# What's next?



## seafoam

Hi all 

Soon I will be going on a one year working visa to Japan (by soon I mean next year haha) and I’m really excited.

However, due to the way I think there has been a question that has been bugging me: *what do I do after?*

Providing that my one year working visa in japan goes well and I really enjoy it, I would really like to move there however I’m unsure what the process would be, what the requirements would be and how I would apply. I know I’m jumping the gun a bit here considering my 1 year working visa isn’t until next year, but I like to cover all of my basis.

A little background:
•	I have recently graduated from university with a BA Hons degree.
•	Currently working in IT and working towards achieving further qualifications/certifications (Microsoft Certification etc…)
•	Currently studying Japanese and should be fluent enough in the basics ready for my year working visa in 2016

Any guidance would be appreciated!

-	Joshua


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## Bevdeforges

Normally, the first place to check for visa requirements is the consulate for the country in your own country: Embassy of Japan in the UK
Cheers,
Bev


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## seafoam

Bevdeforges said:


> Normally, the first place to check for visa requirements is the consulate for the country in your own country: Embassy of Japan in the UK[/url]
> Cheers,
> Bev


Thanks that is a good start and answered some question but also raised some new ones:

Under the Certificate of eligibility it states

"Applicants wishing to work, study, or live in Japan, should in principle first obtain a Certificate of Eligibility. The Certificate of Eligibility is issued by the Ministry of Justice in Japan. To obtain a Certificate of Eligibility, the applicant must ask a sponsor in Japan (an employer, spouse, school, etc.) to contact the local immigration office and make an application on their behalf. The application must be made by a sponsor in Japan."

Therefore does that mean that I would apply for a job in japan based in my domestic residence and should I be accepted for the job they would then contact the immigration office to request my entry into Japan?

Also it states under 'Skilled Labour' and/or 'Engineer' (which is what I presume IT related field would fall under)

"Period of stay: 3 years or 1 year"

What if one wanted to stay longer than 3 years? Would it be a case of renewing (providing that you're still employed etc...)

Thanks!

Joshua


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## Bevdeforges

Can't answer for Japan, but in many countries, to get a work visa you basically need to first find a job with an employer who is willing and able to apply for work authorization for you. It sounds like the system in Japan is pretty similar. Normally, the sponsor has to show why they are hiring a foreigner rather than a local person for the job.
Cheers,
Bev


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## larabell

I had a UK friend a while back who came here (Japan) on a 1-year working visa, found a job within a couple of months, and when his year was up, his employer sponsored him for a regular working visa. The procedure isn't all that complicated but you do need a sponsor (ie: an employer). I assume you'll be able to find a job within the first year, especially with an IT background.

As far as I know, most working visas are for a maximum of 3 years but if you're still working at the end of that time, extending your period of stay is usually pretty simple. You get a letter from your employer stating that you're still employed and how much you make and also a certificate from your local city/ward office that you've been paying your taxes on time. That's all I've ever needed. Assuming you haven't been in any serious trouble, it's usually just a rubber stamp application. But you do end up spending a few hours waiting around at the Immigration office, which I always count as the "dues" one has to pay to remain in Japan .

The criteria for getting a visa in the first place doesn't seem as strict as in other countries. I know in the US, the company has to prove that they sought a local employee for the position before the visa is granted but I've never heard of that happening in Japan. At most, they do insist that you not be paid significantly less than a local would have been paid for the same job but in the tech field that doesn't usually happen anyway. Besides, by the time you apply for the 3-year working visa, in theory, you will already have been working for some company for several months so there shouldn't be any additional hoops to jump through.

Good luck and PM me when you arrive and I'll introduce you to the Tokyo Linux Users Group where you can find out more about what's happening in the ex-pat IT world.


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## seafoam

larabell said:


> I had a UK friend a while back who came here (Japan) on a 1-year working visa, found a job within a couple of months, and when his year was up, his employer sponsored him for a regular working visa. The procedure isn't all that complicated but you do need a sponsor (ie: an employer). I assume you'll be able to find a job within the first year, especially with an IT background.
> 
> As far as I know, most working visas are for a maximum of 3 years but if you're still working at the end of that time, extending your period of stay is usually pretty simple. You get a letter from your employer stating that you're still employed and how much you make and also a certificate from your local city/ward office that you've been paying your taxes on time. That's all I've ever needed. Assuming you haven't been in any serious trouble, it's usually just a rubber stamp application. But you do end up spending a few hours waiting around at the Immigration office, which I always count as the "dues" one has to pay to remain in Japan .
> 
> The criteria for getting a visa in the first place doesn't seem as strict as in other countries. I know in the US, the company has to prove that they sought a local employee for the position before the visa is granted but I've never heard of that happening in Japan. At most, they do insist that you not be paid significantly less than a local would have been paid for the same job but in the tech field that doesn't usually happen anyway. Besides, by the time you apply for the 3-year working visa, in theory, you will already have been working for some company for several months so there shouldn't be any additional hoops to jump through.
> 
> Good luck and PM me when you arrive and I'll introduce you to the Tokyo Linux Users Group where you can find out more about what's happening in the ex-pat IT world.


