Hi All!
As the title suggests, I am getting mixed answers so wanted to ask for those who HAVE acquired the WHV and gone to Japan.
Is it true that the one year you get to reside in Japan starts from the day you get the WHV from the embassy? ie. If I get the WHV on 20th December 2022 – then my time in Japan will come to an end on 20th December 2023?
And the time I take to go to Japan is “irrelevant” in the sense, It would just me shortening my time being spent in Japan. ie. If I got accepted on 20th Dec 2022, but waited until 20th Jan 2023 to arrive in Japan – i would forego a month of my WHV?
I’ve heard that it isn’t like usual WHV, it which you get a year to enter from acceptance date but I then have read comments online of people not going ASAP so it got me thinking which is the correct answer.
Thank you for all and any help
2 comments
>Is it true that the one year you get to reside in Japan starts from the day you get the WHV from the embassy?
Japan does things different in regards to what a visa is.
For Japan, a visa is purely a document that confirms your identity and that as far as Immigration is concerned you’re allowed to enter Japan.
Once you arrive in Japan you are given a status of residence. The status of residence is what allows you to remain in Japan and gives you permission to perform certain activities.
So yes, the visa is only valid for up to one year from when it is issued. *BUT* your status of residence is valid for 6 months from when you enter Japan and you’re allowed to request an extension for an additional 6 months. Australians can submit this request twice. Some countries agreements stipulate 12 months straight off the bat, but my experience was 6 months and then extended another 6 months.
So you could be issued your visa to enter Japan on December 20th 2022, then not enter Japan until December 18th 2023 and you’d be allowed to stay in Japan until December 18th 2024.
No. You get your visa issued at embassy, and that [visa will have an expiry date](https://www.radical-living.net/blog/2018/7/29/first-steps-in-japan-on-a-working-holiday-visa), which you must enter Japan before it expired. On the visa itself, there is mentioned of period of stay ‘1 year’, where you will be grant a stay period of 1 year once you enter Japan.
The above link show both visa sticker(passport) and residence card@zairyu card. Note the different dates.
Once you get into Japan using that visa,your visa got cancel/used, you will be issued a residence card@zairyu card which grant you ‘Designated Activities’ resident status of “work holiday”.
With that on your zairyu card stay period/expiry date should be 1 year from the day you enter Japan.