Working in Japan

How to get a job in Japan from Sri Lanka

Plain answers in the order you will ask them, each read from an official page. Start here if you know nothing yet.

What this site does: explains the official route, checks agencies against SLBFE's register, and shows what things really cost. What it does not do: teach Japanese, find you a job, or process visas. For those, we point you to the official places.

1Is Japan for you? The routes that exist

There is no visa for “going to Japan to look for work”. You enter under one of these, and each has its own test, cost and limits.

Route	Who it is for	What you need	How long, and family
Specified Skilled Worker (SSW)Source ↗	Adults with a trade or willing to learn one: care, agriculture, construction, cleaning, driving and more	Age 18 or over. Pass the JFT-Basic (or JLPT N4) and a skills test for your sector, both held in Colombo.	Up to 5 years in total. You cannot bring your family. A second stage (SSW ii) has no limit and allows family, but needs a higher test.
Technical intern, becoming ESDSource ↗	Young people with no tested skill yet, going through the government channel	Today through SLBFE and IM Japan: age 18–30, Japanese at N4 level. Under ESD, A1 Japanese is enough to start.	Three years of paid training that leads to SSW; from Apr 2027 this is the ESD programme. Family cannot come.
Engineer / Specialist (graduates)Source ↗	University graduates in IT, engineering or business	A degree related to the job and a Japanese employer who hires you directly. No language test by law; most employers outside IT expect Japanese.	Renewable work permits. Family can come.
Student visaSource ↗	People who can pay for a Japanese language school	A Certificate of Eligibility from the school and your original O/L and A/L results, shown at the Embassy.	A study route. Work is limited by law and the visa ends with the course.

Careful with the student route. It is sold as a way to work, but it is a way to study. Families have gone into debt for it. Choose it only if you can pay the fees without borrowing against your home.

There is no working-holiday visa for Sri Lankans: Japan has 32 partner countries and Sri Lanka is not one of them (Ministry of Foreign Affairs ↗, April 1, 2026).

From Apr 2027 Japan's Employment for Skill Development (ESD) programme replaces technical intern training for new entrants. Entry needs only A1 Japanese, and Sri Lanka has signed the agreement for it.

Source: mofa.go.jp ↗ · checked October 10, 2026

2What work, and what you earn

Skills tests are held in Sri Lanka for these sectors (SLBFE's list as of Apr 2026):

Nursing care
Agriculture and livestock
Airport ground handling
Accommodation (hotels)
Building cleaning
Construction
Driving
Automobile repair and maintenanceHeld only when a Japanese company requests it

Computer tests run at Australian College of Business & Technology, Colombo 05. The airport ground handling paper test runs at the University of Colombo.

Food service is on hold. Japan stopped issuing new entry certificates for food-service workers from abroad on April 13, 2026 because the sector's quota was full (Immigration Services Agency, checked September 10, 2026; source ↗). Do not pay anyone to prepare you for food service until it reopens.

Pay and conditions

By law an SSW worker's pay must be equal to or higher than a Japanese worker's for the same work (Immigration Services Agency ↗).
In 2025, Specified Skilled Workers earned on average ¥221,400 a month before overtime, tax and rent (Japan's labour ministry wage survey ↗).
Take-home pay depends on rent, deductions and overtime. Nobody can promise you a figure; ask for it in the contract.
SSW (i) is limited to 5 years in total and you cannot bring your family. SSW (ii), which needs a higher test, has no limit and allows family (Immigration Services Agency ↗).

Source: services.slbfe.lk ↗ · checked October 10, 2026

3What you must pass

Japanese: the JFT-Basic (a computer test held about 6 times a year in Colombo, result the same day) or the JLPT N4 (a paper test 2 times a year, results after about 2 months).
Your sector's skills test, also in Colombo. Each sector has its own test and official textbooks.
Nursing care needs a third test, the nursing-care Japanese language evaluation test.
The agriculture test can be taken in Sinhala and Tamil, and construction has Sinhala and Tamil textbooks. The Japanese test itself is in Japanese, with English instructions.

