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ken
Joined: 16 Jan 2004
Posts: 14
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 Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 1:06 am Post subject: Visa status change...is it possible?? |
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Hello, pardon me for asking this question as it might have been asked before, but is it possible to apply for a Working Holiday Visa then go to Japan, find a full time job and then get this changed to a Working Visa? I also have a university degree so I think I qualify for one, right? If so, do I have to exit the country and get the status changed or can I get this changed in Japan?
My intentions are to go to Japan at the end of this February or early March and I read that a Working Visa takes a long time and is more complicated. Since I fall into the category of eligibility for a Working HOLIDAY Visa, I am thinking about getting that instead since the application process is faster and less complicated.
Any feedback would be appreciated!  |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 11:09 am Post subject: Re: Visa status change...is it possible?? |
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| ken wrote: |
Hello, pardon me for asking this question as it might have been asked before, but is it possible to apply for a Working Holiday Visa then go to Japan, find a full time job and then get this changed to a Working Visa? I also have a university degree so I think I qualify for one, right? If so, do I have to exit the country and get the status changed or can I get this changed in Japan?
D |
Ken, just a couple of points about the WHV.
The visa is designed to allow people of certain nationalities to come to Japan without a degree, experience the culture learn the language and work part time to finance their travels. It is not designed as a work visa or to leapfrog you into a full time or a permanent position.
As the WHV is only available once, it is gone forever once you use it. With the WHV you also dont need a sponsor for your visa, so you are free to travel around, work part time but is available only for one year.
Technically you could come to Japan and then dump it for one year but IMO that is abusing the privilege- remember there are people like Americans who can not get it and need a degree to get a job here.
If your plan is to work here, i suggest you come on a tourist visa, find a sponsor and then transfer your visa over to a work visa. It seems a little pointless to get a WHV if you dont plan to take advantage of what it offers.
A lot depends on what your goals are IMO- is it just to owrk and earn money, or is it to learn japanese, travel the country and experience the culture> Once you get into a full time 40-hour a week job there will be very little time to learn Japanese or travel around the country. If you just want to work you will need a full time job and a sponsor i.e. a work visa.
Party and travel around Japan, have lots of flexibility- the working holiday visa. (I have just learnt the NOVA has now banned overtime for teachers on WHV so they have to make do with 28 hours a week, as working full time and OT was against the spirit of the WHV)
If you have a degree you are eligible for a work visa but you will need a sponsor for your visa. Once you get the application stamp in your passport it is possible to work on that visa until the application is approved which will take up to a month if you do it in Japan. Many people have to go to Korea to change from a tourist visa but i have heard that it is possible to do it without leaving Japan.
| ken wrote: |
My intentions are to go to Japan at the end of this February or early March and I read that a Working Visa takes a long time and is more complicated. Since I fall into the category of eligibility for a Working HOLIDAY Visa, I am thinking about getting that instead since the application process is faster and less complicated.
Any feedback would be appreciated! |
Getting a work visa is not complicated- you simply need a sponsor and they will submit most of the paperwork You simply need the degree for the visa and may require a quick trip to Korea. The process for WHV is faster becuase you are coming for holiday and travel, not just work, and the visa is only for 6 months. You can work for a year on WHV, see how you like living in Japan and then apply for WHV if you want to get into some serious teaching or a more permanent position.
Both have their pros and cons but personally i think a WHV is wasted on someone who just wants to use it to get a full time job and not experience what else Japan has to offer. |
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nihontone
Joined: 14 Jan 2004
Posts: 21
Location: Kobe
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| Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 2:52 pm Post subject: |
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Is it really true that Nova banned O for teachers on WHV? That's very interesting. Can I ask where did you here that? I'd love to know.
Nihontone |
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nihontone
Joined: 14 Jan 2004
Posts: 21
Location: Kobe
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| Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 2:53 pm Post subject: |
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Is it really true that Nova banned O for teachers on WHV? That's very interesting. Can I ask where did you here that? I'd love to know.
