Wife may be getting job in Japan how can I follow

8 comments

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

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   **Wife may be getting job in Japan how can I follow**

   Wife is getting offered a job in Okinawa that would start in February if she chooses to go with it.

   We are a family of three. The job will take care of her visa and walk her through it all. My daughter could get a dependent visa and go to international school or regular Japanese school.

   However I am worried about me. I am in the IT field and have been for 3 years. I have no bachelor’s degree only an associates. I am of Japanese decent but its been a few generations.

   I understand I could get a dependant visa but I would love to continue working at my current job as I am sure they would offer me remote work. I know it’s limited to 28 hours and I wouldn’t want to do that and pay double taxes. I also know there is no way for them to know I am working remote. I do like to follow the rules as well, don’t bite the hand that feeds.

   I currently speak very little Japanese as well so I am not sure I could get a job there to sponsor me.

   My wife will be getting around 8mil and housing assistance.

   Would we even be able to afford for me to say go to school(online us) and possible japanese language school while there?

   Could I get any other visa to help with this?

   To us it’s an insane opportunity and we have visited the country and enjoyed it.

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2. So my family made a similar move a couple years ago. Unfortunately it’s been hard for my husband to find a job (even though he has a BA, but he doesn’t want to teach English)— he’s done some part time work, but has mostly been learning the language, volunteering in our community, and acting as backup childcare for our preschooler.

   It’s not ideal, but my salary allows us to live comfortably even on one salary (note: kid is not in international schools, those cost a lot and would impact us more). 8 mil yen goes a lot farther in Japan than a similar salary in the US.

3. You will not be double taxed working remotely because of tax treaties between the US and Japan. While you must file in both countries and pay your Japanese taxes, on the US side, you will get everything back as you can exempt the first 120,000 USD from your federal taxes. Generally I’ve found that I break about even between what I pay in Japan and what I get back from the US. But also note that some states require you to pay state income tax if you are paid from within their state regardless of where you physically live.

   BTW, you wife will have to file taxes in the US as well since all US citizens need to file, even though she is working for a foreign company. Though again, the 120,000 tax credit means she owes 0 to the US government, it’s just paperwork

   But one thing about the dependent visa is that 28 hour work week but also, you can’t make more than your spouse(not sure how low you need to be). which can start throwing a wrench into things when taking into account the inflated US income levels and the currently weak yen and high exchange rate. If you break either of those rules, you may find yourself without a dependent visa.

   EDIT: Just saw this…

   > I also know there is no way for them to know I am working remote.

   Don’t do this. If caught and removed from Japan, it can mean losing access to the Visa Waiver Program which would mean even a simple international trip now requires gaining a visa for any country you are visiting and possible denial because of your actions.

4. This is a tough situation as I completely empathise with your desire to continue working so you don’t lose out on a worthwhile skill set. There is something known as the Japanese descent VISA which you are probably eligible for, but I would speak to a lawyer that specialises in this (You can find them on LinkedIn). With this you won’t be reliant on your wife’s VISA and will be able to work without restriction. You will also need to speak to said lawyers regarding working remotely for your current company.

5. > Would we even be able to afford for me to say go to school(online us) and possible japanese language school while there?

   Yes and yes.

   > I know it’s limited to 28 hours and I wouldn’t want to do that and pay double taxes.

   No, you would not be doubly taxed. The US and Japan have a tax treaty which prevents this. You will pay taxes to Japan and then file your US taxes normally; it’s unlikely you’ll cross the threshold for a couple (which was like $244k for a married couple filing jointly) where you’d have to pay more taxes.

   8 mil in Okinawa is GOOD. REALLY good. Much better than most of the prefecture, which is among Japan’s poorest. You’ll be absolutely fine. Hell, you don’t have to work on that salary — so language school is a good option, but I’d personally work on a degree so you could get your own work visa down the line.

6. I’ve faced this situation and can DM you my experience if you want more information.

   Technically you’re legally able to stay in Japan through your wife, but the dependent visa (and other visas) really only considers working for Japanese companies. There are some documents and requirements you’d need to provide in order to be approved to work as a dependent which are difficult to acquire if you don’t work for one (besides the absurd hour and salary restrictions). In other words, your situation is mostly a grey area in the law.

   Also, temporary residents (non-PR) don’t have to declare any income that doesn’t enter Japan. So if you’re able to only live here on your wife’s salary, it’s one less thing you would need to worry about.

   To be safe, it’s best to speak to an immigration lawyer as the law is very unclear for remote workers.

7. The biggest difficulty is to actually get the visa, if you’re married and get the dependent visa then there’s no problem anymore, you can just go and work remotely as usual.

   Then you’ll have to file for taxes and stuff but as people said you’ll get them back from the US and I’m not American but in my country it takes 5 minutes every year to fill the form in the website

8. You can try at the local military base if you’re close but with just an Associates and only 3 years of experience, which would only be support/admin, you’re gonna have a hard time.