|
Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
cookiemon
Joined: 08 Sep 2015
Posts: 9
|
 Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2015 12:03 pm Post subject: Moving to Japan when spouse has a visa already |
 |
|
Hi all, I have a few questions about my impending move to Japan.
Some background:
I’m an Australian woman in my mid-thirties. I have six and a half years English teaching experience in Korea (2008-2014), a Graduate Diploma of Education – Secondary (chem/biol), but no actual ESL qualifications. I worked for an adult academy in Korea for 4.5 years, managing my centre (20 teachers) for the last 15 months. I then worked in elementary school for 2 years before I left Korea just over 12 months ago.
My American husband is an engineer and will be sent to work in Tokyo for 12 months, starting in Nov or Dec this year. I will join him there. For various reasons, we don’t want to ask his company to organise my visa if we can help it. I’m not really interested in the “expat wife” life (not that there’s anything wrong with it, it’s just not for me), and am planning on at least some form of work while I’m there, which leads me to my questions:
1) Does anyone know if it would be easy to get a spouse visa “on the ground”? If I did, is there one I could work legally on?
2) If I go on a tourist visa and look for a job on the ground, what docs would I need to bring to teach English? I have a new Australian (AFP) background check, and scans of my degree and Dip Ed. Will I need a Korean background check and/or transcripts from university? Anything need to be apostilled or certified?
3) Would an employer sponsor my visa if I only want to work part time?
4) If I go on a tourist visa and cobble together online work, rather than getting an in-person job, can I do visa runs every three months? This is par-for-the-course in Korea, but I don’t know if the Japanese authorities will keep letting me back in. In the U.S. they sure won’t! (I know I will need a ticket out within three months if I enter this way).
5) Should I get a 120 hour TEFL qualification if I want to teach English in Japan, or will my Dip Ed with experience be sufficient?
I know about getting a certificate of eligibility if I’m going to get sponsored for a visa by an employer, but it’s hard to sift through the noise to get the other info from Google. Any advice or answers would be awesome.
Thanks!
Edit: clarify kind of teaching I'm after
Last edited by cookiemon on Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:12 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Maitoshi
Joined: 04 May 2014
Posts: 718
Location: 何処でも
|
| Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2015 9:44 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Unless it's not possible for your husband's company to arrange the visa, you may want to go that route, as changing that visa status to allow some work would entail far less risk. I'm guessing one of those "various reasons" eliminates this option? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
TokyoLiz
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1548
Location: Tokyo, Japan
|
| Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2015 10:08 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Here's a legal office website thst indicates that a dependent visa holder can obtain permission to work part time - http://english.narita-visa.jp/family/
If you want only 25-30 hours a week, dependent plus permission may be the best option for you. Of course you can find part time employment here.
Your arrival time is prime hiring for jobs that start in April. Bring the qualifications you listed.
About TESOL qualifications - do you see yourself doing English language ed rather than science? A TESOL diploma may be suitable in the long run. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
cookiemon
Joined: 08 Sep 2015
Posts: 9
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:10 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Maitoshi wrote: |
| Unless it's not possible for your husband's company to arrange the visa, you may want to go that route, as changing that visa status to allow some work would entail far less risk. I'm guessing one of those "various reasons" eliminates this option? |
Hi Maitoshi, thanks for your reply. I didn't list them bc I was trying to keep the post not so long but they boil down to:
1) He's planning on quitting after the year contract is up and moving to Australia (company doesn't know that yet and is counting on him staying), so he doesn't want to ask them for special favours.
2) I'm currently in Australia and he's still in the US (stupid immigration laws) and logistically I would assume that getting me a spouse visa would at least need me to post my passport to the Japanese embassy in the US. I could be wrong here, so if you know any different let me know.
#2 may be something his company could get around, but then we're back at reason 1, where he feels bad to mislead his company, but it's the only feasible way we can be together until his partner visa for Australia is granted (probably still nearly 12 months away).
As for changing from dependent to allow work, what kind of risk are you talking about?
| Quote: |
Here's a legal office website thst indicates that a dependent visa holder can obtain permission to work part time - http://english.narita-visa.jp/family/
If you want only 25-30 hours a week, dependent plus permission may be the best option for you. Of course you can find part time employment here.
Your arrival time is prime hiring for jobs that start in April. Bring the qualifications you listed.
