RetireJapan

To do this, you must start the application process before arriving in Japan. If you enter Japan on a tourist visa and take up employment, you will still need to leave the country and start the application from abroad. You cannot change a tourist visa to a long-term or working visa.

solo7100 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 12, 2023 9:17 am Or does one have to leave Japan, get the working visa, then come back?

captainspoke wrote: ↑Sat Aug 12, 2023 10:29 am This question and your others--try asking on reddit, e.g.:

https://www.reddit.com/r/movingtojapan/

zeroshiki wrote: ↑Sat Aug 12, 2023 10:39 am You need a COE to get a visa with a status of residence. It seems like you cannot convert from a tourist visa to anything else.

First hit from google.

To do this, you must start the application process before arriving in Japan. If you enter Japan on a tourist visa and take up employment, you will still need to leave the country and start the application from abroad. You cannot change a tourist visa to a long-term or working visa.

I presume this is to discourage exactly what you're trying to do.

solo7100 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 12, 2023 12:18 pm

zeroshiki wrote: ↑Sat Aug 12, 2023 10:39 am You need a COE to get a visa with a status of residence. It seems like you cannot convert from a tourist visa to anything else.

First hit from google.

To do this, you must start the application process before arriving in Japan. If you enter Japan on a tourist visa and take up employment, you will still need to leave the country and start the application from abroad. You cannot change a tourist visa to a long-term or working visa.

I presume this is to discourage exactly what you're trying to do.

I understand, but just wanted to be clear. I wondered if someone were to visit Japan and then land a job...they'd have to fly someplace outside of Japan, re-apply (?), then come right back? Or would the company/place in Japan not sponsor their visa if they are in country?

For example, "We'd like you to come in for an interview, but you are already here in Japan so...no, you have to leave first, then we interview you, then you come back," kind of thing seemed odd to me. Hence the question. Adamu answered this point just above, so it's all good.

Thanks,

zeroshiki wrote: ↑Sat Aug 12, 2023 12:54 pm

solo7100 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 12, 2023 12:18 pm

zeroshiki wrote: ↑Sat Aug 12, 2023 10:39 am You need a COE to get a visa with a status of residence. It seems like you cannot convert from a tourist visa to anything else.

First hit from google.


I presume this is to discourage exactly what you're trying to do.

I understand, but just wanted to be clear. I wondered if someone were to visit Japan and then land a job...they'd have to fly someplace outside of Japan, re-apply (?), then come right back? Or would the company/place in Japan not sponsor their visa if they are in country?

For example, "We'd like you to come in for an interview, but you are already here in Japan so...no, you have to leave first, then we interview you, then you come back," kind of thing seemed odd to me. Hence the question. Adamu answered this point just above, so it's all good.

Thanks,

Most companies in Japan have no awareness of immigration laws so they would interview you like they would a normal candidate. The problem is that immigration won't allow you to have a different status of residence so you would have to fly back to your own country, submit a visa application for engineer/humanities/whatever along with your COE before you get a visa that CAN be converted to a status of residence.