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Dante
Joined: 02 Mar 2005
Posts: 3
Location: USA
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 Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 4:35 am Post subject: Working on a dependent visa over the Internet |
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Hello all,
I am hoping the community here could help me figure out a couple of things. Here is my situation: I am an American, as is my wife. She will be starting to look for a job teaching in Japan within a few months. I am working on my degree and will be done soon, but I don�t currently have it. From what I understand, she will need to secure a work visa from her potential employer, and I will need a dependent visa to come to Japan and live with her.
I currently work over the Internet as a programmer. There is no need for me to ever go to the office�s location. I would like to continue working in this fashion but I am unsure as to what needs to be done with income/taxes/visa. If I keep a bank account in the U.S. and have direct deposit, can I quietly continue working from home without issue? And just withdraw money from ATMs when necessary? If I need a work visa, who would be the sponsor? My U.S. company which has no branch offices in Japan? What about taxes? Would I just file regular U.S. Income tax? Would there be a state tax from the place where I last lived?
Finally, my wife�s qualifications are as follows: BA degree in Linguistics. TEFL cert from an online school (she also has TEFL work experience already), and she will soon be pursuing a masters in TESOL (probably an online school such as Phoenix online, so she can work abroad while pursuing the degree). Are these qualifications pretty sufficient to be able to land a job in Japan?
I realize I am asking many questions, so please just post if you know the answer to any part. Thanks very much in advance! |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 7:07 am Post subject: |
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| If I keep a bank account in the U.S. and have direct deposit, can I quietly continue working from home without issue? |
Assuming your employer is American, yes, but you can't stay longer than 90 days unless you get that dependent visa.
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| And just withdraw money from ATMs when necessary? |
Depends on what card you have. Most Japanese ATMs don't cater to international cards.
No matter where you live in the world, Americans still have to file for US taxes. If you only make money from your US job, it won't make much difference except for your address on the form. As far as your wife goes, income earned in Japan is not taxable by the USA up to about $80,000 (don't know the figure exactly, and it goes up each year), but she WILL have to file using the 2555 forms. IRS forms are available online or at your local embassy. Filing for state taxes will also probably be required (depends on the state).
| Quote: |
| my wife�s qualifications are as follows: BA degree in Linguistics. TEFL cert from an online school (she also has TEFL work experience already), and she will soon be pursuing a masters in TESOL (probably an online school such as Phoenix online, so she can work abroad while pursuing the degree). Are these qualifications pretty sufficient to be able to land a job in Japan? |
What type of teaching job is she shooting for? She may be considered overqualified for some conversation schools (eikaiwa), so beware of that if she is rejected. Otherwise, she has more than the minimum for such entry level work (and for JET programme). She would need experience teaching in Japan for high school work, and she would need to be certified in the USA for teaching in international schools here. She is not qualified for university teaching here until she has her master's plus publications, and even then, only minimally qualified. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 11:07 am Post subject: Re: Working on a dependent visa over the Internet |
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| Dante wrote: |
| I currently work over the Internet as a programmer. There is no need for me to ever go to the office�s location. I would like to continue working in this fashion but I am unsure as to what needs to be done with income/taxes/visa. If I keep a bank account in the U.S. and have direct deposit, can I quietly continue working from home without issue? ! |
AS your income originates in the states and you will pay taxes in the US there should be no need to declare income to Japanese authorities, as technically, you dont have a Japanese employer and are not paying taxes here.
Dont tell them and they dont need to know.
Americans earning up to 80,000 a year here must file a tax return with the IRS but you dont need to pay taxes on US income here.
| Dante wrote: |
| And just withdraw money from ATMs when necessary? If I need a work visa, who would be the sponsor? My U.S. company which has no branch offices in Japan? What about taxes? Would I just file regular U.S. Income tax? Would there be a state tax from the place where I last lived?! |
You will only be able to use accounts like Citibank, as Japanese banks are not connected to US ATMs. The other alternative is drawing funds on a US credit card with ATMs in Japan.
A sponsor here must be a company or individual in Japan that can guarantee your welfare. immigration will not let a US company with no presence in Japan sponsor your work visa here.
If you work for a Japanese employer you will pay Japanese income tax.
| Dante wrote: |
Finally, my wife�s qualifications are as follows: BA degree in Linguistics. TEFL cert from an online school (she also has TEFL work experience already), and she will soon be pursuing a masters in TESOL (probably an online school such as Phoenix online, so she can work abroad while pursuing the degree). Are these qualifications pretty sufficient to be able to land a job in Japan?
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In case you dont know there are two American universities in jaapn that offer Masters degrees in TESOL so doing a distance degree is not her only choice. I am a graduate of Temple University in Japan if she has any questions about it.
