Oh, that is a great question

With many people wanting to come and live or work in Japan,

one of the most common and challenging roadblocks

that need s to be addressed is how to get a visa.

There is no one-size-fits-all with visas in Japan

They are often considered case-by-case with a variety of factors being considered

and since information on Japanese visas sometimes changes. I wanted to bring in a professional Visa lawyer

to help us with this topic.

Today we're going to avoid the obvious visas like the working holiday

which doesn't apply to every country or visas that would apply to the spouse or child of a Japanese national

and try to focus on some of the main visas that will allow you to live and work in Japan

So without further ado,

today I am sitting down with Miwa Kanesaki

who works as an immigration lawyer here in Japan and has agreed to share

Some of her expertise with us.

Thank you very much for inviting me to this video session

Norm san, arigato gozaimasu

Arigato gozaimasu

Before I dive into a specifics of work visas in Japan

By way of short introduction, I have been a "Gyoseishoshi" for many years

Okay

That means that I'm a licensed legal professional that handles among other things

immigration matters

Before starting I would like to make a few general comments on Japan visa system

First, there is a high degree of discretion involved

This makes it difficult to keep definite answers about things like the length of visa

Second, as Norm san mentioned

rules and regulations change sometimes

This is one of the reasons I recommend having consultation with immigration lawyers

to have updated information and advice

Thank you very much for your introduction for everybody watching

For everybody watching,

I just want to state right at the beginning that this video is not sponsored

Miwa san has actually been kind enough to volunteer her time to share this with us today

And for the most accurate legal answers, she's scripted her responses so she doesn't say anything that's a bit of a no-no

that you might peek at her reading every now and then that is totally fine Miwa san

Thank you very much for this

I'd like to jump right into the visa talk

And ask about some of the basic visa types for working in Japan

right, first there is a category of employment visas

This visa is for a person who will be employed in Japan

There are different types of visas

with different requirements based on the type of work that the visa holder will do.

Okay

A common type is called the engineers specialist in the humanities international services visa

basically, this type of visa is for someone who has a certain level of educational background

or someone with some other kind of professional background or experience

okay

And for the requirements, in addition to proof of academic and job carrier,

Other requirements include an employment contract

and financial papers

a company information including financial papers and

and a statement, why the company needs to hire the applicants?

Okay

And the second category is the student visas

Okay

With this visa, a foreign student can work up to 28 hours a week

after permission by the immigration bureau

Gotcha

Okay

The basic requirements are proof of acceptance at a school

Proof of financial support

Mhm

Usually at the university or school does the visa application process

Okay

So, with these student visas and the employment visas that you just talked about

Usually, these require some kind of sponsor then right?

like the school of the company?

Right, yes exactly

Okay

So a question that I've gotten a few times,

Is it possible to self sponsor a visa

well, actually

no, except for business manager visa

Okay, so the business manager visa is the one that we were talking about before

It actually sounds pretty interesting.

Would you be able to share a bit about what the business manager visa is?

Yes, actually

business manager visa is fairly common a

Business manager visa is for a person who wants to set up a business in Japan

Mhm

The requirements include the business plan and office lease

and a capital investment of five million yen

Okay

The required supporting documents

vary depending on the type of business

Okay

So I guess another good question would be

restrictions on visas

Like I know, for example, a lot of most visas

don't allow a non-Japanese national to vote

What other technical restrictions are on visas?

Right, yes

I think the most obvious restriction is that

people with an employment visa have to notify the Immigration Bureau

If they change jobs

Okay

And the new jobs have to be in the same category

Covered by the employment visa

In other words, within the scope of the visa

Okay

Also, you're not allowed to work for any employer or company

other than the one that sponsored your visa

Or do a part-time job unless it is permitted by the Immigration Bureau

Okay

And as for the student visa,

there is no need to notify the Immigration Bureau, if they change jobs

okay

However, people with a student visa

should not work in places like nightclubs,

and pachinko parlours and other places with the legal term

known as the amusement business

Gotcha

Okay

Also, I should mention that like Japanese,

foreign nationals on any of these visas have to obey the laws

Yeah

After pay income taxes, resident taxes and they have to enrol in

and make payments for national health insurance and

the national pension systems.

Okay

As for voting,

except for very limited exceptions,

now foreign nationals cannot vote in Japan

regardless of their visa status.

Okay

And for extension of work visas

I should say you need to

stay more than half a year and

You shouldn't leave for more than three months at the time

Okay

However,

This is not a hard and fast rule

And the certain reasons for a long leave might be taken into consideration

Mm-hmm

So, in that case, are some

working visas better than others?

All right

That's an interesting question

Whether what visa is better than another

really depends on the goal or the purpose of the person applying for the visa

Okay

For example business manager visa

allows the holder to do various type of business

On the other hand the person with an employment visa

has to work in the same area of the work category

of which the visa is based

Mhm

I should mention that one advantage of business manager visa

is that the holder of the visa

Only has to stay in Japan for several months each year

Okay

So a really really common question

I think what big questions for anybody watching a video like this is

is it possible to work in Japan

Without a university degree

That is a great question

This, it depends on the type of work and type of visa

Okay

So in general,

University degree will help for getting an employment visa called

called “engineer/specialist in humanities/international specialist” visa,

but sometimes a college degree and

and 10 year's working experience

Or a 3 years' working experience

in international business will help, too.

Okay

The important point is

Whether what you studied and

how you worked

match the kind of work you will do in Japan

Mmm, okay

For a business manager visa,

Academic carrier will help

but degree is not required

Gotcha, okay

So now since I've brought you in here

and you have all of this experience

I wanted to ask kind of a question that I think hopefully,

Would give you the opportunity to share some of your background and expertise

What would you say personally are the big benefits of hiring?

Someone like yourself, like an immigration lawyer specialists, etc

This is my favourite question

Since the immigration bureau has a lot of discretion

and since the documentation and language can be difficult,

It is a great idea to have an immigration lawyer

we make sure your visa application meets all the legal requirements

and make the entire process go smoothly

For example, I make sure there is no miscommunication

Among the various people involved such as guarantors

Employers and business partners

and have all the people involved understand the process and documents

basically, I think using an immigration lawyer

Is a kind of investment or a kind of insurance

We try hard to maximize the good points

To persuade immigration Bureau

minimize or explain any unclear points

Excellent.

Well, thank you so much for your time today.

I really appreciate it.

Thank you very much for having me

We will talk again soon.

I have wanted to make a video

on Japanese visas for some time

But with everything being what it is I wasn't willing to do so

without the voice of a proper professional

So thank you so much to Miwa san

for joining us today

Obviously not all of the finer details about the Japanese visa system

are gonna be found in a single YouTube video

But we've done what we can to give a broad strokes base

of information that should hopefully serve as a starting point

if you're researching

Visas to live and work here in Japan

I usually say if you have any questions to feel free to leave them in the comments below

But I don't have answers to your visa questions

So don't ask me Visa questions,

but do leave me something in the comments

I'm really glad that we were able to do this today

I hope the rest of your day is beautiful.

And you know, I will see you again

real soon