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kathrynoh
Joined: 16 Jul 2009
Posts: 64
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 Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 4:10 am Post subject: Teaching on a student visa |
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I've applied for a student visa to study Japanese. I don't find out if it's been approved until the end of next month so these questions are just hypothetical at the moment. I'd be interested in hearing about people's experience working on a student visa.
If I do get the visa, and find work, how do people manage training time for the job? I'm thinking with a company like GABA that has a few full days training - do you just take time off class for it? Is the school okay with doing that?
Are there concrete rules about working hours? Even on the immigration site they say things like "generally 28 hours a week" rather than giving fast rules. Is this because there is some leeway (or is it just badly written?)
I'd also welcome suggestions on accomodation that isn't too expensive. I've checked out web sites for the main places - like Sakura House - but don't really want to live in a gaijin house. Since I'm coming to learn the language, living with people who speak English seems counterproductive. Are there any companies that are still foreigner friendly that don't require a long term commitment?
Finally, are there any options beside teaching that would be worth looking at for part time work? I have a background in IT and well over 10 years experience but my Japanese is beginner level so I doubt that is an option.
Thanks (and sorry for such a long post). |
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Bread
Joined: 24 May 2009
Posts: 318
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| Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 5:01 am Post subject: Re: Teaching on a student visa |
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| kathrynoh wrote: |
I'd also welcome suggestions on accomodation that isn't too expensive. I've checked out web sites for the main places - like Sakura House - but don't really want to live in a gaijin house. Since I'm coming to learn the language, living with people who speak English seems counterproductive. Are there any companies that are still foreigner friendly that don't require a long term commitment? |
I've lived in two gaijin houses and met very few actual gaijin in them. In Tokyo, it's mostly single Japanese people looking for work or working. You'll get some transient foreigners, but the long-term residents were overwhelmingly Japanese at the ones I lived in.
And anyway, if you get a normal apartment you probably won't meet your neighbors at all, so it won't matter if they're Japanese. |
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Apsara
Joined: 20 Sep 2005
Posts: 2142
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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| Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 5:24 am Post subject: |
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I agree with Bread- I met a lot of Japanese people when I lived in guest houses years back, and a few of them are still friends. There were also quite a few Asian residents who didn't speak any English, so I had to speak to them in Japanese. "Foreigner" doesn't always mean "English speaker" in Japan!
Guest houses can also be good sources of information for people newly arrived in Japan. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 9:15 am Post subject: |
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| Are there concrete rules about working hours? Even on the immigration site they say things like "generally 28 hours a week" rather than giving fast rules. Is this because there is some leeway (or is it just badly written?) |
Where do you see the word "generally"? Below is a copy/paste directly from the immigration site:
1. College Students (except for visiting students or research students with visiting student status)
This type of foreign nationals may run an income-generating business or engage in a remuneration-generating activities for 28 hours or shorter a week (or 8 hours or shorter a day during long vacation of the educational institute)
2. Visiting Students or Research Students with Visiting Student Status
This type of foreign nationals may run an income-generating business or engage in a remuneration-generating activities for 14 hours or shorter a week (or 8 hours or shorter a day during long vacation of the educational institute)
3. Pre-college Students
This type of foreign nationals may run an income-generating business or engage in a remuneration-generating activities for 4 hours or shorter a day
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/zairyuu/shikakugai.html
Even the application itself (for permission to work) asks for specific number of hours (forget the typo on the form):
http://www.moj.go.jp/ONLINE/IMMIGRATION/16-8-1.pdf
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| I'm thinking with a company like GABA that has a few full days training |
Where does GABA say that on its web site? All you do at GABA is teach one on one for 40 minutes in a private room/cubicle. Not a heckuva lot of "training" needed for that.
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| Finally, are there any options beside teaching that would be worth looking at for part time work? I have a background in IT and well over 10 years experience but my Japanese is beginner level so I doubt that is an option. |
Options for non-teaching jobs are pretty slim if you don't have a decent command of Japanese. Depending on where you live, it might be possible to find a company that doesn't have a language requirement, but that's not easy to pinpoint.
You can't work at the following:
Business sites where adult entertainment business or store-type adult entertainment special business is carried on; or business sites where nonstore-type adult entertainment business, visual-transmitting-type adult entertainment business, store-type telephone-based dating service, or nonstore-type telephone-based dating service is carried on. |
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kathrynoh
Joined: 16 Jul 2009
Posts: 64
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| Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 1:39 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the information. If everything goes to plan, I'll give the gaijin houses a look. It's definitely better financially to have utilities etc included.
Glenski, thanks for that. I'd been looking on the Australian site for the Japanese consulate and their info is kind of vague - they say 4 hours a day for pre-visa in some places and 20 hours a week in others (I'm assume that might be a maths error, someone calculating a Mon-Fri working week only).
Gaba says in their current job ads
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Three-day Initial Certification is scheduled for August 3rd ~ 5th, 7th ~9th and 17th ~ 19th. Successful candidates will be asked to attend one session in full, so please be sure of your availability prior to applying.
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Some of those dates are over a weekend. |
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Bread
Joined: 24 May 2009
Posts: 318
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| Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 8:51 pm Post subject: |
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| Also, if you're searching for them, 95% of the time they're called "guest houses." I've only seen people on the internet call them "gaijin houses." |
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