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yumii28
Joined: 15 Jul 2005
Posts: 1
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 Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 4:39 am Post subject: Dual Citizenship |
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Hi
I just recently got a job at a private preschool in Tokyo Japan. When i ask the person who is hiring me about certain things like, how much the bonus will be and will the apartment be furnished...He answers with i dont know but come back with ok and yes to all. How should i make it so he'll keep his promise when i get there.
Does anyone know if its okay to work for an independent company like that? Or is it better to work for something like JET?
When a apartment is furnished, what does it mean? What should be included? Basically, what should i make sure is in there before i move in?
Also, I was born in Japan and lived in the US for about 20 years of my life. I naturalized to become an american citizen but still have my japanese passport. Can i just go to Japan without getting a work visa then? And just use my japanese passport there?
Thanks! |
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kendoman1
Joined: 14 Jul 2005
Posts: 69
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 5:25 am Post subject: Yumii |
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Hi,
Wow you have a sticky situation. As far as I know Japan does not recognize dual citizenship,You have to be either Japanese or American not both. I think though maybe you can be a dual citizen until your 18th or 20th birthday something like that then you must decide. If you still have a valid Japanese passport you don't need a visa. The only think is you might have trouble getting a job because schools may not consider you a native speaker. Anyway Yumii good luck and I hope you are successful. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 9:37 am Post subject: Re: Yumii |
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| kendoman1 wrote: |
Hi,
Wow you have a sticky situation. As far as I know Japan does not recognize dual citizenship,You have to be either Japanese or American not both. I think though maybe you can be a dual citizen until your 18th or 20th birthday something like that then you must decide. If you still have a valid Japanese passport you don't need a visa. The only think is you might have trouble getting a job because schools may not consider you a native speaker. Anyway Yumii good luck and I hope you are successful. |
I believe the rules may have changed where people do not have to make a choice anymore about which nationality they take. Are both your parents Japanese or are you "hafu" (bicultural)?
If you have been educated through the school system in the US (up to high school and university you will have at least 12 years education and technically, could teach English as your foreign language, if you consider yourself Japanese. If you consider yourself an American with an American accent you may be able to get hired as a native speaker if English is the only language you know fluently.
Native speakers of English here generally require a university degree as a condition of getting a work visa, and if you dont need a visa and dont have a degree, it could be seen as a "get out of jail free" card to use your Japanese nationality to get hired as an English teacher here. Other teachers will think you are "cheating" and using your Japanese passport to your advantage.
You could get hired but you want to be careful you dont cause resentment by native speaker colleagues, if you are not otherwise qualified. You are either Japanese, native speaker but generally not both.
I may be off-base here but thats what my intuition tells me. |
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ntropy
Joined: 11 Oct 2003
Posts: 671
Location: ghurba
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 12:27 pm Post subject: |
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| The last time we checked (Japanese wife, dual son) a year or so ago, Japan does not allow dual citizenship. Children can keep both until 21, after which they must designate one or the other. Adults can officially only have one. Many of the Japanese I know simply don't tell their Embassy and keep their J citizenship while taking the local one on as well. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 1:01 pm Post subject: |
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So, you landed the job, but they won't tell you how much you make in bonuses (not even a percentage of your salary given)?? Red flag.
They also won't tell you what is in your apartment? How are you expected to plan your life? Red flag 2.
It sounds like you got hired through an agency, not directly through the school. If you have read any of the news here lately about such dispatch outfits, you will recognize red flag 3.
Where are you now? USA or Japan? Sounds like the USA. Politely tell them you need to know a few things before you sign a contract, then ask them the above items. If these things are not on the contract, walk away. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 1:21 pm Post subject: Re: Dual Citizenship |
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| yumii28 wrote: |
Hi
I just recently got a job at a private preschool in Tokyo Japan. When i ask the person who is hiring me about certain things like, how much the bonus will be and will the apartment be furnished...He answers with i dont know but come back with ok and yes to all. How should i make it so he'll keep his promise when i get there.
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If you sign a contract it will state your work hours, salary, whether insurance and transportation to work is paid, holidays conditions of quitting your job and bonuses. It will usually say if accomodation is provided and who pays key money if its needed. You will know exactly what you are getting before you get your visa. By law, if the contract is different from the actual conditions you can apply to void the contract and have the employer fly you back to your own country at their expense (many people dont know this and they usually cant afford to quit their jobs).
Furnished means that its walk-in livable as soon as you get there. Basic used furnishings, but you should expect clean futons, furniture (table and chairs) and cooking equipment. Airconditioner may or may not be provided and may or may not have a washing machine, depending on the employer. Unfurnished means you provide everything yourself including curtains and cutlery. If you are coming from overseas I would not expect to walk into a bare apartment.
Perhaps you want to list some of the terms of the contract here so we can have a look at them for you.
| yumii28 wrote: |
| How should i make it so he'll keep his promise when i get there. |
Legally, an employer is only required to make conditions in the contract in accordance with the Japanese labor laws. If he says he will provide accomodation but doesnt you cant really force him as accomodation is not guaranteed under labor laws. He may have to provide alternative accomodation or pay hotel costs if the accomodation provided is not suitable or not what they promised.
