Currently, the National Care Worker examination is one that both Japanese and foreign nursing care workers are interested in. Although the passing rate of this examination for foreigners is pretty high (over 80% for Vietnamese, over 50% for Filipinos and Indonesians), many of you still wonder what your residency status will be if you fail this examination if you still want to stay in Japan and work as a nursing caregiver.
In this article, BOW will provide information about the status of residence of foreigners who fail the National Care Worker examination.
◇ What is the National Care Worker examination（介護福祉士国家試験）?◇
The National Care Worker qualification is a qualification awarded to nursing care workers after passing the National Care Worker examination in Japan. This is an important opportunity for those who wish to become professional nursing caregivers.
With this qualification, nursing care workers will have the authority to perform professional work in the health care system at hospitals and nursing homes in Japan. This exam is held once a year in Japan. Nursing care workers can take the exam every year, while nursing care workers can only take it in their fourth year of work. Therefore, the number of exams is limited to foreigners, requiring candidates to make every effort to achieve the best results.
The National Care Worker examination consists of a written exam and a practical exam, both of which are held once a year. The written exam is a multiple choice with 125 questions in total and takes 220 minutes to complete. The areas covered in the written exam are "Humans and Society," "Nursing care," “Mind and Body," "Medical Care," and "General Questions."
◆ Benefits of passing the National Care Worker examination（介護福祉士国家試験）◆
Those who pass this examination shall be considered to have deep knowledge and extensive experience (three or more years of practical experience). Therefore, after obtaining the qualification, you will be entrusted with important tasks such as on-site leader or supervisor. If you are in charge of on-site leadership, you will be entrusted with a wide range of tasks other than caregiving work, such as educating and instructing staff, planning training, and contacting the families of users.
There are also benefits in terms of salary. By obtaining the qualification of a care worker, you can expect a salary increase through a basic salary increase and a qualification allowance. Also, as mentioned above, if you can get a management position, you can expect a further salary increase. Having a tangible evaluation of the efforts you have made to obtain the qualification will increase your motivation to obtain the qualification.
◇ What will happen to the status of residence of foreigners who fail the National Care Worker examination（介護福祉士国家試験）? ◇
There is a transitional measure in place that grants a 5-year care worker qualification to those who fail the exam after graduating from a care worker training facility. International students can be issued a "care worker" residence status even if they fail the national exam. However, they can keep their residence status if they pass the national exam within 5 years of graduation or continue to work in care work for 5 years.
Therefore, except for the above cases, candidates with Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) visas or other types of visas shall not be eligible for the "Nursing Care" status of the residence system if they fail the examination. Therefore, candidates with a residence status that is not eligible for this system must try harder to pass the National Care Worker examination.
For more information, please read: http://ahp-net.org/img/file17.pdf
◆ Conclusion ◆
The National Care Worker examination is increasingly popular among foreigners who are working in Japan as nursing care workers, as the number of foreigners applying for the examination increases rapidly every year. The number of foreigners with a Specified Skilled Worker visa No. 1 taking the 36th examination is the highest among those who are students (介護福祉士養成施設新卒留学生), EPA (EPA三か国初受験者), and technical intern trainees (技能実習生).
This is an examination for foreigners who wish to stay in Japan for an unlimited period and work as nursing care workers with a nursing care visa. So, even if you fail this exam and are in the case of a nursing student, don't worry too much, you will still be granted a nursing visa on the condition that you pass the national nursing exam within 5 years of graduation.
