An SSW pathway for students refused a COE: 8,200+ skilled workers in five years
Each semester 15–20% of applicants are refused a Certificate of Eligibility; after a second refusal most give up. The proposal: route N4 certificate-holders to the Specified Skilled Worker visa and encourage the rest to complete N4. At 25% annual growth that is 8,206 workers in 2026–2030.
This document was presented by Nagamatsu Faruk himself, as President of BSSAJ. ‘We’ in the text is BSSAJ.
A second application is possible after a COE refusal, but after a second refusal most students are demoralised and do not attempt a third. Their hope of Japan and their family's investment are both lost.
The solution: encourage those refused who hold N4 to apply for the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) visa, and motivate those without it to complete N4 and then apply. The student's route to Japan is all but secured, and the country gains skilled-worker exports.
| Year | Potential SSW candidates | Growth |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1,000 | — |
| 2027 | 1,250 | 25% |
| 2028 | 1,562 | 25% |
| 2029 | 1,953 | 25% |
| 2030 | 2,441 | 25% |
| Total | 8,206 |
These numbers come through student consultancies alone — those currently working on SSW are not able to send workers at this scale. If the student sector received the attention the government gives TITP and SSW workers, the country would earn more than ten times the remittance.
Recommendations
Who does what — specific actions for governments and stakeholders, each of them checkable.
- 01A defined SSW application route and counselling for COE-refused N4 holders.
- 02Build interest and capacity among student-visa consultancies to also work on SSW.
- 03Official recognition for the student sector on a par with TITP/SSW — with a tenfold remittance return.
Sources
- Memorandum to the Ambassador of Bangladesh to Japan, May 2025 (Bengali)Memorandum submitted to the Bangladesh Embassy in Tokyo, May 2025. Figures are reproduced unchanged; explanations are condensed.
Cite as: Nagamatsu Faruk (2025). An SSW pathway for students refused a COE: 8,200+ skilled workers in five years. https://nagamatsufaruk.com/en/research/coe-rejection-to-ssw-pathway