Enter Japan on as tourist and change status

Hello,

I know it has been asked before, but I couldn't find a case that matched mine.

I found a job in Japan and my future emolyer applied for a COE (in Sapporo I think) around mid-october. I know, I should get my COE, apply for a visa in my home country (Poland) and then fly to Japan, but...

I hoped, that COE would be issued quicker which is not happening and I'm getting stressed. I know the standard times are between 1 and 3 months but do you think I can change my residency status while in Japan?

1. I need to be in Japan by December 5th, Can I fly in on a tourist visa and apply for residency status change when I get my COE?
2. I'm from a visa waiver country, but my stay is limited to 90 days on a tourist visa. Can I book return flights for end of March (4 months in total), would they even let me in Japan?
3. Is there any difference when my COE gets issued before/after my flight to Japan?
4. Is there any official helplife I can call and ask about it?

Hope somebody can help asI'm really running out of time and getting stressed about it.

Thank you and best regards from Poland,
Pawel

Firstly, is your employer ok with this? Yes, you can apply, but they need to do their part of the paperwork as well.

Also, you say you need to be in Japan by December 5; why? Even if you go through the change-of-status route, you can't start working before the change is granted, and that will take a while as well.

Yes, the employer is fine. I will wait for the job and just go skiing. It's the ski instructor visa but only part time work and he can replce me easily.

I booked my flights already and my length of stay is almost 4 months which exceeds tourist visa length of stay. Can I still Enter Japan with this tickets? Or will the immigration at the airport deny my entry because I should leave Japan after 90 days?

It's impossible to predict for sure whether you will be denied entry due to your plane tickets, though if pressed I'd say the chances are low.