Proving 12+ years of education in English

Question in the title -- I'm not a native of an English speaking country, looking to teach English in Japan. I have taught English in Hong Kong for over a year now, and just looking to relocate.

The 'instructor' visa required for teaching at public schools requires the applicant to be either 'a native' speaker or have been educated in English for at least 12 years. I can only prove like 8 years (from GCSEs in the UK onwards) + my teaching experience in HK. Prior to that, I went to a dingy school that's been closed down since and I don't even know who the hell I could contact for some kind of confirmation. My mum doesn't know either lol.

How does the immigration office check this far back? I'm thinking of just asking any teacher I'm in touch with to say they taught me for those missing 4 years... It would just be a personal statement (rather than a letter from an institution) but again, my question is:

1. how the heck do they check?
2. and do they really care about my primary school education when I have a 4-year degree in law?

Are there any other ways for me to land a teaching job in my circumstances?

I appreciate any help you all may have!

If you have a university degree, isn�ft that all you need?
I am no expert on the �gteaching visas�h but I always understood that a university degree is all you need. Was it in English?

Lying about your education by getting a fake statement from a teacher seems to be a risky business as you are falsifying documents to get residency. Could backfire even years later.

That's what reason would suggest. I think there are various types of visa, some that I SHOULD qualify for normally that would allow me to teach, but by far, the most popular one employers use is the one which requires 12+ years of education in English. Hoping somebody on here might have some insight into this / maybe had a similar problem or knows of somebody in a similar situation :)

I agree though, I don't really wanna submit untrue dox to the gov't...

There are several types of "teaching visas", but the one you need depends only on what kind of place you are teaching at, so there is always only one correct type of "visa" for a given job.

I am also not from a native English speaking country, but I have a degree and can assure you that my English is native. However, due to my passport, they couldn't process a work visa for me as an English teacher.

Did you try for the instructor visa only, or any other ones? I guess I�fm going to have to find a job that requires a different type of visa.

Oh and also, did you have any teaching experience when applying for the visa? I�fm trying to figure out how strict they are lol.