How long it takes to reach the level depends on you and your course. We have no verified figure, and we do not sell courses. Free official materials are listed below.

Upcoming test windows in Colombo

Read the JFT-Basic test guide Try the practice test

Source: lk.emb-japan.go.jp ↗ · checked October 10, 2026

4What it costs

The official fees for the SSW route add up to about LKR 68,727–87,227: SLBFE registration, the tests, the visa and VFS charges.

One licensed agency advertises an SSW package at LKR 1,500,000 (its website ↗). The difference is the agency's own training, service and travel charges. Ask for every item in writing.

Not in that total because SLBFE has not published the amount: the fee for its two-day pre-departure training.

See every fee with its source, and add up yours →

5Who can take you, and who cannot

SLBFE directly. SLBFE's Japan programme page ↗ announces free job opportunities and runs the IM Japan technical intern programme ↗ (age 18–30, flight free).
A licensed agency. 60 agencies are on SLBFE's list of agencies approved to recruit for Japan's technical intern programme and are currently licensed. Check any agency's licence before you pay, and see the Japan list.
From Apr 2027, under ESD, only SLBFE-approved sending organisations may send you, and they may not take more than 2 months' wages from you (the Japan–Sri Lanka agreement ↗).

Signs of a scam

A Japan job promised without a Japanese test and a skills test
“Go on a visit visa, change to a work visa later”
Cash with no receipt, or no written breakdown of fees
A contract with penalty clauses, or one you were not allowed to read in your language
Anyone who keeps your passport or bank book
A name that is not on SLBFE's licence list

Report overcharging or fraud to SLBFE: 1989 from Sri Lanka, or +94 11 2 880 500.

Source: slbfe.lk ↗ · checked October 10, 2026

6The steps, in order

1
Choose your route and sector
Check that the sector is open and that its test is held in Sri Lanka. See SLBFE's Japan page ↗.
2
Learn Japanese and pass the tests
JFT-Basic or JLPT N4, then your sector's skills test. Keep the result notices.
3
Find the job through SLBFE or a licensed agency
Get the fee breakdown in writing before paying anything. The contract must be explained to you before you sign; ask for it in your language and in Japanese.
4
Your employer applies for the Certificate of Eligibility
This happens in Japan, not in Sri Lanka, and you do not pay Japanese immigration for it. We have no verified figure for how long it takes.
5
Apply for the visa through VFS Global in Colombo
The Embassy usually takes 6 working days. A single-entry visa is valid for 3 months from issue. If refused, you can reapply for the same purpose only after 6 months (Embassy of Japan ↗). Bring:
- A passport with at least 2 blank pages, plus your old passports
- The Certificate of Eligibility
- Your NIC, original and copy, with a certified English translation
- Your birth certificate with translation and an affidavit that you have not changed your name; your marriage certificate if married
- The application form with a 4.5 × 3.5 cm photo on a white background
6
Register with SLBFE and do the pre-departure training
Registration is compulsory before you leave: Rs 22,027 for a first registration. Women under 45 also need a Family Background Report. First-time Japan job seekers must complete SLBFE's 2-day training first (SLBFE ↗).
7
Fly, and keep your papers
Keep copies of your contract, payslips and result notices. Save the SLBFE hotline and the Sri Lankan Embassy in Tokyo before you go.

Not confirmed, so not stated here: how long the Certificate of Eligibility takes, and the fee for SLBFE's pre-departure training.

Source: lk.emb-japan.go.jp ↗ · checked October 10, 2026

7Learn, free and official

We do not teach Japanese. These are the Japan Foundation's and the test organisers' own materials.

Where to ask

Not an official site

expathjobs.com is independent. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Japan Foundation, Prometric, JEES or any ministry. Every fact above was read from an official page on the date shown next to it. Rules and fees change: confirm on the official site before you pay.