Hello everyone,
A bit of background, I came to Japan as an undergrad exchange student at Hokkaido University in April, graduated from my home universities in August (in Economy+Sociology and Maths+Engineering). I am French, speak English to a native level and have a business level of Japanese and Spanish.
I was supposed to do a research internship for 10 months at the University of Tokyo starting November, but the laboratory bailed on me just before contracts were supposed to be signed, and I now have nothing, with my visa expiring in one month. I have a long-term girlfriend in Tokyo and was about to sign a lease on an apartment.
I do not usually post but I am really at a loss, how could I stay in Japan the time to find something else, or how can I find another internship/ research opportunity in Tokyo that would allow me to stay? I have enough money saved up from past summer jobs to live for a year.
Thank you in advance.
6 comments
You may want to try reaching out to the CCIFJ which may know companies looking for interns, and AFJ which seems to have a solidarity team that may help with these kind of situations.
Out of curiosity what was the rationale they gave you for canceling the internship?
Get married.
Get a job with a big chain eikaiwa who will sponsor your visa?
With your visa expiring within a few weeks you’re kind of SOL.
You can look for a job during that time and/or apply for a designated activities visa that allows you extra time to wrap up loose ends and gives you a little more time to perhaps find a place of employment.
But with an expiring visa and no current visa application there’s not much you can do other than hope you can land a job fast enough or go home when it expires and start applying for jobs from your home country to return and have a LDR.
Probably don’t sign a lease on an apartment unless the GF is willing to pay the entire rents herself.
Don’t get married for the sake of an emergency visa. Or for a visa in general. That’s dumb and will almost always not turn out well.
When your visa expires can you leave the country and go to say Korea for a week then come back on a tourist visa and hustle yourself a job that will sponsor your visa? At the very least you buy yourself some time? (p.s. I dont know the ins and outs of the visa and resident status but thought the idea might work?)