Advice For Tattoo Artist Moving To Japan

Hi again, I am a licensed tattoo artist working in the US, my mentor is Japanese and taught me everything I know, he and I plan to move to Japan to pursue our craft and live in the country where our industry was born, the best of the best live here. Despite what I just said, Japan is one of the worst places to live as a tattoo artist. I�fm making this thread to ask for advice from anyone else to has walked the path we are treading.

What information would you like to have known at the very beginning that would help us. It is a difficult path but we are not doing it because it�fs easy or a good way to make money, we are doing this because we are dedicated to our craft. One day tattooing will finally be accepted in Japan, but it will come later rather than soon if people do not push the industry forward. This is a serious inquiry, if you only came here to criticize our line of work, do not bother replying to this thread. Let�fs keep this civil please.

Hi there

Are you planning to work in Japan as a tattoo artist?

I think it may be difficult to obtain a visa for this as it doesn't fit into one of the many work visa categories. The closest one i can think of is artist visa but tattoo artist isn't in there as one of their examples, it's normally for things like fine arts and photography.

How many years work experience do you have within tattoo artistry? Do you have a bachelors degree?
If you don't have a degree or if you're relatively new in the industry it may be difficult to push for a visa.

Are you planning on asking a sponsor in Japan to apply for a certificate of eligibility? Do you have a contact who is an established company in japan to sponsor you?
Even then it may be difficult under tattoo artistry as their is no set category.

Are you looking to work a different job? If so do you have a degree or several years work experience in that field? If you do, you will not be able to also work as a tattoo artist as it would be against that particular work visas conditions. If you are pursuing a different job does it fit under any of the work visa categories?

I wish you all the best of luck.
It may be worth dropping an email to an immigration lawyer for advice. No many people here are qualified to give you concrete advice as they don't work at immigration nor are they an immigration lawyer.
So take anything on here with a grain or salt as immigration is so complex and different for everyone. A professional will be able to assist you and review your circumstances

This would be almost impossible.
A tattoo artist does not fall into any of the specific categories that would qualify for a work visa.
There is an artist visa, but I'm not sure how likely of an option that really is. It would help if you were famous or internationally known in your craft.

Another option could be to find a sponsor (employer in Japan) who is willing to hire you.
You will have to have working experience, a name, famous arts if you would like to compete in this market which is as you mentioned still small.

1. There is no visa for such job. You are not getting a work visa or any other visa for doing this (NO, artist visa is NOT for opening a tattoo studio).
2. Unless you have a japanese spouse visa, you won't be working as a tattoo artist in Japan.
3. Work visa requires a degree. Do you have one?

Just to clarify, I will not attempt to get a work visa as a tattoo artist, what I plan to do is getting a student visa in a Japanese language school, so I can atleast get settled and learn Japanese while I�fm at it. I have enough savings to not work for over a year. And I already have my mentors family available to sponsor me at their business (not tattoo related). The issue is finding a tattoo shop to work at and the legal gray area that is tattooing to begin with. I�fve been tattooing for 2 years and even before that, I�fve made art my career my entire life. If there are any tattoo artists on this forum that do live there, any advice would be appreciated. I will most likely have to work a normal job until I can find a shop to work at if I still can�ft find one before the student visa is nearing its end. (No I do not plan to tattoo while under the student visa, that would get my visa terminated)

What line of work are your contacts willing to sponsor you in?

There has to be a valid category for it and if there isn't immigration will not grant you one. It's not your potential employer you have to convince, it's immigration. You would have to have a degree or many years of work experience in the particular field.
You would also not be able to work as a tattoo artist on that visa as it's against the law. You have to work in the field your visa is for.

Japanese language school isn't a foot into Japan long term, it would help if you would go to a university straight after to persue a degree which would get you a job that has a visa category attached to it. But you would have to find a university willing to sponsor you with no high school diploma, that may be hard work.

You only have 2 years experience and no degree so definitely a work visa is not possible.

You also cannot do a working holiday as it doesn't apply to US citizens.

I'm sorry that no one can give you the answers you want to hear.
but Japan immigration isn't for everyone, it's for people that Japan wants to live there. You have to be a desirable candidate

I have enough savings to not work for over a year. And I already have my mentors family available to sponsor me at their business (not tattoo related).

You still need a degree or 10 years experience for a "work visa" whatever their "business" is.

