Working Holiday Visa change to Tourisim

Hello I'm wondering how easy or hard it is to get a tourist Visa after my Working Holiday Visa will run out??

Do I really need to leave the country and re enter? Or is there an easier way for me to do that? Just visitng the Shinagawa immigration office for example?

Also, as a German citizen am I privileged to extend my touri visa to 6 months right away??
I think a few nationalities are allowed to do so right? If I remember correctly, Germany was one of them?!

Thanks for the help guys!!

Arigatou Gozaimasu!!:)

As you will be changing from work-permitting visa to temporary visitor status the change should be possible at the immgration office. But you are likely to be asked if you have sufficient funds to travel without working. The extension to six months is not automatic - you need to have once again plenty of funds, and a good reason to stay further when your stay gets this long.

The only advantage to change the visa from WHV to TV that comes to MY MIND should be the rail passes?

If that's your purpose, I don't recommend visa change. Though the JR Passes are beneficial, there are some other ways to travel around Japan at cheap. Once your visa is changed, your activity in Japan gets restricted.

Thank you guys!! You helped me out a lot!!

How can I find out for sure if I can change the WHV to a TV at the Shinagawa immigration office? Should I just call them or do they have an English information site about this maybe?!?

Oh I wish I could keep my WHV, but it's only good for 1 year!! I have to either leave the country or apply for a tourist visa, be ause my chances of getting a work visa are very slim.

Luckily I have enough money to stay!!

But what would be a serious reason for them to let me stay? Girlfriend? Keep on traveling and pumping money into the Japanese economy? Telling them that I'll move to Fukushima soon?

Why do you need a reason to be a tourist?? Isn't a support budget the only thing you need?

I appreciate every help:)

How can I find out for sure if I can change the WHV to a TV at the Shinagawa immigration office?

No need to call. They can process the change there. You should be able to have the tourist visa issued immediately.

Oh I wish I could keep my WHV, but it's only good for 1 year!

Yup, thats the main reason people change from a whv to a tourist visa.

But what would be a serious reason for them to let me stay?

You just need to tell them that you'd like to spend some more time travelling after having worked the past year.

Hello guys

So I was still worried about if the change from
WHV to temporary Visa is really that simple and easy.

Unfortunately the Shinagawa immigration office told me that is probably or most likely not possible to do ;(

Why were you guys so sure about this??
What should I do now??:(

Thanks for the help!

Did you phone immigration to ask? For which period did you ask? (Six months is not automatic, so I would not assume that, but three months should be OK, I thought.)

@Basti:

Unavailable in the states I am unfamiliar with working holiday visa's (WHV) so I am unsure if it'll apply to your situation. But during my recent stay in Tokyo, one of my room mates who was "in between jobs" said his working visa (WV) was near expiration and that it was possible to obtain a temporary extension as long as you can show proof that you are searching for employment.

You may want to look into it and ask the immigration office. You may also want to consider visiting the embassy of your origin and ask them as well.

drab07,

Yes, in case of work visa, that is true.

In case of WHV, it is only available to eligible nationals "once in a lifetime," so there is no way to extend the WH status itself. Changing it to Temporary Visitor status is, as far as I know, the only way to stay on in Japan.

Thank you so much for all the quick responses!!
I appreciate it so much!!

I'm sorry for the confusion guys!!

I DON'T want to extend my WHV!! That's impossible!

I only want to change my status to a very simple temporary Visa or Tourist Visa. Because I'm German, they call it temporary Visa.

So I asked them for that. Only for 3 more months, I didn't ask them about the extension to 6 months yet. Only 3 months first!

I only want to change my status!!

But even the woman, one of the few who could speak English couldn't exactly tell me how my chances were. However, she implied that it's very difficult to do!!
She recommended me to leave the country for a few days to Korea and come back after 5-7 days and it shouldn't be a problem.

She also told me, that I should visit the Shinagawa office in the last few days of my stay because then I could get an automatic extension for 2 months in order to proceed my temporary Visa (Tourist) application!!
Many people would do it that way.
But that my Visa change will be accepted is difficult or unlikely she said ;-(

But please keep in mind that even she wasn't exactly sure. I asked her where else if not at the immigration office I could get that information. She said I won't ;(
So is that a grey area? Is the face and mood of the person in charge important?

