Do not decide “we will get an Engineer / Humanities visa” first and then reshape the duties afterwards. Decide what the person will actually do, then choose the status that fits. Broadly, professional white-collar work may fit Engineer / Humanities / International Services, hands-on skilled work in designated sectors may fit Specified Skilled Worker, and temporary transfers from an overseas group office may fit Intra-company Transferee.
“White collar” alone is not enough
Engineer / Humanities / International Services covers work requiring professional knowledge in natural sciences or humanities, or international services. Typical examples include IT engineering, design, accounting, marketing, B2B sales, translation and interpretation. But titles do not decide the result.
An “office” or “sales” position that is in reality mainly simple work may not fit. Conversely, even in field-based industries, professional roles such as design, process planning, software development and B2B sales may qualify.
For hands-on skilled work, check Specified Skilled Worker first
Specified Skilled Worker is designed for practical skilled work in designated industrial fields. In manufacturing, for example, production/assembly work is commonly contrasted with professional design, programming and technology-development work under Engineer / Humanities.
For manufacturing, food service, accommodation, construction, building cleaning and similar sectors where the company actually wants the person to perform field work, it is often more natural to check SSW eligibility rather than forcing the job into Engineer / Humanities.
For transfers from an overseas office, consider Intra-company Transferee
This status allows an employee of a foreign office to transfer for a fixed period to a Japanese office and perform duties equivalent to Engineer / Humanities / International Services. As a rule, the person must have continuously performed qualifying duties at the foreign office for at least one year immediately before the transfer, among other criteria.
Choose from the job, not from the person you want to hire
The most dangerous approach is “we really want this person, so which visa name is easiest?” The actual job comes first; the status follows. We start by reviewing the job posting, duties, workplace and organization chart, and then separate the case into the status that best matches reality.