Japan HSP Visa Points and Salary Requirements: Full Scoring Breakdown

Japan's Highly Skilled Professional visa uses a points calculation to determine eligibility — 70 points to qualify for HSP status, 80 points to unlock the 1-year permanent residency fast-track. Understanding exactly how points are awarded across salary, education, experience, and age is what separates a borderline applicant from a confident one.

This post breaks down the full scoring tables for category (i)(b) (the most common category, covering technical and specialized professionals), notes where (i)(a) and (i)(c) differ, and explains how salary intersects with the PR income threshold.

The Mandatory Salary Floor

Before getting into point-by-point calculations: there is a hard salary minimum that is independent of the points score.

For categories (i)(b) and (i)(c), the minimum annual salary is ¥3 million. This requirement must be met regardless of how many points you have otherwise. An applicant who scores 85 points but earns ¥2.8M annually does not qualify for HSP status.

What counts toward the ¥3M floor:

• Base salary
• Guaranteed bonuses (only the guaranteed portion — not discretionary or performance-conditional bonuses)

What does not count:

• Overtime pay
• Commuting allowance
• Housing allowance or housing benefit in kind
• Stock options, RSUs, or equity compensation
• Non-guaranteed performance bonuses

For practical purposes, this means the "salary" relevant to the minimum and to the salary points calculation is your guaranteed annual cash compensation. Review your employment contract carefully to identify which components are guaranteed vs. discretionary.

Salary Points Table (Categories i(b) and i(c))

Salary is the largest single variable in most HSP applications. The points are awarded on a scale:

Note the ¥4–5M band: it earns 10 salary points only if the applicant is under 30. For applicants aged 30 and above, salary earns zero points below ¥5M. This is not a typo — the point system is explicitly age-calibrated at the lower salary bands. The ¥10M+ tier earning 40 points applies regardless of age.

For category (i)(a) academic researchers, the salary points table is identical in structure, but the ¥3M floor technically doesn't apply as a hard requirement.

Education Points

Education is scored once — for your highest qualifying degree:

A few things worth noting:

The doctoral degree is scored higher in category (i)(a) because that category is designed for academic researchers where PhDs are the expected professional credential. In (i)(b) and (i)(c), PhD and Master's are scored equally at 20 points.

For a dual-degree holder (e.g., Bachelor's + Master's), you claim the higher qualification only — 20 points for the Master's, not 10+20=30.

An MBA counts as 10 points under (i)(c) as a "professional degree" — same as a Bachelor's, not the same as a Master's in the scoring table. This surprises some management applicants.

Work Experience Points

Experience is also scored based on your qualifying career history to date — again, only the highest applicable tier:

Category (i)(c) scores experience more generously than (i)(b) — management roles are expected to require more accumulated career experience to be legitimate. A 10-year career in management earns 25 points vs. 20 for a 10-year technical career.

"Experience" in this context means relevant professional experience in your HSP category's qualifying activities — not total years of employment including unrelated roles. A software engineer with 8 years total, 6 of which were in engineering, claims 6 years of relevant experience for the points calculation.

For category (i)(a), experience points are weighted differently — research careers typically depend more heavily on the education and publication record than on years.

Age Points

Age is the one scoring factor that works against you over time:

This is a significant consideration for mid-career professionals. At 39, you're earning 5 points for age. At 40, you earn zero. The 15-point gap between a 28-year-old and a 40-year-old applicant must be made up entirely by salary, experience, or bonus factors.

This isn't arbitrary — Japan's HSP system is deliberately designed to attract young high-potential professionals who will build long careers in Japan, not just experienced workers approaching retirement age. If you're in your late 30s or approaching 40, calculate your score carefully. You may need to negotiate a higher base salary with your employer to compensate for declining age points.

Bonus Points

In addition to the four main scoring factors above, the HSP system awards bonus points for specific qualifications and circumstances:

The Japanese language points (10) and Japanese university graduation points (10) cannot both be claimed simultaneously — they're mutually exclusive bonus items. You claim one or the other, not both.

The "growth field" bonus requires that your employer has a designation or that your role falls within the government's defined growth sectors. This isn't self-declared without evidence — you need employer documentation that ties your work to the designated category.

Reaching 70 and 80: Example Profiles

Profile A: 28-year-old software engineer

• PhD: 20 points
• 3 years experience: 5 points
• Age under 30: 15 points
• Salary ¥5.5M: 15 points
• Japanese university graduate: 10 points
• Total: 65 points — does not yet qualify; needs ¥6M+ salary (5 more points) or another bonus

Profile B: 32-year-old data scientist

• Master's degree: 20 points
• 7 years experience: 15 points
• Age 30–34: 10 points
• Salary ¥7M: 25 points
• JLPT N2: 10 points
• Total: 80 points — qualifies for the 1-year PR fast-track

Profile C: 38-year-old IT manager

• Bachelor's degree: 10 points
• 12 years experience: 20 points
• Age 35–39: 5 points
• Salary ¥6.5M: 20 points
• Working in AI-designated role: 10 points
• Total: 65 points — borderline; a salary increase to ¥7M or a Japanese language certification would clear 70

These examples illustrate the age sensitivity of the system. A 38-year-old professional has high experience points but limited age points, making salary negotiation and bonus factors particularly important.

The PR Income Threshold

The HSP points system determines when you can apply for permanent residency (3 years at 70+ points, 1 year at 80+), but the PR application itself has separate income requirements.

Japan's permanent residency rules require that your income at the time of PR application demonstrates financial stability and self-sufficiency. The PR income assessment is not published as a single fixed threshold — the ISA evaluates income relative to household size, dependents, and whether you require public assistance. In practice, there is no published minimum, but:

• Applications with documented annual income below approximately ¥3–4M typically face heightened scrutiny
• Single applicants with ¥5M+ are generally considered financially stable for PR purposes
• Having a history of consistent income growth (demonstrated by 3–5 years of tax records) is more convincing than a single high-income year

The ¥10 million salary figure that appears in some online discussions relates to the J-Skip track — a special HSP-adjacent PR path for very high earners who may qualify for a fast-track based on salary alone, even without the standard points accumulation period. Earning ¥10M+ is relevant if you're considering J-Skip, but it's not a general PR income requirement.

For most HSP applicants targeting PR after their 3-year or 1-year accumulation period, demonstrating stable employment, consistent income at or above your HSP salary, and a tax compliance record is what matters — not hitting a specific threshold number.

The points system rewards specific combinations of education, experience, salary, and age — and the interactions between those factors aren't always intuitive. A 30-year-old with a Master's and ¥7M salary can outscore a 40-year-old with a PhD and ¥8M salary depending on experience years.

The Japan Highly Skilled Professional Visa Guide includes a fillable points worksheet, a salary negotiation framework for borderline applicants, and a PR application timeline calculator based on your current score.

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