Papers? We Don't Need No Stink'n Papers!
 

You want to come to Japan? No, better yet you want to live in Japan? Well you are going to need that little devil of a four letter, a VISA! So what do you need to get a visa? Read this first, ask questions later.

MOFA: A Guide to Japanese Visas - Documents to Be Submitted with Visa Applications

Jeebus! All that just to visit Japan? ...or all that to stay there long-term and/or permanent?

yes all that.. I get dizzzy.. just reading those requirements.. Thank goodness for Company HR's. They are the best :D

Take note that under all the work related visas, this key phrase appears in every one: Documents certifying the activity, its duration, the position, and the remuneration of the person concerned.

Translation: Proof of employment from your employer.

For aspiring English teachers take note of these phrases under Instructor and Specialist in Humanities/International Services:

Instructor
Documents certifying the academic career or a copy of an educational license of the person concerned.
Documents certifying the professional career of the person concerned.
Basically what this amounts to is proof of your education and/or career as a teacher. Note that TESL certificates do not alone qualify you to teach in Japan no matter how they are promoted. A degree would be a different story because it is not a certificate.

Specialist in Humanities/International Services
Materials describing the business undertaken by the recipient organization.
A diploma or a certificate of graduation with a major in a subject relating to the activity of the person concerned, and documents certifying his or her professional career.
Proof that the company hiring is in the business of hiring teachers/ALT's. Now the second one about "major in a subject relating to the activity of the person concerned" is not enforced word for word. Why else would most ALT's I know be computer science majors?

I Love Diplo' Speak
 

For a little fun with bar graphs and more of that awe-inspiring vagueness that diplomats and state employees are famous for writing in, check this out:

Basic Plan for Immigration Control (3rd Edition) provisional translation II. Salient Points Concerning Foreign Nationals' Entry and Stay

Note that Specialist in Humanities/International Services can basically be translated to English teacher and Entertainer refers to hostesses.

What type of visa do you use Jason, working visa?

It is for a long term stay.

A 90 day tourist visa can be obtained at the port of debarkation as long as you have a legitimate passport from a country that Japan allows normal travel with.

Does a degree obtained from a community college counts for applying for a working visa?

As far as I know, for teaching English the answer would be no. Whenever I have done job searches in the past they always specify a four year university degree unless you happen to come from say Australia where university is only three years. I would write a letter to Japan's embassy in your home country for more clarification.

Hmm, about when you are married to a native in Japan? I mean, if you get married can you work there without having to obtain a working visa?

A marriage visa is fine. Then you usually don't need a university degree :)

If you go to a school in Japan, they usually help their foreign students with the visa application, etc processes.

Eh?! Sigh, I guess I'll have to rely on getting a university degree for now, since I don't plan on marrying as soon as I arrive in Japan. Even so, doesn't a working visa limit occupations that you can apply for while in Japan? Or any job is fine as long as you have a working visa?

working visa are specific to your field. it is illegal to engage in other type of jobs outside of your field.

just skimming it gave me a headach.....im glad i have a few yrs till i visit my friend there in japan

I'm about to commence the visa minefield
 

I,m totally new to the Visa game, so I will need some real help please.I'm Australian, my fiancee is Japanese; she hasn't lived in Japan for 30 years; she lives in the US, and I live Australia, and we alternate between the 2 countries. We are in our 50"s and both retired, and we want to live in Japan, but at the same time we will travel out of there a couple of times per year. We have the financial resources to enable us to live in Japan, but where to I start on this Visa minefield, what's the best Visa in my case seeing we will marry soon.
All help appreciated:confused:

I would assume that the easiest route would be to enter on a tourist visa. I don't know about Australian citizens, but I am assuming tourist visas are granted upon arrival without a lot of paper work needed done beforehand or on the spot as with US citizens. Next I would assume you will apply for the spouse of a permanent resident. I don't think it really matters how long your wife has been outside of Japan. As long as she has retained her Japanese citizenship I believe she would be considered a permanent resident.

Nyororin will probably know more about this. I have a few questions. Do those with a spousal visa from marrying a Japanese citizen need to purchase the re-entry permits for travel? Second, what is the length of the long term resident visa?

as far as Ive read/research, only those who have already a Japanese Passport need not apply a re-entry permit. The others are required if ever they leave Japan for a short time.

...meh?
 

Wait, so for a permanent stay, you would need what exactly?

It's not like I'll be going anytime soon, but if I wanna go to a university there, then what kind of a visa would I need?

Just a random question, no hurry or anything.

I totally didn`t notice this question the first time through.

You ALWAYS have to get a re-entry permit. Even if you get permanent residency. You can go the single use route, or the 3 year multi-use route. They used to advertise it as "the length of your visa" - but it`s not if you have anything over 3 years.

