Hey all, quick question about renewing by visa/zairyu card after finishing JET.
My contract and zairyu card will expire on July 31 this year. I have a new job lined up which will start on August 1. The office person at my new job said that I have to ask my current school to sponsor my visa renewal, as I won’t be working there until after August 1. Then, my new place of employment will contact the immigration bureau and let them know of my change in employment.
Is this right/normal? I feel like it should be my new employer who is sponsoring my new visa, not my school. Also, my new position will still be an English teacher, so I don’t think I need to change anything on the visa.
I’d like to get this taken care of sooner rather than later as well, because I’ve been looking at new apartments, and one of the realty companies said that I can’t sign off on a new apartment because my visa is expiring in July.
Any advice or other websites that could help in this situation?
Thanks!
Edit: To clarify, I’ve been to the company I’ve been hired by and already stamped my certificate of employment. There’s nothing dodgy about the company itself, I’m just wondering how to start the renewal process.
8 comments
They can’t sponsor you because you’re already leaving.
Your new employer should provide with the supporting documents that you were indeed hired.
Ideally you can provide an official letter of appointment, but even a 内定(naitei) preliminary job offer can work for someone people.
If your new employer is unwilling to do this, I would consider this to be a red flag.
NAL but your new school should be doing this, its impossible for your old school to do it as you wont be working there. What are they going to sponsor you for? Doesn’t make sense.
If you can prove to immigration that you have a job lined up and they will sponsor your visa they may give you an extension.. but your new visa should already be issued when you start working on August 1st. If your visa runs out next month you’re cutting it a bit fine.
It all sounds very dodgy.
Unless I’ve misunderstood your situation, there’s no problem here at all, you just need to go to immigration sometime in July (I’d go early July) and apply for renewal with the documents from your new company. Right? Assuming your new job is a full time one that will satisfy the visa requirements.
And to be clear, your new company should give you the documents you need – you can find them on the immigration website, but from memory all they have to do is fill out a couple of forms with basic company information and attach a copy of your contract and hanko it all. It’ll take them about 5 minutes. There’s no reason your new company shouldn’t do this.
Good to see OP got some answers. I hope everything goes smoothly.
Hijacking this thread to ask a seperate question. What I should do if I get a job lined up and start the visa renewal process with them, but then find a better job before I receive my new zairyu card. I understand I would need to tell immigration about my decision within 14 days, but would this cause any problems if I do this while my visa renewal is still processing? Thanks to anyone who answers.
Your old company cannot sponsor your visa renewal. You need the documents from your new company (which varies based on size, type of company, etc) and only they can provide them.
From your old company you will need to receive proof that your contract with them has ended or your visa renewal will not be accepted.
Some companies have a lawyer on retainer to help you with this process and others will require you to do it yourself but either way your new company has documentation that only they can provide.
If it’s just a visa renewal it’ll likely take about a month or so. If it’s a visa change then it will likely take longer and require more paperwork.
Speaking from personal experience, all you should really need is some proof from your current CO that shows the last day of your contract.
The you’d need an official job offer letter from your new company in addition to all other application documents when applying for your residency status change.
Immigration can issue your new residence card after you’ve finished work for your current CO.
Keep in mind, you cannot begin your new job until you have your new residence card in hand.
Sounds like they are confused…why would an old job sponsor your renewal for a new job after you left…id try to get someone else to ask as the person you asked probably wasnt understanding your situation very well.
Any update on this?