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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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 Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 6:30 am Post subject: How long can you "live" in Japan on a tourist visa |
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I'm an American (important because the rules might be different for someone from a poor country) and want to study Japanese in Japan, but the student visa requires too much money in the bank to show to the Japanese Immigration Bureau as proof of financial stability. I just don't have $30,000 sitting around, and since I'm currently a college student, I'm not going to have that kind of money anytime soon.
So my idea was just to volunteer on WWOOF farms for free room and board or make some money phone tutoring South Koreans, and learn Japanese through language exchanges, doing this all as a tourist.
My question is this: how long can I live in Japan continuously on a tourist visa (by continuous, I mean how many 90-day blocks of time between visa runs to other countries)?
I have lived in Korea for over a year and three months as a "tourist." Is Japan that easy, or do they restrict you to 180 days a year or something? |
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Apsara
Joined: 20 Sep 2005
Posts: 2142
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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| Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 7:55 am Post subject: |
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| Yes, they do restrict you to 180 days a year and are fairly strict about it. There is no guarantee that you will get the second 90 days after a visa run either- they look at back to back visits with suspicion. If you are lucky you will get the 180 days, but I would be very surprised if you got more than that- I've never heard of anyone doing so. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 8:50 am Post subject: |
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Depends on who you ask and how much risk you want to take. Some people have overstayed their tourist status by years.
Americans get 90 days per year.
Get caught overstaying, and you risk deportation, imprisonment, fines, and being blacklisted for returning for years.
Being taught by freelance tutors is not really an efficient way to learn the langauge, especially if you are spending 8-10 hours a day WWOOFing somewhere. Except for rare individuals who find learning languages easy, it's pretty hard work that required dedication and time.
Since you're a college student now, just how much time did you even expect to take off to do this, and why not wait until you graduate so that you are eligible for a work visa? That way, you could come here, get paid more than WWOOFing, and spend your free time studying, whether at a school, with a freelance tutor, or on your own. |
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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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| Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 9:56 am Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
Depends on who you ask and how much risk you want to take. Some people have overstayed their tourist status by years.
Americans get 90 days per year. |
I want to clarify, this is not overstaying, this is leaving and coming back every 90 days, thereby resetting the visa window. This works just fine for Korea up to at least 1.5 years (I know because I'm on my sixth consecutive reentry here). Does it work for Japan as well?
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| Get caught overstaying, and you risk deportation, imprisonment, fines, and being blacklisted for returning for years. |
See above.
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| Being taught by freelance tutors is not really an efficient way to learn the langauge, especially if you are spending 8-10 hours a day WWOOFing somewhere. Except for rare individuals who find learning languages easy, it's pretty hard work that required dedication and time. |
Normally, it isn't a good way to learn, but I've already mastered Korean and Japanese is a breeze to study with Korean as a foundation. I've been working with my Japanese friend and have accomplished quite a bit. I think it could continue at warp speed in-country. The main beef I have with classes is that they emphasize what they want to emphasize, and I'm more concerned with funneling all my efforts into passing JLPT levels. When I attended Yonsei University in Korea, I was astounded at the number of non-TOPIK words we learned and the number of high-frequency words that we never covered. It was like they did not care whatsoever whether we learned high-frequency words or test-related words -- they wanted us to learn the words that they thought were important for arbitrary reasons. Since I already speak two Asian languages, I know how the process works, have a good foundation in Japanese already, and think that a language exchange partner can teach me a lot more than a class.
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| Since you're a college student now, just how much time did you even expect to take off to do this, and why not wait until you graduate so that you are eligible for a work visa? |
Well, let me tell you a sad little story. I was supposed to graduate as soon as next year. Then I found out that 39 of my credit hours, which I had taken at Yonsei University in South Korea, were not actually accredited at all despite Yonsei's claims. What this means is that I'm up to three years away from my degree whereas I was previously figuring a year or a year and a half. I'm sick of waiting. Since I'm doing my degree mostly by distance, there's no reason I can't finish my degree in Japan instead of Korea, unless Japan restricts people to x number of days per year on a tourist visa. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 12:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Rooster_2006 wrote: |
| I want to clarify, this is not overstaying, this is leaving and coming back every 90 days, thereby resetting the visa window. This works just fine for Korea up to at least 1.5 years (I know because I'm on my sixth consecutive reentry here). Does it work for Japan as well? |
I'm sure someone will chime in and say their drinking buddy told him about his cousin's barber's neighbor who has a friend that is related to someone who has done it.
Don't expect more than 90 days. Count your blessings if you skim by with 180.
One tip is to reenter at a different port, although with the fingerprinting in effect now, it may be moot.
Have you considered a cultural visa? |
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Apsara
Joined: 20 Sep 2005
Posts: 2142
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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| Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 12:45 pm Post subject: |
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Everything I've heard points to 180 days being the absolute max in Japan, and that you have to have a good story ready when they ask you why you are coming back so soon even the second time.
