Candidates often assume the JLPT is the Japanese qualification and plan around it by default. For the Specified Skilled Worker route, that assumption costs time.
What the visa actually requires
For SSW (i), the language requirement is satisfied by either:
- JFT-Basic - a pass at 200 points or above, or
- JLPT N4 or above
They are alternatives. One is sufficient. Neither is preferred by immigration, and holding both confers no advantage. The SSW visa explained.
The language test is also only half the exam requirement: a sector skills test is separate and unrelated. The skills test explained, and which to sit first.
Why the choice usually comes down to timing
| JLPT N4 | JFT-Basic | |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency | Twice a year | Roughly monthly |
| Result | Weeks later | Provisional score on screen immediately |
| Format | Paper, multiple choice | Computer-based at Prometric |
| A failed attempt costs | About six months | A few weeks |
That last row is usually decisive. A missed JLPT sitting can idle a plan for half a year; a missed JFT-Basic attempt costs weeks.
The full comparison: JFT-Basic or JLPT.
When JLPT is still the better choice
If you already have N4 or above. You are done. Do not sit JFT-Basic as well.
If you want the certificate for its own sake. JLPT is recognised worldwide and by employers outside the SSW route; JFT-Basic is narrower in reputation.
If you are aiming higher later. Someone targeting office work will eventually want N2, and building through N4 and N3 is a coherent path. JLPT for work in Japan.
If a sitting is imminent and you are ready. Do not delay a test you can pass next month to switch formats.
What differs in the exams themselves
N4 tests a broader range of grammar and a larger vocabulary, in a paper format, with sectional minimums you must clear individually: sectional minimums.
JFT-Basic tests a narrower, more practical range - workplace and daily-life Japanese - on a computer, with no section minimum at all: only the total is compared with 200. What 200 points means.
For an unbalanced learner - strong reading, weak listening, say - that difference alone makes JFT-Basic the more forgiving exam.
Decide with a measurement, not a preference
Sit a timed N4 past paper and our free exam demo - a full 48-question JFT-Basic mock under exam conditions - in the same week.
Whichever result is closer to its pass mark is the exam to aim at. That is a better basis for a decision than which certificate sounds more impressive.