A plain vanilla BA degree is all that is required to get a work visa here and thats all that most employers expect. BAs are a dime a dozen and many employers are now starting to ask for Masters degrees for good jobs.
A BA in Linguistics and a TEFL are plenty, and in many schools she may even be considered to be overqualified, as they like people who are rather green and can be trained, rather than certified trained and experienced teachers who prefer to march to their own drum.
A Masters degree will open many doors and is a valuable qualification for those who go the distance. Higher paying high school jobs, part time university jobs etc. You have to weigh up the cost of the degree vs. what you get back in income and depending on what your long-term goals are. |
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Gordon
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 11:58 am Post subject: |
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| You should have no problem accessing your US bank account from a Japanese post office ATM machine. Make sure your US card has a Cirrus or Plus symbol on the back. This is the easiest way to access your US funds here. |
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Dante
Joined: 02 Mar 2005
Posts: 3
Location: USA
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| Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 6:24 pm Post subject: |
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Great,
Thanks for all the info everyone. We are looking into moving to Sapporo or a rural area(or medium size) in Hokkaido (I know Sapporo is not rural, we have visited there once). If we go to a rural area though, it might be difficult to get the money from my ATM account. The bank said it would work at any ATM which accepts VISA but it sounds like maybe they were just trying to keep my account. I will ask again based on this new information.
As far as my wife is concerned, we'd like to try to get her a job teaching at a kids school, we were thinking a private elementary school or an eikaiwa for mostly children's classes. Do you think it would be good to send her resume as is to a few places to see if we get the "overqualified" response, and if that is the case, maybe leave something off the resume (like she has TEFL cert, but no experience with classes?)
Of course, we would like to get her the best salary possible, but it sounds she is too qualified for the low level positions and underqualified for the higher level positions. What type of job should we be shooting for. If we remove the TEFL experience from her resume, do you think we have a good shot at getting her a job at a kindergarten/elementary school or eikaiwa?
Again, thanks so much for the advice you've already shared. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 6:51 pm Post subject: |
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| Dante wrote: |
Great,
Of course, we would like to get her the best salary possible, but it sounds she is too qualified for the low level positions and underqualified for the higher level positions. What type of job should we be shooting for. If we remove the TEFL experience from her resume, do you think we have a good shot at getting her a job at a kindergarten/elementary school or eikaiwa?
Again, thanks so much for the advice you've already shared. |
Dante, your wife is not underqualified for university jobs, but full time jobs usually require some publications. Part time she should have no problem picking up work, but if you are in a rural provincial area it may mean some commuting to 2 or 3 different universities to get a fair amount of work. Most part timers will work one or two days at one school and up to six classes, sometimes more.
Academic publications and PhDs are needed if she is looking for full-time contract positions, but she will need some Japan-based experience and develop some contacts to get an introduction. Networking and meeting people is VITAL to land university jobs, and knowing some Japanese helps, as many jobs are advertised only in Japanese.
I dont think its that she will be overqualified, but many schools think that a person with a Masters in Linguistics CELTA and half a dozen certifications will come in and try and re-write the curriculum because its not what she is used to. Japanese eikaiwas like team-players, not prima-donnas who think they know everything and better than those who may have no TESL but teaching there longer than she has and know the system. She may have all the paper qualifications but no in-the trenches grunt experience teaching EFL in Japan. What works in an ESL class in the US doesnt necessarily apply here.
As long as she is willing to get with the program they are offering, don't sound like a know-all, be flexible in her attitude and apporaoch, dont flaunt her CELTA and degree like a badge to show how great she is as a teacher, she will have no problems with getting hired. She can say she has TESL but be willing to be flexible and accomodating and dont try and re-invent the wheel or tell them how they should teach their students, even if you disagree with their methods. You need them more than they need you. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 8:46 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| your wife is not underqualified for university jobs, but full time jobs usually require some publications. Part time she should have no problem picking up work, |
But, PT work will not provide visa sponsorship.
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| we'd like to try to get her a job teaching at a kids school, we were thinking a private elementary school or an eikaiwa for mostly children's classes. |
Look HARD for an elementary school that will hire someone without teaching experience, let alone such experience IN JAPAN. I really think she is going to have to take an eikaiwa job first. Perhaps, ECC Junior in Sapporo has openings. I don't know. I have a friend who works for them. Also, if you need housing, let me know. I can recommend a place, although it's small and unfurnished. As long as one of you has visa sponsorship, you might qualify for it. No key money. |
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Dante
Joined: 02 Mar 2005
Posts: 3
Location: USA
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| Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 11:09 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the help everyone. I have a much better idea of what to do in the future. Glenski, we probably won't move until late this year, but thanks for the apartment offer. Since I would like to move to Sapporo, I may be talking with you more in the future.
Thanks for all the advice. |
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