Moving to Japan without a Bachelor’s

I (a UK resident) understand you need a bachelor's degree if you want to move to Japan, and I do not own a bachelor's degree. I'm exploring avenue's in which I might be able to gain a bachelor's whilst in Japan on either a Dependent Visa or Student Visa, however I do not have the money on hand for tuition for 3 years, so wish to ask questions to you all about Dependent Visa's, Student Visa's and scholarships/financial aid whilst studying.
My partner (also a UK resident), who has a bachelor's, wants to apply to be a teacher and live in Japan, and I've read about Dependent Visa's where your spouse can join you and live in Japan with you, however you cannot work fulltime, only part time, which is obviously very limiting as I would want to support us and live a full life and work.
I wish to gain a bachelor's so I can apply for fulltime work and to live there with my partner. I know the most straightforward option would be to study here in the UK for 3 years, gain my bachelor's, and then apply as he will to work and live there. However this post is about asking you all if I can do both? Can I live with my partner there, on a Dependent Visa, and study to get my bachelor's whilst living there with him?
I have read that you CAN study on a Dependent Visa, so I could theoretically study my Bachelor's in Japan and then take it from there.
However, I know scholarships and tuition aid would be hard to get in Japan. How would I go about this? I want to study Counselling (not the political kind, the therapy kind) but how would I even go about searching for financial aid to study there?
Also, if I could theoretically get financial aid and be able to study in Japan, would I change from a Dependent Visa to a Student Visa, or would I just stay on a Dependent Visa but be studying? If my visa would change to a Student Visa, is there any point in coming to Japan with a Dependent Visa in the first place? Would it be easier to instead just go on a Student Visa to begin with, forgetting all about the Dependent Visa? I think you can only stay in Japan for 2 years max on a Study Visa though?

I know my best bet is to study for 3 years here in the UK and then apply through normal means as I would have the requirements to try and move to Japan without all the trouble of a Dependents Visa and studying and only working part time etc, but I want to see all options before me, and if I could move there and then study to get my bachelor's whilst being in Japan that would be even better.

To sum up:

1: My partner has a bachelor's degree so wants to apply to work and live as a teacher in Japan. I do not own a bachelor's degree, which is needed to live in Japan as a foreigner. I was wondering if I could still live with him in Japan whilst studying to get my Bachelor's so I can apply to live there, instead of studying in the UK for 3 years to get my bachelor's and then try to move there.
2: Can I study a bachelor's for 3 years in Japan whilst on a Dependent Visa? If so, can I have financial aid such as a scholarship or tuition aid?
3: Would it be easier to study on a Dependent Visa for 3 years, or avoid the Dependent Visa and just apply for a Student Visa instead and study there for 3 years?

"partner" does not give a route to dependent visa. Either you are married (legally recognised in Japan) or a child (and your parent has resident status).
As for studying in Japan to gain a degree, there are tons of threads discussing what you need for that, especially language ability.

1. A Bachelor's degree is normally required to obtain a work visa, which gives you the right to live and work in Japan. It's not a necessity for all visa categories.

2. You would be better off getting a student visa (since you would be a student), especially if you and your partner are not married (since, as already explained, this does not entitle you to a dependent visa). There is unlikely to be tuition fee assistance for foreigners, as that would mean you cannot financially support yourself and your studies while living as a foreign resident - does your own country allow this? Most countries need foreigners to show the ability to support themselves, not be a drain on their country's resources.

3. See above, but you need to be in a more stable financial situation by the sounds of things.

Have you considered studying online for a Bachelor's while working to save money? That way you could earn a Bachelor's degree before you move and apply for work, rather than a dependent or student visa (which have restrictions you have already described).

RE: JapanCustomTours and (guest)

Thank you for your answer, sorry I didn't mention in my original post this would be hypothetically in the future when my partner and I were married, so that is why the Dependent Visa was an option to explore, but as said I wouldn't be able to work more than part-time on this Visa sadly.

It seems the only issue I have is money, otherwise I could go for Student Visa, as I do not have the funds to pay roughly £6-£9,000 each year for 3 years on a course :/ I would of course apply to work as many hours as I could but I do not think working part time would cover the cost of a bachelor's degree sadly haha.

The only reason I want to see all my options were because my partner wanted to see if there was a quicker way for us to move there other than waiting for me to study for 3 years to get my bachelor's and then apply for a working visa.

But to clarify, if I had the funds I could live there on a Student Visa and study a Bachelor's, or live there on a Dependent Visa (when married to my partner) and study on that as well?

The required bachelor's degree is of 4 years, not 3 years.

RE: Tai

In the UK you can do a Bachelor's in 3 years I forget to cross check that it may be 4 years in Japan as it can be in America oops!

The most straightforward way for you would be to obtain a bachelorfs degree in the UK first.
Please note that a bachelorfs degree in Japan usually takes 4 years, and if you are thinking of enrolling in a Japanese university, you would need to study the language (normally 1.5 – 2 years in a language school) first to be accepted. On the other hand, you could study in an English-only course as well. But whether counselling major is available at a such university is another question.

You might want to consider your long-term career as well; if your goal is to take up counselling-related job in Japan, fine, learning the language and majoring it here might make sense. However, if you are thinking of returning to the UK and working back home, then a degree here might not be worth it. (Personally I would prefer to study a topic like counseling in the UK, rather in Japan. Occupational doctors and counsellor work is limited here, I feel.)

I do not know what kind of teaching career your partner is thinking about – English teaching? Does your partner have an idea about how much that would pay and the long-term prospect of it?

