TITP to Tokutei Ginō (SSW) — Your Way Out (Vietnamese Workers Guide 2026)

How Vietnamese TITP workers move to Tokutei Ginō (SSW): the exam exemption, the change-of-status procedure, your rights today, and what the April 2027 switch to Employment for Skill Development (育成就労) changes.

Updated October 2026: Technical Intern Training (技能実習, ginou jisshu) is replaced by Employment for Skill Development (育成就労, ikusei shuro) on 1 April 2027, and the detailed rules are now published. We added what changes for workers, the transition rules for people already on TITP, and corrected several points (the in-Japan procedure, the exam exemption, the SSW (ii) and PR rules). Salary and job-opening estimates we couldn't verify were removed.

If you're a TITP worker reading this, you have options

The Technical Intern Training Program (技能実習, TITP) was designed to "transfer skills" to developing countries. Even the government now says there's a gap between that purpose and reality, and problems with protecting workers' rights. That's why the law that replaces it was passed in 2024.

Tokutei Ginou (特定技能, Specified Skilled Worker / SSW) is your path forward. This guide explains how to move from TITP to SSW, what changes in April 2027, and what rights you have right now.

What's different about Tokutei Ginou (SSW)

Here's how the two statuses compare today:

Aspect	TITP (技能実習)	SSW Type 1 (特定技能1号)
Purpose	Skills transfer to your home country	Work in a sector short of workers
Changing employer	Only for unavoidable reasons (violence, harassment and the like)	Allowed: you apply for a change of status for the new job
Family in Japan	No	No on Type 1; spouse and children can join on Type 2
Length	Fixed by your training plan	5 years in total, as a rule; no limit on Type 2
Counts toward PR's "5 years on a work status"	No	No on Type 1; yes on Type 2

SSW is genuinely better. If you're on TITP, the goal is to finish your training properly (or get out of an abusive placement safely) and move to SSW.

What changes in April 2027: 育成就労

Law No. 60 of 2024 replaces TITP with Employment for Skill Development (育成就労, ESD) from 1 April 2027. Its official goal is to train you, over 3 years of work in Japan, up to SSW Type 1 level. What changes for workers:

Japanese before you start work: pass an A1-level test (JFT-Basic, JLPT N5, etc.) or take an A1 course of 100+ hours at a certified Japanese school. Your employer or the supervising organisation has to arrange the Japanese training, cost included.
Changing employer by your own choice: possible after a minimum period with your first employer, set per sector between 1 and 2 years, if you pass a skills test and a Japanese test at your sector's level, stay in the same job category and don't go through a private job-placement agency. Transfers for violence, harassment or other unavoidable reasons stay possible.
Broker fees capped: what you pay a sending agency is capped at 2 months of your Japanese monthly wage. Anything above that is paid by your employer or the supervising organisation.
Only from partner countries: as a rule, workers come only from countries that signed a cooperation memorandum. On 14 October 2026, ISA lists Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Laos. Vietnam isn't on that list yet.
Family: still not allowed, as a rule.

Already on TITP? If you're in Japan doing technical intern training on 1 April 2027, you continue under the TITP rules. You can't switch into ESD. TITP (i) trainees can still move to TITP (ii). TITP (iii) is only open to people who, on 1 April 2027, have already done 1+ year of TITP (ii). If your training plan was applied for by 31 March 2027, you can still start, as long as training begins by 30 June 2027.

Sectors and exam requirements

As of July 2026, SSW covers 19 sectors: caregiving, building cleaning, linen supply, industrial products manufacturing, construction, shipbuilding, automobile repair, aviation, accommodation, automobile transport, railway, logistics warehousing, agriculture, fishery, food and beverage manufacturing, food service, forestry, wood industry and resource recycling. ESD will cover 17 of them (not automobile transport or aviation). Full details at moj.go.jp/isa/applications/ssw.

To get SSW Type 1, you normally need two passes:

Japanese test: A2 level, such as JFT-Basic (the Japan Foundation Test for Basic Japanese) or JLPT N4. Caregiving adds its own Japanese test.
Skills test: your sector's SSW Type 1 evaluation test, or an equivalent such as Skills Test Grade 3.

Big shortcut: if you completed TITP (ii) in good standing and your new job is related to your TITP trade, you're exempt from both tests. ISA says this route stays open "for the time being" after April 2027. ESD graduates won't get this exemption: they'll have to pass both tests, with up to 1 extra year of stay to retake them.

The transition timeline (TITP → SSW)

When	Action
Before TITP (ii) ends	Make sure you'll finish in good standing, and look for an SSW job in a related field
Job offer	Sign an employment contract with the new employer, who must meet the SSW rules (pay, support plan...)
Apply	You file a change of status application (在留資格変更許可申請, zairyu shikaku henko kyoka shinsei) at your regional immigration office. No need to go home, and no COE needed since you're already in Japan
Processing	Standard processing: 1 to 2 months. The fee depends on the period of stay granted
Approval	New residence card, start work as SSW

The salary difference

SSW workers must be paid at least what a Japanese worker doing the same job gets. That's one of the conditions of the status itself.

Minimum wage applies to everyone: TITP, ESD and SSW.
Overtime beyond 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week is paid at least 25% extra, night work (10 p.m. to 5 a.m.) at least 25% extra, legal holiday work at least 35% extra.
Pay must be paid in full: deductions are only allowed when a law or a written labour-management agreement allows them.

Use our take-home calculator to see what your SSW offer would net.

The escape plan if you're currently being mistreated

Under the Technical Intern Training Act, nobody involved in your training may:

Force you to work through violence, threats or confinement
Keep your passport or residence card
Unreasonably restrict you from going out or your private life
Make you sign a contract with penalties for breaking it, or force you to save money they manage

You can report violations to the Immigration Services Agency and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and you can't be punished for reporting. Where to get help:

OTIT (外国人技能実習機構): native-language consultation by phone and email, Vietnamese included. Days and numbers on otit.go.jp. OTIT also handles transfers for unavoidable reasons.
MHLW Working Conditions Hotline, free: Vietnamese on 0120-531-406 (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday to Sunday; weekdays 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., weekends and holidays 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.).
MHLW Foreign Workers' Consultation Dial, Vietnamese: 0570-001-706 (paid call).
Police: 110 if you're locked in, threatened or in danger.
The Embassy of Vietnam in Tokyo.

SSW Type 2: the big upgrade to permanent residency

SSW Type 2 (特定技能2号) is for experienced workers who pass the higher-level SSW (ii) test for their sector (and meet any other requirement it sets). It exists in 11 sectors. Type 2:

No upper limit on how long you can stay
Family eligible: your spouse and children can join you on Dependent (家族滞在, kazoku taizai) status
Counts as a work status for PR: the PR guideline asks for 10 years in Japan, including 5 on a work or residence status, and only TITP and SSW Type 1 years are excluded from those 5

Bottom line

If you're on TITP: finish TITP (ii) in good standing, then move to SSW in a related job, with no exams. If you're being mistreated: call OTIT or the MHLW hotline today. If you're abroad and considering Japan: from April 2027, new arrivals come through SSW or through ESD, which caps broker fees and lets you change employers under conditions.