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luckbox
Joined: 18 Mar 2006
Posts: 180
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 Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 5:17 pm Post subject: Working Visa question. |
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I'm faced with a small problem regarding the working visa. Any feedback appreciated.
My situation: I've been offered a job by a reputable English school firm in Japan, which requires me to be in Tokyo no later than May 1st. Before I knew about the offer, I applied for a passport renewal (in Canada), so may not get my new passport (which has a new passport number) until as late as April 27th. The working visa takes 3 days to process in Canada. The company is now doing the "Certificate of Eligibility" and so that end of it is no problem.
Question: what options will I have if I can't get the working visa in Canada before my flight leaves? Is this something the company should be able to take care of after I arrive in Japan? If yes, then I'd still need some kind of visa (temp or tourist?) to enter Japan, so how quickly are these issued for Canadians? At Narita upon arrival? By the travel agent in Canada booking my flight?
Thanks in advance. |
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angrysoba
Joined: 20 Jan 2006
Posts: 446
Location: Kansai, Japan
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| Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 5:38 pm Post subject: |
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When you come to the country you will get a tourist visa (usually sixty days) but you will be ineligible to work unless you already have a working visa. Arrange one of these before you leave!
Try this website for info about a working visa or contact the Japanese consulate or embassy near you in Canada. Only the embassy/consulate is able to issue you a visa.
http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/03.html#b |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 9:38 pm Post subject: |
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| You can only leave Canada once you get your certificate of eligibility. You can come on a tourist visa but wont be able to get COE as it will be sent to you in Canada. Your employer can not do anything about getting you a work visa while you are in Japan. |
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luckbox
Joined: 18 Mar 2006
Posts: 180
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| Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 11:23 pm Post subject: |
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| PAULH wrote: |
| You can only leave Canada once you get your certificate of eligibility. You can come on a tourist visa but wont be able to get COE as it will be sent to you in Canada. Your employer can not do anything about getting you a work visa while you are in Japan. |
So the work visa is something that must be done at the Japanese consulate in my home country prior to departure? Is there no way of showing up in Japan on a tourist visa with a COE and applying for a working visa in Tokyo? |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 11:48 pm Post subject: |
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| luckbox wrote: |
So the work visa is something that must be done at the Japanese consulate in my home country prior to departure? Is there no way of showing up in Japan on a tourist visa with a COE and applying for a working visa in Tokyo? |
You can exchange the COE at any overseas consulate or embassy or immigration office once you have the COE stamped in your passport. the COE simply says that you qualify for a work visa. You cant get the visa without getting the COE first.
There is a guy on here (Keith) who has run into all sorts of problems because he came on a tourist visa thinking his employer would have his visa ready for him when the employer can not get the visa for him, and cant work because he cant get sponsorship.
COE is your ticket in, and I dont recommend you come here unless you have your COE or work visa locked in and sponsorship.
The employer can not legally hire you in Japan unless you have an official work visa from immigration stamped in your passport, regardless of when you are supposed to start work. No visa and you are working here ILLEGALLY. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 12:00 am Post subject: Re: Working Visa question. |
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| luckbox wrote: |
I'm faced with a small problem regarding the working visa. Any feedback appreciated.
My situation: I've been offered a job by a reputable English school firm in Japan, which requires me to be in Tokyo no later than May 1st. Before I knew about the offer, I applied for a passport renewal (in Canada), so may not get my new passport (which has a new passport number) until as late as April 27th. The working visa takes 3 days to process in Canada. The company is now doing the "Certificate of Eligibility" and so that end of it is no problem.. |
You will simply have to tell the employer you will be late arriving after you get your new passport and visa, your contract is not valid until you have a visa and arrive in the country anyway. Your visa takes precedence, not your obligation to your employer as he can not employ you on a tourist visa anyway. |
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Apsara
Joined: 20 Sep 2005
Posts: 2142
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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| Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 12:01 am Post subject: |
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Could you contact the passport centre in your country and tell them that you're a special case and that you need your passport sooner than you thought? You may have to pay a fee to expedite it but that would be a lot better than hassles with your visa and trying to delay the start of your new job, it seems to me.
Definitely don't come here without all the paperwork for your visa, you will cause yourself no end of problems. |
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luckbox
Joined: 18 Mar 2006
Posts: 180
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| Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 12:23 am Post subject: |
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| PAULH wrote: |
| luckbox wrote: |
So the work visa is something that must be done at the Japanese consulate in my home country prior to departure? Is there no way of showing up in Japan on a tourist visa with a COE and applying for a working visa in Tokyo? |
You can exchange the COE at any overseas consulate or embassy or immigration office once you have the COE stamped in your passport. the COE simply says that you qualify for a work visa. You cant get the visa without getting the COE first.
COE is your ticket in, and I dont recommend you come here unless you have your COE or work visa locked in and sponsorship.
The employer can not legally hire you in Japan unless you have an official work visa from immigration stamped in your passport, regardless of when you are supposed to start work. No visa and you are working here ILLEGALLY. |
Understood. And apologies for dragging out this question a bit further, but there's a bit of a twist to the COE part of my sponsorship. When I originally applied with this company, I sent them my old passport copy and number. By the time they got around to interviewing me and eventually hiring me, I'd already applied for the new passport. I explained this to them and they replied by suggesting they can use the old passport copy/number when they apply for my COE. But for the work visa, I would need my new passport/number. They added that I should bring both my new and old passports to the Japanese consulate when applying for the visa, and I should bring both to Japan just to show some proof that the two passport numbers match up to the same person.
What I need to know before giving up my apartment/life in Canada: can they get my COE processed using my old passport/number?
And how does the COE part of it work exactly? Is this something, a document, they send me before I go into the Japanese consulate and apply for my work visa? Or is it something that is filed electronically on some Japanese immigration computer database, accessed by the consulate staff who are processing my work visa in Canada?
Thanks you all for the replies. |
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earthmonkey
Joined: 18 Feb 2005
Posts: 188
Location: Meguro-Ku Tokyo
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| Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:03 am Post subject: |
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| luckbox wrote: |
And how does the COE part of it work exactly? Is this something, a document, they send me before I go into the Japanese consulate and apply for my work visa? Or is it something that is filed electronically on some Japanese immigration computer database, accessed by the consulate staff who are processing my work visa in Canada? |
The COE (Certificate of Eligibility) is a document which shows that you have qualified for your visa. I agree that you should not come here without it. Once you have it, you can either get your visa at the Japanese consulate in Canada, or enter on a tourist visa and change to a work visa at the Immigration office in Tokyo.
Good Luck. |
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