Nihontone |
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nihontone
Joined: 14 Jan 2004
Posts: 21
Location: Kobe
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| Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 2:53 pm Post subject: |
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Is it really true that Nova banned OT for teachers on WHV? That's very interesting. Can I ask where did you here that? I'd love to know.
Nihontone |
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nihontone
Joined: 14 Jan 2004
Posts: 21
Location: Kobe
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| Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 3:05 pm Post subject: |
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Oops! I didn't mean to post that 3 times!! I also forgot to say that I came here on a WHV and worked at Nova for 6 months before changing to full time teaching and had no problems changing my visa. I know several other people who've done the same thing. If you want to work fulltime then I would agree with Paul re coming in on a tourist visa and looking for work. That could be stressful so I would recommend applying for something before coming (if that's a viable option as you need a University degree to get a working visa). Hope that helps.
CHEERS |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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ken
Joined: 16 Jan 2004
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 7:19 pm Post subject: |
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| Thanks all, for the advice! I will look into this and decide what's best for me at the moment. I do agree that finding a job before going over there is less stressful - going on a tourist visa is somewhat unpredictable and unstable, since there will be a chance that I won't be able to find work within 90 days. But yes, I do understand what you guys are saying about not to abuse the WHV and dump it right away for a WV. Actually, I do want to travel and see all of Japan, learn the language, experience the culture, and only work less than full time hours (less than 27 hours/week). After the one year, this will determine if I really like it in Japan and if I do, I can change my WHV to a WV. Does this sound like a viable and fair option to you all? |
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ken
Joined: 16 Jan 2004
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 7:31 pm Post subject: |
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| Oh, by the way, for the WHV, the application process said that I need a plane ticket return date. If I do decide to stay in Japan after one year, do I just simply cancel my return to Canada? Do I leave my return date as "open"? Sorry about sounding dumb, but this is my first time that I'm applying for this and I don't know how the Japanese Consulate in my city is like. Has anyone had to present your return ticket when applying? |
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BenJ
Joined: 11 May 2003
Posts: 209
Location: Nagoya
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| Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 11:13 pm Post subject: Re: Visa status change...is it possible?? |
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| ken wrote: |
Hello, pardon me for asking this question as it might have been asked before, but is it possible to apply for a Working Holiday Visa then go to Japan, find a full time job and then get this changed to a Working Visa? I also have a university degree so I think I qualify for one, right? If so, do I have to exit the country and get the status changed or can I get this changed in Japan?
My intentions are to go to Japan at the end of this February or early March and I read that a Working Visa takes a long time and is more complicated. Since I fall into the category of eligibility for a Working HOLIDAY Visa, I am thinking about getting that instead since the application process is faster and less complicated.
Any feedback would be appreciated! |
Shorter answer is: Yes, you can and it's not difficult to do and I doubt you would have to leave the country.
Plane tickets: my understanding is they last a maximum of one year only anyway, so you would need another ticket.
I agree with you about less stress - WHV is a lot more reassuring than a tourist visa. The only issue I can see with working full-time on a WHV is that some employers will charge you 20% approx. income tax as opposed to 5% approx. normally charged under a work visa. |
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april
Joined: 07 May 2003
Posts: 83
Location: Australia
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| Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 11:33 pm Post subject: |
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Paul, I strongly disagree with you.
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| If your plan is to work here, i suggest you come on a tourist visa, find a sponsor and then transfer your visa over to a work visa. |
What on earth are you thinking to suggest this?!?!!?!?
If arriving in Japan with a tourist visa and the intention of looking for work isn't illegal (which I think it is) then it certainly is dodgy. Imagine if Ken turned up at immigration at the airport and they searched his bag and found business clothes and a resume, do you think they'd say "Okay sure! You can come in! You look like a decent person. I trust that you will do the right thing and not work here illegally! What's that you say?? You don't know how long you'll be here? No worries! I believe you won't overstay the 90-day tourist visa! And I'm sure you are twitching and stammering because you are a nervous flyer...and the excessive sweating of the palms of your hands is from the climate, not because you are lying straight to my face!"...mmm.....
