Language Requirements in a Japanese Kitchen: JLPT, TOEIC and Visas

A Japanese restaurant abroad has two language questions. How much English (or local language) does a chef from Japan need? And how much Japanese should you ask of local cooks and front of house staff? Get it wrong in one direction and you reject good cooks for the wrong reason. Get it wrong in the other and orders get lost during service.

This guide sets out how to decide what to require for each role, what the common tests actually measure, and where immigration rules take the decision out of your hands. Test facts are taken from the test operators' official sites and were checked in September 2026.

1. Start from the role, not the test

Write down what the person must do in which language before you pick a test or a level. A simple grid is enough:

Most of the Japanese a local cook needs is vocabulary for ingredients, cuts and calls. A one page glossary teaches that faster than any course (see cross-cultural kitchen management). Asking for a Japanese certificate from a kitchen hand narrows your pool without improving the food.

2. The JLPT: what it does and does not show

The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) is the test most candidates who have studied Japanese will mention. Facts from the official site:

• Five levels, N1 (hardest) to N5 (easiest).
• No speaking or writing section. The test covers language knowledge (vocabulary and grammar), reading and listening. A candidate can pass a high level and still struggle to speak quickly during service.
• Held twice a year. In 2026 the test dates are Sunday 5 July and Sunday 6 December. Outside Japan, some cities hold it only in July or only in December.

The official level summaries give a sense of what each level means. N2 is described as being able to read materials written clearly on a variety of topics and follow conversations and news spoken at nearly natural speed in everyday situations. N4 is described as reading passages on familiar daily topics written in basic vocabulary and kanji, and following daily conversations provided they are spoken slowly.

For a supervisor who must work closely with Japanese chefs, an N2 or N3 certificate is useful evidence, but test speaking in the interview as well. For line cooks, do not require the JLPT at all.

3. English tests for chefs from Japan

A CV from Japan may list a TOEIC score. Know what it measures before you rely on it:

• TOEIC Listening & Reading is scored from 10 to 990, with 200 questions over about two hours. It measures listening and reading only.
• Speaking is a separate test. The TOEIC Speaking & Writing Tests and a standalone Speaking Test exist, but many candidates will not have taken them.

A good Listening & Reading score suggests a chef will understand written orders and instructions. It does not tell you whether they can talk to guests at an omakase counter. For that you need to hear them speak.

Other tests (IELTS, Eiken and others) may appear on a CV. If a visa requires a specific test, use that one. If not, treat any certificate as supporting evidence and rely on your own conversation.

4. When immigration rules set the level

Some work visas include their own English requirement, and then your preference no longer matters.

• UK Skilled Worker visa. GOV.UK says new applicants must show English at level B2 on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). People who already held the visa before 8 January 2026 need only B1 and do not need to prove it again. Nationals of a list of majority English speaking countries (including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA) are exempt; Japan is not on the list. Note that the chef occupation is currently not eligible for new overseas sponsorship in practice (see hiring a Japanese chef in the UK after 2025).
• Australia Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482). The Department of Home Affairs says primary applicants must meet minimum English standards by achieving a specific result in an English language test, unless exemptions apply. Check the current scores on the Home Affairs page before you plan the timeline, because the chef will need to sit a test in Japan (see hiring a Japanese chef in Australia).

For other countries, check the visa rules in the relevant country guide. Where a test is required, build its date and results time into the hiring plan; test dates can be weeks apart.

5. Assessing language in the interview

Your own assessment, done the same way for every candidate, is more useful than any certificate for kitchen roles.

1. Run part of the interview in the working language. For a chef from Japan applying to an English speaking kitchen, ask them to describe a dish they make, step by step, in English.
2. Role play the job. For a counter chef: "A guest says they are allergic to shellfish. What do you say?" For a supervisor: explain a prep list to a Japanese chef in Japanese.
3. Use a written task if the job needs one. Reading a supplier invoice or filling in a temperature log.
4. Score it against the grid. Can do, can do with support, cannot do yet. Record the result the same way for everyone.

For more interview structure, see sushi chef interview questions and remote interviews across time zones.

6. After hiring: closing the gap

Few chefs arrive with all the language they need. Plan for it:

• Pay for lessons in the first year. It helps the chef's life outside work as much as inside it (see retaining Japanese chefs).
• Give them scripts. Allergy questions, menu explanations and common guest requests, written out in both languages.
• Pair them with a bilingual colleague for the first weeks of service.
• Teach local staff the kitchen glossary on their first day, and test it after a month.

The right language requirement is the lowest one that lets the person do the job safely and well, backed by support to raise it after they start.

General information, not legal or immigration advice. Test formats and visa language requirements change; check the official pages before relying on them.