Moving to Japan as tourist, upgrading to spouse visa. What to say at customs and tips

[bambooeater]

Hi

I've been to Japan before but am now moving there to marry my Japanese gf.

I will be flying Air Canada to Osaka as a tourist then getting married and reentry via Thailand as our honeymoon.

I've read various info on getting married but apparently there is a newer questionnaire for granting Spouse Visas (haiguusha biza) that has been adopted nationwide. Any tips?

Also what tips do you have on what I should say at customs and the best way to deal with Certificate of Eligibility etc?

I'm Canadian so I will be heading to Japan on a visa waiver which means I don't even need to apply for a visitors or tourist visa. I can land as tourist without a visa for a max of 3 months.

Should I tell customs I'm visiting my friend? Getting married?

How long will I have to wait from the time of marriage at the Ward office to getting my alien card?

Thanks

 

[Glenski]

The questionnaire is not "new" per se. It's just not been used nationwide, I hear. Sapporo, for example, has not used it until just now. For more, go here.
MOJ Immigration Bureau violates privacy of marriage with new visa "shitsumon sho" | debito.org
UPDATE: Visiting Immigration re Spouse Visa questionnaire | debito.org

Also what tips do you have on what I should say at customs and the best way to deal with Certificate of Eligibility etc?

You wrote that you are entering Japan to marry your girlfriend, so you will be a tourist then, right? No COE, etc. Nothing special to say. The less the better. You're here to see the sights. No lie.

Are you planning to stay in Japan after you get married? If not, you don't need an alien card. If you DO plan to stay, just register, and you'll get a temporary paper until the real card arrives. Don't forget to bring a couple of photos for the card when you apply. I think it takes a few weeks before you get it.

 

[bambooeater]

Yeah debito is where I got the info from. I will be living in Japan and not returning to Canada.
The Consulate of Japan told me that I will have to leave Japan and reenter after going to a Japanese embassy in Korea or Thailand or anywhere else. The reentry thing is pretty much the norm for most countries when changing visas I think. Unfortunately the officer's English was poor so I'd like to make sure.

They told me that I will still need a COE but I don't know at what step it will be required.

Are two witnesses still required when getting married? Do they think it's weird if there is no ceremony? Has anyone here gotten married in Osaka?

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

Yeah debito is where I got the info from. I will be living in Japan and not returning to Canada.
The Consulate of Japan told me that I will have to leave Japan and reenter after going to a Japanese embassy in Korea or Thailand or anywhere else. The reentry thing is pretty much the norm for most countries when changing visas I think. Unfortunately the officer's English was poor so I'd like to make sure.
They told me that I will still need a COE but I don't know at what step it will be required.
Are two witnesses still required when getting married? Do they think it's weird if there is no ceremony? Has anyone here gotten married in Osaka?

Glenski answered your question for your initial arrival, but changing your visa is a different affair entirely. When you change your visa you will need your COE, but it has nothing to do with your initial entry into Japan. And I agree that the reentry thing does indeed seem to be the norm when changing visa status.

Oh, and by the way, this is just a personal opinion, so take it as you will, but I would recommend against reading too much Debito. It'll make you as miserable as he purports to be.

I don't know about witnesses per se, but having no ceremony is no problem at all. Marriage is really only signing a piece of paper or two.

 

[bambooeater]

Oh, and by the way, this is just a personal opinion, so take it as you will, but I would recommend against reading too much Debito. It'll make you as miserable as he purports to be.

yeah I know lol It's all good. I know some of that stuff on debito happens of course but I'm not about to let a blog sour my experience or expectations of Japan. I've had a marvelous time in Japan.

 

[bambooeater]

Btw, I wanted to ask a question that is sort of similar to a question that is asked on many ESL sites.

I am still finishing my BA degree. In fact I will be completing it via distance ed while I'm living in Osaka. I know that MOJ requires teachers to have a degree when applying for work visa / COE.

But I am under the impression through a conversation I had with the owner of a kids ESL school that they look for one of two things; Either a work visa OR spouse visa.

I think the reason why gaijin are usually required to have a degree is because they aren't married therefore legally to get the work visa they need the degree.

If you are married you can virtually work anywhere you want and have more options than the average gaijin working at the NOVA farms.

