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velvetoutsider
Joined: 05 May 2005
Posts: 3
Location: Raleigh, NC
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 Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 6:58 am Post subject: Question about bringing fiance to Japan |
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Hi! I'm going to Japan with the JET Program, and I plan to bring my fiance. My question is rather complicated, so bear with me!
Although it might be easier to look for work while in Japan, he would feel better if he secured a job while still in the United States. The problem is, he will not start applying until I know where I am placed, which will happen at the end of May. I leave at the end of July. I worry that he will have to wait for months after I go to get over there. Is it possible for him to secure a job while still here, but go to Japan with me and wait until his job starts? In other words, can he go over on a tourist visa, then pick up his work visa when his job starts? Also, can anyone tell me how the "big 4" handle visas (as in, how do they send them to you)?
Sorry for the convoluted questions, but I would appreciate advice from anyone who has had experience with this kind of situation.
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 8:46 am Post subject: |
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| Is it possible for him to secure a job while still here, but go to Japan with me and wait until his job starts? |
Yes, but that wait will probably be only a few days. The reason is that they sponsor his work visa, which pretty much coincides with the working period that they hire him for. He comes, and in a couple days starts work, which is contracted for a year, and then the visa ends.
No employer wants to sponsor your visa just so you can come here and take a vacation (or what amounts to it) for a couple of weeks or longer) and burn valuable time on your visa.
| Quote: |
| In other words, can he go over on a tourist visa, then pick up his work visa when his job starts? |
What I described above happens when he gets recruited from the USA, and the employer files paperwork with Japanese immigration while your fiance still stays in the USA. He gets the Certificate of Eligibility stamped into his passport, and the visa gets activated the moment he arrives.
For the situation you describe, that's a different story. First of all, in most cases, I believe the Big Four eikaiwa don't hire local foreigners. They recruit from outside of Japan. If he wants to come here on his tourist status, then look for work with other outfits, he takes his chances like everyone else. Some people have hunted for 90 days without finding work. That's the limit for a tourist stay, after which he has to leave. (He can return right away, but he must leave the country for at least 24 hours to "restart" his tourist status.)
Secondly, looking for work in July is fairly poor. Not the worst time of year, but not really great.
Thirdly, if he lands a job with any of the Big Four, there is no guarantee that you two will be living near each other. JET and eikaiwas like the Big Four can only promise so much, and that is to "consider" your requests for location. In the long run, you go where they place you. Some people (couples) get lucky. Some don't. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 10:00 am Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
No employer wants to sponsor your visa just so you can come here and take a vacation (or what amounts to it) for a couple of weeks or longer) and burn valuable time on your visa.
| Quote: |
| In other words, can he go over on a tourist visa, then pick up his work visa when his job starts? |
What I described above happens when he gets recruited from the USA, and the employer files paperwork with Japanese immigration while your fiance still stays in the USA. He gets the Certificate of Eligibility stamped into his passport, and the visa gets activated the moment he arrives.
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Just to add to what Glenski says, if he has an employer set up before he leaves, a work visa in his passport he will be sponsored by them and officially employed by them as soon as he steps off the plane. they give him a couple of days to get his apartment organised, get his bearings and then start training.
At NOVA for example new teachers can not take "vacations" until they have worked at least 6 months at the company. Coming to Japan, hanging around for two weeks on company time and then starting work at his convenience will simply not fly with his employer. They decide when he can take time off, not him, and that usually means putting in 6 months first before he is eligible for paid vacations.
He gets the certificate of eligibility from the embassy, he goes to the embassy and then receives his visa. As he goes through the immigration his visa is then "cancelled" and replaces with a one year status of residence. a A visa is simply permission to enter the country.
Once he sets foot in Japan he is on company time with a sponsored work visa. His "butt" belongs to the school he goes with. |
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velvetoutsider
Joined: 05 May 2005
Posts: 3
Location: Raleigh, NC
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| Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 2:17 pm Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Is it possible for him to secure a job while still here, but go to Japan with me and wait until his job starts? |
Yes, but that wait will probably be only a few days. The reason is that they sponsor his work visa, which pretty much coincides with the working period that they hire him for. He comes, and in a couple days starts work, which is contracted for a year, and then the visa ends.
No employer wants to sponsor your visa just so you can come here and take a vacation (or what amounts to it) for a couple of weeks or longer) and burn valuable time on your visa. |
But if he applies at the end of this month, I don't think it would be possible to start that early...doesn't it take a few months to process a visa? |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 2:48 pm Post subject: |
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| velvetoutsider wrote: |
| But if he applies at the end of this month, I don't think it would be possible to start that early...doesn't it take a few months to process a visa? |
It takes 8-12 weeks from the time of his interview until the time he gets his work visa and is ready to leave. Other schools may be OK. July or August is typically a dead time for jobs here anyway.
I might add that recently NOVA is making people wait 6 or 7 months before there are openings and sending people their visas. he may literally be waiting until Christmas before he gets word of where he would be sent.
What will you do if he gets sent to an opposite part of the country or is a 3-hour train ride away? If he turns it down they may not offer him a second chance. |
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velvetoutsider
Joined: 05 May 2005
Posts: 3
Location: Raleigh, NC
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| Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 4:42 pm Post subject: |
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Yikes!  The more I read about this, the more frustrated I become. There have got to be people who have done this successfully.
I guess we could deal with it if he has to take a job a few hours away, and see each other on weekends. But a 6-month wait with NOVA? Geez. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 11:59 pm Post subject: |
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| There have got to be people who have done this successfully. |
Yes, and you will find that each situation is unique. All we can do from this forum is tell you the time limits and deadlines, and let you know that no employer can give you a guarantee. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Mon May 09, 2005 4:17 am Post subject: |
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| velvetoutsider wrote: |
Yikes! The more I read about this, the more frustrated I become. There have got to be people who have done this successfully.
I guess we could deal with it if he has to take a job a few hours away, and see each other on weekends. But a 6-month wait with NOVA? Geez. |
you are also dealing with two albeit unmarried people who want to live together but want to do two different kinds of jobs where employers hire at different times of the year in a foreign country.
It would be nice if things could go smoothly but its like the employers and circumstances here pull you in different directions. JET and the BOE have their own agenda, as do the language schools about when and where they hire teachers. |
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