Moving to Japan

I am 20 years old, Male and from England, ever since I turned 16 I have wanted to visit Japan for a very long time now. After turning 20 I feel that I can now make my own decision to go and visit. After reading through earlier posts on the forums here I have notices a lot of people saying that getting a degree or having a special skill is required to move to Japan properly.

I do intend to move to Japan and live there in the future, well as soon as possible. But I've started to have doubts after reading through some of these posts since I did not go to University as I was not interested in further education now I understand you can get a working holiday visa to go for up to a year but I know that is not permanent and cannot be renewed infinitely. I don't really have an particular special skills I did do a I.T course for a while, but I do not think that will suffice. Can anyone give me any other advice on how I can move there without having to have a degree etc? Thanks.

Dave

The easy answer? Marry a Japanese. If you want to get a work visa, you need a bachelor degree.

So, you have not visited Japan yet.

You should come here as a tourist first to see if the place is as nice as you imagine.

Only after that, consider your options for longer stay.

Thanks for you inputs guys.

I do intend to visit Japan later on this year to see what it is like and if I would like to stay there for longer I was thinking of getting a holiday working visa and work there for a while before making my decision to move there.

I was thinking of maybe applying to a Japanese university as an Undergraduate. Is this a plausible way of getting into Japan?

I guess the marriage suggestion is the easiest.
I will visit first before making my judgement

Yeah if you have the money you can attend school and stay that way on a student visa. If you get a bachelors and then find a job you'll be able to then have a work visa.

I have a friend who did this; went to Temple's Japan campus and then on to English teaching, though she was in quite a bit of debt by the time she finished her degree.

I did do a I.T course for a while, but I do not think that will suffice

You got a diploma from a technical college? That's enough to meet the immigration office's minimum requirements as long as your job is related to your studies. You can't get a work visa to teach English with that diploma.

The more difficult task is actually finding an employer willing to sponsor your visa. I suggest you study Japanese and get some work experience in your home country before attempting your move to Japan.

I was thinking of maybe applying to a Japanese university as an Undergraduate. Is this a plausible way of getting into Japan?

Don't waste your time and money with that idea. You said yourself that you're not interested in education.

Since you're from England you could apply for a working holiday visa.

With a bit of research you can find places that will hire you on with that type of visa. I believe a work holiday visa lasts from about 6months to a year.

Work holiday visa is not a long term solution if you fall in love and want to stay in Japan but it's a way to experience Japan before university.

My sister didn't go to university so worked in Japan for a year under a work holiday visa at a place called British Hills in Fukushima prefecture as a front desk reception.

And this is what I get for commenting when distracted.

I see you know about the work holiday visa already. Sorry for telling you something you know about.

But I still think it's a good first step. It will let you go to Japan for a year or so and help you see if it lives up to your expectations. After returning home you can decide what you need to do to be able to return to stay permanently or if staying a year satisfied your desire for Japanese life.

You got a diploma from a technical college? That's enough to meet the immigration office's minimum requirements as long as your job is related to your studies. You can't get a work visa to teach English with that diploma.

I did get a BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in I.T. Is this sufficient? I studied I.T on many different levels for a good few years I have multiple certificates for the main levels.
I am going to start taking Japanese lessons before I go for my visit in August. I want to visit for at least 2 months. I feel that being there for a while will help me with the language too.

The work visa is definitely an option for me, I do intend to go and visit Japan in early August till early September. To see how I like the place. Then next year make my decision.

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you all. I have been very busy recently. Thanks all!

As someone who's been looking into something similar I can tell you some things.

You NEED a Bachelor's Degree or higher for a Working Visa. If you don't have one, your only options are a Student Visa, Working Holiday Visa and Spouse Visa.

Don't get married to a japanese person just for the visa, that's cruel. Also, you said you didn't want further education so you probably won't like that in Japan either.

It's harder in Japan as you need to study at a japanese language college that prepares you for japanese university. That's about £9000 for 2 years, lots of them have dormitories. Then you go to the japanese University for a Bachelor's Degree I assume for 3-4 years. That's about another £12000-15000.

If you're just planning on a student visa so you can come to Japan and not so you can study then it could be a very costly mistake.

Seems you're out of luck unless you do a magical turnaround on your no further education ideas.

I did get a BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in I.T. Is this sufficient?

I'm not sure what that is but if it's equivalent to a technical college degree, then it's sufficient. You can contact an immigration lawyer to get a professional opinion.

You NEED a Bachelor's Degree or higher for a Working Visa

A bachelor's degree is not necessary for everyone. You need a bachelor's degree if you want to teach English and have no work experience. Actually, I'm not even sure if that's accurate. Do you have any links I can read?

To the last .(guest) who posted:

You need a bachelor's degree if you want to teach English and have no work experience. And yet, for native speakers of English, English teaching jobs are considered "entry" jobs into Japan, if you know what I mean.

You do need either (1) a bachelor's degree or (2) several or more years of "relevant" work experience, meaning, if you want to do an IT job in Japan, you need at least several years of IT-related work experience in your country, not just any work experience. A professional chef in your cuisine with several or more years of experience and of certain standing in your country (but no degree) may qualify for a chef position and work visa in Japan.

You do need either (1) a bachelor's degree or (2) several or more years of "relevant" work experience, meaning, if you want to do an IT job in Japan, you need at least several years of IT-related work experience

I looked into this a few weeks ago. IT workers do not need a bachelor's degree. Would having one increase their chances of being approved for a visa? Sure, but it's not absolutely required.

I got the info from immigration lawyer's websites.

"If the applicant has passed a specific information technology exam or any qualification exams designated by the Ministry of Justice, educational background and job experiences are not of great importance."

http://english.narita-visa.jp/engineer/

This is the list of the exams:
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/hourei/public_notice.html

--------------------------
"Graduates from university (incl. junior college, vocational school) "

"Experience told me that it is easier and takes less time in for graduates from a vocational school for information processing to get gEngineerh visa compared to the difficulty for graduates from business vocational school to get gSpecialist in Humanities / International Serviceh visa."

http://www.niitsu-law.jp/visa%20info.html