Of course I'm not saying any gaijin with a Japanese spouse can apply to any university but I think in the case of some ESL kids schools that a spouse visa with a Canadian, American or UK designation on an alien card maybe get you work without a degree.

What do you think?

If I won't be able to teach ESL kids then I'll just have to wait it out until I complete my BA and live off my savings or get any arubaito.

 

[GaijinPunch]

I don't think they're strict on people such as you. I've been married for about 3 years now. I got my spousal visa before entering the country (took 11 days). Work got a bit out of hand, and I couldn't get in the country before it expired. I didn't realize this until I had filled out the form, and was standing in front of the immigration officer. It even said on my immigration form that I was entering Japan to relocate. She just said I had to go to immigration and reapply. I did, and got my visa, although it took the standard 8-10 weeks. Also, there is no re-entry for tourist to spouse. At least not for me.

 

[bambooeater]

I don't think they're strict on people such as you.

Strict about what? The visa or working?

I arrive at the end of March and the return date on my plane ticket is before the 8-10 weeks I would be waiting for my spouse visa. Would I simply not show up for my pretend return trip to Canada or should I contact the airline and tell them? Does it matter?

So what do you think about trying to get work as a ESL kids teacher with just a spouse visa / Canadian / currently an undergrad?

 

[Glenski]

You need 2 witnesses, yes. No ceremony. Same thing in the USA; ceremonies are optional.

Come to Japan as a tourist, file the necessary papers for a spouse visa, stay here during the processing time, get the visa. If everything is in order, it should take about a month.

In cases where the person concerned is a spouse of a Japanese national, the following materials are required.
Documents certifying that the person concerned is a spouse of the Japanese national and his or her resident card.
Documents certifying the profession and the income of the person concerned or his or her spouse.
A letter of guarantee by a person living in Japan.
http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/05.html

No mention of a COE. When I got married, I had to first sign a certificate of availability (not COE) to certify that I was single. Did that at the US embassy. Look into it for your own situation.

bambooeater wrote:

I know that MOJ requires teachers to have a degree when applying for work visa / COE.

That or a minimum of 3 years of experience.

But I am under the impression through a conversation I had with the owner of a kids ESL school that they look for one of two things; Either a work visa OR spouse visa.

Or a dependent visa, student visa, working holiday visa, cultural visa (and all of those except the WHV need special permission to work).

I think the reason why gaijin are usually required to have a degree is because they aren't married therefore legally to get the work visa they need the degree.

How is a degree and marriage related? They are not. Your logic escapes me. Immigration has its own reasons for people needing degrees, and as I've just pointed out, you can bypass that. Employers want people with degrees usually, because they feel it shows that they've accomplished something in their education, even if the degree isn't related to teaching. Marriage doesn't enter the equation.

 

[bambooeater]

No need to say, "your logic escapes me". Of course I didn't mean to imply they are related. How could they be. I'm posting questions because I don't know the facts and require assistance not criticism. I was merely trying to establish if it was possible to obtain work as an ESL teacher with a spouse visa instead of the standard ESL teachers COE/visa. Or if ESL schools for kids were more lenient than highschools/uni's because their priority is based more on conversation not curriculum. Again these are questions not statements.

Thanks for your info.

 

[Ewok85]

Heres how it works - to be able to work in Japan you need to have permission to work based around your "visa".

There are lots of types of visa with different requirements - your standard "working visa" requires 3 years experience in that field or to have graduated from university - thus many advertise that having a degree is required - BUT in most cases this is simply to ensure that you qualify for a working visa.

If you are married to a Japanese national then you qualify for a spouse visa which allows you to work, meaning that a degree or experience is not required to get permission to work, and you can do any position people are happy to hire you for.

If you get a spouse visa in Japan you do not have to leave the country, there is no COE.

You can do any work you want on a spouse visa, the other visa types are very specific in what you can do (instructors cannot do engineering work, engineers cannot work in entertainment, etc).

 

[bambooeater]

There are lots of types of visa with different requirements - your standard "working visa" requires 3 years experience in that field or to have graduated from university - thus many advertise that having a degree is required - BUT in most cases this is simply to ensure that you qualify for a working visa.
If you are married to a Japanese national then you qualify for a spouse visa which allows you to work, meaning that a degree or experience is not required to get permission to work, and you can do any position people are happy to hire you for.

