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How to become an Immigration Inspector

Examines foreign nationals entering and leaving Japan, confirms Japanese citizens' departures and returns, reviews foreign residents' permission to stay, and investigates foreign nationals staying illegally.

Workers in this job say university, vocational college (senmon gakko), or high school is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

Immigration inspectors are national public servants in the Immigration Services Agency, an external agency of the Ministry of Justice. Unlike immigration control officers, there is no separate recruitment exam. You sit the National Personnel Authority's general national public service exam (university graduate level or high school graduate level), and from those who pass, staff are hired by the agency after an interview with a regional immigration services bureau. You start as a Ministry of Justice administrative officer and become an immigration inspector as you gain experience. Various training is provided after hiring. New staff take an introductory course, generally live-in, to learn basic legal knowledge and the practical knowledge needed as immigration staff. After this you work on supporting immigration inspectors and general administration, while learning the knowledge and skills needed to be an inspector. An intermediate course for staff with at least 4 years' service offers lectures and practical training to deepen legal knowledge and practical skills. There is also language training, including long-term courses (about 3 months) studying English, Chinese and other languages at language schools, and local courses where you attend a language school after work. After joining, you can gain experience of various immigration work and be promoted to higher posts. You deal with foreign nationals all the time, so there are many chances to use language skills. You also need knowledge of the relevant laws and of document examination, and a strong international outlook.

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How do I become an Immigration Inspector?

Immigration inspectors are national public servants in the Immigration Services Agency, an external agency of the Ministry of Justice. Unlike immigration control officers, there is no separate recruitment exam. You sit the National Personnel Authority's general national public service exam (university graduate level or high school graduate level), and from those who pass, staff are hired by the agency after an interview with a regional immigration services bureau. You start as a Ministry of Justice administrative officer and become an immigration inspector as you gain experience. Various training is provided after hiring. New staff take an introductory course, generally live-in, to learn basic legal knowledge and the practical knowledge needed as immigration staff. After this you work on supporting immigration inspectors and general administration, while learning the knowledge and skills needed to be an inspector. An intermediate course for staff with at least 4 years' service offers lectures and practical training to deepen legal knowledge and practical skills. There is also language training, including long-term courses (about 3 months) studying English, Chinese and other languages at language schools, and local courses where you attend a language school after work. After joining, you can gain experience of various immigration work and be promoted to higher posts. You deal with foreign nationals all the time, so there are many chances to use language skills. You also need knowledge of the relevant laws and of document examination, and a strong international outlook.

Do you need a degree to become an Immigration Inspector?

Not always. In this job's census occupation group, 55% of workers are university graduates.

Will AI change the work of an Immigration Inspector?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026