Awesome, awesome, awesome that really cleared it up for me and definitely boosts my confidence. I've read online that anytime after 5 years you can apply for naturalization, have you had any experience with naturalization or know anybody that has? I'm guessing the likelihood of being accept in just 5 years are slimmer than apply at say 8 - 10 years? Any who I appreciate the detail you went into and I will definitely shoot you a message when I'm on Japanese soil.

P.S I have been looking on Daijob at job advertisements in Japan, do you know of any websites that are great for getting work (specifically IT) in Japan whilst applying outside of Japan? I'm thinking ahead again for my 1 year working visa.


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## larabell

I have no direct knowledge of naturalization. I know one couple from Korea who naturalized but they had been living here a lot longer than 5 years. I don't think the time is the important thing. In order to become a Japanese citizen you have to be fairly fluent in the language and somewhat knowledgeable on history and customs. That's probably more of a stumbling block for most people than mere time-in-country.

After about 10 consecutive years, give-or-take, you could apply for permanent resident status. That might be a more viable route, especially since you'd be expected to give up your British citizenship upon naturalization and that's a pretty harsh step to take.

I'm also not familiar with the current job sites since I haven't had to search for a job here at all. A quick search of the forum archives should result in some hits since job boards come up for discussion every now and then. Or maybe someone who has searched for a job in Japan recently can chime in. I've heard Daijob recommended often enough that it's probably as good a resource as any.

There are also at least two ISPs in Japan, GOL and AsahiNet, which are run partly in English and support English-speaking customers. Either of those might be worth a try, at least until your Japanese is strong enough to deal with an all-Japanese work culture. Oh... apparently Amazon has an operation here as well and I would imagine they have a sizable IT division.


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## seafoam

*Thanks*



larabell said:


> I have no direct knowledge of naturalization. I know one couple from Korea who naturalized but they had been living here a lot longer than 5 years. I don't think the time is the important thing. In order to become a Japanese citizen you have to be fairly fluent in the language and somewhat knowledgeable on history and customs. That's probably more of a stumbling block for most people than mere time-in-country.
> 
> After about 10 consecutive years, give-or-take, you could apply for permanent resident status. That might be a more viable route, especially since you'd be expected to give up your British citizenship upon naturalization and that's a pretty harsh step to take.
> 
> I'm also not familiar with the current job sites since I haven't had to search for a job here at all. A quick search of the forum archives should result in some hits since job boards come up for discussion every now and then. Or maybe someone who has searched for a job in Japan recently can chime in. I've heard Daijob recommended often enough that it's probably as good a resource as any.
> 
> There are also at least two ISPs in Japan, GOL and AsahiNet, which are run partly in English and support English-speaking customers. Either of those might be worth a try, at least until your Japanese is strong enough to deal with an all-Japanese work culture. Oh... apparently Amazon has an operation here as well and I would imagine they have a sizable IT division.


Awesome I really appreciate the help. I didn't realise naturalisation and permanent residency were two different things (I thought naturalisation = permanent residency) so you've definitely given me some more reading to do haha!

If Daijob has been brought up previously on here then it is enough for me to look on there for jobs, I've found almost the exact same position out there for more money than I am on here in the UK.

Thanks again, if anyone reading this has anything they could chime in that hasn't been mentioned but worth bringing up please feel free to do so, I want to know everything so i can cover all my basis haha.

- Joshua


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## Raffish_Chapish

Hello - I work in recruitment in Japan. Your employer can just extend/roll your visa on every 1 , 3 or 5 years. It's not difficult and your HR dept will do it - I know people who have had their visa extended every 3 years for 12 years, without getting PR.


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## seafoam

Raffish_Chapish said:


> Hello - I work in recruitment in Japan. Your employer can just extend/roll your visa on every 1 , 3 or 5 years. It's not difficult and your HR dept will do it - I know people who have had their visa extended every 3 years for 12 years, without getting PR.


That's very reassuring thanks. If things are going great 7months into my WHV I may switch to a WV and then who knows I might switch to PR in several years time 

If people have stumbled across this thread and are looking for info similar to mine I would definitely checkout these sites as they have helped out a lot:

japan-talk
the embassy link listed in the first reply in this thread
expatsguide
guillaumeerard
japan-guide


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