Supporting Specified Skilled Worker (i) in-house — what system and labor management run the mandatory support?

In short: A company accepting a Specified Skilled Worker (i) must create a support plan for the worker and carry out the ten items of mandatory support. Doing this yourself, without commissioning a registered support organization, is "in-house support." In-house support has support-system standards: from officers/employees who over the past two years properly accepted or handled the consultations of medium-to-long-term residents (work-status), you must appoint a support supervisor and a support officer (at least one per office) and have a system that carries out support neutrally in a language the worker can sufficiently understand (Article 2-5 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act; Ministry of Justice Ordinance No. 5 of 2019). When you can no longer continue in-house support, you can switch to commissioning a registered support organization. The attendance, wages, work rules, and social insurance that run the support are for a Shakai Hoken Roumushi; agency for residence applications and filing the support plan is for a Gyoseishoshi (application agent) or a registered support organization; the grant/denial decision is for the Immigration Services Agency (each a separate business entity, contracted separately).

"The monthly commission we pay a registered support organization is a burden, so we want to do the support in-house", "what are the requirements to switch to in-house support?" — these are consultations we receive from companies accepting Specified Skilled Workers (i). This page is for HR staff at accepting companies that want to support in-house without commissioning a registered support organization, and it sorts out the system that runs the ten mandatory-support items and how to put its labor management in order. The applicability of a residence status and the outlook for grant or denial are outside the scope of this article (the judgment is made by the Immigration Services Agency).

Which do you choose — in-house support or commissioning a registered support organization?

An accepting organization (specified-skill affiliating organization) for a Specified Skilled Worker (i) has a duty to create a support plan and carry out the support exactly as planned. You may choose whether to do this in-house or commission a registered support organization. If you commission all of the support to a registered support organization, the accepting organization is treated as meeting the support-system standards. To do it in-house (in-house support), you must satisfy the support-system standards in the table below yourself.

	In-house support	Full commission to a registered support organization
Support-system standards	The accepting organization meets them itself	Deemed met by the commission
Commission fee	Not needed (in-house labor cost is needed)	A monthly commission fee per supported worker is needed
Who carries it out	Your own support supervisor and support officer	The registered support organization
When it suits	You have a track record of accepting medium-to-long-term residents and multilingual staff	The track record or language system is not yet in place

Accepting one foreign worker sets three things moving at once: the residence-status application, the labor- and social-insurance filings, and securing housing. The whole picture is sorted out in how many contact points does hiring one foreign worker need. For field-specific labor, see labor management and social insurance for specified skilled workers in care for care, and moving from technical intern training to specified skilled worker for food service and transitions.

What system do you need to run the ten mandatory-support items in-house?

Mandatory support is the ten items that must be built into the support plan and must be carried out. Unlike discretionary support, they cannot be omitted. To run them in-house, you need to decide, as internal roles, who carries out each item, when, and in which language.

The ten mandatory-support items (overview)
(1) Pre-arrival guidance (explaining working conditions, activities, entry procedures, whether a deposit is collected, etc.)	(6) Providing opportunities to learn Japanese
(2) Pick-up and drop-off at entry and departure	(7) Responding to consultations and complaints (in a language they can sufficiently understand)
(3) Support for securing housing and life contracts (bank account, mobile phone, utilities, etc.)	(8) Promoting exchange with Japanese people
(4) Life orientation	(9) Support for finding a new job (when the contract is ended for reasons on the accepting side)
(5) Accompanying to public procedures	(10) Regular interviews (at least once every three months) and reporting to authorities

• For (3) securing housing, if you provide a dormitory, the lease is handled by a real estate company, and if that dormitory falls under a business-attached dormitory of the Labor Standards Act, filing the dormitory rules is also required (filing dormitory rules)
• (7) consultations/complaints and (10) regular interviews presuppose a system that can operate in a language the worker can sufficiently understand
• Record the implementation of support in documents and keep them for at least one year from the end date of the employment contract

Mandatory support is a duty under the immigration system, but the foundation that runs it day to day is labor management — attendance, wage payment, work rules, and social insurance. The remuneration must be equal to or higher than for a Japanese person doing the same work, and proper enrollment in labor and social insurance is also a premise of acceptance.

Who can serve as the support supervisor and support officer? What is the neutrality requirement?

In in-house support, you appoint a support supervisor and a support officer (they may be the same person; at least one per office). You cannot pick just anyone; you must show a system that can carry out support properly. The standard is to appoint them from officers/employees who fall under one of the following.

• (a) Have a track record over the past two years of properly accepting or handling medium-to-long-term residents (work-status only), and are appointed from among officers/employees
• (b) Are appointed from among officers/employees who over the past two years have experience in life consultation, etc., for medium-to-long-term residents
• (c) Are appointed from among officers/employees who can carry out support work properly to the same degree as (a) and (b)

In addition, the support supervisor and support officer must be in a position to carry out the support plan neutrally. The operation guideline explains that a person in a position to direct or supervise the supported foreign worker cannot be said to be in a neutral position (referred as of September 2026). Because they have the role of picking up dissatisfaction and legal violations at regular interviews, the aim is to place someone who can view things with eyes independent of the party concerned. Because the details of these standards may be revised, confirm the latest version in the Immigration Services Agency's specified-skill operation guideline. Labor for recruiting and residence when accepting Chinese-speaking workers is also sorted out in recruiting and residence for Chinese and Taiwanese workers.

