Taking up a IT job at a US military base? Good or bad idea? What other options do I have?

5 comments

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

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   **Taking up a IT job at a US military base? Good or bad idea? What other options do I have?**

   So a bit of background. My mother is a Japanese Citizen but lives in the states, she has plenty of family in Tokyo. From age 5-12 I would go stay in Japan every summer and go to school there, so my language is conversational level but I need to brush up on reading, writing and more advanced conversations.

   Recently I took a trip to Japan for the first time as an adult and found that I’d like to live here for a while and re immerse myself with the Japanese culture that was lost when I stopped going to school there.

   I’m currently in the states and work in IT. On my recent trip, I met with a Japanese friend and expressed my interest in living here, he told me about some ways I can move to Japan – one of them being taking up a IT job at a US base. This intrigued me and was something I didn’t even consider. I could also technically get a sponsorship from a friend or family member for a spouse visa. My original plan was to get a remote US job and move to Japan on the spouse visa while investing in a few properties and assets in Japan that makes me tax compliant, but I’m considering if getting a job on base would be more beneficial for me?

   Question is where do you even find said US Base jobs? Is it even worth it? Any tips or advice for my situation would be greatly appreciated. Willing to hear alternative ways to move also. I just truly love Japan and would like to experience it on a deeper level.

   Thanks so much.

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2. I believe it’s at [https://www.usajobs.gov/](https://www.usajobs.gov/). also you’ll be under SOFA, so if you want credit towards Japanese prem residency credits or having a normal Japanese type life then this isn’t the way. But if Japan is temporary and you can get security clearance then it would be worth looking into, and they pay a lot.

3. All US government jobs are posted on USAjobs.com. Any government jobs that pays to move you over to Japan will only let you stay there for five years.

   The other way is to work for a defense contractor. Defense contractors may/may not pay for you to move to the area, and they may/may not have limits on how long you can stay (5 year rule).

   In both cases you’d need a robust background in IT to qualify, or some specialized skills that are in demand.

4. You say your mother is a Japanese national. Are you not Japanese yourself like a dual national?

   If for some reason you are not Japanese then you can qualify for spouse/child of a Japanese national. This visa allows you to live in Japan and do whatever work you want to do.

   Then the next natural stepping stone if you really want to stay in Japan is to get permanent residency, but that’s way down the line.

   No point tying yourself down to a particular job if you have the flexibility of a spouse/child visa

5. > So a bit of background. My mother is a Japanese Citizen but lives in the states, she has plenty of family in Tokyo. From age 5-12 I would go stay in Japan every summer and go to school there

   The first question to answer is….do you have Japanese citizenship? Did you receive both Japanese and American citizenship at birth?