I recommend that Ken do the legal thing and arrive with a WHV and then change it to a working visa. ECC are now getting WHV's for all their new recruits and then changing it to working visa when they get in the country. Paul, you may disagree that it isn't the right thing to do, but this method certainly won't get you on the first flight back home!
| Quote: |
| I have just learnt the NOVA has now banned overtime for teachers on WHV so they have to make do with 28 hours a week, as working full time and OT was against the spirit of the WHV |
Nova doesn't give a crap about the spirit of WHV. I don't know why they banned OT for WHV, but I'm sure the motivation is for financial reasons and nothing to do with spirit.
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Technically you could come to Japan and then dump it for one year but IMO that is abusing the privilege- remember there are people like Americans who can not get it and need a degree to get a job here.
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I don't think it's an abuse at all. There is no reason why a WHV holder should consider Americans. It's too bad for them that their government hasn't negotiated an agreement with Japan. That's just the way the world is. If Japan did have an agreement with USA, then what will your argument be - think of the Russians? I'm quite sure Americans don't begrudge WHV holders in Japan anything. If they are dead-set on living in Japan in particular then they should study hard and get a degree. Otherwise they can go to a country that does have a WHV agreement with USA.
Paul, you usually give good sound advice, but I really think you've gone haywire with this one. I don't understand why you have taken up such an issue with WHV holders. |
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shmooj
Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1758
Location: Seoul, ROK
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| Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 11:49 pm Post subject: |
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ooooo April, which side of the bed did you get out of this morning.... 
I thought Paul's advice was balanced. It is not illegal to come here on a tourist visa, sort out some work and then get a work visa. What is illegal is working on that tourist visa. But the OP doesn't have to do that and Paul did not suggest it either.
I think it is scaremongering to suggest that they will go through his bag in the way you described at the airport. He is here on a tourist visa and having a suit with you and some documents does not immediately imply anything about your purpose. I seriously doubt he would have this hassle though it might make more sense to come in to Japan at a smaller airport, say Nagoya, where this kind of hassle is unheard of.
I think Paul was just trying to make the OP realise the priviledge of a WHV by making him think of those who cannot, for whatever reason, get it. That would make him think more deeply about his motivations. |
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Gordon
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2004 12:40 am Post subject: |
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| I also don't think a suit necessarily means he is going to work. Look how the Japanese travel. I'll never travel with a suit, but how do they know that? |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2004 5:19 am Post subject: |
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April
I never said you should work on a tourist visa- Americans come in on a tourist visa all the time and change it over when they get here.
What is dodgy is rolling up to immigration at the airport and saying you have come here to look for work. that is grounds for deportation. Having a resume and a suit in your luggage is not illegal and not grounds for deporting you. you could be travelling on to Korea for all they know.
Once you are in the country you can look for work, then slip out and come back after you have got your work visa but i hear its possible to do it from Japan now.
Im not advocating working illegally- I just think its a perfectly good waste of a year long visa that you dont intend to use anyway, on a work visa you can work full time straight off and pay minimum tax. |
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unchi pants
Joined: 20 Dec 2003
Posts: 64
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| Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2004 6:07 am Post subject: |
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Hey guys... WHV's are plentiful! Americans are not eligible whether a gazillion other people take them or zero people take them. If Ken gets a WHV, he is not taking it away from some poor American. It seems logical to take advantage of a WHV if you can get it. Why not make life easier for ourselves if we can.
If looking for work on a WORKING holiday visa is not the spirit of the visa, then surely looking for work on a TOURIST visa is even less in the spirit. Look at the name of the visa.
Many employers often want people to start work immediately and will not allow someone to work on a tourist visa. So this situation helps the employer aswell. |
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