Japanese language school requires diploma?

Before we get started, I just need to provide some context. I am a licensed tattoo artist with no high school diploma, I already have contacts in Japan so living there and keeping myself stable will not be an issue. Yes I know I am choosing the worst possible country to work in for my profession.

I just need to know if it�fs possible to enroll in a Japanese language school without a diploma so I can get a student visa. There are no other options for me to utilize due to my profession, so a work visa is out of the question. The only things in my favor is that I have enough savings to live there for a whole year without working, and that my mentor is Japanese and plans to move back, so I will live with him. Hopefully if I can enroll, I can utilize this time to get settled and find work once I�fm eligible for a permanent residency visa.

once I�fm eligible for a permanent residency visa
Did you check the eligibility requirements for PR? Generally:
10 years of consecutive residence in Japan, which should include 5 years of residence under a work visa or those granted according to the family status

You can enroll Language school (just confirm the requirements of the schools) Some are asking certain degree and other not.

Your statement "I can utilize this time to get settled and find work once I�fm eligible for a permanent residency visa" this is incorrect. Since you need a working visa, after working in Japan and collect enough points you can apply for a permanent visa.

You cannot have a permanent visa after student visa

Some schools are differnet and have different requirements. I would just check and ask them to see what they would require. If you are planning to study in Japan and then plan to work after, just keep in mind that your profession of a tattoo artist isn't exactly the kind of job that people look for in Japan, considering tattoos are still considered taboo.

Keep in mind, if you're on a student visa, Japan is very strict on the amount of hours you're allowed to work. (Part time only) In regards to getting a permanent visa, you have to stay in Japan for at least 10 years having residency in japan. If you do end up getting work visa, you need to have that kind of visa for at least 5 years as well.

Good luck to you.

Your biggest problem seems to be the visa AFTER your student visa.

For the student visa you need to find a language school that accepts you. Just contact them and they will tell you their requirements.

If you use a student visa you MUST go to school everyday. The schools check attendance and even if you are late. Miss too much classes and your student visa is gone.

Until here however it is quite easy, because on a student visa you can work part time as far as I know without restrictions on what kind of job you do. But yes on the hours you work. You will need a permit for that and at least at the school I went you also need a permit from the school to ask for the permit from the immigration office.

Now once you finish your school the tricky part starts. You need a work visa. And there is just no work visa for tattoo artist. So unless you have some hidden skills AND education AND job offer, you can�ft get a visa to life in Japan once you finished school. ( unless you meet the love of your life and get married a land he /she is Japanese and you are not into a same sex marriage)

So your question really shouldn�ft be about the school requirements but Japanese government requirements for a work visa.

Just to repeat - student visa is not a way to say long term in Japan. Seriously re-think your plan.

Sorry for taking so long to reply, forgot to mention the part of the plan between student visa and getting permanent residency, luckily my mentor has family that will hire me in order to get my work visa, that way I can remain here legally. The only problem afterwards is dealing with the legal gray area that is tattooing in Japan, probably will make another thread asking if anyone is going through the same unusual predicament I am in. Thank you all for the helpful advice.

Basically, I want to use the time I have on the student visa to get settled, learn how everything works and learn Japanese everyday, I�fm planning to live here for the rest of my life, this country is the birthplace of my industry, despite all the stigma around it. When the student visa is nearing its end, I�fll get a job from my mentor�fs family and go through that whole process getting a work visa, just wanted to clear that up. Again, thank you all for the advice, it was really enlightening.

Basically, I want to use the time I have on the student visa to get settled, learn how everything works and learn Japanese everyday, I�fm planning to live here for the rest of my life, this country is the birthplace of my industry, despite all the stigma around it. When the student visa is nearing its end, I�fll get a job from my mentor�fs family and go through that whole process getting a work visa, just wanted to clear that up. Again, thank you all for the advice, it was really enlightening.

Even if you have a job lined up, you need a visa for that job. And there are only certain jobs for which you can get a visa. Tattoo artist isn't one of them.

English teacher, Engineer, IT guy... are categories for which you can get a visa, and then need to work in that field.

So if your mentor plans to hire you as a English teacher, sure, a visa might be possible. (there are requirements for it). But if he plans to hire you as a tattoo artist, there is just no work visa for this. Regardless that you have a job offer.

Have a look at the different visas that exist. You'll get an idea what kind of jobs you can do in Japan under one of the many different work visas and what are the education / experience requirements to apply for such a visa. Then compare that to what you plan to do.

I will not be working as a tattoo artist to get the work visa, my mentors family is completely unrelated to tattooing, they are willing to sponsor me as well. I will be working a normal job.

I just hope that you do fulfill the requirements (some visa categories require not just high school graduation but also at least a bachelor�fs degree) for a work visa.

Sadly if you don't have a bachelor degree, you can't get a working visa in most cases. Having not even high school diploma won't help at all.

Immigrations require a degree related to your job for a normal job. A degree can be a 1 year degree, 5 year degree or whatever, just a degree above high school. Some certificates can even be used instead of a degree.

In your case, you would have a better chance getting a visa if you can get a job as a tattoo artist. Go lookup Artist visa.

I�fm planning to live here for the rest of my life
If you have work skills that are in demand, have qualifications and experience, then maybe. But you can't just get any job - it is quite specific in many ways. Having someone offer you a "normal" job might work, but what are your special skills over someone local. Read up about the different types of visa/status of residence.
Japan is not unique in not allowing people to just move and live in the country. But you need to follow the rules/procedures. If your round peg in a square hole doesn't work when you finish your student visa/course, then you might be heading back home.

