Freelance Art in Japan, a bit of a fix

Hey,
So my situation is kinda weird and hence I want some feed back from people here.
So I am currently in Japan pursuing a Masters degree. On the side I love repainting figures, sculpting, digital art(adult) and games(adult). I have been doing these as hobbys and my girlfriend sells them online. So basically, she invests in the stuff and I get to enjoy my hobby.
After doing this for sometime, I see that people really enjoy it and there is a good scope of expansion. Plus, I see that the research world I was promised doesn't really exist. Long story short, I want to quit my degree and become a freelance artist.
I have a teaching certificate in English with Toefl score of (115/120 *expired now). But companies won't hire me since I'm not an American. Also, If I go back to my home country, my art has no scope there and the digital art I do is borderline illegal.
I have found an opportunity and want to follow my passion but I have no clue how to go about this.
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks in advance. :)

Well, you need a resident status to live in Japan. Currently this is presumably �gstudent�h, but if you quit university, then that resident status is gone. So you need an other one.
I don�ft think freelance artist might be possible, because for an artist visa you kind of need to be �gwell known�h, and I assume that�fs not your case.
So what remains is a spouse visa, but that would mean that your girlfriend and you would need to want to get married. Plus she�fd then need to sponsor you for your visa.

That was kind of the idea.... I was lucky enough to find someone willing to support me that way.... but it's still difficult. Being an Asian, my parents are completely against it, to them it looks like I'm using someone to get what I want. The reality being that I actually want to be with this person.
That side is quite complicated plus I will need a "Single- Status Certificate". Being here, my parents have control over that, and have just denied to help me with it.
That's why I'm trying to look for options. :(

Why would your parents have control over your relationsgip starus. Are you a minor?

I'm 24

They have control over the certificate that would allow me to get married. I can't go back and get it myself at this time because of COVID.

Talk to the embassy of whatever country you are from. Consular services generally include the issuing of documents which would normally be obtained at home, especially documents that are needed abroad, like documents that prove you are not already married.

Can I ask what country you are from? It is crazy to me that the parents of a 24 year old could control access to a document like that. I am sure there is a way to do this without the approval of your parents.

I'll try that and hope for the best.
Okay, don't flip out on me now...... I'm from India.

P.s. not your everyday scammer, just a guy who loves art, Japanand all the amazing artists here.

So it didn't occur to me immediately, but if I present my case to the embassy, won't they just look at it like someone trying to take advantage of someone else.
Like I totally respect marriages and wouldn't look in that direction if I had an alternative, but I don't have a way to prove it. My own folks don't see it that way, then what's the chance that the embassy will? Won't that just make the situation worse? TT_TT
Has anyone been through stuff like this? Having to rely on your spouse to do freelance? I would like to hear about people's experiences.

Why would they look at it that way? It's not up to the embassy to determine whether or not a marriage that takes place in Japan is legitimate or not. If you qualify for the document (are not married), and they are able to issue a document at the embassy then it is their job to do that for you. Just call the Indian embassy as soon as you can and ask about it.

it depends on how your country is civilized or not. (I mean that civilized countries have a rule that an adult can decide his/her marriage by himself/herself. so, the governments provide another route when your parents, in your country, don't help the paperwork.)

Thank you so much, this is reassuring. I'll try to contact the embassy and find out.

�uSo it didn't occur to me immediately, but if I present my case to the embassy, won't they just look at it like someone trying to take advantage of someone else.�v

That would totally depend on how you present your situation to the embassy.

If you go in and say "My girlfriend is a Japanese national, and we're planning to get married so I need a need a Single- Status Certificate," you shouldn't run into any problems.

On the other hand, if you go in and say "I'm here on a student visa, but I want to quit school so I need some other kind of visa, so I'm going to marry a Japanese national," then yeah, it'll look like you're trying to pull a visa scam.

But assuming you and your your girlfriend have an actual relationship, I don't see you running into any problem at your embassy, especially at the stage of obtaining a Single-Status Certificate. When I went to my embassy to obtain mine before getting married in Japan, I don't recall anyone even asking me why I was planning to get married.

