Artist Visa

Does anyone know anything about an Artist Visa?

Does it include film or fashion?

An artist visa is simply a work visa for art related work. It has the same requirements as a work visa (university degree or 4 years of work experience).

Film and fashion would be included in an art visa.

I do have over four years of experience but with the nature of art, they are personal projects. I do have samples of my work.
My main artistic skills with over 4 years of experience is photography, video editing, and writing and almost all of the, are personal projects.
What do I do?
If I can demonstrate my skill level/show them complete works, would that suffice?

Immigration would want to see proof of employment and income in that related field to prove that you have 4 years of experience. Personal projects wouldn't be good enough

What if we have extraordinary world class skills and artistic works?

Can an artist please answer this? Non-artists don't know how art works and how that having the right skills can create exceptions a new opportunities not available to someone in non-art related careers. A lot of art is freelance or start as freelance.

It doesn't matter how good your art is if you can't show immigration proof of work experience.

Even if your art is amazing and you do have legitimate proof for 4 years work experience, you need a job offer from a Japanese employer before getting an artist visa.

^ and working at a Japanese company as an artist designer would surely require JLPT level N1.

What if we have extraordinary world class skills and artistic works?

Then the typical path would be to build a successful career in your home country and then expand out to Japan.

I'm a freelance artist(photography and illustrator) working in Tokyo right now, however I also teach English because artist visas are extremely hard to get in Japan.

I know about 20 people here that are on artist visas, all except 2 are sponsored by their company and agency. ALL of them have bachelor's degrees.

The 2 self-sponsored artists, both freelance photographers, have been in Japan for 10+ years and have more than one time been on other types of visa(artist, humanities) sponsored by former companies.

They have both worked for notable Japanese companies, therefore could show a history of income and work experiences in Japan. Both of them also employed reputable lawyers to help them obtain the self-sponsored visa. Both of whom have also failed in the past in getting a self-sponsored artist visa.

Immigration doesn't care about your talent, your passion nor your dedication, they want to see solid,measurable, and quantifiable evidences.

Sorry to be blunt but from one artist to another, I feel that your chances of getting an artist visa is close to zero. You may be able to consider artist visas as an option in the far future, provided that you can get into Japan via other means, but for the time being, don't waste anytime on this route.

Hi... just want to ask. How about if a japanese employer is hiring you to work as artist in Japan, would that be easy to get an artist visa?

How about if a japanese employer is hiring you to work as artist in Japan, would that be easy to get an artist visa?

Having a potential employer does not fulfill the education/work experience requirements. You will still need to satisfy those requirements independently of having a sponsor.

I meant what if I already got hired, a contract, and housing provided, and proof of all of this before I get the Visa?


Is being transferred to a Japanese branch of a corporation also viable?

I meant what if I already got hired, a contract, and housing provided, and proof of all of this before I get the Visa?

At this point we are essentially discussing the requirements for a work visa, which as mentioned, are a degree and a job offer.

Having housing provided has no impact on the visa approval process, so you chances of getting a visa in this situation remain unchanged.

Is being transferred to a Japanese branch of a corporation also viable?

Sure. In this case a visa wouldn't be a problem, but you'd now be reliant on your employer and whether or not they wish to send you to Japan.

What are some other situations where working in Japan is possible without a degree.


What visa? What situaion?

I refined my focus to entertainment, specifically fashion, photography, and writing, all of which I can start off freelance and build a reputation internationally fast (which I am working in now).
I know you can get into fashion or writing without a degree but everything I have found so far doesn't clarify how they got the visa that allowed them to work in Japan.

One way is being transferred through an agency.
I don't have one yet. What I have is the reputation I am building.
My next step is using a Career Headhunter.
I know I will get the job and visa with my situation but I want to improve my chances.
Why can I add to the CV that would grab attention? I have found some examples of CVs but I need a good one for entertainment, one for someone who has worked on many personal/free lance type projects because in the context of art and a career headhunter, my experience is very relevant.


What is the best way to get to Japan by sponsorship? Locally, internationally, or a company in Japan?


I know I will succeed, I just need to fill in the gaps for "special circumstances."

Im a designer but on the international Services blah blah visa, before that I was on an Engineer visa. I guess those visa categories do not really have much meaning, bottom line is you need a degree (unless special circumstances) then you can fit that with a visa title that sounds not even vaguely relevant to your actual job. The system is bonkers, I heard "entertainment" visa basically means prostitutes for kabukicho and/or disneyland staff.

What are some other situations where working in Japan is possible without a degree.

Basically every visa that allows work is possible to get without a degree, but that typically means you'll either need sufficient work experience or another, non-trivial requirement (e.g. a Japanese parent/spouse). You can see the full list here:

http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/long/index.html

One way is being transferred through an agency.
I don't have one yet. What I have is the reputation I am building.

FYI, this is only possible if you work for a company that has offices in Japan that they wish to transfer you to. If you are talking about an agency (and they will not be the ones employing you in Japan) then that more likely falls within a different visa category.

Why can I add to the CV that would grab attention?

The biggest help will be to have a history of paid, quantifiable jobs with measurable time periods.

What is the best way to get to Japan by sponsorship? Locally, internationally, or a company in Japan?

Not sure what you mean. You have to be sponsored by a Japanese Company, or the Japanese branch of a foreign company for work related visas.

I'm not sure if I said it yet, but I think the best course of action for you is to start working in the industry (whichever that may be), build your portfolio and resume, and then revisit entering Japan again in a few years once you fulfill the work visa requirements. Also, realize that in your situation, the fast track to Japan probably means that you will need a minimum of 3-4 years before you are eligible to move here.

Thank you for the feedback. I already found a way to get a visa in Japan without a degree. It has taken over 10hours a day of work towards this each day for the last few months to find and accomplish this.

You can definitely get a visa as an artist without a degree but it takes either work experience or proving your skills.

I already am receiving offers for sponsorship.

The main thing I found is that they will sponsor you but you need to have a specific income either in Japan or elsewhere for the specific sponsorship.

Thank you again for your detailed information.