Work visa – for Sommeliers (Wine Appraisers) in Japan

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The “Skilled Labor” visa is defined as:
Criterion No.9 of “Skilled Labor” visa
Expert Opinion
Permitted Work Activities
Documents Required for Application
Our office makes each case on a case-by-case basis.
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The visa type generally applicable for foreign sommeliers (wine appraisers) to work as sommeliers in Japan under a contract with a Japanese company (corporation, restaurant) is the “Skilled Labor” (Ginou：技能) visa.

The “Skilled Labor” visa is defined as:

Activities involving work requiring highly specialized skills in a particular industrial field, performed based on a contract with a Japanese public or private organization.

Furthermore, the “Ministerial Ordinance Prescribing the Criteria under Article 7, Paragraph 1, Item 2 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Ministry of Justice Ordinance No. 16 of 1990)” lists specific occupations in its Criteria Item 9.

Criterion No.9 of “Skilled Labor” visa

Individuals who meet one of the following criteria and possess at least five years of practical experience (including periods spent majoring in subjects related to wine appraisal, etc., at foreign educational institutions) pertaining to the skills involved in the appraisal, evaluation, and preservation of wine quality, as well as the provision of wine (hereinafter referred to as “wine appraisal, etc.”), and who engage in work requiring such skills.

A person who has achieved outstanding results in an international competition held on an international scale concerning skills related to wine appraisal, etc. (hereinafter referred to as “International Sommelier Competition”).
A person who has participated in an International Sommelier Competition (limited to those where participation is restricted to one person per country).
Individuals holding a qualification recognized by a national government (including foreign governments), a local government (including foreign local governments), or a public or private institution equivalent thereto, concerning skills related to wine appraisal, etc., as specified by the Minister of Justice through public notice (in practice, no one currently meets this criterion).

Examples of competitions equivalent to the “International Sommelier Competition” include the “Best Sommelier of the World / Meilleur Sommelier du Monde” hosted by the International Sommelier Association. The “Meilleur Jeune Sommelier de France” (France’s Best Young Sommelier Competition) also qualifies.

Individuals who have “achieved outstanding results” are defined as those who have won a prize of at least a medal level in an international sommelier competition.

Expert Opinion

The “Best Sommelier of the World / Meilleur Sommelier du Monde” is hosted by the ASI (Association de la Sommellerie Internationale) and held every three years. No publicly available document explicitly states a rule limiting each country to one representative. However, the ASI’s participant application guidelines stipulate that “competitors must be recommended by an ASI member organization (national association).” This implies that participants compete as national representatives in ASI-hosted world competitions, suggesting the event likely operates under a system where generally one participant per country is recognized as the entry quota. This recommendation system appears to function effectively as a one-participant-per-country system. Even if not a prize winner, the experience of participating (having been recommended as a representative by the national sommelier association) is considered to fulfill the requirement.

Regarding the “Meilleur Jeune Sommelier de France” (France’s Youngest Sommelier Competition), no explicit rule limiting participants to one per country could be confirmed. While treated as an international competition, it is a domestic contest hosted by the French Sommelier Federation and therefore likely does not fall under the “one per country” restriction. In other words, for this competition, the most reliable category is 1 above: those who have “achieved outstanding results.” Winners, runners-up, and third-place finishers can be counted as qualifying prize winners. This also includes those who advanced to the finals as finalists.

Therefore, a sommelier possessing a certain level of skilled expertise would typically obtain this visa and work in Japan.

Permitted Work Activities

The law stipulates “skills related to the appraisal, evaluation, and maintenance of wine quality, as well as the serving of wine.” Specifically, the following types of work are anticipated:

Wine tasting
Wine selection
Wine procurement
Wine storage
Wine sales
Wine management, etc.

Regarding the intended work, it is sufficient to perform any one of the above tasks; it is not necessary to perform all tasks equally.

Since a sommelier performs a wide range of wine-related tasks—not just tasting, but also selection, procurement, storage, sales, management, etc.—the determination will be based on whether the Japanese public or private organization contracting the applicant operates a food and beverage business involving these activities.

Furthermore, since even small-scale establishments may operate businesses requiring a sommelier, the determination of whether a sommelier can fully utilize their skills will not be based solely on the size of the establishment. Furthermore, for food and beverage establishments, dedicated employees for tasks other than sommelier duties—such as dishwashing, serving, and accounting—must be secured. It is absolutely not permitted for a sommelier to perform only front-of-house or customer service duties at a restaurant, or to engage in management activities as a restaurant owner.

Documents Required for Application

Pursuant to Appendix 3 of Japan’s “Enforcement Regulations of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act” (Ministry of Justice Ordinance No. 54 of 1981), the following documents must be submitted:

Certificate of Registered Matters and a copy of the Profit and Loss Statement for the inviting organization
Documents clarifying the business activities of the inviting organization
Curriculum vitae and documents issued by public authorities certifying relevant work history and qualifications
Documents verifying the content, duration, position, and remuneration of the activities

It is particularly important to clearly demonstrate in your application that you have worked as a sommelier for at least five years, for example, at a restaurant. Therefore, the certificate of employment is crucial. Furthermore, periods spent studying wine appraisal or related subjects at vocational training schools or other educational institutions count toward practical experience. In such cases, submit documents verifying the period of enrollment, along with your diploma and academic transcripts.

We will provide specific guidance on the required documents after individual consultation.

Our office makes each case on a case-by-case basis.

The Immigration lawyer at our office is dedicated to providing the best possible service.

We are dedicated to listening to your situation, helping you suggest the best solution, and creating individualized application forms and schedules and other documents. None of the documents are the same.

In addition to traditional painting artists, our office has extensive experience in handling cases of modern artists.

If you come to our firm and apply for a paid consultation, we will provide you with a detailed list of required documents in Japanese, English and Chinese. We look forward to hearing from you.