What is the total cost of the SSW visa for Japan?

There is no single price. Your total is the JFT-Basic fee (or JLPT), the skills test for your field, documents, the visa fee, the flight and any agency fee. The tests and visa are usually a small part. Agency fees and flights make the biggest difference, and Japan's rules ban deposits and charging you for SSW support. Use the calculator with your own quotes.

What is the JFT-Basic fee?

It depends on the country where you sit the test. Prometric lists USD 36 in Nepal, PHP 2,010 in the Philippines, INR 3,540 in India and IDR 550,000 in Indonesia. Pick your country in the calculator to see yours.

What is the JFT-Basic fee in Nepal?

Prometric lists the JFT-Basic fee in Nepal as USD 36, with tax added at booking. You pay it in Nepalese rupees. The calculator converts it at an approximate rate you can edit.

How much does the SSW visa cost from Nepal?

Add the JFT-Basic fee (USD 36 plus tax), the skills test (for example $15 for nursing care or $8 for construction, as Prometric lists them), your passport, medical check, documents, the Japan visa fee, the flight and Nepal's pre-departure requirements. Using a sending agency is optional on Japan's side. If you use one, ask for a written breakdown of every fee.

Can an agency charge me a deposit or a penalty for SSW?

No. Japan's SSW rules ban employing someone who has paid a deposit, or who signed a contract with a penalty for leaving the job, and this covers brokers in your home country too. The costs of the support your employer must provide cannot be charged to you either.

How much does the Japan visa cost for SSW?

Japan raised its visa fees on 1 July 2026, to about ¥15,000 for a single entry, paid in local currency. Some nationalities pay less or nothing. For example, Bangladeshi nationals pay nothing and Indian nationals pay ₹500. The calculator fills in the fee where we have verified it on the embassy's page.

How much does it cost to retake the JFT-Basic?

Each retake costs the full fee again, and with a score of 199 or lower you must wait 45 days before you can sit it again. Add retakes in the calculator to see the cost. The cheapest plan is to pass first time.

Free tool · SSW visa cost

SSW visa Japan cost calculator

This SSW visa Japan cost calculator adds up the total cost of getting to Japan on a Specified Skilled Worker visa: the JFT-Basic fee for your country, the skills test, retakes, documents, visa, flight and any agency fee, in your currency and in US dollars. Then check the red flags below before you pay anyone.

Your costs

Country where you take the tests

JFT-Basic fee per sitting

USD 36

Prometric's published fee. tax is added at booking

JFT-Basic retakes

0 if you pass first time. Each retake costs the full fee again.

Your SSW skills test

Skills test fee per sitting

NPR

Prometric fee in your country: about NPR 2,282. Edit it if your test is priced differently.

Skills test sittings

Documents, travel and services

Enter the quotes you were given. Leave a line at 0 if it does not apply to you.

Passport

NPR

Your passport office's fee, if you don't have one yet.

Medical check-up

NPR

Many employers ask for a health check before the visa.

Police clearance certificate

NPR

Document translation

NPR

Japan visa fee

NPR

Not verified for this country. Japan's single-entry fee is about ¥15,000 since 1 July 2026, paid in local currency. Check with the embassy or visa centre.

Flight to Japan

NPR

One-way fare. Ask whether your employer pays it.

Japanese classes (optional)

NPR

Agency or consultancy fee

NPR

Ask for a written breakdown. See the red flags below.

Other (local transport, photos, labour permit)

NPR

NPR per 1 USD

Approximate rate as of 2026-10-31. Type today's rate for a better figure.

Estimated total

Estimate

NPR 7,758

≈ $51

JFT-Basic: NPR 5,476
Skills test: NPR 2,282

Add your document, flight and agency quotes to see the real total.

Before you pay an agency: check the red flags

Every retake adds another fee. Practise first so you pass the first time:

Take the free practice test

Estimates only, not financial or legal advice. Test fees and visa fees come from the official pages listed below. Every other line is your own quote. Prices change, so confirm each fee with whoever charges it before you pay.

Red flags

What an SSW agency or employer may not charge or do

Japan's SSW rules protect you before you arrive. If someone asks for any of the following, stop and check with the official contacts below.

A deposit, or a penalty for quitting
Japan's SSW rules ban employment when you or your family have paid a deposit, or when a contract fines you for leaving the job early. The ban also covers brokers in your home country, not just in Japan.
Making you pay for SSW support
The support your employer must give SSW workers (airport pickup, orientation, help with housing, a registered support organisation) cannot be charged to you, directly or indirectly. Rent at actual cost is allowed.
Fees with no breakdown
Japan's cooperation agreements with sending countries treat collecting fees without showing how they were calculated as misconduct the two governments share information about. Always ask for an itemised written breakdown.
Placement fees in Japan
Under Japan's Employment Security Act, job-placement agencies in Japan may not charge job seekers fees, apart from a few exceptions. The Philippines' SSW employment conditions form states that no placement fee is chargeable to the worker.
Keeping your money or property
Managing a worker's money or property, for any reason such as a deposit, is on the misconduct list in Japan's SSW cooperation agreements. Keep your own passport, bank card and savings.
Lower pay than Japanese staff
Your pay must be at least what a Japanese worker doing the same job earns. Check any offer with the SSW salary calculator.

Rules in your country

Nepal
Japan and Nepal signed an SSW Memorandum of Cooperation in 2019, renewed in 2024. On Japan's side, using a Nepali sending agency is optional. Before you leave, Nepal requires pre-departure orientation, insurance, a payment to the migrant workers' welfare fund and a labour permit. Check current amounts with Nepal's Department of Foreign Employment.
Philippines
Going through a licensed Philippine sending agency is required, and your contract is checked by the Migrant Workers Office. That check is free. You also need an Overseas Employment Certificate for each departure. The DMW's SSW employment conditions form says there is no placement fee for the worker.
Other countries
Japan has SSW cooperation agreements with most JFT-Basic countries. Each one lists the same misconduct: deposits, unlawful charges and fees without a breakdown. Read your country's agreement on the Immigration Services Agency's list below.

How to use it

Three steps to a realistic SSW budget

Start with the fixed fees
Pick your country. The JFT-Basic fee and, where we have verified it, the skills-test and visa fees fill in automatically.
Add your real quotes
Type in what you were quoted for the passport, medical check, police certificate, translation, flight and any agency fee.
Plan for retakes
If you score below 200, you wait 45 days and pay again. Add a retake to see what failing would cost.

What will SSW pay me? JFT-Basic test dates How to register for the JFT-Basic Am I eligible for SSW?

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

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SSW visa Japan cost calculator

Your costs

What an SSW agency or employer may not charge or do

A deposit, or a penalty for quitting

Making you pay for SSW support

Fees with no breakdown

Placement fees in Japan

Keeping your money or property

Lower pay than Japanese staff