Hi, i arrived one month ago, went to school and all is good.
I have been working on a very big company in an IT job for about 6 years as a contractor (and have some more years doing the same work for other companies), I do not have a college degree, so I need to go for the 10 years of experience path.
So this company has a branch here in tokyo, but i am unsure how to procceed.
On internet i found that I HAVE TO GO TO IMMIGRATIONS WITH THE CONTRACT AND SOME OTHER COMPANY PAPERS but perhaps is better to hire a lawyer that can help with the change of visa status?
Anyone knows a lawyer that speaks english and specialices in working visas on Tokyo?
Very lost on what do I or my company have to do next.
Any further advice welcomed.
3 comments
If this is a “very large IT company” as you say, HR should be able to help you with that. If not, you can call the immigration hotline and ask them as for how to proceed.
It’s a bit unrelated but I’ve had to apply for a designated activities visa because I graduated in fall and had a job starting in spring, so needed a visa for the inbetween months, HR and immigration were very helpful.
Remember, immigration is there to help you, not just chase you out.
You have already finished school / studies and now want to change from student visa to working visa? Is this correct? Or do you want to do part time work while studying? Coz you have mentioned you are have only been here for a month.
If it’s just working part-time while studying, it’s just an easy process. You may ask from your school the form that you need to submit to Immigration allowing you to do part time work.
I can’t see any information in your question saying the company has actually offered you a job in the Japan office, so the first step is to get that in writing.
If they have agreed to hire you in Japan, and is willing to sponsor your visa, then the company HR will provide information about next steps. Some companies send you to an immigration agent and others give some documents which you bring to immigration department yourself.
I also went down the student to work visa path, and my company’s HR department provided completed forms including job description (職務内容証明書), application for change in status of residence (在留資格変更許可申請書) and company information. All I had to do was bring them with my passport, residence card, and some spare ID photos to immigration.