I want to move to Japan in the future, how?

I�fm currently in college studying animal management level 3 and then I�fm going to do city and guild dog grooming highest level. I�fm not planning on moving or anything until I�fve completed all of my education.
I would like to get a permanent full time job (preferably dog grooming) in Japan and have a house with my boyfriend and my dog, I know I will have to save up a lot which I am planning on doing until I finish my education but I don�ft know what documents I need and roughly how much, also are there any dog grooming places that pay enough to have a place? I know some Japanese but I�fm learning however my boyfriend isn�ft too bothered about learning it but wants to move so will I be the only one working? Please help I�fm clueless, but living in Japan is my biggest dream and life goal.

Thanks.

Generally, you need a bachelors degree (i.e. university degree) for most work visa categories. Most foreigners work in jobs which cannot be done by locals - things like teaching English. There are some foreigners working in other fields, such as IT, research, or the corporate world. There is no visa category for dog groomers though, so I think you would have trouble that way. If you are from a country with a working-holiday scheme, you could potentially live and work in Japan for up to 1 year by that means.

I think dog groomers are not at a shortage in the local population, so it's hard to see why any employer would go to the trouble of sponsoring your visa, when they can recruit a native Japanese, where they don't have to worry about language issues, or whether they'll go home after a few years. The only foreigners who would be working in such a job would probably be people who are married to Japanese nationals, and who have a spouse visa.

I'm afraid it doesn't look good for your case.

Also note that moving with a dog will present its own problems and costs. It can be quite expensive to move a dog overseas. Furthermore, finding an apartment that will allow a dog is going to be difficult, and even if you do fine one, you will have to pay an extra fee to have the dog there. Getting a house in a city is nearly impossible without a large amount of money; and in less urban areas where you could find a house, it's unlikely that dog grooming will be a big business.

Without a bachelor's degree, to get a work visa you would need ten years of experience in your field. And, as the first poster has already mentioned, a company is unlikely to sponsor your visa (you cannot get one on your own) when they could hire a native Japanese person. Dog grooming is not a skill in demand, unfortunately.

No "work visa" as a dog groomer, period. It's not invany of the "work visa" categories.

There's not really a simple, fast and straightforward way to establish yourself as a dog groomer in Japan, but it's certainly not impossible.

One route would be to save up a lot of money, buy an existing business in Japan, hire an immigration lawyer to get a business-owner's visa, and then work in your own business. Another route would be to qualify for a working visa (i.e. get a bachelor's degree), move to Japan and find work teaching English or something else, maybe do some dog grooming work as a sideline, then apply for permanent residency, at which point you won't need a working visa anymore.

Neither route is particularly easy, but as has been noted above, there's no shortage of dog groomers in Japan.

Hello OP,

Like other posters have said, it is certainly very difficult for you to live in Japan. Hate to say this to you, but dog grooming is not a stable job anywhere in the world. I assume you are from the US? Even so, unless you live in a rich neighborhood, it is not a good source of income. I am curious, you said that you study animal management? You mean like veterinarian-related stuff? You can be an animal vet, which I think will be better. However, you will still need a lot of experience and savings to make it to Japan with this kind of job.

What about your boyfriend? If he doesn't want to learn Japanese, there is no way he can live there. What is he studying? And how good is your Japanese? Are you majoring or minoring in Japanese, or are you learning it yourself? You haven't told us enough about yourself. Another important thing: you might have to relearn quite many things in Japanese, but I am not sure how complicated it could be.

The best advice I have for you is to finish whatever you are studying now, then find a second major. Something like business (maybe marketing if you aren't savvy with business stuff) or international studies or international business, etc. something that can let you study abroad in Japan. Do that first, then see if you can get used to the lifestyle over there.

One route would be to save up a lot of money, buy an existing business in Japan, hire an immigration lawyer to get a business-owner's visa, and then work in your own business.

Nope. Business Manager status is for... managing the business, not doing the actual work.

Just to make it clearer (it was mentioned in only one other post briefly), your BF will not be moving to Japan with you. You says "I will be the only one working", so he does not have any entitlement to live in Japan.

Sorry to be a downer. But if Japan is your biggest life goal. I'd suggest a career change now.