About TESOL qualifications - do you see yourself doing English language ed rather than science? A TESOL diploma may be suitable in the long run. |
Thanks for your info too, TokyoLiz. 25-30 hours a week would be perfect. I did the hagwon thing in Seoul and don't really want to do the whole full time Eikaiwa thing in Japan. Freelance English lessons for business people would be the best suited for me. Or maybe part time for a company like Berlitz. I did mean English teaching, not science (I'll edit above to clarify), but only because I imagine that openings for science teachers that don't speak Japanese are thin on the ground. Of course, if I could find one that suited me, I'd be very open to considering it.
I'm only planning on being in Japan for a year, so I wouldn't get a TESOL diploma for just that. I hadn't been planning on going back to English teaching again at all, but the whole getting my husband an Australian visa thing will take far longer than we first realised. If a 120 hour qualification would be the difference between me finding work or not, I could conceivably do that before I leave for Japan. However I'm pretty confident I can sell myself on the basis of my experience if there are opportunities that are flexible about qualifications.
Any further advice you have would be greatly appreciated! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
rtm
Joined: 13 Apr 2007
Posts: 1003
Location: US
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:35 am Post subject: Re: Moving to Japan when spouse has a visa already |
|
|
| cookiemon wrote: |
1) Does anyone know if it would be easy to get a spouse visa “on the ground”? If I did, is there one I could work legally on?
2) If I go on a tourist visa and look for a job on the ground, what docs would I need to bring to teach English? I have a new Australian (AFP) background check, and scans of my degree and Dip Ed. Will I need a Korean background check and/or transcripts from university? Anything need to be apostilled or certified?
3) Would an employer sponsor my visa if I only want to work part time?
4) If I go on a tourist visa and cobble together online work, rather than getting an in-person job, can I do visa runs every three months? This is par-for-the-course in Korea, but I don’t know if the Japanese authorities will keep letting me back in. In the U.S. they sure won’t! (I know I will need a ticket out within three months if I enter this way).
5) Should I get a 120 hour TEFL qualification if I want to teach English in Japan, or will my Dip Ed with experience be sufficient?
|
1) As others have indicated, you can work part-time on a spouse visa (you just need to request permission). This actually would be a big advantage because you wouldn't need your employer to sponsor your visa, and a lot of places are willing to hire people part-time.
2) No apostille needed in Japan. The other things you mention should cover everything, but I am not certain -- maybe others can confirm.
3) No, employers won't generally sponsor a visa for part-time work.
4) I wouldn't want to try this. I wouldn't expect that it would work for a whole year.
5) It might help, but generally not needed.
If I were in your shoes, I'd get your husband's company to sponsor your visa. Then you won't need to do any visa runs (hoping you will be let back in), or worry about finding a job with an employer who will sponsor your visa (a lot of employers nowadays want people who already have a visa). You'll also be able to work part-time, like you indicated you want to do. I don't think your husband should feel bad about asking them to sponsor your visa, as it is par for the course to do so. It might even seem odd for his wife to come and not have a spouse visa. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Shakey
Joined: 29 Aug 2014
Posts: 199
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:23 am Post subject: |
|
|
| cookiemon wrote: |
| 25-30 hours a week would be perfect. Freelance English lessons for business people would be the best suited for me. Or maybe part time for a company like Berlitz. |
Berlitz is considered to be the best of a bad lot. Getting hired as a per-lesson teacher in Tokyo would be ideal for someone like you. I've met a lot of women in your situation who are doing exactly that at Berlitz. You can work as much or as little as you want to in a city like Tokyo.
And unless you want to work for the British Council, TESOL certificates are not needed to find TEFL work in Japan. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Inflames
Joined: 02 Apr 2006
Posts: 486
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 4:16 am Post subject: |
|
|
Have your husband's employer organize your visa - you get a certificate, which you then have to take to the Japanese consulate (or embassy) for your area to get the visa (he will probably have to send you the certificate though). You can get the visa on your own but this will take much longer (4 to 6 weeks). The company is bringing him in as an engineer (honestly, it sounds like Rakuten for some reason), it shouldn't be anything difficult for them to simply get your visa as well.
Just have scans of your actual degree - the only place that actually wanted to see my degree (after I got a visa) was Gaba.
The OP's husband is an engineer, and presumably will have something resembling normal office hours - doing something such as teaching business lessons or working as an ALT might be better in terms of times (at least in Kansai, Berlitz loves schedule flexibility). |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
cookiemon
Joined: 08 Sep 2015
Posts: 9
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 4:33 am Post subject: |
|
|
This all sounds like great advice. Thanks rtm, Shakey and Inflames.
So Inflames, my husband's employer will make the certificate for me that I can take to my local consulate or send to the embassy?
