Job Discussion Forums

[tjg_marantz]

Hello again,
Wondering if anyone has gone through the application process for the permission named "Application for Permission to Engage in Activity Other than that Permitted under The Status of Residence Previously Granted".
It seems this is what I would need to do once in Japan to be able to work part-time. Is this one of those permissions they never give or do they pretty much give it to any dependants that want to work part-time? Any restrictions anyone knows about? Could I teach part-time without a degree as opposed to needing one for full-time work?

Thanks!
Laurent


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Correspondence with consulate below:

Dear Mr. Laurent Vaisman,

Concerning your inquiry, as a dependent visa holder, you can not work in Japan. However, after you enter Japan, you can apply for a "Application for Permission to Engage in Activity Other than that Permitted under The Status of Residence Previously Granted" at local immigration office in Japan. Once this is granted you are allow to work under limited conditions.

For information how to obtain this permission, please consult at Japanese immigration office directly. Following is a list of immigration offices in Japan.
http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/appendix3.html


If you have further inquiry, please contact us again.

Consular Affair Section

Consulat General du Japon a Montreal
Consulate General of Japan at Montreal
600 rue de la Gauchetiere Ouest
Montreal QC

TEL:xxxxxxxxxx
FAX: xxxxxxxxxxxx

www.montreal.ca-emb-japan.go.jp

>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vaisman, Laurent [mailto:[email protected]]
> Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2005 10:47 AM
> To: [email protected]
> Cc: Vaisman, Laurent
> Subject: Working as a dependant in Japan
>
> Hello,
> As per our phone conversation, I have looked around and a couple
> of websites, http://www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest/se...p/section2.html.
> Under section 2.9, is stated:
>
> Activities such as attendance at school fall within the scope of
> activities of a "Dependent," but work for compensation is in principle
> prohibited; part-time work (generally no more than 28 hours per week) is
> possible if permission to engage in activities other than that permitted
> under the status of residence previously granted is received.
>
> As well, at
> http://www.pref.osaka.jp/kokusai/OI...ion/03_15_4.htm
> l, which I believe is the Osaka prefecture, is stated:
>
> Question:
> I am a foreigner who works for a company in Japan. How can I have my
> wife and children come to Japan? May my wife have a part-time job in
> Japan?
>
> Answer:
> Your wife may have a part-time job in Japan after she has obtained
> permission to engage in activity other than that permitted under the
> status of residence previously granted. The permission will be given in
> principle provided the job is not covered by the Law Regulating Adult
> Entertainment Businesses etc., although total working hours will be
> limited.
>
>
> I have copied the relevant parts. I am interested in working part-time
> indeed and would like to know how one would go about receiving such
> permission. It seems there is an allowance of 28 hours of work per week
> allowed if such permission is granted. Should you have any questions, do
> feel free to email me and I will respond to them as best I can. If this
> is something that can be done, are there any restrictions in the type of
> part-time work a dependant can engage in.
>
> I thank you for your time,
> Laurent Vaisman
>
> http://www.pref.osaka.jp/kokusai/OI...ion/03_15_4.htm
> l
>

[Glenski]

Dependent visas per se don't allow work, and as you have discovered, you need to get that additional paperwork for permission to work. It's my impression that they are handed out quite freely.

What type of work you can get will then depend entirely on the employer, but aside from PT hours, I don't think there is really any restriction. If you don't have a degree, but the employer requires one, you are out of luck. Some places don't care, so you MIGHT be able to find some teaching work. Also, most non-teaching work will require a fairly high level of fluency in Japanese.

It would help us if we knew more about the type of work you are interested in, so we could (try to) steer you in a more apppropriate direction toward your career and job hunting. I would suggest posting queries on www.gaijinpot.com for starters.

One caveat about dependent visas and work: if you make over a certain amount of money, you will be taxed more heavily. Perhaps someone else reading this can give you specifics.

[JimDunlop2]

I've filled out this form... Well, actually my wife has since I'm the primary visa holder and she's listed as my dependent...

It's no big deal, really. Just find P/T work and go to your local immigration office before you start working, tell them you would like to get special permission to work under your visa... They'll give you a form -- fill it out with your new employer's help (there is a section that requires info that you may or may not have)...

