Job Discussion Forums

[Luckycode]

Sorry to most of you because this may seem like a dumb question. Anyways I plan on leaving for Japan this coming Febuary and look for a job while there. I have been looking into getting a travel Visa that lasts 90 days. However I was reading on the Japanese Embassy websight that you don't need a visa of any kind to travel to Japan as long as it does not exceed 90 days.

So do I need a visa or not?

edit: also it states that I may need to have my return ticket ready if I do not have a visa. Anyone know if this is actually nesissary?

Lucky

[JimDunlop2]

Yes. You ALWAYS need a visa. However, if your hold a passport belonging to one of a number of selected countries (including (but not necessarily restricted to) USA, Canada, UK, Aus, NZ) you will AUTOMATICALLY receive a 90-day tourist visa upon your arrival in Japan. Some countries (like the Philipnes or Thailand for example) must apply for (and receive) tourist visas to Japan in advance, and get stamped into their passports prior to landing in Japan.

In addition, yes you DO need to show that you have a return ticket that is valid for a date prior to the expiry of your 90-day visa. They can (and DO) check this. I once had a customs agent start demanding to see my return flight ticket, which of course didn't exist as I had only left Japan to go on holiday and was returning home to Japan... The customs agent was getting more and more agitated by the moment as I kept telling him that he was trippin and I had nothing to show him, until finally it dawned on him that I actually lived and worked here and was only returning from holidays abroad. Almost immediately he vanished and went to harass another foreigner in another queue.

Also, if you mention to immigration that you are looking for work, you will likely find yourself on the next plane back home.

[Luckycode]

I apologize for not metioning that I am from the US. Thanks for the reply though, I was a bit confused because the websight on this fourm directed me to another and on that one it says i do not need a visa, its doesn't state clearly that i recieve one apon entering the country. I do know now though that i need a return ticket, no big deal though it is only like 100$ more.

On a side note I already know not to tell immergration that I plan on working in japan when i arrive, I have friends in Kagoshima that I am going to tell him that i am just visiting with them for a while.

Lucky

[kdynamic]

Jim, are you originally from California?

[Sweetsee]

Return tickets are generally cheaper, aren't they? Unless you are using the return on someone else's ticket. Why would you come without a return?
And you may want to splash out for a hotel your fist night, comes in handy to have a voucher to flash on them, less likely to hassle you. The "staying with friends" line is a definite Red Flag. One of the first questions they ask, isn't it? Pretty quick way to suss out a person I'd say. You look smart, keep to yourself, keep quiet, have your documents in hand, along with your voucher in it's swanky folder, may not hurt to flash the plastic while you are at it and you should have no troubles. Oh yeah, never, ever leave anything blank on your disembarcation card. That and remember that appearances are everything here.
Enjoy,
s

[JimDunlop2]

[kdynamic]

Just seeing someone say "trippin" got me feeling natsukashii

[JimDunlop2]

I tend to pick up many cultural "-isms" in English... I'm from Canada but I "borrow" words and expressions from everywhere else.

Eg. I love using "y'all" to refer to a group of people... And sometimes there's just no substitute for giving someone a good "bullocking." Also, "mate" is a nice one to use.

I knew a Californian a couple years ago (who lived here in Japan)... It was weird. I hadn't heard the word "gnarly" since the 80s -- but yet here he was, rolling it off his tongue with a perfectly straight expression on his face...

Anyway....

Cheers mate.

[wolfman]

"Ya'll" is one of my favorites to.

Sweet home kentucky.

[kdynamic]

[G Cthulhu]

Just to be mildly pedantic, a _visa_ is not the same as a Status of Residence or Landed Status. You need a visa to enter Japan (unless you come from one of the countries where certain types of status are granted automatically) but the thing that is stamped in the passport, granted by Immigration, is a Landed Status.

Not that that really changes what everyone has already said - 90 day tourist status is automatic for Americans so you don't need to apply for a visa for that. Working would be very naughty though and you shouldn't do it. Chances of being caught are slim, but you _really_ wouldn't like the results if you are.

[Luckycode]

Thanks Sweetsee your always a big help.

I am not sure if i understand you Cthulhu, I get a visa apon entering the country but, i don't get a landing status? I have to get a landing status somewhere else?

And how I understand the visa i will be recieveing is that I am not able to work, but I am able to applyfor jobs. After i get a job, that company will support my work visa and I will just switch my visa to a working one, which i also heard entails a quick trip to korea and back.

Does that sound correct?

Lucky

[Glenski]

I was going to write what G Cthulhu did, but I thought others might really consider me picky. It's confusing.

Basically, people (including immigration officials) use the word "visa" in the wrong way, but it still works out the same. As Cthulhu wrote, the actual visa is what you get to enter. That's all the visa is good for. The moment you have your passport checked out, the visa itself is canceled, and you have in it a different item called "landing permission". This permits you to stay and do the things you are allowed to (like work), but everyone calls "landing permission" and "visa" the same.

Unless you are talking about documentation and such over an immigration related matter, nobody will really bother to use "landing permission". They will just say "visa".

If you want more explanation/confusion, visit the MOFA site.
http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/01.html#b1

Just remember that visa and VISA (all capital letters) are not the same. The latter one is how you spell a credit card name.

[Apsara]

Some of the answers here have made it seem more complicated than it is, I think. Basically, when you first arrive, you will get a stamp in your passport which lets you stay in Japan 90 days, whether you want to call it a visa, a landing permit or whatever. Very simple, no need to visit an embassy or do anything else.

Once you get a job and want to get a work visa (or status of residence, or whatever), that's when the fun really starts.

[G Cthulhu]