Seeking British citizen visa advice!

3 comments

1. This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.

   —

   **Seeking British citizen visa advice!**

   Hi all,

   I’ve got a job as an ALT in Japan, starting next March. I’ll be living with my boyfriend (who’s Japanese). As a British citizen, I can enter Japan as a tourist for up to 90 days without a visa. Does anyone know if it’s possible to enter Japan on a tourist visa prior to my work visa start date? Would I have to leave and enter again with the work visa?
   E.g. If the work visa starts from March 1st, could I enter on February 1st as a tourist and then switch to the work visa?

   Or could I ask my company to date the visa earlier, even if the job won’t start til March?

   If anyone has any experience of this, please let me know!

   *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/movingtojapan) if you have any questions or concerns.*

2. >Does anyone know if it’s possible to enter Japan on a tourist visa prior to my work visa start date?

   Yes, you don’t have to activate your visa when you arrive. But you’d need to explain to the individual during the landing inspection that you don’t want to activate your visa yet. They may not speak any English so it could be a challenge.

   >Would I have to leave and enter again with the work visa?

   Yes. Outside of specific circumstances you can’t change your status from tourist to anything else. You don’t have to go far though. A quick hop to Korea or Taiwan would be enough.

   Keep in mind as well that you’d need to enter while both your CoE and your visa are valid, which usually means it’s not a particularly large window of time.

3. As a British citizen you can enter Japan for 180 days without a visa.