HOW TO OBTAIN A JAPANESE WORKING VISA | PART ONE
August 31, 2019
Today I will talk about the process of obtaining a working visa in Japan as a US citizen. In order to obtain a Japanese working visa, you need a Job willing to sponsor you. So, now that you have obtained a job that is willing to sponsor your Japanese working visa, it's time to apply for one!
But, wait a minute! It's not that simple. Before you can apply for your Japanese working visa, you will need to obtain what is called a Certificate of Eligibility. This is basically a screening process. The COE tells immigration and the consulate that you meet visa requirements and are eligible to work in Japan.
What do you need for a Certificate of Eligibility?
RESUME
- Provide proof that you have received 12 years of Education in English
- Provide explanation of any gaps between employment (two months or longer)
- 1-3 pages in length
This isn't your fancy resume you may find in the States. Your resume needs to be clear, concise and to the point. Locations, month/year, and one to two bullet points detailing your job responsibilities. You may add a professional and academic reference and document any volunteer experience. If you would like a template, please e-mail me!
TWO ID PHOTOS
- Taken within the past 3 months
- Top of head to chin measurements are 22x28mm
- Outer photo dimensions are at least 35x45mm
- White/offwhite background
This was probably the most time consuming thing for me to obtain. My recruiter recommended that I do not try to take these photos myself, as immigration is very picky. Therefore, I called up the usual suspects, such as Walgreens, the post office, Kinkos, etc. However, they were not willing to take them for me at those dimensions. Therefore, I needed to go to a real photography studio that specialized in visa photos. I drove 2 hours and paid over 30$ for mine. It was worth it because they were accepted, but it was very time consuming and expensive.
COPY OF PASSPORT
- At least 1 year of validity left
- Signed
- No enhancements/enlargements/cropping of photocopy.
COPY OF DIPLOMA
- Copy of entire diploma with all seals and signatures visible
- If it's too large to scan, you may take a glare-less photo
- If your diploma is not in English, provide a translation
OFFICIAL UNIVERSITY DOCUMENT (TWO OPTIONS)
- Official University Transcript
- original and official
- needs to state "awarded" or "conferred" date. No exceptions!
- Printed within 6 mos.
- Awarded/conferred date must match date on diploma
- Official Letter of Graduation
- On letterhead with at least one official signature
- Must have your name/degree type/awarded/conferred date in past tense.
- Awarded/conferred date must match the date on diploma
- must be the original
They will not accept e-files, certified pdfs, or photocopies.
CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK CONSENT FORM
I was asked to give the company consent to receive a background check from me. This included me writing down all my previous addresses in the last five years.
CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK
I needed to obtain a background check that had been completed within the last six months. You can obtain a background check from the FBI (Although this is not recommended since it can take up to 3 months). Whatever channel you use, please confirm with the company that's hiring you! If you want to know where I received mine, please e-mail me!
TWO REFERENCES
I needed to provide two professional references (phone number and e-mail). I gave the contacts of two previous supervisors, and I can confirm that they were contacted through e-mail.
TESOL, JLPT, CERTIFICATIONS (OPTIONAL)
You may include photocopies of any additional certifications you may have.
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Okay! Now that you've got all of this, you may send them off to your recruiter or job! During this time, I was going through both the interview process (three to four interviews) and submitting documents. It's difficult because you don't even know if you have the job and you've already invested so much! Good Luck! The whole process from submitting documents to receiving my interview results were about two to three weeks.
Please stay tuned for Part Two, which covers filling out the Certificate of Eligibility application!
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