You will need to be in possession of certain documents before you travel to
Japan. You must have a valid passport, and if you need a visa to visit Japan
it should be attached to your passport for inspection upon arrival. You should
check with the Japanese Embassy or consulate in your home country to determine
whether you need a visa or not (see below for information on consulates and
embassies). Generally travel to Japan is unproblematic, but should you have
any complex or detailed questions regarding your entry into Japan the Immigration
Bureau has an extensive website:
As a tourist you will normally enter Japan on a tourist visa, which is valid
for ninety days. Should you wish to extend your stay the simplest way is probably
just to leave Japan and re-enter for another ninety-day period.
Working Visa
You will need a working visa to work in Japan legally. If you’re hired by a
Japanese company they will normally take care of this, it just requires them
to fill out a few forms and submit them to the appropriate authorities on your
behalf. Officially you can’t actually start work until the visa comes through,
which can take up to two months, but there are some unofficial ways around this.
If you don’t have at least an undergraduate degree from an established university
you may have a hard time finding a Japanese firm that’s willing to hire you
and take care of your visa affairs. Your Japanese language skills (or lack of
them) do not affect your application for a working visa. The working visa is
valid for one to three years (the authorities will decide on the duration of
its validity based on your application). It’s best to apply for a multi-entry
permit at the same time; otherwise if you leave Japan, even for a short holiday,
your working visa will no longer be valid upon re-entry.
Anyone who intends to stay in Japan for longer than ninety days is required
to register as a foreign national at their local ward office in order to be
issued with the obligatory alien registration card (gaikokujin
toroku is the Japanese term for alien registration). To register you
will need two recent passport photos. You will not be issued with your card
straightaway; you’ll be notified when it’s ready. Once you get your card you
must keep it with you at all times.
The Shinjuku Foreign Resident Information Center
at Shinjuku Multicultural Plaza offers immigration advice to foreign nationals.
It’s open Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm, except for national holidays and
the second and fourth Wednesday of each month.
As a permanent resident of Japan both you and your spouse can freely undertake
paid work there.
If you’re entering Japan on a student visa you will not be allowed to work
legally unless you obtain special permission from your place of study and the
immigration office. Even then you will only be able to work a certain number
of hours per work. If you are a citizen of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Korea,
France, Germany, Ireland or the United Kingdom, and are between eighteen and
thirty years of age, you can apply for a working holiday visa which will allow
you to work in Japan for up to twelve months.
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