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Two Jobs/Self-Sponsering a Visa 2017/7/4 15:49
Hi guys! This is a long question, so you can skip to the bottom for the main points! So I am a graphic designer who has been working in Tokyo for the last 3.5 years. I have a three year contract with my current office, and I am payed above the minimum of 3m yen a year.

I have also been working on TV this past year, and I was just aware that this falls outside of my visa parameters. I am registered with a couple of agencies, and one of the agencies lied/was misinformed and said that since I am giving cultural comments, my TV work would fall under the Engineer/Specialists in Humanities Intfl services category, and none of my other agencies mentioned anything so I never realizedc until this afternoon when one of my managers was like gwe really would like you to have some more regular jobs, but we canft really give them to you with your current visa since itfs technically against the rules and you could get caught.h WHAT.

So now I find myself wanting to do more TV work while continuing to work my office job. I love graphic design, and donft want to quit. I also love stability of working an office job. But TV work is AMAZING! Plus, my current boss is OK with me doing television work, so Ifve kind of found the sweet spot.

However, since TV work falls under an entertainment Visa and design falls under a humanities visa, I canft seem to find a way to make this work. (Every TV job has different times/hours/pay, so it seems I need to get permission for every single job I landc and since permissions take time, I wouldnft be able to work last-minute jobsc which is what most TV jobs are.)

So I have a couple of questions
(1) Is there anything I should do now that I realize that Ifve been working illegally? I eventually want to get a permanent residency, so I donft want to have this affect that in the future! (I paid taxes on all my income, including the TV work!)

(2) If I self-sponsor a visa (with my current officefs contract as proof of income), is there a way to make graphic design/entertainment fall under one category (ie- get permission to work both with a single visa?)


Thanks for all your help!
by KaileneDanae  

Re: Two Jobs/Self-Sponsering a Visa 2017/7/5 13:04
(1) Is there anything I should do now that I realize that Ifve been working illegally? I eventually want to get a permanent residency, so I donft want to have this affect that in the future! (I paid taxes on all my income, including the TV work!)

You should stop TV work since this is indeed outside your visa regulations. Your visa can be revoked and you can be deported. Best is to talk with immigration and ask for possibilities. You can try to apply for a permanent resident, but as general rule, you must have lived in Japan for a period of ten years before you are eligible to apply for permanent residency. If your spouse is Japanese, however, this period can be as little as three years.

To get a permanent residency you need to have paid all your taxes. But since you mentioned you just work in Japan 3.5 years you need to still complete several years for the requirements.

(2) If I self-sponsor a visa (with my current officefs contract as proof of income), is there a way to make graphic design/entertainment fall under one category (ie- get permission to work both with a single visa?)

self sponsorship:
You can only do this for a few gworking visah categories – these include artist, journalist, researcher, engineer, specialist in humanities/international services, and skilled labour.
You can also start your own business and obtain an ginvestor/business managerh visa, but this requires capital, a detailed business plan, and other documentation.
You can only do this if you have a business, school, or organization as your MAIN employer. A private individual will not be accepted as your main employer.

permanent resident:
but as general rule, you must have lived in Japan for a period of ten years

option 2 spouse visa
Marry a Japanese and prove the wedding is real.
by justmyday rate this post as useful

Re: Two Jobs/Self-Sponsering a Visa 2017/7/5 13:15
You have to still be in a category if you're self-sponsoring, but I believe you can just get the cumbursomely translated "Application for Permission to Engage in Activity other than that Permitted under the Status of Residence Previously Granted" as long as you have a contract with an agency, not necessarily for every single job. I had a freelance translation contract using this for a while, and the amount of work and clients varied from month to month but I didn't have to get special permission for every individual translation project since it was all being sent to me from the same agency.

I did get verbally fussed at when they looked at my records and saw that 30-40% of my income was coming from my side gig, but they still renewed my visa and eventually gave me PR.
by Vita (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Two Jobs/Self-Sponsering a Visa 2017/7/5 13:33
For sponsoring yourself by doing freelance work or multiple part-time jobs, although the type of work should all fall under the same visa category. In addition to the investor/business manager visa, the following visa types can qualify for self-sponsorship: artist, journalist, researcher, engineer, specialist in humanities/international services, and skilled labor. Youfll need to prove that you can make at least \3 million a year (immigration website), typically by showing work contracts you have with companies or individuals.

You have to be able to prove they are medium/long-term contracts guaranteeing your income (that's the basic test). Self sponsorship is difficult, but not impossible.
by justmyday rate this post as useful

Re: Two Jobs/Self-Sponsering a Visa 2017/7/5 15:36
Could you qualify for HSP? http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/newimmiact_3/en/system/index.html

If so, you can change to this status and engage in multiple activities.
by .. (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Two Jobs/Self-Sponsering a Visa 2017/7/5 21:36
Thanks for all the responses, guys. I'm meeting with an immigration lawyer on Saturday to get a solid list of my options. I'm 10 points short of a HSP, and all the things left to me to increase that amount would be (a) get a higher salary (which would be possible IF I counted my TV gigs/took more TV gigs, but since that's outside of my Visa requirements, it looks like it's not going to raise enough to add enough points) (b) make something I can patent (which is a multi-year process anyways) or (c) write papers and get three of them published in scholarly journals... which seems rather unlikely. I was very excited to hear about the loosening of permanent residency requirements but then very disappointed to learn that it only applied to HSP.

Also I'm definitely not into the idea of getting married anytime soon!

@Vita- I'll definitely be looking into the special permissions. I wonder if I would have to transfer to a single agency (I'm in four now with multiple semi-regular gigs).

Honestly, I'm enjoying the entertainment work more than my office job, but the lack of stability has me decided to never consider full-time talent work. I might have consider an entertainment visa with a special permissions to work at my office, but it looks like that would be treated poorly since most of my income would come from my office job.

I feel that this CANNOT be an uncommon pattern (especially with foreigners doing English tutoring on the side.) Just another example of the bureaucracy making things difficult for foreigners. I love this country, but some aspects of it just drive me NUTS.
by KaileneDanae rate this post as useful

Re: Two Jobs/Self-Sponsering a Visa 2017/7/5 22:28
Just another example of the bureaucracy making things difficult for foreigners. I love this country, but some aspects of it just drive me NUTS.

An American citizen is complaining about bureaucracy...in a foreign country. A small reminder: this place was not made by immigrants so you should expect a red carpet, especially after seeing who was elected by American people and his policy concerning foreigners.
by Gaby (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Two Jobs/Self-Sponsering a Visa 2017/7/5 22:30
I meant you should NOT expect a red carpet.
by Gaby (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Two Jobs/Self-Sponsering a Visa 2017/7/7 07:30
Although it requires money, looks like you could set up a company and demonstrate proof of income from your two clients (TV and graphic design). You can be owner and employee - a few other hurdles, but possible.
by JapanCustomTours rate this post as useful

Re: Two Jobs/Self-Sponsering a Visa 2017/7/7 08:36
JapanCustom;

I was under the impression that he would need to employ at least 2 Japanese people to start his own business? Am I crazy, or have some rules been relaxed?
by Dainichi Heater rate this post as useful

Re: Two Jobs/Self-Sponsering a Visa 2017/7/7 17:03
@JapanCustomTours

Sounds really hard, but I won't rule it out! I'll definitely ask the lawyer I'm talking to this weekend.
by KaileneDanae rate this post as useful

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