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Regarding qualifications to teach English in Japan

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tokyoalien

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18 Dec 2014
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Hi All, I'm new to jref~!

My name is Ben, currently residing in Australia as an Australian citizen.

I'm wondering if I would be applicable for a TEFL position over in Japan...

I currently hold an Advanced Diploma of Computer Systems Technology and a Professional TEFL Certification.
Additionally, I hold three IT-related University certificates.

I have not completed a BA - Bachelor's Degree.

Could I still qualify for 'The Certificate of Eligibility' - Employment/Working Visa in Japan?

Any feedback from people who may have started working in Japan under similar circumstances would be greatly appreciated! :)

Note: I also studied the Japanese Language both in Highschool and Adult-Learning classes. I've visited Tokyo. I can speak, read and write basic conversational 日本語.
 
The degree requirement is from the government (Immigration), not employers.

Have you considered a working holiday visa?
 
I'm wondering if I would be applicable for a TEFL position over in Japan
Uh, the word is eligible, not applicable.
It's possible to combine all of your education to substitute for a bachelor's degree. I think you would need to see first whether any of your diplomas actually say "degree" on them, and if so, that alone might get you by immigration. Immigration's requirements state a "college degree" is needed, so the word "diploma" may not, and they might be fooled with the mere word degree even if it's not from a bachelor's program. Regardless of any of that, an immigration lawyer may be more successful than you in spinning the education combination to pass immigration.

Second, the education is what they want for teachers, not the specialization. So your IT ed is probably not an issue for EFL jobs.

Third, as mentioned earlier, the WHV is open to you, but only for a year, and no visa sponsorship by employer is needed.
 
Thank you all for your helpful replies.

Is the WHV a one-time deal?

Ie. If under the age of 30, can you return to Japan and do another year on a WHV?
From what I've read on the embassy's website, the answer is no. However, I'd really appreciate some feedback from 'yall.
 
You already knew the lack of a degree killed your chances (as the bold text clearly shows)....yet you thought that would magically change if some doofuses on an Internet forum told you something different? And now you clearly know the WHV is a one-time-only thing but seem to think if we tell you that you can do it twice then the Japanese government will be obliged to do as we say.

We're not a Board of Appeals.

The answers to your questions are already out there, and you already knew them before you started this thread....you just didn't like them.

Immigration law and policies aren't like asking your mother for a cookie: "no" means "no" and persistent pestering won't change that. You get one WHV. Take it and be grateful; people in your situation in a great many countries don't even have the WHV option.

If you want something more, then you're going to have to jump the hurdles. Either get a degree or a Japanese spouse if you want to get a visa to live and work here.

We can sympathize with you, but that's about the extent of what we can do.
 
I was only looking for clarification from people with real-world experience in this matter.
I was well aware of the 'rules' set by immigration.
I've known a few people that have been sponsored by a company with "equivalent" qualifications to a degree.
Hence, I was curious to hear of potential others here who have acquired a sponsorship without a degree also.

There was no need to be condescending Mike Cash.
 
I was only looking for clarification from people with real-world experience in this matter.
I was well aware of the 'rules' set by immigration.
I've known a few people that have been sponsored by a company with "equivalent" qualifications to a degree.
Hence, I was curious to hear of potential others here who have acquired a sponsorship without a degree also.

There was no need to be condescending Mike Cash.

I am capable of spontaneous gratuitous condescension.

If you were asking about a job in the IT field then your various qualifications might very well carry some weight with Immigration as a substitute for a degree. But for an English teaching job, not likely.

You wouldn't believe the long history this forum has of people coming here apparently thinking that our saying something somehow has a binding effect on Japanese officialdom. If official sources indicate "no", then the answer is "no". Have you asked those people who got what seems to be special exemptions what their circumstances are? So far, you know more about them than we do.
 
From what they've told me the requirements for sponsorship is either a degree and/or equivalent. With 'equivalent' being a bit of a grey area.
Alas, a WHV would suffice short-term (better than nothing). None the less, I'll be applying for a working/living visa pending an outcome of sponsorship (nothing ventured, nothing gained).

If I find that I'm declined due to a lack of a degree, I'll finish my Bachelor of IT in that case.
Ultimately, if I can avoid another 2 years of study purely for the purpose of living/working in 日本 for more than 1 year, I will.
 