The issue is finding a tattoo shop to work

If you are "working" in a tatto shop that belongs to someone else and doing some kind of "work" for money it is called working and it requires a work visa. Even if you have a degree and manage to get an IT job at Google Japan and decide to work at a tattoo shop it is still illegal. You can't do other side job that is not related to your work visa. And I don't think you can get a work visa for a full time job and make tattoo for free late at night.
You are actually beating around the bush...

Here's a story that happened to a friend, he came on a student visa in Japan, he worked for a company. The job was an unskilled job, it was taking care of the traffic on the road. The boss of the company wanted to sponsor him for a working visa but he has NO degrees. Even for an unskilled job and a sponsor, immigration couldn't give him a working visa. They extended his visa 3 times and everytime at the end it was refused because he needed to provide a degree. So like people above said, it's almost impossible to get a working visa in your conditions.

Thank you for mention "I will not attempt to get a work visa as a tattoo artist, what I plan to do is getting a student visa in a Japanese language school,"

As you student you still need to comply with regulations.
You can only work 28 hrs maximal each week.
Also you need to check with the language school if you are allowed to work since some schools do not allow, since you come to Japan to study.

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 have are not applicable in Japan since in Japan there are different regulations etc.

Between looking through this and your other thread, �uJapanese language school requires diploma?�v, I think you might be somewhat confused as to how the work visa system works.

It sounds like your plan is:
1. Enroll in a Japanese language school that will give you a student visa and come to Japan.
2. When the student visa expires, get hired by your tattoo mentor's family for some kind of non-tattoo artist work, then get a work visa and work as a tattoo artist.

But work visas don't work like that. It's not just a matter of saying to the Japanese immigration bureau "I have a job in Japan" and then they say "OK! Here's your work visa!" The work visa is something you have to apply for, with the person/organization you'll be working for acting as your sponsor. In addition to paperwork that the sponsor has to file, they have to meet certain responsibilities (primarily showing that you, specifically, are a necessary employee and that you'll be earning enough to support yourself).

Again, it's an application process, not a rubber stamp one. It's not as simple as the company saying "We want to hire this person" and a visa automatically being issued. Generally, the immigration bureau needs to be convinced that the job makes a positive contribution to Japan's economic or cultural environment, and that the benefit is enhanced by having a foreigner do it. But if you have a less-than-high-school-level education (as mentioned in your other thread) and only one year of Japanese classroom instruction, it's unlikely that you'll be able to perform a job that meets those requirements.

In addition, work visas are usually tied to a designated field or industry. Not working in the field your visa is for, and/or working in a field outside of it, could be seen as visa fraud, depending on the circumstances.

You've also mentioned that you're a licensed tattoo artist, but your license in the U.S. isn't going to qualify you for that sort of work in Japan. Especially since tattooing is a quasi-medical procedure, you're going to need to get certified in Japan, and I'm guessing taking the test in English isn't an option, so you're going to need to get your Japanese skills, in a specialized vocabulary field, up to a pretty high level.

Sorry if this sounds overly negative, but you've got some serious roadblocks in your desired path, and you might need to adjust your course a little. Also, while I don't mean to be overly suspicious, it seems like you've got a lot of your plan riding on getting a lot of support from your mentor (a place to live, a job that gives you enough money to support yourself, a work visa), but you still have a lot of questions for us Internet strangers about the specifics of finding a job and getting a visa. Those are things you might want to discuss with your mentor, and if he can't give you concrete answers, you might want to look into some sort of backup plans/safety nets in case he doesn't end up being able to provide the support you're relying on.

Like other threads seeking visa/status of living in Japan, just because you do not like the answer does not change the answer (see the thread for the early retired Aussies that wanted to move their kids here).

You do not the the necessary skills, experience or qualification to be granted a status of residence to stay after you finish being a student.

Even if you qualified for the Business Manager Visa (a really hard one to get) and you had the necessary capital and experience (which you do not), the examples given by Japan Immigration still indicate you would not be a tattoo artist. (They give the example of a nail salon.)

