Working Holiday Visa questions!

[shogozz]

Hello, i have just gained a CELTA certificate and i really want to stay in Japan more than a year to teach. My plan is to begin studying for my bachelor in education this year and complete my distance learning in Osaka, but I have read that the working holiday VISA expires after 1 year.

I was just wondering if it can be renewed at the end of the year and also, whether or not there is a way to get around the ''moving around at 3 month intervals'' as stated in the requirements because if i am to get a job teaching, they are likely to be asking for me to work for at least 6 months to a year and so i would like to live in the same place.

I also have a question regarding to the amount of hours that you are allowed to work on a working holiday VISA, teachers work on average about 26 hours a week and that is how many i would like to work in Osaka!

Thankyou for your time and help!

[gfell]

The Working Holiday Visa is meant to give you the opportunity to work here and there whilst holidaying in Japan. Hence the requirement to

The Working Holiday Visa expires after 6 months for the following countries:

• Australia
• New Zealand
• Canada

You have the option though to renew it after 6 months giving you a total of 1 year.

If you are from:

• Korea
• France
• Germany
• U.K. and Ireland
• France

Then you receive a 1 year Working Holiday Visa.

The "3 month interval" requirement was a thing of the past, and even then it wasn't really policed. I was on the WHV for a total of 12 months, and during this time I stayed in the 1 place and worked around 30 hours / week with no issues. It was all legit and I paid my taxes.

Go straight to the source at MOFA: The Working Holiday Programmes in Japan. I suggest giving them a ring to clarify any doubts you have.

[shogoz]

thankyou very much for your input gfell! i know where to go if i need questions answered haha. happy now! thanks

oh oh i just thought of another question, can you keep renewing the visa at the end of the year? i keep reading that you cant but i have heard of people who have lived in japan for years on a working holiday...im a little confused. does anybody know how one could stay longer than a year?

[gfell]

You cannot keep renewing it after 1 year. To stay in Japan longer you will then need to apply for a working visa.

[shogoz]

would it be kind of easy or possible to get sponsored for a working VISA if you work with a company and prove you are going to do the work for a person in my position and background? (i don't have a bachelor) and also, if i do get on a working VISA that lasts around 3 years with help from the school that offered it, if i stopped working at that place after a year, would the VISA terminate because it was that company which sponsored me? thanks again!

[gfell]

The company just guarantees they will provide enough work for you to warrant the issue of a working visa. I believe the word "sponsorship" shouldn't be used in this context.

The visa belongs to you and is not terminated if you leave your school.

To get a working visa in Japan you will need a bachelor degree.

[shogoz]

Gfell have you heard of any cases of people getting a working visa when they go to japan on a working holiday? i heard of one case where somebody went to Japan through NOVA and were offered a working VISA which lasted around 3 years and they obviously had no degree if they were on a working holiday. have you heard of many cases like that or know of anything that would make me be able to stay in Japan longer than the working holiday VISA permits me. sorry for so many questions but your very good at answering! so you asked for it haha. Thankyou muchly for all of the input you have given me so far!

I went there on a holiday recently and was very impressed and so i would love to live there and make my career in teaching professionally

[gfell]

Originally Posted by shogoz

went to Japan through NOVA and were offered a working VISA which lasted around 3 years and they obviously had no degree if they were on a working holiday.

What makes you so sure they didn't have a degree? If they did get a working visa, then they probably did have a degree or at best, a diploma and TEFL certificate.

Just because someone is on a WHV, doesn't mean they don't have a degree. Applying for a WHV just makes you almost instantly employable as the school can legally hire you.

Do you have a diploma of any sort? I know of a teacher that had a Diploma from Australia and he studied it for 2.5 years. He go the Australian Qualifications Framework to write a letter stating that the level of studies were equivalent to that of a Bachelor degree. This was about 10 years ago though... gee... showing my age now.

Teachers in the past have been able to procure a Work Visa based only on a Diploma, but it's not a clear cut guarantee. Will largely depend on the visa office processing your visa.

I know it's tough for you, but the only real way to know is to give it a try.

[shogoz]

Originally Posted by gfell

Just because someone is on a WHV, doesn't mean they don't have a degree. Applying for a WHV just makes you almost instantly employable as the school can legally hire you.

sorry, i knew i shouldnt have said that straight after i posted it...but i am very sure this person had only a working holiday VISA and no qualifications other than a CELTA, because a teacher i once knew worked with this person in NOVA and was able to tell me. sorry

[gfell]

Well it was probably some big ropes Nova was pulling. I wouldn't rely on this though.

No need to apologise.