Certificate of Eligibility Japan: How Indonesian SSW Applicants Get It

You have passed your JFT-Basic. You have your Prometric skill test certificate. You have found an employer in Japan. And then nothing happens for three months. The Certificate of Eligibility — the CoE — is the single biggest waiting game in the entire SSW process, and most candidates go into it with no idea what it actually is, who handles it, or what can go wrong.

Here is the full picture.

What the Certificate of Eligibility Actually Is

The Certificate of Eligibility (在留資格認定証明書, zairyu shikaku nintei shomeisho) is a document issued by Japan's Immigration Services Agency. It confirms that your employment contract and your qualifications have been reviewed by Japanese authorities and that you meet the legal requirements for SSW status. Without a CoE, the Japanese Embassy in Indonesia will not issue you a visa.

One important clarification: you do not apply for the CoE yourself. Your Japanese employer — specifically, the Accepting Organization (AO) or their Registered Supporting Organization (RSO) — submits the CoE application on your behalf to the Regional Immigration Bureau in Japan that has jurisdiction over the employer's workplace.

This distinction matters. If an LPK or agent in Indonesia tells you that you need to do something to get the CoE issued, that is a red flag. The application originates in Japan, not Indonesia.

What Documents Your Japanese Employer Submits

The employer's CoE application package is assembled in Japan. It typically includes:

• The completed CoE application form (on the applicant's behalf)
• Your passport copy
• Your photo (4cm × 3cm, recent, white background)
• The signed employment contract (koyo keiyaku)
• Proof that you passed the JFT-Basic A2 or JLPT N4
• Proof that you passed the SSW skill test for your sector via Prometric
• The employer's business registration and financial documents
• The Support Plan (shien keikaku) — a mandatory document detailing the onboarding support the employer or RSO will provide you

For sectors with additional requirements — such as caregiving — there may be supplementary documents. The employer's RSO typically handles this entire submission process.

What You Need to Prepare in Indonesia (Before the CoE Is Submitted)

Before your employer can submit the CoE application, they need certified copies of your documents. You will need to have the following ready and sent to your employer or RSO in Japan:

Your passport. Must be valid for the entire expected employment period plus a margin. A six-month validity minimum at time of CoE submission is standard practice.

SKCK (Surat Keterangan Catatan Kepolisian). Your criminal record clearance certificate, issued by your local Polres (district police station). This must be issued at the Polres level — not Polsek — because it covers the full district. It is valid for six months, so timing matters: don't get it too early. You will need your KTP, Kartu Keluarga, and birth certificate to apply.

Apostilled documents. Since 2022, Indonesia participates in the Hague Apostille Convention, managed by Kemenkumham. Your SKCK and relevant educational documents must have an Apostille sticker from the AHU Online portal (apostille.ahu.go.id). The fee is IDR 150,000 per document. The physical sticker is collected at your regional Kemenkumham Kanwil office. This replaces the old legalization process at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is accepted directly by Japanese immigration.

Exam certificates. Certified printouts of your JFT-Basic result (from The Japan Foundation's portal) and your Prometric skill test pass certificate.

Your ijazah (diploma). If you are an SMK or D3 graduate, your diploma should be verified through Kemendikbud's database before it is translated and apostilled.

All documents that are in Indonesian must be accompanied by a certified Japanese translation by a sworn translator (penerjemah tersumpah).

How Long Does the CoE Take?

Processing time at the Japanese Regional Immigration Bureau is officially one to three months, but the actual range for Indonesian SSW applicants in 2025–2026 runs from five weeks at the faster end to four months when the bureau is handling high application volumes.

The clock starts when the employer submits a complete and error-free application. If documents are missing or there are discrepancies between what you declared and what the employer submitted, the bureau may request additional materials — which restarts the timeline. This is why document accuracy matters more than document speed.

Sectors with very high volume — such as caregiving and food manufacturing — sometimes see slightly longer queues because more employers are submitting applications simultaneously.

There is no online tracker for CoE status. Your employer's RSO is the only party that can follow up with the immigration bureau. If you have been waiting more than three months and your employer has not received a response or request for additional documents, the RSO should make a formal inquiry. As an applicant in Indonesia, your role is to stay in contact with your employer or RSO and ensure all your end of the document chain is complete.

What Happens After the CoE Is Issued

The immigration bureau issues the CoE as a physical document. It is sent to the employer or RSO in Japan, who then sends it to you in Indonesia by registered international mail (EMS or DHL). The CoE itself is valid for three months from the date of issue — you must apply for your visa and depart for Japan within that window.

Once you receive the CoE, you take it to the Japanese Embassy in Jakarta (or the consulate in Surabaya, Denpasar, or Medan) along with your visa application package. The visa itself is typically processed within five business days from when you submit it at the embassy.

The CoE in the Context of the Full Timeline

Based on the official 14-step SSW recruitment process published by the Indonesian Consulate in Tokyo, here is where the CoE fits:

The typical end-to-end journey for an Indonesian SSW newcomer runs 8 to 14 months, with CoE processing being the most unpredictable element. Building a three-month buffer into your plans is realistic.

Common CoE Rejection Reasons

The Regional Immigration Bureau can reject a CoE application. Common reasons include:

• Salary below Japanese minimum wage for the region. If your employment contract specifies a wage below what a Japanese worker in the same role would earn in that prefecture, the bureau will reject the application.
• Sector mismatch. Your skill test certificate must match the declared SSW sector on the application. If your employer submitted an application for food manufacturing but your Prometric certificate is for agriculture, the application will fail.
• Applicant does not meet language requirement. If your JFT-Basic or JLPT N4 certificate has expired (they are generally valid indefinitely, but the bureau wants recent results), or if the level submitted does not meet the A2 floor, the application fails.
• Employer is not registered as an AO. Not every Japanese company can hire SSW workers. The employer must be registered with the appropriate sectoral authorities. Verify this before signing your contract.

Your Checklist Before the CoE Wait Begins

Before your employer submits the CoE application, confirm the following:

• [ ] Valid passport (check expiry date — ideally valid for 2+ years from expected departure)
• [ ] SKCK obtained from Polres, apostilled via AHU Online
• [ ] JFT-Basic A2 or JLPT N4 pass certificate (print from official portal)
• [ ] Prometric skill test pass certificate (correct sector)
• [ ] Diploma apostilled and Japanese-translated by certified translator
• [ ] Employment contract signed — confirm salary meets minimum wage for the employer's prefecture
• [ ] Confirm employer is a registered Accepting Organization in your sector

The CoE is not a document you can rush. But with a clean document chain on your side, you remove every reason for the immigration bureau to slow things down.

For a complete checklist of every document, exam, and registration step in the Indonesia-to-Japan SSW process — including the SISKOP2MI registration and BP2MI E-PMI requirements — see the Indonesia → Japan Specified Skilled Worker Guide.

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