Hello Reddit,
I was a long time fan of Japan and just visited this year for the first time as a tourist, and I loved it so much, that I am even looking to relocate to Japan now to live there for atleast a few years.
I am a software engineer from germany in my early 20s with roughly 5.5 years of work experience.
I did quite some research on the availability of visas and I found out I do not cover the requirements, for the normal engineer working visa nor for the highly skilled visa, which are 10+ years of work experience or a university degree.
But I found out if I pass the so called PhilNITS exam, I can substitute the university degree requirement for the visa with it. The next one is held at the end of october this year, so still over half a year away from now.
​
So now to my question on why I posted here.
My current plan would be to go to Japan on a work and holiday visa, get setup in japan and than apply for a software engineer position in japan with that visa. Than attend and pass the PhilNITS exam in October and extend my stay with a normal work visa after one year.
I have enough money saved up to live over a whole year on my savings so I am not in a hurry to get a job instantly once I am in Japan as a sidenote.
​
My main question is, if any company would consider hiring for a full time position on a work and holiday visa, although I obviously would mention my intentions to stay longer on a work visa afterwards ?
Would being in Japan and already be setup with everything be a benefit in terms of getting a position, even if its only on a work and holiday visa or would it be easier to get a position if I stayed in germany and waited till I passed the exam and than apply from overseas afterwards ?
​
Also I am currently leaving my current employer in germany regardless, so I am not throwing away any career or anything over the attempt to relocate etc.
I also wouldn’t mind doing just a year traveling japan, if I cant land a job while doing work and holiday but I would heavily prefer getting a full time position and staying here for longer.
​
I would really love to hear about your opinions!
2 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
—
**Getting a Job in Japan on WHV ( Work and Holiday Visa )**
Hello Reddit,
I was a long time fan of Japan and just visited this year for the first time as a tourist, and I loved it so much, that I am even looking to relocate to Japan now to live there for atleast a few years.
I am a software engineer from germany in my early 20s with roughly 5.5 years of work experience.
I did quite some research on the availability of visas and I found out I do not cover the requirements, for the normal engineer working visa nor for the highly skilled visa, which are 10+ years of work experience or a university degree.
But I found out if I pass the so called PhilNITS exam, I can substitute the university degree requirement for the visa with it. The next one is held at the end of october this year, so still over half a year away from now.
​
So now to my question on why I posted here.
My current plan would be to go to Japan on a work and holiday visa, get setup in japan and than apply for a software engineer position in japan with that visa. Than attend and pass the PhilNITS exam in October and extend my stay with a normal work visa after one year.
I have enough money saved up to live over a whole year on my savings so I am not in a hurry to get a job instantly once I am in Japan as a sidenote.
​
My main question is, if any company would consider hiring for a full time position on a work and holiday visa, although I obviously would mention my intentions to stay longer on a work visa afterwards ?
Would being in Japan and already be setup with everything be a benefit in terms of getting a position, even if its only on a work and holiday visa or would it be easier to get a position if I stayed in germany and waited till I passed the exam and than apply from overseas afterwards ?
​
Also I am currently leaving my current employer in germany regardless, so I am not throwing away any career or anything over the attempt to relocate etc.
I also wouldn’t mind doing just a year traveling japan, if I cant land a job while doing work and holiday but I would heavily prefer getting a full time position and staying here for longer.
​
I would really love to hear about your opinions!
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This is unironically a great plan, actually.
> any company would consider hiring for a full time position on a work and holiday visa
They would – my first Japanese company hired me on one, and then switched me to a regular work visa later. This is imo a good way to get over the, “but you’re not in Japan” hurdle when it comes to getting your first job.
Re: PhilNITS, I know of at least one non-Filipino person who’s taken this route, but that was years ago and I don’t know if they’ve tightened any requirements.