You guys are not overly negative at all, it�fs a hard path to even consider taking, so I get why all the advice may come off as warnings. There is one thing I forgot to clarify, I don�ft want to tattoo while on a working visa that allows me to teach, that would terminate my visa and basically make me go all the way back to square one. I want to do this the legitimate way. What I wanted to do, is teach for a few years until I can get permanent residency. It is my understanding that most people believe that you need to be working in Japan and be living well off for 10 years to be able to get permanent residency, but that is not the case. From what I can gather from people that got permanent residency living in Japan under 10 years, is that you do in fact need to be living well, have a job for a number of years and live in the same residency for a few years, but the unspoken minimum for permanent residency is 4 to 5 years. It is really all case by case, but this is still not easy for a foreigner, but it is doable so long as you are actually responsible and dedicated. I�fm just glad you guys are not belittling me like that last guy in my last thread that ended up getting his comment deleted.

Please don't take this as being rude.

It is much harder to get PR as an English teacher in Japan, because most English language schools work on the assumption they will get someone in for 2-3 years and then they will leave. A lot of them have also seriously changed their practices over the years. I had a friend who was at Geos pre 2010 and loved it. When she went back in 2016 or 2017 the experience was completely different. Previously, she had a consistent schedule from week to week. In 2016, her work schedule changed each week and it jus got exhausting because you can't make plans easily. Now, if you are working as an English teacher in an actual public school or a private Junior or Senior High School it might be different, but outside of JET, those jobs usually require you to be fluent.. and have a degree, because you are pretty much the same as a Japanese teacher. I have a friend who use to work in a private high school, and I met someone who worked in a public school in Wakayama.

I am not sure any of the language schools hire English speakers without a college degree. Everyone I know who has taught at one has a degree and over the years I've known a lot of people who have taught at Nova or Geos or Berlitz. I've also known quite a few JETs.

I did a Google search on Chopstick Tattoo, and found an article in the Japan Times about a Japanese tattoo artist that was also fined in a different raid and it talked about how there are certain medical qualifications one needs to be able to do tattoos in Japan. So even if you have PR, if you don't have those licenses (unless the law is changed) you still won't be able to open a shop. And I am going to hazard a guess that those licenses require a college or university degree.

But people do get PR, even single people. My friend in Osaka got PR a few years ago and she does not have a Japanese spouse and has never had a Japanese spouse. She's worked hard at the same company since finishing her stint as a JET.

Good luck!

I don�ft take it as rude, it�fs fine. I don�ft plan to do public school teaching, just going to do adult night classes, it�fs the only job u can get without a degree, as for getting PR from it, I hope to find something else before that happens, but if I can�ft help it, I will at the very least have a job with a 1 year contract so I can present myself as stable as possible.

just going to do adult night classes, it�fs the only job u can get without a degree
You really don't understand, do you ? You don't want to understand. Japan immigration REQUIRES (mandatory...) a degree or 10 years experience for a "work visa". It doesn't matter where you teach, it can be in jail, in private school or in a mental institution. You need a degree no matter what...

I will at the very least have a job with a 1 year contract so I can present myself as stable as possible
You don't understand how things work in Japan, rules etc...You think you work 1 or 2 years and voila you just show up at the PR counter. Even spouse of Japanese citizens like me don't have such claims.

From what I can gather from people that got permanent residency living in Japan under 10 years, is that you do in fact need to be living well, have a job for a number of years and live in the same residency for a few years, but the unspoken minimum for permanent residency is 4 to 5 years.

This ... https://www.juridique.jp/visa/pr.php
unless you are on HSP, Spouse or some bigshot athlete/scholar etc

I will at the very least have a job with a 1 year contract so I can present myself as stable as possible.
You refuse to understand. It has been stated very clearly what the basic requirements are to stay in the country. Beyond being a student, you do not have any qualifications or experience that would allow you to be accepted for a status of residence, even if someone gifted you a job.
You would not be able to work your "one year contract" as you will not be a legal resident.

Right, the original poster refuses to understand that to get a work visa, not only does he need to be offered a job, but also to fulfill certain requirements by the immigration authorities, which (as far as we can see from the info provided) he does not seem to fulfill. Namely, either 10 or more years of work experience in the relevant field (3 years in case of English language teaching positions), or at least a bachelor�fs degree.

I agree with AK, that the poster does not understand willingly or unwillingly about the requirements of having the required visa.

I wish there was a topic close option to prevent this unnecessary discussions.

So basically your question is:
Is it possible to study in Japan, graduate, find a job, get PR and then work as a tattoo artist?
That will take years but the answer is yes.