Hello. Reading over what you wrote, it sounds like you really are putting a lot of faith into this (mentor family) though we know nothing about them. What is it that they do and how do you know that they would take care of you? Just because you know someone in Japan who is your mentor, it doesn't mean that they can guarantee a visa for you. You have to show immigration proof that you meet the requirements of a certain visa, not just because you "know someone special" in Japan.

If you don't mind to share with us, who are these people that will mentor you? Makes it sound secretive like Yakuza or something, lol. (Joking of course.) As other people mentioned about the student visa, it's not meant to be something to just "casually try" in Japan and then leave and never look for a job with what you were studying. There needs to be a valid reason to switch your visa to a work visa and without even a high school diploma or any further education, it will be quite difficult to get that work visa, despite who you know.

One other thing to mention is that if you have 10 years of relevant work experience, it can grant you a work visa in that field, though tattooing is definitely not one of them. When it comes to the work experience, it absolutely needs to be under the category of what your expertise is in. I'm not trying to sound like a debby-downer, but you really need to re-think your plan about this, as much as you love to tattoo. There will be lots of obstacles and examinations that you need just to even legally work tattooing. It's not like you can just do things under the table and work privately tattooing without people knowing about it, because then you don't only put yourself in the danger of being in trouble, but the people who are allowing you to do this work with them.

Just honestly think clearly about your decision and take to heart what people are telling you with their advice, even if you don't want to hear it.

I understand, the reason why I don�ft provide much info on my mentor or his family is because I don�ft want to doxx them or myself. I know I won�ft be able to tattoo right away, I�fm probably going to have to teach for a bit until I do get to tattoo, I only know of one person I know who got a job in night school with only high school education. This post was originally about if I could even get to language school without a diploma, but I do know I will have to finish my high school diploma later to even qualify to teach. The reason I put faith in my mentor and his family is because I am already close with them like they are my own extended family. At the end of the day, I know it�fs possible to tattoo and I don�ft expect pretty much anyone to be able to give me advice about it, tattoo artists are rare, and even more so in Japan. There�fs only one famous case of a foreign tattoo artist in Japan, his name is Hori Benny if you want to look him up. His story makes no sense but somehow he did it and is successful and continues to work there to this day. I�fm going to have to figure out how he did it myself since it�fs unlikely I�fll ever talk to him, but who knows. I�fm not doing this because it�fs easy. I�fm doing it because I love tattooing and Japan is the place where the industry was born. It�fs a shame that the government is trying to kill it, but even the most ignorant passerby with common sense knows that it won�ft ever happen. If I can help my industry from getting crushed, that�fs more than enough for me, even if it is a hard life

I do know one thing to expect about tattooing in Japan, the govt says you do need a medical license to tattoo, but then what does that mean for all the tattoo shops in Japan? You guys and I both know that the demographic of people that tattoo certainly don�ft usually have a medical degree laying around, so that raises the question, how do these shops exist? These tattoo shops are not hidden at all, so it�fs not like the government will have a hard time raiding them. While technically it is illegal for most of these shops to exist, the government does not enforce this law as much as you�fd think, they are not foolish enough to wipe out all these shops at once, that would be bad PR and there would be an outrage. Not all things are set in stone like the govt would have you believe, tattooing is still a legal gray area, so you wouldn�ft be breaking the law, it�fs still based on a technicality, but that doesn�ft mean you aren�ft walking a fine line. If any mistake is made or you do something wrong, the government will jump on you, they are waiting for any excuse to prosecute you. If the government really wanted to, they could kill off the industry by actually making a tattoo specific license that is nigh impossible to pass.

https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+172207

Same post content

Anyway yes you need to have a medical license (only Japanese medical license is valid), most Tattoo shops in Japan are underground. They are closed and opened somewhere else.
Tattoo shops you see on the streets are not much and often in combination with selling accessories.
Those shops have medical license, which is a requirement.

There was a case in Osaka where a foreigner started a tattoo shop named chopstick tattoo in Osaka.
But this person is arrested because he did not had the correct licenses (Medical Practitioners�f Law, hygiene license etc.) to work as a tattoo artist. You need to follow a Japanese education for licenses. The licenses you (may) have are not applicable in Japan since in Japan there are different regulations etc and you need to get the license in Japan.

You can not just do what you like to do and you should do first more research before just coming to Japan.
Currently you have a long and not to mention difficult way to reach your goal.

IrezumiTengu,

There has been a lawsuit where one tattooist got sued for �gconducting medical practice without a license.�h In the first instance, the court defined �gmedical practice�h as �gpractice, if conducted by someone who is not a doctor, has risks of causing harms in terms of health and/or hygiene,�h and said that doing tattoos falls within medical practice because it could lead to infection, skin problems, or allergies. So the verdict was �gguilty.�h
The defense side said that medical practices are those that by nature relate to diagnosis, treatment, and prescribing medicines on ailments.
Going by the definition of the first instance court, a barber shaving, nail salons, and eyelash extension salons would be considered medical practice.
So the second instance ruled the defendant not guilty.

(The government's leaning to regulate this came from their drive to regulate "permanent make-up" - where they use needle and dyes to draw eyebrows and things , but in this case, in the second instance, they made a clear distinction between such salons and tattooists.)

After this case, the tattooist themselves or the industry (if you can call it that) are keenly aware of the need on their part to ensure good standard of hygiene and certain set of self-discipline/rules among the tattooing community. There is an association called Japan Tattooist Association. As far as I can see, the info available from them is all in Japanese, but you might want to keep an eye on this group for more information.

I cannot help you with the educational background part, and I cannot help you with the visa part, but this is how things stand currently in Japan around tattooists.