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What happens if you can no longer continue in-house support?

A support officer's departure or a change in the system can make you unable to meet the in-house-support standards. Leaving the support-system standards unmet puts you in a state of not properly carrying out the support plan, which also affects subsequent residence applications. When you can no longer continue, you can switch to commissioning all of the support to a registered support organization.

• Switching to a full commission means the accepting organization is treated as meeting the support-system standards
• Filing with the Immigration Services Agency and agency for applications accompanying the commission or a change to the support plan are handled by a Gyoseishoshi (application agent) or a registered support organization
• A Shakai Hoken Roumushi handles putting the attendance, wages, work rules, and social-insurance side in order that accompanies the system change. Each is a separate business entity, contracted separately

Whether to choose in-house support is decided by comparing whether you have the track record and staff against the commission fee and in-house burden. Even after starting, review periodically whether you can maintain the system, and if it becomes difficult, consider switching to a commission early.

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 the design of attendance management and wages (remuneration equal to or higher than for a Japanese person) accompanying acceptance of a Specified Skilled Worker (i), putting work rules in order, application procedures for labor and social insurance, how to keep labor records including regular interviews, and labor responses when the system changes. Creating and filing the Specified Skilled Worker (i) support plan and agency for residence applications are handled by a Gyoseishoshi (application agent) or a registered support organization, and the grant/denial decision by the Immigration Services Agency — each a separate business entity from this office, contracted separately. This office handles the labor-management side. Consultation is free. For fees, see the fee schedule; for frequently asked questions, see the FAQ.

Frequently asked questions

Q. We want to switch to in-house support without commissioning a registered support organization — do we need a qualification?
A. No special qualification is needed, but you must meet the support-system standards. From officers/employees who over the past two years properly accepted or handled medium-to-long-term residents (work-status) or their life consultations, you appoint a support supervisor and a support officer, and you need a system that carries out support neutrally in a language the worker can sufficiently understand (Ministry of Justice Ordinance No. 5 of 2019). Where the track record or language system is not in place, commissioning a registered support organization is realistic.

Q. Can we do only some of the ten mandatory-support items in-house and commission the rest?
A. Support is, in principle, carried out as a whole. If you commission all of the support to a registered support organization, the accepting organization is treated as meeting the support-system standards, but whether and to what extent partial commissioning is possible follows the operation guideline. If items you cannot carry out arise, the support plan lacks proper implementation, so if the system is uncertain, consider a full commission. Confirm the latest treatment in the Immigration Services Agency's operation guideline.

Q. May the support officer be the foreign worker's direct supervisor?
A. The operation guideline explains that a person in a position to direct or supervise the supported foreign worker cannot be said to be in a neutral position. Because they have the role of picking up dissatisfaction and legal violations at regular interviews, the aim is to place someone who can view things with eyes independent of the party concerned. In a small system where only the direct supervisor exists, appoint them after confirming that neutrality can be maintained.

Q. Our support officer has left and we cannot continue in-house support. What should we do?
A. You can switch to commissioning all of the support to a registered support organization. Switching means the accepting organization is treated as meeting the support-system standards. Filing with the Immigration Services Agency and agency for applications accompanying the commission or a support-plan change are handled by a Gyoseishoshi (application agent) or a registered support organization, and putting the labor side — attendance, wages, social insurance — in order is handled by a Shakai Hoken Roumushi (each a separate business entity, contracted separately).

The basis for this article

• Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Cabinet Order No. 319 of 1951) Article 2-5 = provisions on the specified-skill employment contract and the Specified Skilled Worker (i) support plan; the standards ensuring proper implementation of the support plan are delegated to a Ministry of Justice ordinance = confirmed via the e-Gov Law Search (as of September 2026)
• Ordinance Establishing Standards, etc. for the Specified-Skill Employment Contract and the Support Plan for Specified Skilled Worker (i) (Ministry of Justice Ordinance No. 5 of 2019) = support-system standards (appointing a support supervisor and support officer from officers/employees with a track record over the past two years of properly accepting or handling medium-to-long-term residents (work-status), a system for support in a language they can sufficiently understand, keeping support-status documents for at least one year from the end date of the employment contract, etc.)
• Immigration Services Agency "Operation Guideline on the Acceptance of Specified Skilled Foreign Workers" and its supplement (on the standards for the Specified Skilled Worker (i) support plan) = the ten mandatory-support items (pre-arrival guidance / entry-departure pick-up / housing and life-contract support / life orientation / accompanying to public procedures / Japanese-learning opportunities / consultation and complaint response / promoting exchange with Japanese people / job-change support / regular interviews (at least once every three months) and reporting). The figures and treatment may be revised, so confirm the latest version (referred as of September 2026)
• The treatment whereby, if all of the support is commissioned to a registered support organization, the accepting organization is deemed to conform to the support-system standards (the Act and operation guideline)
• Remuneration must be equal to or higher than for a Japanese person doing the same work, and proper enrollment in labor and social insurance is a premise of acceptance (the Act and related laws)

This article does not conclude whether a particular accepting organization conforms to the support-system standards, or the grant or denial of residence applications. The attendance, wages, work rules, and social insurance that run the support are the work of a Shakai Hoken Roumushi. Creating and filing the Specified Skilled Worker (i) support plan and agency for residence applications are the work of a Gyoseishoshi (application agent) or a registered support organization, and the grant/denial decision is that of the Immigration Services Agency (each a separate business entity from this office, contracted 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).