My boyfriend at the time did the back to back 90 days thing about 8 years ago and spent almost an hour being interrogated by Immigration when he came back. He said he was only very grudgingly allowed in after he showed them a photo of me and said he was coming back to see me. |
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Khyron
Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Posts: 291
Location: Tokyo Metro City
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| Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 3:04 pm Post subject: |
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When I lived in Korea, I knew a lot of people* who were working on a tourist visa (and many of them still do). Since I've been in Japan, I've met... one person. After coming into the country last time, immigration denied him entry, only letting him in for something like 24 hours to collect his personal belongings and get out of Japan.
*meaning half a dozen or so. They were all from "poor" countries such as England, Australia, Canada, etc. |
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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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| Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 5:44 am Post subject: |
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Okay, it seems like the vast majority of people in this forum don't think it would work the way it works so nicely in Korea. 
So what's the cultural visa? Can someone explain that to me? Do I need to have a huge bank balance like $30,000 to show to immigration, or is the amount less? |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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| Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 11:56 am Post subject: |
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It sounds awesome, but what is the proof of financial viability? $30,000? |
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Khyron
Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Posts: 291
Location: Tokyo Metro City
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| Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 3:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Rooster_2006 wrote: |
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It sounds awesome, but what is the proof of financial viability? $30,000? |
Consider going through the links that Glenski so generously provided for you. The answers are in there. I didn't see a specific answer, but it was very much implied.
If that isn't good enough for you, wouldn't you get a more reliable answer by actually contacting Japanese immigration as opposed to asking on an English teacher's forum? I'm not just saying that to be condescending, but I'm curious about what the answer would be out of general curiosity. |
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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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| Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 3:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Khyron wrote: |
| Rooster_2006 wrote: |
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It sounds awesome, but what is the proof of financial viability? $30,000? |
Consider going through the links that Glenski so generously provided for you. The answers are in there. I didn't see a specific answer, but it was very much implied.
If that isn't good enough for you, wouldn't you get a more reliable answer by actually contacting Japanese immigration as opposed to asking on an English teacher's forum? I'm not just saying that to be condescending, but I'm curious about what the answer would be out of general curiosity. |
Ah, now Khyron, I checked all of Glenski's links and saw nothing about how much you need to have in the bank. If it's $10,000, maybe I can swing that. If it's $30,000, forget it.
I actually did contact Japanese officials about this, and, surprise surprise, they had no definite answer on how much proof of financial viability is required.
I think Dave's is a far better place to check these things out. Some of Dave's ESL Cafe's posters are kind people who want to help. The embassies and immigration bureaus are almost always staffed by people who just want to keep non-Japanese out of Japan. So the former is more useful to my question-asking than the latter. You see what I mean? |
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Apsara
Joined: 20 Sep 2005
Posts: 2142
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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| Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 11:04 pm Post subject: |
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| I think it is a bit unfair to say that all Immigration staff want to do is keep non-Japanese out of Japan. I have been surprised on occasion by their helpfulness, although contacting them by phone never seems to be very worthwhile. |
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Khyron
Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Posts: 291
Location: Tokyo Metro City
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| Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 1:32 am Post subject: |
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| Rooster_2006 wrote: |
| Ah, now Khyron, I checked all of Glenski's links and saw nothing about how much you need to have in the bank. If it's $10,000, maybe I can swing that. If it's $30,000, forget it. |
They listed some visa status' as needing the applicants to "fulfill certain conditions regarding ability to pay living expenses, etc." The "cultural activities" status was not one of them. I would assume this is because your sponsor is required to be responsible for your finances. Then again, who knows what kind of requirements immigration has that they don't bother to inform applicants about.
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| I actually did contact Japanese officials about this, and, surprise surprise, they had no definite answer on how much proof of financial viability is required. |
Perhaps it's case by case?
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| I think Dave's is a far better place to check these things out. Some of Dave's ESL Cafe's posters are kind people who want to help. The embassies and immigration bureaus are almost always staffed by people who just want to keep non-Japanese out of Japan. So the former is more useful to my question-asking than the latter. You see what I mean? |
I understand what you're saying.[/quote] |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 8:56 am Post subject: |
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| Rooster_2006 wrote: |
| It sounds awesome, but what is the proof of financial viability? $30,000? |
It's called having a contract.
In cases where the person concerned intends to engage in academic or artistic activities, or to engage in specific studies of Japanese culture or arts, the following materials are required.
1. Documents certifying the activity and its duration of the person concerned, and the outline of the organization where he or she intends to engage in the activity concerned.
2. Documents certifying the academic career, professional career, and other career regarding the activity of the person concerned.
3. Documents certifying that the person concerned can defray all expenses incurred during the stay in Japan.
Perhaps even item 3 can be read as showing a bank statement...? It's not that hard to figure out. Since there is no figure cited, it should be easy to figure that if you can defray normal living costs, you're ok.
How much salary that is acceptable by immigration has always been totally up to immigration to decide, and every office seems to have a different idea. But you just found that out. If you can live on the money you have in the bank now, assume it'll be ok. Start thinking of what craft you want to study, and do the research to find out what is needed, who will sponsor you, whether they provide housing or other expenses, etc.
The ball is in your court. Our work is essentially done. |
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