Changing your Visa ??

Hi

I have been living in Japan for the past year on a working holiday visa(from Australia). This being my third visit to Japan. I have 6 months left on this visa.
The problem is I dont want to leave Japan after 6 months as I am living with my girlfriend and her family and need to continue learning Japanese so that when we get married(sometime in the future) I can speak to her family with ease..
I have been looking really hard for a company who will sponser a visa for me ... but these are difficult to comeby.
I have been doing a lot of reasearch eg:
http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/appendix1.html#1
And will be going to a job agency in the next few days to try and find a "visa sponsering company"

Has anyone been in this situation before? I could just get married to my girlfriend now... which has been discussed but I would prefer not to do that... at this stage...

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated

You've pretty much got all the details anyhow. Good that you get the working holiday visa 3 times though, don't see that happening often!

the working holiday visa can be extended 3 times in 6 month increments.. this is my last renewel... my other visits to japan have just been on tourist visas..

anyone been in a situation like this before... what did you do? any ideas?

what are you doing for work now? do you have a degree? i know i can get a working visa without one because i am canadian. its a horrible feeling to think about leaving someone you care about. i hope you will be able to find a job where you can get sponsorship. oh do you know where i can get a 4000yen fiscal stamp? did you have to for the renewal of your working holiday visa?

akeenan said:

Has anyone been in this situation before? I could just get married to my girlfriend now... which has been discussed but I would prefer not to do that... at this stage...

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated

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May I ask, who initially brought up the idea of getting married - and how did you 'decline' to proceed with this course of action - I'm assuming you did so in such a manner as it didn't appear to be a rebuff.

If your partner wants to get married, and her family are supportive then that represents an excellent basis of a long-term relationship - IMHO!

mr.sumo.snr said:

May I ask, who initially brought up the idea of getting married - and how did you 'decline' to proceed with this course of action - I'm assuming you did so in such a manner as it didn't appear to be a rebuff.

If your partner wants to get married, and her family are supportive then that represents an excellent basis of a long-term relationship - IMHO!

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I second that...

Well there is lots to think about before you get married. I'm assuming that you want to get married in the future right? Well if you have a degree almost any of the big English companies will hire you and sponsor you with a work visa and you will have a regular income between 250,000-350,000 yen a month coming in. If you have no degree well that's tough, but you will be able to find work with a spousal visa making between 200,000- 250,000 a month but you will not be making enough money to support 2 people. What I'm saying is what if your wife wants to move out into your own apartment, and decides not to work? What if your wife wants to start a family? Well I don't think that making 200,000-300,000 yen a month is enough to support a family. If you want to support a wife and or a family in Japan you need to be making minimum 500,000 yen a month. I've heard some cases where Japanese girls leave their husbands after a year when they realize that their husbands salary cannot support their daily lives and the blonde hair blue eyes fantasy she always wanted wears off. Hey bro I don't mean to put a downer on your hopes and dreams but you got to be realistic here man, but if you expect to be living with her family for the rest of your life in Japan then things will be a bit easier I guess.

Yeah, don't get married. RU living in Tokyo? If so, and you can't find someone to sponsor you in an English teaching position (which I find hard to believe) your only other option besides the one you're opposed to is a student visa. You'll need some cash in a bank account to prove you can stay afloat (without working). I think about a million yen is the minimum... might even be 2 mil.

hey thanks fellas so many questions... so many replies

what are you doing for work now

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I am currently working for an english company and in the process of elementary/ junior high school interviews

do you have a degree?

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no degree but I do have 3 years of study in tertiary education. which I believe is enough for the japanese government.

oh do you know where i can get a 4000yen fiscal stamp?

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are you talking about the "revenue stamps" that immigration need?? if so from the convenience store at immigration.

May I ask, who initially brought up the idea of getting married - and how did you 'decline' to proceed with this course of action

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It popped up one evening.. and its been casually spoken about since that evening

Blade - thanks for your comments, the blonde hair blue eye thing doesnt really apply here as we first met in Aus a few years back.
Weve spoken and the plan is to move back to australia in the next few years... currently lots of working and saving is going on

gaijin punch - I was considering becoming a student(once again ), the money in my account isnt a problem and I can apply for 24hours of work per week.. oh and I am on the outskirts of Tokyo, but work there

Thanks for everyones help/ replies on this matter..

Well, here are the rules AFAIK.

To get a working visa, you need either a 4-year degree, or 10 years PROFESSIONAL work experience. No less on either, so if you're 25 years old and only have 3 years under your belt... better go for the student visa.

On that note... just get the student visa, prove you have the money, and keep working. You can legally work 20 hours a week, but they never check. You could work 60. They'd only hold it against if you you were doing soemthing else bad and they really wanted to screw you. So don't deal drugs or beat women while you're there.

I think you to have loads of cash for a student visa. Does anyone know how much? My guess between 10,000-20,000$