Getting a work visa

I want to ask just for confirmation, having the right documents, can you apply to get a work visa by yourself?

What I mean is I have been working as an English teacher and never really needed to worry about the visa process as the schools would do almost everything for me.

However, a non-teaching job is offering to hire me but they say they don't "sponsor" visas. If they are willing to hire me, and give me the right documents, can I go to immigration and apply by myself or with a lawyer?

Thanks

So this time you are going to apply for a change of resident status, from one that allows you to teach to one in a different category.

If you can get all the documents, you can. But i wonder what exactly they mean by saying they are not sponsoring you... if the potential employer is saying they are not sponsoring for a visa, doesn't that mean that they are not going to help you with issuing the right documents (letter of employment, etc.) and that they are looking for people who have the right resident status already, such as one in that category, spouse of Japanese national, or permanent resident? The thing is, they hire you now, and in three or five years there will come a time when they have to help you renew the resident status, and they are not going to cooperate with you at that time?

The thing is, they hire you now, and in three or five years there will come a time when they have to help you renew the resident status, and they are not going to cooperate with you at that time?

Thank you guest for your reply.
I do not know either, that is why I did not accept the job yet. Therefore, I am trying to find out here so that I do not jeopardizing myself.

I suppose you'd need to ask the potential new employer some specific questions, such as: you have a resident status that allows you to do teaching, which you are currently doing, but to do their job you need to apply for a change of resident status, are they going to "help" you with the application process/documents.

It "could" be that the company is not very familiar with immigration matters, and that they might think "work visa/resident status" covers all types of work.

In addition to what ...... says, I guess I can add the following.

The phrase "they don't sponsor visas" basically means they don't want to bother with sponsoring a visa. It's actually the same in almost every country, but I guess we don't realize it. The employer needs to "argue" with immigration that the person they are sponsoring is "so good" that there is "no one" in Japan that can fill the position. We take it for granted, but that's a lot of work for any employer (again, regardless of country).

I would think if you're a native English speaker teaching English or a scientist with a Nobel prize, it'd be easy. But for other cases, it is possible -- just a lot of work for the employer. If it's a large company, then they probably have an HR division that handles this; someone copies and pastes a template (i.e., they have to answer questions like company size, etc.). But for a smaller company, they may not know how to navigate through the paperwork.

It's not easy to get a work visa yourself. So, usually, what they mean is that you get a visa through other means. The most obvious example is a spousal visa. Your [Japanese] spouse is actually your sponsor, but you have full working privileges.

I don't know why they don't say this upfront. I presume saying so directly is not very Japanese and it is almost asking you to get married to work for them. I guess they want you to connect the dots yourself...

Some countries allow you to apply for a work visa yourself. I don't recall Japan having such an option, but I could be wrong.

Honestly, I suggest you go to Japanese immigration to ask for advice. Some community centres also provide free advice for foreigners from law students, etc. I would try this before signing anything...