I just talked to him and he's having a major attack of the guilts as they're building him up as The Future of the Company, and are sending him to Japan, kind of as a favour to us (easiest way for us to be together in the short term). They'd actually rather have him in the US, hence his not wanting to ask for anything extra. I told him that we really don't know what's going to happen with the visa for Australia, and it's not guaranteed (though there's no reason it should be denied). If something goes wrong with it he's most likely to stay with the company until we can get me a visa to go to the US. He's going to ask about getting me the visa, he just feels really really uncomfortable.
I guess the best thing from his POV is if I came in on a tourist visa then personally applied for a dependent visa after I get there. Even if it took a month or two to switch my status, that wouldn't be a problem as I don't HAVE to work.
Does anyone know if that's doable? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
rtm
Joined: 13 Apr 2007
Posts: 1003
Location: US
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
cookiemon
Joined: 08 Sep 2015
Posts: 9
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 5:17 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Thanks rtm! I'll check them out. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Shakey
Joined: 29 Aug 2014
Posts: 199
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 8:14 am Post subject: |
|
|
| cookiemon wrote: |
This all sounds like great advice. Thanks rtm, Shakey and Inflames.
So Inflames, my husband's employer will make the certificate for me that I can take to my local consulate or send to the embassy?
I just talked to him and he's having a major attack of the guilts as they're building him up as The Future of the Company, and are sending him to Japan, kind of as a favour to us (easiest way for us to be together in the short term). They'd actually rather have him in the US, hence his not wanting to ask for anything extra. I told him that we really don't know what's going to happen with the visa for Australia, and it's not guaranteed (though there's no reason it should be denied). If something goes wrong with it he's most likely to stay with the company until we can get me a visa to go to the US. He's going to ask about getting me the visa, he just feels really really uncomfortable.
I guess the best thing from his POV is if I came in on a tourist visa then personally applied for a dependent visa after I get there. Even if it took a month or two to switch my status, that wouldn't be a problem as I don't HAVE to work.
Does anyone know if that's doable? |
That's too much information. We are just TEFL teachers. People here can talk to you about teaching, but your situation sounds complicated.
Have you considered posting this on Reddit Japan sub-forum? You might get some good responses from wives who have done something similar to what you want to do. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
cookiemon
Joined: 08 Sep 2015
Posts: 9
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 10:24 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Shakey wrote: |
| cookiemon wrote: |
This all sounds like great advice. Thanks rtm, Shakey and Inflames.
So Inflames, my husband's employer will make the certificate for me that I can take to my local consulate or send to the embassy?
I just talked to him and he's having a major attack of the guilts as they're building him up as The Future of the Company, and are sending him to Japan, kind of as a favour to us (easiest way for us to be together in the short term). They'd actually rather have him in the US, hence his not wanting to ask for anything extra. I told him that we really don't know what's going to happen with the visa for Australia, and it's not guaranteed (though there's no reason it should be denied). If something goes wrong with it he's most likely to stay with the company until we can get me a visa to go to the US. He's going to ask about getting me the visa, he just feels really really uncomfortable.
I guess the best thing from his POV is if I came in on a tourist visa then personally applied for a dependent visa after I get there. Even if it took a month or two to switch my status, that wouldn't be a problem as I don't HAVE to work.
Does anyone know if that's doable? |
That's too much information. We are just TEFL teachers. People here can talk to you about teaching, but your situation sounds complicated.
Have you considered posting this on Reddit Japan sub-forum? You might get some good responses from wives who have done something similar to what you want to do. |
Thanks Shakey, I'll consider that. As for too much information, I disagree. My above post boils down to: husband doesn't want to ask his company to apply for a visa for me, so can I come in on a tourist visa and change it to a spouse visa? If you don't know the answer, no problem! I wouldn't have known it about Korea. But someone might. I'll also look at Gaijinpot and reddit to see if anyone there knows. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Maitoshi
Joined: 04 May 2014
Posts: 718
Location: 何処でも
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 11:31 am Post subject: |
|
|
| What I meant by risk is that you would technically be breaking the law to enter on a tourist visa with the intention of working. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Maitoshi
Joined: 04 May 2014
Posts: 718
Location: 何処でも
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 11:33 am Post subject: |
|
|
| If the possibility (not sure how likely) of being deported isn't a problem, then no worries, I suppose. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
cookiemon
Joined: 08 Sep 2015
Posts: 9
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 11:42 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Maitoshi wrote: |
| What I meant by risk is that you would technically be breaking the law to enter on a tourist visa with the intention of working. |
Ah, ok, cool. If i did that, it would be discreet, and probably only online work from Australia anyway. I misunderstood what you meant. Thanks again for your input! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling.
Contact Dave's ESL Cafe
Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
