Going to preface this with my situation for clarity:
Recently just went through a bad breakup. Fiance, who I’d been with for 5 years, and who I was supposed to be getting married to in a few weeks, cheated on me with a coworker she met 3 weeks prior to said cheating.
At the same time I was supposed to be swapping my work contract from a contract company to a direct contract with my company. I just recently renewed my working visa in July, and the contract company sent in documents to immigration for a change of employment request that would start in September.
After everything that has happened I really just want to leave Japan for the time being and see my family who I haven’t been able to see in 4 years, and put all of this behind me, but at the same time I want to be able to work in Japan in the future if I feel I want to.
However, the contract company is telling me that if I quit so soon after renewing my working visa and return to the US, it could affect my ability to get a working visa again in the future.
I’m wondering if there’s any truth to this, and if so, could someone direct me to some documentation detailing this? Or if someone has been in a similar situation (or knows someone who has been in a similar situation) where they had to cancel their work visa after renewing it, was there any difficulty in getting a working visa in the future?
10 comments
Go to your local labor center
That sucks, sorry to hear. Without sounding condescending you’re probably very emotional right now and it’s amplifying your feelings of missing home and family. I’d advise you try to take some extended leave soon to go home but not cancel your visa. Being home may be great but after a few months you may really regret throwing away your way to work and live here. Especially once the heartbreak is over. Just my ¥2.
You can can an appointment with an immigration lawyer for about ¥5000/hour, explain your situation. I’m pretty sure that they will tell you that it isn’t a big issue as long as you are not breaking the law. I bet they won’t even want to see you because they can answer in a couple of minutes. If you learn something useful it will be money well spent.
As for your fiancé. It’s none of my business but my hunch is that she had doubts about going through with the marriage, possibly for some time and this act of cheating is an act of self sabotage to give herself an excuse not to go ahead with it. Humans can do extreme things when they feel under pressure.
Sometimes Japanese employers are not very kind about mental welfare issues but if you go through a traumatic experience it all adds up so it’s OK to take care of yourself. If possible don’t make life-changing decisions for 6 months.
Nobody knows for a fact based on what criteria immigration approves or denies visa because they have never been made public afaik (apart from very basic ones like “earn money, pay your taxes” and “don’t be a criminal”).
So the good news is that your contract company is likely talking out of their ass, the bad news is that no one can tell you for certain how to proceed. Maybe talk to the labor center or an immigartion lawyer for peace of mind, but don’t expect them to give you a clear and definitive answer because nobody has one.
You are going through a lot right now and it may all seem very daunting. My advice would be to take a few days/weeks off until you are calmer and then decide what you want to do. For me, the darkest thoughts usually come when I am alone so try to go out and talk to people.
IANAL but I’ve never heard of this being a problem. Plenty of folks leave shortly after a visa renewal. Immigration is more concerned with the opposite scenario, overstays.
Don’t let your current emotional state cause you to make a bad decision that could make things more complicated for you over the long run.
Sorry to hear about your situation.
AFAIK this is not the case. As long as you tick the boxes for a new visa, you should be fine. To me, this sounds like the company trying to make you feel guilty or pressure you into staying.
Ask the city hall
Best of luck. I went through a similar situation in the past. Dating and living with a jp ex for 6 years. 2 months after? our engagement she cheated with a coworker at a nomikai. We had to continue living with each other for another 5 months … it was rough. In the end she even wanted to get back together but I wouldn’t allow that. During the time of being broken up and still living with each other I met my wife. I’m happy that I didn’t leave everything due to one person.
Ask for unpaid leave at your current company, talk to your manager f2f, if they are anyhow reasonable, you can get maybe 1 month. If needed, invent some medical scare that your parents are going though.
In summary, take care of #1 first, only think about possible future in Japan later.