Teacher Discussion Forums

Can anyone tell me what the situation in regard to a working visa in Japan. I am 36 years old and I know you have to be 30 years or under to get a 12 month working visa. The schools in Vietnam and Thailand don't seem to worry about visas and let teachers work illegally, is it the same in Japan?

Phillip,
This is not the best forum to be posting such a question, but I'll answer it anyway.

Work visas require a bachelor's degree or several years of directly related work experience. There is no age limit like you have mentioned.

Working HOLIDAY visas are a different story. They have the 30 year upper age limit. You don't need a degree to get one, either. Where are you from? WHVs are only applicable to Canadians, Brits, Aussies, New Zealanders, Germans, Koreans, and French.

Do you have a degree or teaching experience?
Where do you live now?
When do you plan to come to Japan for work?

Working illegally in Japan risks SEVERE penalties, so don't even think about it.

Glenski wrote:Phillip,
This is not the best forum to be posting such a question, but I'll answer it anyway.

Work visas require a bachelor's degree or several years of directly related work experience. There is no age limit like you have mentioned.

Working HOLIDAY visas are a different story. They have the 30 year upper age limit. You don't need a degree to get one, either. Where are you from? WHVs are only applicable to Canadians, Brits, Aussies, New Zealanders, Germans, Koreans, and French.

Do you have a degree or teaching experience?
Where do you live now?
When do you plan to come to Japan for work?

Working illegally in Japan risks SEVERE penalties, so don't even think about it.

I've been wondering about this topic myself. Not the whole illegal work thing, 'cause I'm aware that's not a smart idea.. but I'm interested in teaching English in Japan and was wondering what is the easiest way to go about it? Is a degree definitely required, or is teaching experience enough?

I'm interested in teaching English in Japan

Ok, taking this one point at a time, I'll start here.
What sort of teaching? University level? Business English? Elementary school? High school? International school? Conversation school (eikaiwa)?

and was wondering what is the easiest way to go about it?

If one is qualified, this is still difficult to answer. Most places will want applicants to interview in Japan. That's pretty easy if you are already here. If not, you have to rely on the very few (about a dozen) places that will interview in foreign countries (also not very many) in their limited time frames.

Is a degree definitely required, or is teaching experience enough?

To get a work visa you need a bachelor's degree or 3 years of related teaching experience. Teaching chemistry in Kansas, for example, is not related.
Other visas permit work as a teacher, and you must meet their requirements.
Dependent visa (with special permission easily obtained) allows PT work. This visa is for people who are married to foreigners that have FT jobs in Japan.
Spouse visa is for people married to Japanese. Any FT work is allowed.
Working holiday visa is explained in my earlier message.
Student visa allows PT work.

That gets you past immigration. Any of the above visas permit work, but employers may require a degree, so you just have to deal with them. Most teaching jobs don't require TEFL (or related) certification, but people who don't have it should probably consider getting it. Not all employers give their teachers set plans to teach from, so you may have to create lessons completely from scratch without any materials at hand. This is almost certainly the case when you teach privately.

Universities require master's degrees plus publications for FT work.
International schools usually require that a person holds teaching certification or a license to teach from his home country.