I want to move to Japan. How do I do it?

Hello :) I'm looking to move from England to Japan. I've no money, no job and I'm only skilled in music.

I've reached the point where I want to move on to new pastures and live by myself. I'm not particularly fond of England anymore.

I have a limited understanding of Japanese but I'm currently learning, it's a bit easier than I thought it would be, some of the characters are a bit hard to write though! I've also been learning what I can from where I can about manners and such in Japan.

Anyway, I'm looking to get away soon, very soon! I think I can scrape together enough for flights, paperworks and living expenses for a month or two, the only thing I'm puzzled on is how to do this!

Thanks to anyone who can help (and who look at my lowly question)

RyanA

I assume you are not thinking about just visiting, but actually moving here - living and working. Then you will need to think about what visa you will be coming on,

- If you just enter Japan with your passport, you get Temporary Visitor Status, under which you can stay up to 90 days, for sightseeing, etc. No paid work is allowed.
- If you are under 30, UK national, you are eligible for Working Holiday Visa; this is, however, only up to one year, during which you can pick up casual paid jobs to help you travel extensively.
- If you want to live and work in Japan, you need to find a way to get a work visa; unless you have specialized skills such as trained chef or something, the immigration requirement for a work visa is either a bachelor's degree or several or more years of relevant work experience. And of course you need to find an employer who is willing to hire you full-time and sponsor you for a visa.
- If you want to come to Japan to study the language further, you could enrol in a language school full-time and stay on a student visa as long as your studies continue, for which you need to have some savings, as you will need to pay in tuition and show that you have enough money to support yourself for the duration of the studies without relying on working (though part-time work is allowed once you maintain good attendance and good grades at the school).
Please think which may be apply to you. And if you have not visited Japan yet, please come visit first to see if you like it. "Moving" to a new country always takes a long-term planning.

Have you been to Japan before? If not I would highly recommend taking the money you have saved and taking a vacation here first to see if it is really the place for you.

Otherwise, there are several options to move to Japan, but the speed and duration of stay vary based on a few factors (mostly your education level and how much money you have).

If you have a bachelors degree you can start applying for jobs. Now is actually a good time as companies look to hire for the April start of the school year. If you find a job they can sponsor you for a work visa.

If you have many years experience working in the music industry you may be able to apply to music industry jobs. A high Japanese level would definitely help here.

If you don't have a bachelor's degree then you may qualify for a working holiday visa. You would need to apply for the WHV and could then stay in Japan for up to a year.

Finally, if you can get together a lot of money or a financial sponsor you could apply to language schools or college in Japan and stay on a student visa.

I haven't been to Japan, no, but as I said, at the minute I just need to get away, I need to see and experience new things, including living by myself. For me, this isn't too different to moving to a different part of the county, it still puts me in a place I've never been before!

Anyway, this Working Holiday Visa seems to be the way for me to go. Almost like a year long holiday, right? :)

You guys (or gals) spoke of 'casual' work. Does that mean part time work? I'm not sure about the wages in Japan, would that be enough to support yourself for a year? (alongside me own dosh, of course!)

Also, any idea how the years work with the WHV? January - January, April - April?
Lastly! (I promise) If I was to like it in Japan after my WH and wanted to move there permanently, would it help if I secure full time work in Japan while I'm on my WH or does all the Bachelor's Degree malarky still apply?

Thanks for your replies guys, you're information is very helpful :)

If I was to like it in Japan after my WH and wanted to move there permanently, would it help if I secure full time work in Japan while I'm on my WH or does all the Bachelor's Degree malarky still apply?

Full time work would count toward another year of work experience, but if you don't already have significant work experience then the bachelors degree requirements would still apply.

Mm, I see. Would 5 years be considered significant enough for a specialized music + sound engineering job?

Most probably not.
And you would need documentation about the work for the immigration office.

That's dissapointing :( At the minute it seems I'm looking at Working Holiday Visa + Student Visa if I want to stay longer and improve my Japanese.

Well, thanks for the info guys and gals. All that's next is to find out more about this WHV :)

And also if this would qualify as a Bachelor's Degree http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor_of_Music

Yes, this "bachelor of music" degree as described on your link IS one of the numerous types of bachelor's degrees :)

Just to be sure: your 5 years of music/sound engineering (provided it was full-time work, by the way) would count as relevant experience ONLY IF you are looking to be employed in Japan for a sound engineering job. For a sound engineering job in Japan, probably you would need a near fluency in the Japanese language.

If you have a bachelor's degree in ANY field, that would fulfill the immigration requirement for a work visa; this means you can apply for an English teaching position, for example, which is considered the entry job into Japan, as it requires nothing much more than being a native speaker of the English language.

In any case, be it that you come with a degree or with extensive work experience, you'd need to find an employer who is interested in your skills enough to hire you and to sponsor you for a visa.

Come visit Japan first and see if you like it :)

Thanks a lot for your help guys :) I've decided that for now, I'll go on a WHV to Japan as an extended holiday to see how I go, I think a few weeks isn't enough to decide if you like a place.

From there I'll see where I go :) Are there any here who have been on a WHV before who can tell me a little more about it, please? :)

Thanks
Ryan

Also...Katakana or Hiragana?

Also...Katakana or Hiragana?

Both (+ Kanji)

You may wish to learn Katakana first I guess as this usually lets you work out English words for things as Katakana is used to write foreign words in Japanese.

In general I think Hiragana is learnt first, at least it was when I learnt Japanese.

Cool, thanks :) Anyone around who can answer my questions further up the page, pelase? :)