Working visa linked to the sponsor company?

Hi there!

I'll try to get straight to the point :)

My name is Martina, and currently I'm in Japan on a tourist visa. I was supposed to start a new job here these days, however unfortunately the company that hired me last month and that had to sponsor my visa, suddenly withdrew the offer due to a various number of reasons. (the story is a bit longer but I'm keeping it short).

So, now I'm looking for another job last minute that can sponsor my visa. The landlady of the share-house I'm staying in and that I've known for years, told me that in case she could help me with the visa (she has her own company), although she's not sure she can actually hire me.

My question is: can I be sponsored (for the specialist in humanities visa) by a company, although I won't be working there, and in this way, look for a job while on that visa? Or is the visa strictly linked to the company that sponsor it? (and maybe once I get hired somewhere change the working visa to the new company)

Thank you so much for the help, hope the whole thing makes sense!

Martina

The work visa needs a whole lot of documents from the company that hires you, so yes, you need to have an actual job offer from that company. A friend canft sponsor you unless she has intentions to hire you and go tge offical route for COE application.

Once you have a residence status you can change jobs within the same field of work category but need to inform immigration.

A few questions come to mind:

Has the former employer already applied for and received the CoE (certificate of eligibility) for your work-permitting resident status already?

Were you going to change from temporary visitor to work status while staying in Japan?


Generally speaking yes itfs tied to the sponsor - of course people change jobs, so it happens that after working for a company for some time you start at another place, in which case you report the change to the immigration authorities.

But in your case you havenft started working.

Even if the first employer gave you an offer and applied for and obtained the CoE for you and gives it to you, if they decided to withdraw the offer, they have to report it to immigration and your CoE might be cancelled.

So unless you already did the change from temporary visitor to humanities and have it in your passport, it is unlikely that you can switch to a different employer.

Certain conditions apply to companies that determine whether they can sponsor visa/resident status, so youfd have to see if your landlordfs company is eligible.

Thank you both for your answers, they were really helpful!

I actually came here as a short-term student (thus with a temporary visa); I was already in Japan when I did the interview and started the discussion regarding my employment. Unfortunately, they withdrew the offer before starting the CoE, so I don't have anything at the moment.

The company of my landlady should cover all the different requirements by Immigration, my biggest doubt was whether she could sponsor me even though I am not actually working for her, or while I am job-hunting.

I'm sorry for all the questions, it's just that everything changed so last minute that I'm trying to find some kind of solution in a desperate way :/

Thank a lot!

While you are looking at immigration issue, please get two terms correct:
- Visa: something you use to genterh Japan.
- Resident status: once you are in Japan, you have a gresident status.h So currently you have a temporary visitor status.

(From what you say, you are here as short-term student, i am assuming you didnft get a student visa to enter Japan, but just came in as a temporary visitor.)

Since you are already IN Japan, you are talking about wishing to change your resident status from gtemporary visitorh to a work-permitting status possibly under gHumanities,h etc.

This gsponsorshiph needs to be genuine, as LikeBike said. Your landlordfs company needs to make you a job offer, and once you agree to it, give you an employment contract with your duties and salary, benefits, etc., all indicated, and go through some procedures for you.

By the way, in the recent years the immigration authorities have become more strict when it comes to changing from gtemporary visitorh status to another longer-term resident status such as employe-sponsored work status, so I am not even sure it is possible in the first place.

(I know that there are cases where the employer-to-be in Japan applied for CoE for an employee-to-be still outside Japan, and that person decided to travel to Japan a bit earlier, and when the CoE was issued, that person happened to be in Japan. In that case, it was possible to change. But i am not sure if they allow tourists to take interviews, get a job offer, and then start the process while being in Japan.)

This gsponsorshiph needs to be genuine, as LikeBike said. Your landlordfs company needs to make you a job offer, and once you agree to it, give you an employment contract with your duties and salary, benefits, etc., all indicated, and go through some procedures for you.
Highlighting @AK's great response, the item not explicitly included in this paragraph is that your landlady's company needs to pay you, pay taxes, enroll you in social insurances etc. It can't just be a sham/pretend job. It would become very obvious to Immigration at time of renewal (for example) if the "job" did not provide an income or associated taxes (income and resident) because they check that. Problems will ensue, lots and lots of problems.

If she sponsors your visa, she must pay you a worker's salary. You and her company will both be in trouble if she tries to sponsor a visa for a fake job that you won't get paid for.

In addition, if you got a visa and then found another job soon after, immigration could find the immediate job change suspicious (because it would be), look deeper into your arrangement, and rescind your visa.

In short: What you're trying to do is illegal.

Please note that the gHighly Skilled Professionalh visa is indeed linked to the company, and makes it very difficult to change jobs until you can get permanent residency.