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@ el forestero
1) You can change from a marriage visa to a work visa, provided that you found a company that will sponsor you.
However, from what I've seen and heard, this is usually done when the marriage visa is about to expire. So instead of applying for an extension based on marriage, the person submits for a work visa. This is also done in the case of divorce, and then the foreign person submits for a work visa.
The issue with changing from a marriage visa to work visa is that immigration might become suspicious if the foreign person was only married for a short time. Like you just got married 3 months ago, got a marriage visa, and then suddenly want to switch to a work visa. This is legal to do, but expect that they will scrutinize such situations more thoroughly.
On the flip side of that, often immigration only gives 1 year marriage visas at first (sometimes 2X or 3X in a row), particularly to couples that are newly married (or married for less than 3 years). Switching over from a 1 year marriage visa that is about to expire to a work visa, should not be an issue, particularly if the foreign person is working for a good company and meets all other requirements.
If the foreign person is under a 3 year marriage visa, it is often a more unusual case to switch to a work visa. The reason for this is that the married person can apply for permanent residence on the 4th year of marriage (and provided they have been living in Japan for at least 1 year). Keep in mind that immigration doesn't usually give permanent residency so quickly, so it might not be granted until the 5th to 7th year of marriage.
If you switch over to a work visa, then you will have to have stayed in Japan for 10 years before applying for permanent residency. While this seems like a disadvantage, keep in mind that work visas can be issued for 5 years (particularly for good jobs), you don't need a spouse to be a guarantor, nor have to worry about any visa issues if you get divorced.
I have also known people that made sure their job and the company they work for could and would sponsor a work visa, and then switched when the marriage visa (usually of the 1 year kind) was about to expire. You have to make it clear to the company that you plan to do such, so that it will not be a surprise.
2) There is no such thing as a "self-sponsored" work visa.
If you apply for a work visa, there has to be a company that is sponsoring you. Where some people get confused by the "self-sponsor" term, which I have heard some say, that is not an official term or type of visa. What they are usually referring to is when somebody that is an independent contractor or sole proprietorship is working for multiple companies.
For an example, the person is say an English teacher or graphic designer that has made a deal to work for 3 different companies. However, 1 of the 3 companies has to be the main sponsor on the work visa. And, that company is agreeing to allow you to work at the other companies. Either they get the money from the other companies and then pay you, or they pay you more than 30,000 dollars (3,300,000 yen) and allow you to file your taxes yourself (to officially account for the other companies you do work for). Very important to know, is that immigration will ask for your income tax, resident tax, and possibly health insurance per each extension. Another key point is that even if dealing with 3 companies, only 1 company can be the sponsor on the work visa paperwork.
3) Investor/Business Manager visa
This is a very hard visa to get, and not something to play with. To be worth it, the person should have a lot of money and/or their business is doing very well. Immigration will scrutinize this very deeply. Not only do you need 5 million yen in the bank, but you will need: 1) A place of business (so are paying rent for that). 2) Have an employee who is Japanese or a permanent resident (so paying their salary and other requirements). 3) Have an accountant, who can provide any paperwork requested.
Likely you will need an immigration lawyer to help your through the complicated process and paperwork. It will be even more difficult for a person to attempt to submit the paperwork on their own.
Also, the Investor/Business Manager visa is for 5 years, just like the regular work visa. Contrast that with permanent residency, which has less requirements, and is renewed every 7 years. When you have to renew/extend your Investor/Business Manager visa, immigration is going to check you meet all the requirements again (bank balance, employee, place of business, taxes, etc...). Despite the difficulty, I have heard that there can be various tax benefits to having it.
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