I'm confused on what I should do now ;(
Maybe I should call the German embassy??

Thanks guys!!

Anyone?? ;(

When does your WHV expire?

As far as I can tell, all you can do is to do as that lady suggested to you - be sure you go to Immigration Bureau before your WHV expires, but not too early.

Be sure you can show them (if asked) that you have sufficient funds to travel more in Japan, and you have (of course) sufficient funds to fly back home.

Some Immigration officers "might" be of the opinion that WHV already gave you plenty of time to travel (actually this IS a special arrangement limited to nationals of certain countries), so why extend further?

So don't be surprised even if they say no to a full three-months extension. But best of luck.

Well, I do not know if you have read the rules about the Working Holiday Program but it clearly states that the purpose of the program is to DISCOVER the country and work a little bit to finance and help your stay being better. It is not a work visa, it is a kind of tourism visa and cultural visa mix. If some people choose to spend one year working in Tokyo and never travel in the country, well this is their own problem, it is not immigration officers problem.

You said yourself, you wanted to stay 1 year and 6 months in Japan, 1 year Working Holiday Program + 3x3 tourism visa. I am sorry but it sounds like a misappropriation of the program. They feel cheated by you. You wanted to live in the country, not discover it. Your purpose was to settle down in Japan not discover the place.

German embassy will not help you, denying a visa is a sovereign act of Governments, it is not like they will call the Shinagawa Immigration and help you stay in the country.

Thanks again guys!! Every help and opinion is much appreciated!!

My WHV will expire in early February. So I will visit the immigration office a few days before the actual date.
I guess I can only hope for the best ;(

I have more than enough funds to support myself for a whole year without any kind of work. Money is not a problem thankfully!!

I hope I get at least the 2 months extra to leave the country and then I will try to re-enter like thousands of people before me have done successfully.
I will go to Korea for a week and try my re visit then if the immigration bureau denies my change.

Isn't it a good enough reason to keep on traveling? Why wouldn't the Jspanese government want my money? Aren't the tourist numbers at an all time low this year? Isn't the J economy struggling??
I just don't see why they would deport me from the country :(
It's not like I'm from another Asian country who could be looking to work here illegally!

What other reasons could be useful for me? To improve my Japanese of course and??
Please help me with this. I don't want to fall in a trap when I apply or re enter at the airport.

Also Japan is not a country where the WHV works well. You can't just travel around and do a job here snd there. If you got a job you're already very lucky these days and then your option to travel is very limited.

Thanks so much guys!! Please keep helping me out!'

Happy New Year!!:)

Dude, when you re-enter and if they even ask, just be honest - tell them that you want to explore the parts of the country you have not had chance to see before you return home to Europe. Making up a story always looks shifty.

Also, you don't actually need a tourist visa - Germany is a country that is visa-waived. If you hop off to Korea for a holiday, you then just turn up back in Japan with your passport and they stamp it with 3 month temporary visitor status if they decide you can come in. Later you can request to extend it to 6 months at an immigration office if you wish to.

The info is here: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2221.html

The only evidence you can really present that is an intent to leave is a plane ticket outta there, though obviously that's tricky if you want to extend your Tourist.

* that last sentence should say "extend your yourist status later". Sorry!

....okay I give in :)

Yes, thank you!! I'm aware of this agreement between the two countries, however the Shinagawa immigration office told me, that it is most likely not possible to change my status inside Japan and that I would have to leave the country to Korea for a few days :(

Is that false information ??

I'll tell my honest reasons, which are to go on a sightseeing journey around Japan!!

I don't see a reason why they would deny my visa change.. Most importantly I have enough funds to support myself for at least 6 months without work!!

I don't see a reason why they would deny my visa change.. Most importantly I have enough funds to support myself for at least 6 months without work!!

Keep in mind that whichever way you get the tourist visa (visa run or change of status of residency), it shouldn't be a problem to get the first 90 days, but I wouldn't be surprised if an additional 90 day extension were denied. In other words, you'd better have a back up plan should you have to leave the country earlier than expected.

Why do you think they would deny me the additional 90 days ? I see no reason for them to do so?!

A friend of mine did the exact same thing and they gave him the addition immediately !!