Hey y’all! I run my own business and want to live in Japan for a year or two. I have my Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice and a TEFL certification. The issue is, I do not want to take away from my business. I was thinking I could get a part time teaching position, but after some research found the initial VISA only supports full-time workers. That being said, it looks like the student VISA is my next best option. I guess my question is, does anyone know what the hour requirements are? i.e. could I just take a single class a week and still qualify for the VISA or do I have to take 20 hours a week?
I can’t find anything online or else I wouldn’t be asking.
Thanks!
3 comments
I can’t remember exactly, but if I didn’t have enough credits at the uni I was studying abroad at, I would technically not fulfill the requirements of the student visa.
Also be aware there’s special rules when it comes to what type of work you can do and for how long when you’re on a student visa.
I used to be a student on a language course in Japan. To qualify for the student visa you need to take full-time classes. Part-time doesn’t qualify. We had to do X amount of units/hours a week to cover that criteria. At my school, it was a minimum of 15 credits, and I took 18 a semester to be sure I could continue studying in case I failed a unit. You can also lose your student visa if your attendance is below 80%.
I spent the mornings and early afternoons going to Japanese school, and then spent the rest of the day working as an English Teacher, followed by doing my homework and preparing for Japanese class the next day. So you could effectively study full-time and have enough time to continue your business in the afternoon/evenings.
I know a couple of municipalities offer start up visas. I’m not sure about the details other than that they exist. Maybe that would be something that could work for you?