Please help me with some info if you can,

I'm currently trying to get a working visa in Japan as an English teacher.

I'm not a native speaker (I'm from a european country), but I do have a certificate for teaching English that is internationally accredited (CELTA).

The immigration bureau of Tokyo area just sent me the following info:

"... according to Japanese Immigration control system which is currently running, working status for English teacher works for English native speaker basically.

Therefore, it will be better to deal with Inspection Department ( working status related ) of Immigration Bureau directly if you would like to try to take application for English teacher. You could explain your experience as an English teacher and everything which is related."

Anyone had to deal with the inspection department of the immigration Bureau?

As for applying at the local japanese embassy in my country:
The thing is I might be required to go to Japan for a job interview and would like to change my status once I am inside Japan.
That is why can't just apply at the local japanese embassy because I'd need a confirmation for the job (which I don't have without having gone through the interview first)

Can anyone help with this? I'm not sure what the best course of action in this matter is.

Thanks a lot!

maxwell777 Wrote:As for applying at the local japanese embassy in my country:
The thing is I might be required to go to Japan for a job interview and would like to change my status once I am inside Japan.

Wait, what?! What kind of teaching gig is this? Is this at a university or international school? If this is a position for an ALT or Eikaiwa teacher, then this is ridiculous, doubly so if you are paying for the ticket on your own ("we'll reimburse you for travel later" is bullshit).

Thanks for your response.

Actually I wasn't refering to a specific position.

I am just looking at a bunch of job offers at gajinpot now, and just figured that an interview would be a requirement in order to get the job.

Am I wrong?

maxwell777 Wrote:Thanks for your response.

Actually I wasn't refering to a specific position.

I am just looking at a bunch of job offers at gajinpot now, and just figured that an interview would be a requirement in order to get the job.

Am I wrong?

Yea, you should be able to phone or skype interview. Expecting someone to travel halfway round the world is unreasonable

The way it typically works is first you get the job, the company does your visa paperwork, and then you get the visa. This might actually be the ONLY way, I'm fairly sure you don't get a working visa before you get the job. Not that I'm an immigration lawyer or anything. As long as the company is willing to hire you, your nationality doesn't mean a thing.

Getting a visa isn't really your responsibility - it's the responsibility of your employer. If your employer is willing to sponsor you, there is no reason for Immigration to refuse you because you're not a native speaker. It's none of Immigration's business whether you're a native speaker or not, as far as I'm aware.

And I'll add - the people giving advice at Immigration don't know their arse from their elbow. I've been told so many contradictory things. Just find someone to hire you, hand in the paperwork, and let them sort that out.

maxwell777 Wrote:I am just looking at a bunch of job offers at gajinpot now, and just figured that an interview would be a requirement in order to get the job.

I'll just point out that a lot of the positions on gaijinpot may be hard for you to land, especially if they are very specific in location. The reason for this is that these are spots at open schools that companies need to fill within the next month or so, sometimes sooner. The visa process can take up to a month to do. This is why many of those ads say "Must reside in Japan." because it means you already have a visa usually, even if its a tourist visa. Changing the type of visa is generally a quicker process than getting your visa sent to you. (Actually they don't send you a visa when you are overseas, they send you what is called a "Certificate of Eligibility" which you have to take to a Japanese embassy/consulate w/ your passport. You may have to wait a day but then they update your passport and give you the visa. The certificate speeds the visa process up A LOT, but it still takes time to gather the documents needed and file them in Japan and then send the Certificate to you by mail.)

My suggestion is to take a look at the companies posting the ads on gaijinpot and find their company website. Dig around and see if they have a general application form you can fill out, as someone that's overseas. Generally speaking, you won't have much choice in where you go in Japan (assume you are going somewhere rural) using this method but its focused towards people overseas.

RandomQuotes, afterglowefx, Aikynaro and vix86 thanks a lot for your replies guys, very helpful!

vix86, so based on what you're saying, is there any reason why I should not go to Tokyo with a regular tourist visa and look around for jobs at gajinpot once I'm there, before getting my status changed?

