Job Discussion Forums

canadiangrrl · Joined: 02 Sep 2004 Posts: 3

Hi,

I will be going to Japan with a HolidayWorking Visa. Does it matter if my employer changes this to a Working Visa? Why or Why not?

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Your employer doesn't change visas; immigration does. I presume that you mean that your employer will file for the work visa for you.

Differences? A few. I guess you have to decide whether they "matter".

1. WHV is good only once in your life, and it is good for only a year. WV can be renewed endlessly. WVs may be for one year or three years.

2. On a WHV, you get taxed 20%. On a WV, you are taxed 5-7%.

3. Although recent changes to the system permit people to work FT on WHVs, many employers still treat this the previous way and will hire you only for PT work. This type of visa is really designed only for temporary work anyway, as the title working holiday visa suggests. A WV permits either FT or PT work.

4. You can come to Japan on a WHV and start looking for work if you like because you don't need a sponsor for it. For a WV, you need the sponsorship. If you come here first, you would need a tourist status, then apply for the WV, which could take several weeks, and you might have to leave the country to finalize the application process. A few cases of unscrupulous employers have been noted in which they string teachers along with claims that "the visa is being delayed, but please keep working", and then the teacher finds himself working (illegally) past his tourist status, fired, with last paycheck withheld, and with no legal recourse to argue this. Or, you might have to find an employer willing to sponsor you before you leave your home country, and you would still have to wait those several weeks.

5. A WHV does not require a bachelor's degree. A WV does.

6. You have to apply for the WHV from your home country, and it takes only a couple of weeks at most. The WV usually takes 4-7 weeks.

7. The WHV is not limited to the type of work you can do (except for bar work). The WV has a certain classification, and you are not permitted to do other types of work. Example: A Humanities Specialist work visa is used for teaching, and with this, you may not do laboratory research or accounting.

8. The application process for each type of visa is different. The WHV requires a statement of purpose for you to write; the WV does not. The WHV requires a itinerary you must provide; the WV does not. The WHV requires that you prove you can support yourself with US$2000-3000 and a plane ticket in hand; the WV does not.