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outzaidur
Joined: 14 Feb 2012
Posts: 2
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 Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2012 9:06 am Post subject: Private Teacher - Starting a Company in Japan Possible? |
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Hello,
Since I am Swedish I am not allowed to teach English at any State Schools in Japan, due to VISA requirements.
Question is:
Is it possible to start my own company in Japan? How do I do that? What sort of VISA do I apply for? (that doesn't require Certificate of Eligibility)
I have already got an apartment and a caf� to teach in, location and local is done. And money is not an issue. I will be starting to teach for free until I get a proper Visa and work permit and paperwork is done.
I will not be employed by anyone, instead I will be a Private Teacher.
But I suspect that it is a impossibility to start and run my own company and apply for a Visa using myself as an employer?
Anyone with experience?
Thank you! |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2012 12:33 pm Post subject: |
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Sure, you can start your own company with a Business Manager/Investor visa.
Look here to see what you will need to provide to apply for such a visa:
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/index.html
You will need 2 full-time Japanese employees, though. And, if it's a school you run, you will not be able to teach in it, I think.
See if Berlitz is willing/able to hire you. |
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outzaidur
Joined: 14 Feb 2012
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2012 12:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
You will need 2 full-time Japanese employees, though. And, if it's a school you run, you will not be able to teach in it, I think. |
Private Independent Teacher. I am not starting a school... yet.
| Glenski wrote: |
| See if Berlitz is willing/able to hire you. |
Tried every single company on the Internet (about 300 mails sent so far). If I am not a native speaking English Teacher they cannot / will not hire me.
I want to hire myself. Get my own students. Get my own visa. Earn my own money. Pay my own tax.
Possible? Yes / No? Can foreigners start private businesses on their own in Japan?
"Try Berlitz!" or "Try GABA!" is not an answer to this question at all. |
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G Cthulhu
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 1373
Location: Way, way off course.
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| Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2012 3:33 pm Post subject: |
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| outzaidur wrote: |
I want to hire myself. Get my own students. Get my own visa. Earn my own money. Pay my own tax.
Possible? Yes / No? Can foreigners start private businesses on their own in Japan?
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It's entirely possible and many people do it. There're no rules or laws saying you can't start a business and teach your own students. It's all a matter of visa/SOR class and how you sequence things. There are various types of Japanese company formations and the equivalent of a sole-trader LLC (Limited Liability company) only requires 100 yen capital investment.
The only real problem is the initial visa. Glenski mentioned the investor visa. Poor choice IMO because of the capital needed for it. But there are other options and routes.
| Quote: |
"Try Berlitz!" or "Try GABA!" is not an answer to this question at all.
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Actually it is. It's just not a very well fleshed out answer.
The easiest way to do what you want to do is start with another company and use them to get entry into Japan. From there, perm residence is the major goal because at that point you can pretty much do whatever you like so long as you can show you can support yourself.
That said, it is feasible (while still on the humanities or whatever teaching visa) to get special permission for extra activities, ie. start your own company, but there would be a transition period. After one year in Japan you should be able to self-sponsor your visa/SOR and then you're just working for yourself until you can get perm residence. There are certainly other other ways of doing it, but that's probably the fastest (although probably not the easiest!) |
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seklarwia
Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1546
Location: Monkey onsen, Nagano
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| Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2012 4:48 pm Post subject: |
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There is no legal reason for why you can't teach English. You simply can't get a visa to teach English which is why public schools can't hire you.
But I've met some non-native English speaking ALTs. They were employed to work in schools that offer other foreign languages as subjects. So some of them are ALTs for both English and their native language and they got their visa based on coming to teach their native language.
So if you can find an employer who could use a Swedish (and English) teacher you will have your visa. And there would be no reason why you couldn't take on English students on the side.
As the others have mentioned, you can start a business in Japan, but your "private independant teacher" sounds a lot like the teaching of private students/classes that many foreigners do on the side to supplement their income (or household income in the case of spouses/dependants). You will never get immigration to allow you to self-sponsor a work visa for this type of teaching because it is not a reliable source of income; without a provable source of guaranteed income (as in contracts to show how much you will earn each month) you have no chance of getting any form of work visa for your coffee shop teaching alone. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:45 pm Post subject: |
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| G Cthulhu wrote: |
It's entirely possible and many people do it. There're no rules or laws saying you can't start a business and teach your own students. It's all a matter of visa/SOR class and how you sequence things. There are various types of Japanese company formations and the equivalent of a sole-trader LLC (Limited Liability company) only requires 100 yen capital investment.
The only real problem is the initial visa. Glenski mentioned the investor visa. Poor choice IMO because of the capital needed for it. But there are other options and routes. |
I'm curious what other options you feel he can go for? All you have written is "start with another company". Did you mean a non-teaching job? That would be an option if he wants to use it as a foot in the door, whether as you described (side work in private lessons) or to be physically here to hunt for FT teaching jobs. He doesn't seem interested in anything other than freelance teaching, though.
Other options that are foot-in-the-door approaches include coming on a student visa (ostensibly to study Japanese), and getting special permission to do side work; or coming on a cultural activities visa and doing the same. Each of these has its own requirements, though.
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/kanri/shyorui/Table3-1.html
As for Berlitz and GABA not being "fleshed out" options, perhaps I should have stated that they are 2 places I know that hire non-native speakers for teaching jobs (not always English. No guarantees, though, as there isn't a big market to learn Swedish.
| outzaidur wrote: |
| "Try Berlitz!" or "Try GABA!" is not an answer to this question at all. |
I would like to know why. Your short reply doesn't give me anything to go on.
| G Cthulhu wrote: |
| That said, it is feasible (while still on the humanities or whatever teaching visa) to get special permission for extra activities, ie. start your own company, but there would be a transition period. After one year in Japan you should be able to self-sponsor your visa/SOR and then you're just working for yourself until you can get perm residence. |
Just remember that self-sponsoring means (from most accounts I've read) that you need part-time employers (i.e., companies), not just contracts or word of mouth reports from private students.
| outzaidur wrote: |
I want to hire myself. Get my own students. Get my own visa. Earn my own money. Pay my own tax.
Possible? Yes / No? Can foreigners start private businesses on their own in Japan? |
I've already told you what you need to know about working just for yourself. The answer is no, not in the beginning anyway, not unless you get a Business/Investor visa.
Yes, foreigners can start their own businesses in Japan. You don't seem to want to do more than hang a shingle saying "Private lessons". Starting a business means something like sole proprietorship. Look here for more ideas, but if all you want to do is set up a desk and offer lessons to people off the street, I think you will not be able to find a visa and sponsor for that without going through the motions:
http://injapan.gaijinpot.com/category/work/starting-a-business-work/
Also consider asking on this forum. Take the advice of poster Trip Hop if given. http://forum.gaijinpot.com/forumdisplay.php?28-Small-business-SOHO
More info:
http://www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest/setting_up/
http://www.venturejapan.com/starting-japanese-company.htm
http://www.juridique.jp/incorporation.html |
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