Quick update!

Had the chat with the embassy. They say I can't get the "Single Status Certificate" as I have to physically go and get it. The other option being, my parents have to sign an affidavit stating that I'm single, get it attested from the ministry and send it to me.......

That's the options given by the embassy. Things don't seem to be going anywhere.

Another update....

So I see the walls have closed in on me. My parents have literally made it a condition for me to complete this stupid degree. The way they have put it, I feel like a slave or something. I have never been treated like this by my parents and it makes want not to follow.

What I want to find out is:
1. I have an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering.
2. Some decent experience in art and programming (I can manage Python, C++and C# - Not an expert, but not a total stranger).
3. I also have a teaching certification for English.
What chances do I have of getting hired by a company, in any of the above mentioned fields? Given that I will take a drop from my masters course.

Hi

From my own research and previous experiences, you are going to find it difficult to get another visa/residence status unless you have a degree. Most work visas have a requirement for a degree.

A tefl certificate unfortunately does not mean that much in Japan, if they are going to sponsor you they want someone with a degree, in anything. You also have to be able to prove your level is around native(as you are not from a country considered native English) by showing you have completed a degree in English or I think there is another examination - someone will have to confirm. A tefl doesn't prove this.

If I were you I would seriously consider completing your degree for your own independence of finding work.
I'm not sure how long you have been with your girlfriend, but getting married after when quitting a degree sounds a bit off to authorities. Entering into a life long commitment with someone should never be thought about in terms of getting a visa, that should be an after thought. That's my opinion on that anyway.

Chris,

OP does have a degree – undergraduate. As long as that is "bachelor's degree," isn�ft that enough for an immigration requirement for a visa? He is currently studying for a master's degree, as I read it.

Sorry AK I think you've misunderstood what I meant, maybe I wrote it a bit weird.

I didn't mean that OP could NOT pursue any of these, I meant that for English teaching the degree should be completed in English for a better chance and it can be in any field, the tefl is irrelevant when deciding, most teachers e.g. JET do not hold tefl but get on the job training etc.

...And that anyone with no degree would struggle.
... and my opinion of rather marriage for a visa, continue being a student is a better option than thinking about marriage in terms of a visa (my opinion)

Maybe my angle of saying these made it easy to be misinterpreted, I'm sorry if i was unclear

it is definitely better to have MS degree than only having BS degree especially in natural science fields.
quitting school often means that you drop out because of your failure.
graduating university (graduate school) in Japan also imply that you may know some of Japanese culture and society system during your school life. so, it is much easier to have a job in Japan after graduating the school.
master program is only 2 years and at least you already spent a half year. why don't you wait ? India is now under severe corona virus infections. I don't think that India overcomes this disaster for the next one year. It means you may not go to India and, even if you can, you may not come to Japan again.

Okay so here's the thing,

I hadn't even thought of marriage until my girlfriend suggested it as being the only option if I wanted to continue with my passion. That's why things seem very fast paced and shifty. I would prefer not doing that if there was another way to freelance.

Regarding the English degree thing. All my education was in English. So do you mean I need a degree in literature or something?

Regarding Masters, I had high expectations from the research. But after coming here I realised I see something totally different. Things were so bad that I lost all interest in research. Right now I would just prefer getting a job and continue in Japan.

My parents are just doing something that's very messed up. If possible I would just prefer getting a job and get rid of this dependency for good.

you already have answers.
no visa (resident status) for freelance.
you need to have a working visa (status) something like English teacher or related to your BS degree.
it is possible, but, you have to realize that it is not good time to find a job because of the virus problem.
find a job and "change the status".
you want to drop out from the chance to get more higher degree and to postpone job finding. no one knows your decision is better or worse. I believe your parents think your decision is worse.
when you started to tell the story of marrying a Japanese to do everything by yourself, I am very understandable that your parents got mad and refused to help doing your way.