Also concerning visa, you need to think about timing: your partner finds work, the employer-to-be in Japan starts the visa process, then for gdependenth (unless the employer is extremely cooperative) it would be up to you to start the visa application process only after your partner has theirs granted. So there might be a time lag/waiting time.

If you go the gstudenth visa path, you need to apply with the school, get accepted by the school/university, pay in the tuition (for one year or so I believe at least), then the school will start the student visa application process for you. Youfd need to start the admission process pretty early.

For gstudenth visa application, there is a requirement for you to be able to show that you have enough funds to support your studies and living while in Japan.

For information on any aid to student, look at JASSOfs website:
https://www.jasso.go.jp/en/index.html

If your intention is to study, then you should enter Japan on a student visa, not a dependent visa, as that would be your main reason for entering the country. You can also work part-time on a student visa, if that was your reason for studying on a dependent visa.

@Tai The required bachelor's degree is of 4 years, not 3 years.
False - there is no requirement or mention for a four year bachelors degree in the immigration process, simply a degree recognised at the bachelors level. My B.Sc was simply a three year degree course, accepted around the world, and three years is common in many countries. I do not know why some places take so long.
@OP - you mention "partner" many times in your posts, and also of getting married - thus looking at a route for the dependent status. Not sure if this applies in your case, but be aware that Japan does not recognise same-sex marriage.

@JapanCustomTours

As I see it, Tai is pointing out to OP that bachelor degree in Japan takes 4 years as with others except you who bring about immigration 4 years degree requirement.

To OP, it best you get your degree (3 years) in UK before you come since Japanese degree rating are poor, most won't do much outside Japan. Degree from UK work much better in the future and probably cost you less.

Student visa is renewable as long as you are still studying at the institution.

@JapanCustomTours
This is an article about working visa by a professional, s­‘Žm, who are certified to deal with applications for immigration-related stuff. This kind of people know the reality of requirements even when the government doesn't put a clear statement on its official website.

As you can see, he says the requirement for the degree is 4 years.

@Tai, donft confuse the OP. I know for certain that a 3 years Bachelor degree is sufficient.

To OP, do you plan to live longtime in Japan? If yes, what would you like to do professionally? I just wonder about your desire to study counseling. Itfs a bit hard for me to imagine that there are many job opportunities for foreigners in that field. Yes, you could work as an English teacher, but is that what you want to do? If you just want to live a few years in Japan, English teacher is probably good and then once back in the UK you can start your career in counseling. But if your Japan plans are more long term, I d probably study something more relevant for the Japanese job market. In your first post it sounded like you want to study in Japan. If you want to study in Japanese, consider that youfll need about 2 years of intensive Japanese classes to have a barely sufficient level for studying.

Oh, I forgot to add the link to the article by said s­‘Žm. Sorry.
https://www.eriw-office.com/image/A4D2A4C8ADA3.CBDCCAB8.pdf

My understanding of this gfour year universityh is, as it is intended for Japanese audience, that it must not be gtanki daigaku,h 2-year ones, but that it must be one that gets you a bachelorfs degree, which is normally completed in 4 years in Japan. The wording ggakushih for bachelorfs degree is not that commonly used here, so that they made it easier for the Japanese audience to understand. How long that takes it up to the individual University/practice in each country.

Apologies to JapanCustomTours, I took back my earlier comment..

@Tai
What you are saying is not totally correct. As long as it is a recognise bachelor degree, 3 or 4 years do not matter. Many have got their coe/visa approved with 3 years bachelor degree.
How would you explain those from UK, AUS etc. with 3 years degree are granted visa to enter Japan?
Those JET ALT, mostly fresh graduate from 3 years bachelor degrees country, how do their got their coe/visa approved?

RE: Everyone.

Thank you all for your input, yes you can move to Japan with a 3 year Bachelor's as in the UK a Bachelor's taking 3 years is incredibly common, 4 years seems to be the US standard norm.
It seems my bets bet is what I knew all along, that studying for 3 years to gain a Bachelor's in the UK and Then applying to move to Japan would be the best route. I still wanted to explore all my options, so am glad I posted here.
My partner and I are not a same sex couple, I just use the term partner haha.

Thank you all for making me aware there may not be a whole lot of opportunity for me to use my counselling degree over in Japan, however I certainly wouldn't mind teaching English there, taking my time and enjoying myself while trying to become fluent and just living my life there. Opportunities may or may come up for counselling especially as my vocabulary improves, we shall see!

In time, you may be able to counsel ex-pats, but Japanese nationals would never seek advice from foreigners. You aren't Japanese and will never be and you won't understand the Japanese mind or culture. Hate to say it, but it's true. Counseling is not a good job to seek employment in Japan.

My partner and I are not a same sex couple, I just use the term partner haha.
No problem, I just mentioned it in case.

On the degree and qualifications point, internationally there are regional differences and norms about how long different types of qualifications take. HOWEVER, there is generally an internationally accepted standard as to the different levels of the qualifications that can be applied across jurisdictions. I have been dealing with that for more than 30 years, and in a previous role was working within the grading of qualifications for some different courses that the company I was with were looking at offering.
The time taken to gain a qualification is not the issue, it is the quality and level that is obtained. For my degree course, it would have been possible to complete in two years if my university ran three semesters/year rather than two. Most of the people I know that completed two year courses were at places like a polytechnic, and even my father has a qualification from a university, but only a diploma (one year course).
At the next level up, my Masters degree was simply an extra two years, and again, five years (total) university for a Masters qualification is quite normal (i.e. an extra two years). My sister took a little less than three years for her PhD, but when she added a second Masters degree, again that was only a two year course. But, the level of PhD my sister has is far above some of the PhD's churned out of some universities around the world - the school you go to also counts.