Ewok, this is exactly the detail I that I was getting at. I realize my teaching prospects may be limited because I'm still an undergrad but am confident there are still options available to me as a current uni student from Canada. I'm sure I'll be able to teach kids ESL at a school where I make a good impression. I simply wanted verification.
Thank you!

 

[Ewok85]

Ewok, this is exactly the detail I that I was getting at. I realize my teaching prospects may be limited because I'm still an undergrad but am confident there are still options available to me as a current uni student from Canada. I'm sure I'll be able to teach kids ESL at a school where I make a good impression. I simply wanted verification.
Thank you!

What you are able to do is mainly restricted by your visa status - and with a spouse visa you can do anything. Considering that a huge percentage of the people with degrees hold them in areas outside of education and teaching (such as the vaunted underwater basketweaving BA) most employers would not think twice about you being an undergrad if you meet their needs.

 

[Glenski]

bambooeater,
I think I may have written precisely what Ewok wrote in this forum's FAQ, so perhaps you should go there for even more information. Ewok has stated things very well.

Please reread what you wrote (and I quoted):

I think the reason why gaijin are usually required to have a degree is because they aren't married

This is what confused the heck out of me. Can you see now where I was coming from?

Also, please bear in mind something Ewok pointed out: with a spouse visa

you can do any position people are happy to hire you for.

and

most employers would not think twice about you being an undergrad if you meet their needs.

The point I want to make is (partly in contrast to Ewok's second statement), you are still young, and experience counts a lot with many employers, especially the non-teaching ones. Many will still require a degree, so a spouse visa shouldn't be thought of as a gold card. It just makes you eligible to work. Whether you are actually qualified is in the eyes of the employer. Also, most non-teaching jobs usually require a fairly high fluency in Japanese.

bambooeater also wrote:

Or if ESL schools for kids were more lenient than highschools/uni's because their priority is based more on conversation not curriculum.

"ESL schools" (eikaiwas) have curricula, too. It's just different. Mainstream schools and universities are responsible for people getting into college or getting degrees, that's all, but that's enough to make the difference. Still, I can give you countless examples of people who had teaching-UNrelated degrees and still work PT or FT in mainstream schools. They simply had some other teaching experience first to show that they were somewhat more qualified than people without it. One more thing, conversation is what most mainstream schools and universities pitch at their students with us foreign teachers. You will find reading, writing, and a few other sorts of classes, but conversation is supposedly our bag, and it factors in quite highly in most every facet of education here. It's not just for eikaiwa.

Best of luck.

 

[Iron Chef]

The point I want to make is (partly in contrast to Ewok's second statement), you are still young, and experience counts a lot with many employers, especially the non-teaching ones. Many will still require a degree, so a spouse visa shouldn't be thought of as a gold card. It just makes you eligible to work. Whether you are actually qualified is in the eyes of the employer. Also, most non-teaching jobs usually require a fairly high fluency in Japanese.

QFT. Glenski is right. No offense, but I wouldn't hire you (and i'm more lenient in this regard than some Japanese)... I employ several native speakers both full-time and part-time. Don't be so quick to assume that once you get in-country and settle into your new digs your status as a native speaker fresh off the boat will land you a job. If you're hoping to work for an Eikawa that is Japanese owned, they may have more stricter criterion for their English instructors who teach adults than what you currently posess.

Realistically, chances are you'll probably only be able to land some part-time gigs teaching kids or subbing and you'll have to find these on your own, online, etc. Any employer worth his salt is willing to overlook the lack of serious academic credentials but without some major life experience or speciality, you'll be limited in what offers will be made available to you.

Polish your Japanese as best you can because you'll need it to sell yourself and don't presume to rely on your spouse for help in this area either. The time and effort you put into your career will pay itself off in dividends if you are serious and apply yourself. You're getting married, big responsibility supporting a wife on your own at your age in this country with not much to fall back on except an unfinished degree. Good luck.

 

[Mike Cash]

It's perhaps a little late in your planning to be hearing this, but I'll repeat what I tell everyone who is proposing doing what you're doing:

Bring marketable job skills.

