HSP Status: Points, Tracks, and the PR Path

An example points calculation for the HSP work track: 10 years of experience plus a salary of 10+ million yen = 60 points; +10 for a bachelor's degree = 70; +5 for age = 75. Japanese-language ability at N1 level adds further points (a figure of 15 was mentioned, though numbers varied in discussion). A master's degree adds +15 points (a Russian "specialist" degree is sometimes recognized as equivalent to a master's — roughly 50/50 odds, and a clarifying certificate is needed). Two simple 国家資格 (national qualifications, e.g., Financial Planner, IT Passport) add 10 points, one adds 5. On the management/BM track, age does not affect points, unlike other tracks. A director's income for base points starts at 10 million yen per year, with further points for roughly every additional 5 million yen (one source cites +5 points per additional 10 million yen). A benchmark of around 30 million yen in annual income was mentioned for the HSP-BM track overall. For the work track's 40+ age bracket, a salary benchmark of around 8 million yen/year was mentioned. HSP-BM (the director track) is not a separate visa but a points track within HSP; it is considered hard to obtain (few precedents came up in discussion), but the 30-million-yen company capital required for an ordinary BM visa does not apply here. An MBA from a sufficiently top-ranked Japanese university can make BM-HSP realistically attainable even without high income-based points. The "small or medium-sized enterprise" (SME) add-on, under SME Basic Act criteria, adds +10 points but is rarely obtained in practice; recognition of a company's "innovative activity" immediately grants Category 1 status plus additional points (a further +10 for 中小企業, SMEs). Entering directly "via HSP-BM," bypassing an ordinary BM visa, is legally questionable — participants in discussion called it "selling visas" — so applicants typically obtain an ordinary BM visa first. Going through the HSP work/research track leads to the same HSP status with identical rights as going through the management track. It is not necessary to obtain HSP status upfront as a separate visa — one can apply for it after the fact, a year in, once the required points have accumulated. Salary counted toward HSP points must, by general consensus in discussion (not officially confirmed), have been earned in Japan — income from other countries prior to relocation is not counted. PR obtained via a work visa, especially HSP, is considered the most reliable and fastest path — an immigration officer's view, relayed secondhand in discussion, is that such status is seen as "stable." PR is harder to obtain while holding a business visa, since a business is viewed as a less stable source of income. See: High Skilled Professional (HSP) Status: Overview; Directorship Risk on a Work Visa: Overview.