I'm not in a hurry, I would like to get accustomed to the new cultural environment and keep practicing japanese for a while anyway before I start to work. I'd be okay taking 2 months off to look around for a job at Gajinpot. (I think the tourist is valid for 90 days).

Or does that sound very risky to you? If I got you right, then changing the status from tourist visa to a working visa shouldn't be a huge problem, once I find an employer.

I'm quite sure I would like to go to Tokyo, so what you suggest there in the end won't work for all that well me.

thanks for your advice!

Quote:vix86, so based on what you're saying, is there any reason why I should not go to Tokyo with a regular tourist visa and look around for jobs at gajinpot once I'm there, before getting my status changed?

It's a pretty big gamble is the main reason I guess. Your CELTA cert. is unique since not a lot of people actually have it, but I don't know how much of it would override lack of actual experience. Almost all public/private schools in Tokyo require at least a year of actual experience in schools. Everyone wants to live in Tokyo/Osaka, so its not like there is a shortage of teachers with 2-3 years of experience.

You might be able to get an eikaiwa job in Tokyo though.

Thanks for your reply.

Well, anything other than JET programme or Eikaiwa is quite unrealistic for me I guess.
The JET programme doesn't look promising, because they only select very few people, so I'd rather go directly for the Eikaiwa.

I've seen it mentioned that some kind of university degree is a requirement to get a job at an Eikaiwa school?

I do have two university degrees (music pedagogy and media arts), I don't know if qualifications like these, while being unrelated to the field of teaching English specifically, help because they make you look better on paper.
Well actually music pedagogy and my 5 years of work experience in that field probably isn't entirely unrelated to teaching English.

Would you apply for Eikaiwa schools through Gajinpot or are there some popular Eikaiwa chains that you know of in Tokyo that I could apply at directly?
Did any of you teach at an Eikaiwa school, what's your experience?

I'm trying to google all these questions of course, but direct advice from guys like you with personal experience is usually better.

Again, thanks so much!

If that is 5 years of teaching music, then that should probably fine. You could swing that as "teaching experience" probably. So you are in a better spot than I originally assumed, so you might actually be able to get some interviews through Gaijinpot.

Eikaiwa can always be a fall back. There are a lot of eikaiwas out there; some don't have websites.
Big companies are ECC, GABA, AEON, NOVA; their site should have some kind of application somewhere.

Also check out Hello Sensei and Ohayo Sensei for potential job ads. Ohayo Sensei is probably the better option of the two since Hello Sensei is more for finding private students; plus a wide range of ads are put there, including direct hires with BoEs.

Your degrees sound extremely useful for getting you a job here. Any eikaiwa that deals specifically with children will be interested in music stuff. Maybe have a look at Peppy Kids Club or Model Language Studio - I think they hire from overseas. Even if you just rock up, with those qualifications you'll probably be okay just applying for places. Of course, it would be best if you could pretend you're a native speaker...

I don't work for them, but I know a few non-native English speakers that work for Peppy Kid's Club.

I was being interviewed by Peppy Kids Club at one point before saying "***** that." Maybe its because I'm from America, but I learned that its pretty common for you, the teacher, to be the only person at the school sometimes. You close and open it. The prospect of being a foreign guy working with kids with no other staff around; sounded like it could turn into a lawsuit that you'd have little recourse against if you were accused of something.

Beyond that, I heard PKC isn't all that bad and being able to play and incorporate music into a lesson is something companies love to hear.

[Zgarbas]

Why waste your education and experience on teaching English, rather than music or media?

(not that there's anything *wrong* with teaching English, it just seems like a shame given how you're a qualified music teacher)

vix86, thank you. well that's good news actually. So you're saying I might even be able to apply for public / private schools that pay a little better? Eikawa school pay only 250k a month if I'm not mistaken, and well that's not really all that great for a full-time job, as living will probably be expensive.

I'd rather earn a little less, but work only part-time 25 hours if possible because I also want to have some time for music and hanging out. I don't know if part time positions exist at all at public or private schools. (I know I'm asking for a lot by the way, of course I'd also do a full time job if no other options come up.)

