Plan to eventually settle in Japan - would like some advice!
 

Greetings all, a newcomer to the forum!

I am currently a Taiwanese-Canadian university student, 21 years of age, residing in Canada. I had difficulties with school, so I only finished one year of studies at the moment. I will eventually finish my bachelor's degree, but I was thinking about going to Japan next fall to enroll in a college preparatory language school for one year (hopefully to master Japanese in fluent level by the time I finish, since I am currently at pretty advanced level), explore Japan and think about my options. While I am in Japan, I might be able to continue on finishing Canadian college credits online through distance education. Since I'd be studying in Japan, my family should be able to support me financially. Does this sound like a good plan?

I have considerable amount of retail experiences here in Canada with all of my past employers being internationally-renowned brands (such as Hermes, Brooks Brothers, Coach...). I would like to eventually obtain a retail position in Japan as the starting point of my career in Japan. Any advice on how I should be planning?

Before I master Japanese in fluent level (JLPT LV 1), and before I finish my university degree, what kind of options do I have work wise in Japan? I did read a little about the type of VISAs, but please feel free to elaborate them to me with personal experiences.

I'm gracious of all the possible assistance I could get. Looking forward to read some answers :)

The only option you have is the working holiday visa. Unless of course you have a Japanese relative or spouse you didn't tell us about.

If you are on a student visa you can usually gain permission to do some part time work. When I came here as a college student I knew of some students who were not native English speakers who were working at convenience stores. I suppose you could maybe get yourself a part-time job at a retail store. Nothing great I am sure, but a foot in the door nonetheless.

What about department stores? Since they mostly only offer contract positions and requires only high school education, what would be their requirement for gaijins, as well as in terms of work visa?

Well, I can tell you that I am pretty sure you need a student visa to be a student. So if that is your priority I believe you can only gain permission to work part-time.

Only contract positions at department stores?? Never looked into it but I seriously doubt all their employees are on a contract.

And I can tell you that you will almost certainly not be able to get a work visa (3 year) with only a high school education.

Get your degree (either here or back home) and then worry about finding work. If you are already here as a student, I could see you finding someone willing to sponsor your visa once you graduate much easier anyway.

Unfortunately department stores are not the greatest places to work. One of the requirements for a work visa is that you earn a minimum level of income, and no one working outside a management position in a department store is going to meet that minimum (about 200,000 yen per month). Another requirement to obtain a work visa is that you already possess your bachelors (or higher) degree.

If you are studying in Japan, you can easily enough get a student visa (if your schools is accredited). Once you have your student visa you can apply for permission to work part-time. This permit will allow you to work up to 20 hours per week working for anyone who will hire you. There are no income requirements (which is just as well as there will be very little income).

A working holiday visa would be a good way to come to Japan and see if it's really the place for you. Not everyone who moves to Japan likes it here, perhaps 80% of the people I know who have come to work in Japan have left inside of 2 years. A couple of these people had a high level of Japanese language skill. If you find you do like living and working in Japan, you can use your 6 months to inquire at schools and apply for the necessary paperwork to return as a student.

I guess my question was on whether or not if the department stores will accept working holiday visas, because I couldn't really find information on that aspect. I thought logically it may work, but perhaps I shouldn't really be taking chances. I'm still in the process of finishing my degree, I'm just planning ahead.

I'm glad to hear about the minimum income requirement. Does it only apply to the Japanese position that you will be acquiring? If I make beyond that average amount in my home country, would I be qualified to meet the requirement?

Any employer would accept a working holiday visa but it's up to you to market yourself and convince them that it'd be worthwhile to hire you over a native Japanese worker.

BTW, being able to communicate in Japanese is one thing but if you're working at a dept. store (or any position which involves customer interaction), you'd better know your keigo.

I just wanted to point out that I believe the student visa will actually allow you to work up to 28 hours per week as long as it does not interfere with your studies.