How long does Visa process take?

Greetings

I plan to work for 9 months as an English teacher in Japan from January and I was wondering if anybody could tell me how long it takes to get a Working Visa when moving to Japan from the UK? Is it the same for a Working Holiday Visa if I decide to go for one of those?

I did notice that the embassy website says for the Working Visa it can take a few days after getting a Certificate of Elligibility... but how long does it take to get one of those?

Furthermore, will I need to know the date of my flight before I apply for the Visa?

Cheers

We were told by our immigration lawyer that it can take up to 3 months to process a work visa. Mine ended up taking that long but it was with a newly incorporated company, and I've heard that companies who regularly sponsor work visas will have faster processing times. However, if you only plan on working for 9 months then a work visa will be very difficult to get as most contracts will have a minimum 1 year duration. A WHV looks like a better choice for you.

For a working visa, you need to have the sponsorship of your employer to apply. So (if you are in the UK now) you need to apply for a job from outside Japan, secure an employer, and involve them in your visa application process. They are the one who need to say that they need you in Japan, so that you can work for them.

As far as I remember, when an acquaintance of mine applied for a certificate of eligibility from the UK (sponsored by an employer in Japan), it did take a few months, so until that was done, he could not even proceed to book a flight to Japan.

How easy is it to get the WHV? I notice that they only give out 1000 a year. That doesn't seem all that much to me! Or is it?

It took just a tad over 2 months to secure my Working visa. The embassy commented that it was very fast too, I thought it took ages :)

Working holiday visa is very easy to get providing you meet the criteria.