuneration equal to or above a Japanese national's is included in the status criteria (whether it applies or is granted is judged by the Immigration Services Agency)
• Health Insurance Act, Employees' Pension Insurance Act = a person continuously employed at a covered workplace is an insured person regardless of nationality or status; short-time workers are judged by the three-quarters rule and the specified-workplace requirements
• Workers' Accident Compensation Insurance Act = all workers are covered regardless of nationality or status; Employment Insurance Act = an insured person with prescribed working hours of 20 a week or more and an expected employment of 31 days or more
• Social security agreements = prevention of double coverage (certificate of coverage) and aggregation of periods. Covered systems and whether periods aggregate differ by country (the agreement with China is pension only, with no provision to aggregate periods). The agreement partners in force and the covered systems are confirmed from materials published by the Japan Pension Service (referenced September 2026)
• Labor Standards Act, Article 15 and Enforcement Regulations Article 5 (notice of working conditions). From April 2024, the scope of change to the workplace and duties, the renewal cap of fixed-term contracts, and the opportunity for conversion to open-ended employment were added. Notice in a foreign language is not a duty, but the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare publishes multilingual model notices of working conditions (referenced September 2026)

This article does not decide whom to consult. Working conditions and the social and employment insurance procedures are the work of a Shakai Hoken Roumushi; the residence-status application is the work of a Gyoseishoshi; income tax and tax treaties are the field of a tax accountant; and an individual labor dispute is the work of an attorney — each is an independent entity and you contract with them separately. For fees when consulting 四葉社会保険労務士事務所, see the fee schedule; for frequently asked questions, see the FAQ.

This article is general information. A judgment on individual circumstances is made by a qualified professional after a consultation. Written by Joji Uramatsu (Shakai Hoken Roumushi, Gyoseishoshi, Registered Real Estate Transaction Specialist).