It's only if contract clauses are illegal that you can challenge their legality e.g. unpaid overtime, fines and penalties etc. The best idea is rather than jump first and ask questions later, is find out whether what they offer is reasonable and legal under the labor standards law. You dont wnat to come here and find he is robbing you blind. You can fight it, but you are in a weak position if you cant negotiate irregularities with an employer and you are dependent on them for a paycheck and the roof over your head.
You should also check whether you are expected to pay key money. Some may provide accomodation and provide assistance with key money if you dont have it. I would avoid places that make you pay up to 3-4 months key money, but again it depends on what they have in mind for you. |
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chirp
Joined: 03 Dec 2005
Posts: 148
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| Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 1:52 am Post subject: dual citizenship: Canadian and British |
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I am off the OP topic a little but I have an EU and Canadian passport and hold dual British and Canadian citizenship, currently residing in Canada. Can I apply for work (at an Eikawa) in Canada but apply for the visa (if I get a job) with my Brit passport?
I am considering the option because my Cdn. passport will expire while I would be overseas and I would like to avoid the hassle if possible. I am sure that given time I could come up with a number of other reasons too!
Might this be possible? |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 2:42 am Post subject: Re: dual citizenship: Canadian and British |
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| chirp wrote: |
I am off the OP topic a little but I have an EU and Canadian passport and hold dual British and Canadian citizenship, currently residing in Canada. Can I apply for work (at an Eikawa) in Canada but apply for the visa (if I get a job) with my Brit passport?
I am considering the option because my Cdn. passport will expire while I would be overseas and I would like to avoid the hassle if possible. I am sure that given time I could come up with a number of other reasons too!
Might this be possible? |
You can apply from anywhere you like, as long as you qualify for a work visa and your employer can sponsor you. Hand in the paperwork to the consulate or embassy and they will process your work visa.
If you apply for a six-month working holiday visa you need to be resident in your own country i.e. if you are in Canada you would use your Canadian passport and use your British passport in the U.K apply for WHV.
You can not use a British passport in Canada to apply for a Canadian working holiday visa. |
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johanne
Joined: 18 Apr 2003
Posts: 189
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| Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 11:47 am Post subject: |
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Yumi,
If you have a Japanese passport use it to work in Japan - it will save you a lot of hassles. I know over a dozen Japanese in Canada who took out Canadian citizenship but kept their Japanese passports. This is technically illegal as Japan does not recognize duel citizenship, but what they all do is enter and leave Japan on Japanese passports and enter Canada on their Canadian passports. They make sure to always renew their Japanese passports when they are in Japan and not at the embassy in Canada. Some of them have spent half their working life in Japan and the other half in Canada. I've known people who have been doing this for over 20 years and have had no problems. I'm not sure what the American government does, but in Canada the government never informs other countries about your citizenship status. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 11:59 am Post subject: |
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It might be stating the obvious, but people born in Japan are Japanese and as such don't need visas. Only foreigners who want to work in Japan are required to apply for a visa at the embassy.
If you have a Japanese passport you can come and go as you please without needing a visa here. |
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Gordon
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 1:41 pm Post subject: |
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| PAULH wrote: |
It might be stating the obvious, but people born in Japan are Japanese and as such don't need visas. Only foreigners who want to work in Japan are required to apply for a visa at the embassy.
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Not necessarily. My son was born in Japan and he is not Japanese. He can't get a Japanese passport. It is based on blood ancestry, which you know. |
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Perpetual Traveller
Joined: 29 Aug 2005
Posts: 651
Location: In the Kak, Japan
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| Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 2:25 pm Post subject: Re: dual citizenship: Canadian and British |
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| chirp wrote: |
I am off the OP topic a little but I have an EU and Canadian passport and hold dual British and Canadian citizenship, currently residing in Canada. Can I apply for work (at an Eikawa) in Canada but apply for the visa (if I get a job) with my Brit passport?
I am considering the option because my Cdn. passport will expire while I would be overseas and I would like to avoid the hassle if possible. I am sure that given time I could come up with a number of other reasons too!
Might this be possible? |
Why don't you just renew your Canadian passport? I am assuming that you will want to return there one day and it is much simpler to renew a passport while in country. If it's due to expire in the next year or so you should have no trouble renewing it now and they last for ten years so why not get it over with.
Applying for visas using a passport that is not from the country you are in is possible but potentially problematic. Usually you would only do it if you were in a country that you did not hold citizenship for and even then you would want to apply with the passport you used to enter that country. I'm not sure about the Japanese embassy but the American one has been known to require people to return to their country of origin in order for their visa to be processed. Why take the risk.
PT
PT |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 2:35 pm Post subject: |
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EDIT
Last edited by PAULH on Wed Jan 04, 2006 2:37 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 2:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Gordon wrote: |
Not necessarily. My son was born in Japan and he is not Japanese. He can't get a Japanese passport. It is based on blood ancestry, which you know. |
I was referring to people like the OP whom I can assume has at least one Japanese parent, maybe two and has Japanese nationality/passport. You dont need a visa to enter your birth country (unless you have given up citizenship or don't have it in the first place like your son). |
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chirp
Joined: 03 Dec 2005
Posts: 148
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| Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 3:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Canadian passports only last for 5 years - British passports are valid for 10. I will be renewing my Canadian passport, I just wanted to do it in my own time without the hassle described in another post on the topic. |
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