But it's good to know that my ability to teach music might be something that could interest certain companies.

Aikynaro, RandomQuote, Peppy Kid's Club, got it. Sound quite nice actually, I don't mind teaching kids (if they teach me some japanese in return that is

Zgarbas, of course I'd rather give piano and guitar lessons (these are the instruments I teach, from beginner to somewhat advanced level). I just thought it might be really really difficult to get a job in that department in the beginning, and even more so given my level of japanese which is still quite low.
Wouldn't you agree with that? That's why I thought getting a job as an English teacher would be easier for a start.

Thanks very much for all your replies.

maxwell777 Wrote:vix86, thank you. well that's good news actually. So you're saying I might even be able to apply for public / private schools that pay a little better? Eikawa school pay only 250k a month if I'm not mistaken, and well that's not really all that great for a full-time job, as living will probably be expensive.

I'd rather earn a little less, but work only part-time 25 hours if possible because I also want to have some time for music and hanging out. I don't know if part time positions exist at all at public or private schools. (I know I'm asking for a lot by the way, of course I'd also do a full time job if no other options come up.)

But it's good to know that my ability to teach music might be something that could interest certain companies.

Most direct hires with public/private schools are going to effectively be full time. If you are wanting 25 hour weeks, then Eikaiwa would be the best option most likely. There might be some ALT jobs that are part time like that but you would have to look. The other thing to be conscious of is that part time jobs may not guarantee you a visa sponsorship seeing as there is usually a "monthly income minimum" that companies have to meet in order to be able to sponsor someone for a work visa.

The music thing is a good thing though because some private schools have bizarre ideas about teaching English and "learning English through music" is one that I'm pretty sure I've heard before. These positions are not common though and you'd have to keep your eye out for when these spots open up in places. Direct hires at public/private schools though usually start at 300k a month. That said, 250k is not bad and many people live on that.

The other possibility you could do though is do private students. This won't be something you can do right now but might be possible in the future depending on where you live. If you really figure out a way to merge music teaching and language learning, you could probably go into business for yourself. Its a pretty risky venture though since you'll have to do the leg work to find your own students and keep them.

You could probably do the "music teaching" thing full time as well but I know nothing about whether there exists actual companies that would hire you for that or not. Setting up your own private business would be the best option here again I think. If you are white, as in skin color, then you have the foreign element going for you and some Japanese really latch on to this. Bonus points if you are from a country that is renowned for its history in music; you could sell your services on that. Teaching music would be a bit more unique in Japan though, because most apartments have restrictions on musical instruments. There are some special ones that allow them though. So you'd have to consider how you would handle that point. There are even some realtors that exist solely to sell/advertise these "musical instruments allowed" places: Sonare

I wouldn't go in expecting any better than 250k straight off, either teaching in schools or eikaiwa. 250k is pretty average, especially if it's your first year doing this sort of thing.
Living expenses are not so much - certainly vastly less than you're led to believe. Rent (in Tokyo) is what's really expensive - everything else is quite reasonable. When I was getting paid 285k a month I felt like I was rolling in money (not Tokyo, mind you, and rent was subsidised - most big eikaiwa will do that though). Anyway, expecting more than that for English teaching in Japan on your first year is expecting way too much - I doubt any school is going to directly hire someone fresh off the boat.

You can get by part-time well enough, but you should probably establish yourself with a visa and a year of experience first.

Quote:Aikynaro, RandomQuote, Peppy Kid's Club, got it. Sound quite nice actually, I don't mind teaching kids (if they teach me some japanese in return that is wink

oh, don't worry, you'll soon learn a bunch of words from them, like うんこ, 嫌だ, 詰らない...

Uh, anyway - yeah, I hear Peppy is nice. It's where Amity refugees go when they can't stand the stick-up-the-arse attitude of Amity anymore. I hear it's quite relaxed and you can go home if you don't have any more classes.