Well, let's hope a little more education would serve you in other ways than that...

In a labor market where the basic minimum requirement is a bachelors degree, the degree's relative value becomes like a high school diploma back home. Anything less than that and in the eyes of potential employers you might as well be a junior high dropout.

Yes, you can live here without a degree. But I would strongly recommend against it. (No, I don't have a college degree either).
 
Mike, would you mind telling me what your occupation is in Japan?

Not at all. Here's a view from my "office" window taken just now.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1419049519.048442.jpg
 
Thank you all for your helpful replies.

Is the WHV a one-time deal?
If you had taken the time to look this up on websites that are easily found, you would have discovered the answer is yes. One time in your life. Done deal.
The Working Holiday Programmes in Japan
http://www.au.emb-japan.go.jp/en/visa/visit_japan_workingholiday.html

I was well aware of the 'rules' set by immigration.
This pisses me off. Why did you even bother to ask us then?

Alas, a WHV would suffice short-term (better than nothing).
More than you might think. Unless things have changed in the past few years, Australians got a lucky deal with WHV in that they could renew it TWICE for a total of 18 not 12 months. They just don't broad cast this even on the websites. You might want to inquire directly to confirm.

None the less, I'll be applying for a working/living visa pending an outcome of sponsorship (nothing ventured, nothing gained).
Just checking here..."pending sponsorship" means what? It SHOULD mean pending the fact that you would get hired (first) by an employer who is willing to sponsor your work visa. Right?

If I find that I'm declined due to a lack of a degree, I'll finish my Bachelor of IT in that case.
Ultimately, if I can avoid another 2 years of study purely for the purpose of living/working in 日本 for more than 1 year, I will.
Weight the positives and negatives of that. It will give you money and experience here (although not for 2 years, obviously), but you will also be older and perhaps less inclined to study. Your employer here might also not be willing to wait for you to get the degree and rehire you.

You can also work here without a degree if you get an intracompany transfer visa, but it means you have to work for the main office in your home country for a year first. Unlikely that someone your age will qualify for most positions in such a transfer, but it depends on the company situation.

From what they've told me the requirements for sponsorship is either a degree and/or equivalent. With 'equivalent' being a bit of a grey area.
It comes to this: you have the required degree in the required field, or you have something lesser plus enough years of related work experience. In terms of education, what do you have now? A couple of years of study? You'll need whatever it takes to complete the degree, whether it's another 2 years in classroom work or a gazillion years of correspondence courses.

It's not all that vague in terms of the latter. Three years in the case of a work visa for teaching; ten years for engineers (or a combination of work experience & schooling thereof).

My father works for a Japanese company...
I'm frankly surprised (and even more ticked off to learn this) that your father's company execs couldn't have explained this all to you before.
 
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Cheers for the input Glenski.
It's better to have more information than the bare minimum.

As pointed out earlier I currently hold an Advanced Diploma of Computer Systems Technology and a Professional TEFL Certification.
Additionally, I hold another three IT-related University certificates.
As well as a partly completed BA

My father works for a Japanese company, I also have many friends over in Japan.

No need to get pissed off 'lil fella, I only wanted more input from people currently undertaking an ESL Teaching vocation in Japan, of which I plan to similarly.

I find collecting as much information as possible from varying sources is always the best way to go about it before coming to a decision.

Take care.

Regards,
 
Please lay off the "lil fella" crap. I'm over twice your age.

As pointed out earlier I currently hold an Advanced Diploma of Computer Systems Technology and a Professional TEFL Certification.
Additionally, I hold another three IT-related University certificates.
As well as a partly completed BA
Then get daddy's company lawyers or contacts to help you spin these into the requirements needed for a work visa. That is, if a certificate is really that substantive. No idea what it is.
 
Twice my age? Feel free to announce mine, pretty sure it isn't being broadcast here.


Please lay off the "lil fella" crap. I'm over twice your age.

Then get daddy's company lawyers or contacts to help you spin these into the requirements needed for a work visa. That is, if a certificate is really that substantive. No idea what it is.

'Daddy's approval'? Hah. I'm guessing you've got some lower-middle class complex?
You're not sure what it feels like to earn at least 500k min. per annum?
 

Fair enough.

Mind you, evidently the maturity of this fella is somewhat questionable.

Why is he so butt-hurt?
 
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