That's it...

P.S. Degree's got nothing to do with it.

[lajzar]

One point - this application does of course require agreement from the original visa sponsor. For a spouse visa, this really should be a formality, but people applying for this form with other visas may find themselves being blocked by the original sponsors.

[JimDunlop2]

Hmmm... Perhaps, but as far as I know, no one from immigration ever contacted my workplace to see if it was OK whether my wife got permission to work on her dependent's visa..

But could be a good heads-up for some?

[tjg_marantz]

Thank you all very much for responding to my inquiry. I appreciate it. I am quite relieved to find out that this permission is granted easily. Takes a load of my mind, to say the least.

Although I do realize that not having a degree will most likely limit my teaching opportunities, I am hopeful that after following an ESL course here(Montreal) sometime this year, that it will somewhat open doors for me along that line once/if we go to Japan. My personal qualities, coupled with an ESL course, I am hopeful, will get me in the door. I am happy to hear part-time teaching work is not as strict in it's requirements as opposed to full-time work. It's not a question of wanting to bypass any requirements or be sneaky but I trully believe that with a bit of guidance(ESL course) I have what it takes to teach(albeit part-time) ESL.

I am currently a dispatcher for Hewlett-Packard here in Montreal(I've looked at the internal HP job searcher, for some reason they ask that their employees speak Japanese, who would have thunk it ). I've takena programming course but I am 7 years removed from it, I would not attempt a programming gig at this point, although something in the games industry would be very interesting, whether it be voice work or in game translation. I suppose I am not the only one who wants this type of job though so I make no illusions for myself. I am french speaking(actually, it is my mother tongue), and my english is perfect. I am somewhat hopeful that this might help me along somehow in some kind of niche market(teaching or otherwise). I am also thinking of the consulates in Japan but I am guessing you need at least basic Japanese to work there. I am 6'1"(183cm), 260lbs(120kg) so maybe a career as a great white sumo could work out I am computer savy so I am definitely thinking of private english computer lessons might be something interesting to investigate. I am not sure what else I could post about myself.

I've posted this query(visa) on gaijinpot and also got a response saying these permissions are given rather freely. If anyone is interested, it can be viewed at http://www.gaijinpot.com/bb/showthread.php?p=83372.
(hope it's okay to link to it here, if not, do feel free to delete the link, no harm meant).

As a final word, I am somewhat surprised by all this. I mean, to legally teach english in japan full-time, you need a bachelor's, but to teach it part-time only, you do not need a bachelor's. The logic of this escapes me. I am not complaining obviously, I am just slightly confused.

Thank you for reading

[PAULH]

[markle]

Anybody know if this piece of paper is required if the work is less formal than part-time (like freelance writing) How is part-time determined, a set number orf hours a month/week year or by income levels?

Also to the OP have you thought of teaching French?

[PAULH]

[tjg_marantz]

markle, I have indeed thought of teaching french. If not in a classroom setting, most likely privately. It would round off my part-time work nicely I believe.

PAULH, I think I read that 28 hours was the maximum number of hours for part-time work on a dependant visa, would you(or anyone else) have some government link stating this. I want to make sure of everything

Also, one last thing about what you said.

[tjg_marantz]

Doing some more thinking on what you said and I think I confused myself needlessly. A visa is not the same thing as a permission to work. Although the employer would not sponsor me(that would be my wife, sponsoring me as a dependant for a visa), he would sign the application for the permission to work part-time.

I think this is more along the lines of what would happen.

Pardon the confusion

[PAULH]

[PAULH]

[tjg_marantz]

My wife will be the one working full-time as a teacher. I will be going as her dependant. On a dependant visa, I am legally not allowed to work unless I apply for and receive "Application for Permission to Engage in Activity Other than that Permitted under The Status of Residence Previously Granted". This is what I will be doing as from what I gather these permissions are given quite regularly. From what I understand, to receive this permission, I need to pick up the application and fill it out and my employer needs to enter some information(I presume salary and what not). Your post saying an employer would not sponsor a part time visa had me confused until I realized it was not a visa I would need but this permission so that part of your post was not going to affect me. My visa is a dependant visa.

I hope I've explained where my confusion came from

[PAULH]