(also, I'll say for your first year - don't get hung up on being in Tokyo. You can always move to Tokyo - if they want to ship you off to somewhere in exchange for a visa and a job for a year, it's a good opportunity)

Aikynaro Wrote:I wouldn't go in expecting any better than 250k straight off, either teaching in schools or eikaiwa. 250k is pretty average, especially if it's your first year doing this sort of thing.
Living expenses are not so much - certainly vastly less than you're led to believe. Rent (in Tokyo) is what's really expensive - everything else is quite reasonable. When I was getting paid 285k a month I felt like I was rolling in money (not Tokyo, mind you, and rent was subsidised - most big eikaiwa will do that though). Anyway, expecting more than that for English teaching in Japan on your first year is expecting way too much - I doubt any school is going to directly hire someone fresh off the boat.

You can get by part-time well enough, but you should probably establish yourself with a visa and a year of experience first.

Quote:Aikynaro, RandomQuote, Peppy Kid's Club, got it. Sound quite nice actually, I don't mind teaching kids (if they teach me some japanese in return that is wink

oh, don't worry, you'll soon learn a bunch of words from them, like うんこ, 嫌だ, 詰らない...

Uh, anyway - yeah, I hear Peppy is nice. It's where Amity refugees go when they can't stand the stick-up-the-arse attitude of Amity anymore. I hear it's quite relaxed and you can go home if you don't have any more classes.

(also, I'll say for your first year - don't get hung up on being in Tokyo. You can always move to Tokyo - if they want to ship you off to somewhere in exchange for a visa and a job for a year, it's a good opportunity)

I hear the foreign teachers only have to be there like 3-4 hours a day.

Yea, as long as you don't have any giant obligations back home that you need to send money to 250k is definitely enough to live comfortably easily [5万 after food, rent bills and everything, probably more is you don't eat out alot or go drinking every weekend].

late reply, sorry, have been a little busy with all these Kanji.

vix86,
thanks for the insightful post. Being a self-employed music teacher, well I guess that's something I could try in the long-term.
At any rate, it's good to know that the music thing could be an advantage, even for some english teaching schools.

Aikynaro,
ok thanks for the info, that sounds all very reasonable

Quote:oh, don't worry, you'll soon learn a bunch of words from them, like うんこ, 嫌だ, 詰らない...

alright, well that's some really useful vocab I suppose!

RandomQuotes,
Fortunately I have no obligations, so it sounds like 250k should be good.

Thanks for your posts and the great info guys, it's appreciated!

Did anyone go to Japan with a tourist visa and apply for a job from there.
Were there any problems changing the visa status from "tourist visa" to "working visa", or does anyone know?

I'm applying for jobs, but I might have to go to Japan before I got one, as so many companies require you to "currently reside in Japan".

My local embassy can tell me nothing about it, except that "it's the decision of the respective employee whether you can change your visa status, if you have a job".
quite helpful, isn't it.

If you meet all of the visa requirements, which means you already have a four-year university degree, then you shouldn't have any trouble getting your visa changed.

It isn't surprising that official government channels wouldn't want to encourage this behavior as it puts all of the risk on the job seekers and ultimately the government is the one that has to deal with you if you refuse to leave.

thanks for your response tokyostyle,

I do have a four-year university degree - so that's what is needed for that? I see.
And yeah what you say they about the goverment channels makes sense.

So I tried to apply with GABA and today I got an email from a recruiter:

***

Thank you for making your initial application for a position to teach with us via our website.

Before proceeding with your application, I need to check your eligibility for a sponsored work visa for Japan. In order to be eligible, you must possess either:

1. An accredited bachelor’s degree (or higher) that was taught in English (i.e. the medium of tuition was English) OR
2. Three years full-time ESL teaching experience.

........

***


Does anyone know if these are the general requirements for a visa as an English Language Teacher in Japan, or just specific to Eikawa schools, in this case GABA (I asked them but have no response yet)

This is quite unfortunate, I have a university degree (2 in fact), but of course the study language wasn't English - and I have the CELTA.
And yet I don't qualify for a work visa, really?

I am not sure what to do at this point.
Should I lie about my study, saying that the study language was English? I don't want to do that but...

any ideas?

this really sucks.

[Zgarbas]

Not a good idea to lie to your employer. Just tell them what experience you do have and see if it makes up for it.