I thought you had to have a BA

I found this on gajjin pot...

"looking for enthusiastic Native English Teachers, with a Bachelors degree or more than a 2 Year Diploma from a recognised institution."

Does "Reconised Institution" Mean only spacific ones? Or just that you can prove they exist?

When they say "more than a 2 year degree", what does that mean? More than a 2 year degree would be a BA degree, isn't it? That's weird!!!

I always thought that you could teach English in Japan if you didn't have a BA, as long as you're a native speaker and married to a Japanese citizen and were there on a marriage visa.

Didn't really answer your question lol, but I thought I'd throw that in there.

Kelii, I'm pretty sure a BA is a 4-year degree lol.

Usualy it takes a BA to get a visa sponsership
But i know some native english speakers who got a job and a visa in Japan who were undergrads at the time.

So it's possible, but don't get your hopes up.
Having a BA makes it much more easier to get a visa sponsership.

A BA is *usually required for Work Visa sponsorship.

There are many instructors in Japan without BAs that instruct English. They just happen to be in Japan on other types of Visas that are not Work Visas. For example, Spouses, dependents, students (with additional work permission).

Just to be pedantic and clear up some often-cited misconceptions...
Immigration requires a bachelor's degree to obtain a work visa. This does not have to be a BA, and it does not have to be a four-year degree, as many people outside North America obtain university degrees in three years.

Immigration requires a bachelor's degree to obtain a work visa. This does not have to be a BA, and it does not have to be a four-year degree
by Dave in Saitama

Not to sound COMPLETELY Stupid but i thought bachelor's degree and a BA was the same thing??
Or am i stupid?

A BA is a type of batchelors degree, there are other types. E.g. BA= Batchelor of arts , Bsc= Batchelor of science. The type of batchelor degree you get at the end depends on the type of subject you're studying at university. It doesn't matter which you have if you just want to teach english (though certain degrees relating to languages/teaching may increase your chances), but obviously if you want to work in a specialised field in Japan like I.T. , you would need a degree relating to that job.

thanks bobby, now i don't feel quite so stupid!!

LOL!!! I know that a BA is 4 years. I have one in MIS. Maybe I should have made myself more clear.

"looking for enthusiastic Native English Teachers, with a Bachelors degree or more than a 2 Year Diploma from a recognized institution."

Who ever wrote this should have omitted "more than a 2 year Diploma" because that could only be a BA.

Actually, some bachelor degrees can be 3 years, usually a general sutdies specification. I don't know if these would qualify you in the eyes of the Japanese government, however.

As Krista says, batchelor degrees can be 3 years- my degree in history was 3 years and many other popular degrees are also 3 years. It depends on the subject and the country you are studying in. But putting the amount of time aside, as long as you get your batchelors degree and have studied at a recognised institution (the issue of 'recognised institutions' has been discussed in other threads on this forum) it will be good enough to teach english. I too however am slightly confused by the '2 year diploma' mentioned. Anybody else understand it?

"Who ever wrote this should have omitted "more than a 2 year Diploma" because that could only be a BA."

No, that would be completely inaccurate.

Kelii, as people have tried to explain to you already, there are plenty of university degrees other than a BA. BA stands for Bachelor of Arts, right? People who study science get a BS, i.e. Bachelor of Science (in the US at least- in other countries it is called a BSc).

There are also degrees in law and engineering, architecture and medicine which are not called BAs either, although what they are called depends on the country.

Then there are Masters degrees, which could be MA or MTesol or many other things.

All of these are valid as degrees for Japan Immigration purposes, so a BA is not the requirement, a minimum of a degree of more than two years is.

Also as Dave tried to say, in some countries a BA does not take 4 years- I got mine in 3 years, and it was enough to get me a working visa for Japan, as it is for other people from Australia, NZ and the UK where a BA typically only takes 3 years.

There may also be other qualifications that take more than two years but are not a BA.

Is that a bit clearer?

Usualy it takes a BA to get a visa sponsership
But i know some native english speakers who got a job and a visa in Japan who were undergrads at the time.
So it's possible, but don't get your hopes up.
Having a BA makes it much more easier to get a visa sponsership.



As Sira says you dont need a BA to get a work visa. Wonder why so many people get this wrong..

In any case, the other thing i wanted to point out is that you dont need a degree to get a visa in some cases. In some countries you can get a working holiday visa and you DONT need a degree. Search on this site and it'll list those specific countries.