English school requirements are confusing

Forgive the terrible grammar in my question because the whole thing wasn't under 40 characters at first! Full Question: What does it mean if a international school's requirements say that "(the applicant) must currently reside in Japan"? I'm currently a Junior in High School who wants to teach English abroad, mainly in Japan, but I'd be open to other areas, so I've been checking out GaijinPot just to get an idea on what to expect for hours/pay because I'm really curious. But, I've seen that a lot of listings require that the applicant must currently reside in Japan, and it's kind of confusing me. What does that mean for a foreigner who wants to teach English abroad? The listings usually say that the company will sponsor your visa, but how do you get into the country before that? How would I even apply for a job if you have to live in Japan beforehand? Because for all I know you have to have a sponsor to get into the country. Please forgive me if I've got anything wrong, as I'm still learning about this information because I've never left the United States! Thank you in advance.

If an international school says that, that means they are either not willing to sponsor a visa for you, or that they want people with experiences living in Japan.

Why would you look at an "international school" to teach English in Japan? There are many many other places to teach English at in Japan, first of all.

And there are people who are in Japan already with work visa who want to change to another employer, and others who may be on family relation-based resident status (such as spouse of Japanese national) that they don't have to be sponsored for a visa.

"Residents in Japan" and "BA degree hoslder" are common criteria, because those applicatnts are covenient for schools and companies due to visa.

However, schools amd companies, which accpect oversea applicatios exist.
https://www.borderlink.co.jp/alt/applying_from_overseas.html
http://ishijls.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-582.html
http://www.minel.jp/alt/koushi.html

It means they're willing to help renew existing visa holders for workers already inside the country. You'll have to look at companies willing to sponsor overseas visas.

What does it mean if a international school's requirements say that "(the applicant) must currently reside in Japan"?

Just that. You must already be living in Japan one way or another. This is usually because trying to bring a candidate from overseas can get very expensive, and usually is a lot of trouble to help them set up an apartment and get situated in Japan. And sometimes these candidates decide they don't actually like living here, so they leave which wastes time and money for the company. By requiring candidates to already live in Japan, presumably they already know if they like living here or not, so they wont just up and leave. They also already have an apartment, bank account, etc. etc. which saves the company the time and energy to help a candidate set all that up. They will often renew an already existing work status (or help to change it), but wont sponsor a visa for a candidate to come over fresh. It's basically just a way of saving them time, money, and energy.

There are plenty of companies that will sponsor a visa for a candidate. One of the biggest is the JET Programme, but there are others. Since you're only in high school and will presumably be going to college for a bachelors degree, you've got plenty of time to research. Your senior year of college will be the time to start job searching in earnest.

Do you want to do this now? Because as a junior in high school it means you don't have a degree, and a degree is required for a working visa, and a working visa is needed so that you can be hired by a company to teach english.

Anyway, regarding your questions.

For me, the overall meaning of the "Must reside in Japan, will sponsor visa" statement, is that the employer is not willing to do interviews by skype, nor to wait for candidates to make travel arrangements, and much less paying for the expenses. They want someone readily available, who can be summoned to face-to-face interviews immediately, and that can make the hiring process fairly simple for them. Who might be in this situation? International students, people on working holiday visas, people already working here in a different industry on a different type of visa and wanting to change jobs, or on the same type but needing a renewal, people married to a Japanese national and having dependent visas, or in some cases even tourists staying in the country long enough to go through the hiring process.

But like someone mentioned already, if it's for english teaching, there a many employers who will bring people from outside of Japan and sponsor visas. That's why it's commonly considered the easiest path to move to Japan.

Please don't be misled.

a degree is required for a working visa
Once you got enough years of teaching experience (ususally 3 years at least), a degree is dispensable to apply a visa.
However, getting a degree is easier way for geting both position and a visa.

a working visa is needed so that you can be hired by a company to teach english
A visa cannot be got without getting a position (you need to submit papers to proof your contract, etc).

In addtion, skype interview is not common in Japan.
Even if it is done, you will finally be asked to show up to face-to-face interveiw with your ID.
Some schools despatch interviewer to abroad, but many schools prefere to do in Japan.

Once you got enough years of teaching experience (ususally 3 years at least), a degree is dispensable to apply a visa.
3 years of english teaching experience with no degree will hardly get you a work visa. The rule is, either you have a degree, or at least 10 years of experience in the field you're applying for.

A visa cannot be got without getting a position (you need to submit papers to proof your contract, etc).
Please check that I said you need a visa to get hired, not to be offered a position.
You cannot be hired without the corresponding visa. You are given an employment offer letter which then can be used to prove that a company is soliciting your services. If immigration is satisfied with both ends (purpose of the company to hire you and applicant qualifications) then you're granted a visa. Once you get the visa, then you can be officially hired and added to the company's payroll.

Please don't be misled.
Speaking of misleading...

3 years it is.

There is a troller, be careful!

-3 years experience
-contract (�� CEO) �� visa
These are CORRECT.