Teaching English is nice if you like it, but life in Japan can become an onerous millstone around your neck if you find you don't like it and it is the only thing you're "qualified" to do here. ("Qualified" in quotes because one needs no qualifications at all for it).

 

[yukio_michael]

Should I tell customs I'm visiting my friend? Getting married?

You can tell them that all you like, but it means very little to them until you've actually applied for a spouse visa...

I've found this out personally... Immigration officials are the foulest people in the world if you don't have your ducks in a row.

 

[bambooeater]

Thanks for playing devil's advocate guys. I do not automatically think that because I come from a native English speaking country I will land a job.

I have some older friends who have been teaching at all levels in Osaka, Kobe, Tokyo and Kyoto for 10+ years. I'm pretty sure I can get a couple different part time gigs with their help.

My fiancée's friend owns a Pilates and yoga studio in Osaka. They require an English speaking instructor and have expressed interest in hiring me since I'm an instructor in Canada.

My Japanese is at a level of about JLPT 2. I haven't officially taken the JLPT exam but I've been tested on JLPT exam pdf's from 2000-2004. You can find any JLPT online and the exam study materials I got at White Rabbit Press. I spoke mostly Japanese with my ex gf for 3 years and studied Japanese at SFU. I have about 30 Japanese friends who used to study in Canada and are ready to help me out. Vancouver is the Japanese cultural center of Canada and probably has the largest Japanese community in North America. That's one of the reasons I've always had many Japanese friends here.

My fiancée has a good job and she is not naive. She obviously knows my situation and is realistic about depending on my support for the next two years.

On top of all of that I've been saving for years and have enough to live on in Japan for one or two years while completing my BA without working. It pays to be smart with your money

The reason I posted is because I was looking for immediate feedback from people who may have been in my situation. All the teachers I know in Japan were already working as teachers before getting married so they can't really advise me beyond mentioning that I can do any work with a spouse visa.

I'm not worried about getting a job. What I desire is a job teaching kids because that's what I'm genuinely interested in. That's why I'm asking specifically about getting teaching jobs without having completed my BA.

 

[justinod]

I just recently got married (march). I was here on a tourist visa for the third time in a row prior to applying for my spousal visa. I actually just got the 'sticker' today. I would recommend that you not tell them why u are here. It won't really matter either way, but you can avoid questions that a way.

 

[shinjukuboy]

I am curious because I may be in a similar situation, how did this all turn out for you?

 

[Vicky2]

I am an American living in Tokyo, and, speaking from experience, no matter how much you want to be Japanese, you will never be considered one of them. It's simply the way their culture is. They're such a homogenous society that people just don't get assimilated. Now, if you know the language, you will get some respect from Japanese people, but you will always, always, always be considered a foreigner. There's no way to escape being a gaijin. If you're not Japanese in blood, you will never be a real Japanese person. Sorry. I have to deal with this on a daily basis. It's just a cultural thing.

 

[Glenski]

I am an American living in Tokyo

You are either lying or your profile is wrong. It says you live in Pakistan and have never been to Japan.

 

[Chidoriashi]

I am an American living in Tokyo, and, speaking from experience, no matter how much you want to be Japanese, you will never be considered one of them. It's simply the way their culture is. They're such a homogenous society that people just don't get assimilated. Now, if you know the language, you will get some respect from Japanese people, but you will always, always, always be considered a foreigner. There's no way to escape being a gaijin. If you're not Japanese in blood, you will never be a real Japanese person. Sorry. I have to deal with this on a daily basis. It's just a cultural thing.

I do not think this comment fits in this thread. And this is not exactly a news flash for most of the foreign residents in Japan on this forum. By the time someone choses to settle down here they are already well aware of this and have moved way past it. If you find yourself not able to get over it perhaps Japan is not the place for you?

 

[undrentide]

Glenski and Chidoriashi, this person posted irrelevant messages to several threads - actually 9 posts during rather a short period of time from 19:28 till 19:57, and in another post he said he's from Philippines - I'm beginning to wonder if he's trolling...

 

[Mike Cash]

I am curious because I may be in a similar situation, how did this all turn out for you?

He hasn't been active on this forum for two and a half years. Don't hold your breath while waiting for him to reply to you.