The nice advantage of the spousal visa and permanent residency visas is that you get to re-enter Japan by using the "Japanese" line at the airport. (Which is usually much shorter and faster than the normal foreigner line.)
You also don`t have to be fingerprinted, etc. I`m not sure of all the other things they do to you these days.

When you marry a Japanese citizen, you do NOT apply for spouse of a permanent resident visa. That is for spouses of, well, non-Japanese permanent residents. You would apply for the spouse of a Japanese citizen visa.

Oh, and "Long term resident" is 6 months to 3 years. They`re most commonly given to ethnic Koreans who were born in Japan but refuse to get citizenship. (Usually so they can continue to receive the HUGE MASSIVE amounts of money the government gives them for the "inconvenience" of having some ancestor move to Japan - regardless of the reason. I`m talking like $2000/month plus free housing, schooling, etc.)

That is ridiculous; they make the same as me!

Oh yeah, no more finger printing these days. At least not for US citizens, I don't know if the procedure varies for others.

And yes, that Japanese nationals line is much shorter. You also don't have people getting to the front and then having to fill out another form because they messed the first one up. But hey, paper work in Japan is kind of complicated. Not complaining so much as just commenting...

Permanent stay, a good reason (like a child from a Japanese spouse or a business).

School, I'm thinking student visa. Which means you need to be accepted by a school first, then they give you the visa.

Perhaps you haven`t noticed - they just reinstated the fingerprinting. You`re only exempt if you`re on one of the long term visas (permanent resident, spouse, etc).
I checked, and it seems they also photograph you these days. Apparently it was put back into practice due to pressure from the US, from April if I recall correctly.

What about switching careers once you're in Japan? I would like to to teach English, but it would only be temporary until I get into the career I really want to pursue. How do you switch careers and the job field you're in (this is regarding the process with visas and what not, and how to do so once you're in Japan). I know that with the American government,it's nothing but jumping through hoop after hoop, and loads of bureaucracy. Based upon past experience, I'm assuming same story different day with Japanese government (but I could be wrong because I know little about how exactly their government works). If said degree is qualified and the length of time is long enough, will they accept a degree from an online course from a college (regarding teaching English as a 2nd language, and then TEFL for certification)?

I'm just wondering regarding all this; however I seriously doubt it applies to me. We plan to move to Japan permanently (meaning the type of visas will fall under a completely different category). Somebody told me if two are moving to Japan together, both have to be qualified with jobs of some sort. How true is this? No offense, but Japan is known for being sexist. Traditionally, they expect women to stay home and play homemaker. Even if they manage to get a job or career, they're limited with how far they can advance and this probably effects their wage/salary (as in they're probably payed lower because of what their gender is).

Also regarding applying for permanent resident and applying for long term resident, what is the difference? I know you have to live in Japan a certain amount of time before you can apply for citizenship (5 years or so). However, can you apply for permanent citizenship earlier based upon criteria given (you have a Japanese spouse who has your child or you're setting up a business)? Also I am guessing that long term residence means you plan to move to Japan and live there permanently, but you're a foreigner.

Here it is, the visa thread. It had grown a bit stale and made its way to page 2.

About a month ago I was looking up work visas and I recall seeing that you either need a bachelors degree or 2 years experience in a field. Is this true?

I don't know much about the '2 years experience' thing, but you do indeed need a 4-year bachelor's degree.

Most employers do require experience, unless you graduated in Japan. But how long the required experience is a case to case basis.

My question is if your just going to japan for like 2 weeks do you still need a visa.
I Mean if the money you were taking was just all changed in to Yen. WOuld you still need a visa for a short stay like I'm planning to do, within the next four or so years.

You'll be fine. Only need a visa if you're staying longer than 90 days...

Alright. Thanks. I'll have to keep that in mind then

That's is true but not for all countries. I think it was posted by Nyororin or jasonbvr, the countries that does not need visa to enter Japan if less than 90 days.

If a person has a bachelors in a specific field (eg: 3-4 years bachelors in computers). Would they be able to get a working visa?

yes that is required. The next would be the employer. :cool:

So in terms of working visa's theres no difference between a bachelors and a bachelors in a specific field?

ありがとう

The type of visa will be determined by the type of work you are doing, not by your degree. You have to be employed first, then you get the visa second. Not the other way around which I think is sometimes true in the US.

I was wondering about cultural visa's...is it possible for me to get a 6 month cultural visa for karate.

This is probably a stupid question, but I'll ask anyway. I'd be trying for an entertainer visa, and I doubt that I'll have an employer right off the bat. Do you get a temp visa and then apply for a more permanent one after gaining an employer?

Or does this mean I have to find an agency or some such before applying for a visa? The only one I know of requires you to already live in Japan.