Story perspectives

Japan Raises Permanent Residency Japanese Tests to CEFR B2

By Drooid · Oct 2, 2026, 3:14 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Japan’s Immigration Services Agency tightened language requirements for permanent residency applicants.
Applicants must prove CEFR B1 level, roughly JLPT N3, beginning April 2027.
Engineers, humanities specialists and international services visa holders must show CEFR B2, equivalent to JLPT N2, since April.
JLPT demand reached a record 1.9 million global applicants in 2025.
Japan introduced the Reference Framework for Japanese-Language Education to map alternative tests to CEFR standards as JLPT alternatives.

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Story summary

Japan’s Immigration Services Agency tightened language requirements for permanent residency applicants.
Applicants must prove CEFR B1 level, roughly JLPT N3, beginning April 2027.
Engineers, humanities specialists and international services visa holders must show CEFR B2, equivalent to JLPT N2, since April.
JLPT demand reached a record 1.9 million global applicants in 2025.
Japan introduced the Reference Framework for Japanese-Language Education to map alternative tests to CEFR standards as JLPT alternatives.