I’m already in Japan, but I only have a few months left on my visa and feel pretty pessimistic about being able to find a job before then. MOFA tells me that the working holiday programme has now restarted, but I’m not sure how it would work in a situation like mine.
I meet all the other requirements (not having been involved with WHV’s before, etc), and if the worst comes to the worst am probably able to for whatever reason submit my application on the other side of the planet if need be, but for reasons I’d rather not go into here, I’d need it to be a visa *conversion*, rather than it being treated as two separate periods of residence.
I know that, formally, it can’t be done. I also know that there are a bunch of other visa manoeuvres that formally can’t be done but still happen in practice, such as JETs who find another job at the end of the programme and are able to get their work visa extended.
So, what’s the situation on the ground re: changing an existing visa to a WHV?
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I don’t know for sure, but the visa is intended for people who want to go to Japan primarily for tourism, so they might not allow it if they suspect you’re doing it to find work. Almost everyone with a WHV ends up working full time and doing little traveling though, as very few people can afford to spend a year in Japan without working full time, so maybe they won’t care.
Do you have the necessary funds in a bank account in your home country? I remember them being very strict with the bank statements. They were trying to prevent people who didn’t have enough money from borrowing it then immediately giving it back, so they required statements for the previous 3 months. It might look suspicious if the money is transferred in from a Japanese account.
If the WHV has a requirement that you have to be out of the country before you apply, then yeah it might be impossible on a continuous residence. Best thing to do is to ask immigration themselves. We can only go on our personal experiences here and sometimes yours will differ or rules will have changed.
Ask immigration about what you want to do, if it’s possible, and what necessary documents are required. If it’s possible they’ll give you the application papers and a list of stuff you need to submit.
> I’d need it to be a visa conversion, rather than it being treated as two separate periods of residence.
Not only do they not do that but WHV holders are not full residents but rather visitors who are allowed to work and open bank accounts. That’s why they pay ~20% income tax on any earnings. Pretty sure that would reset your “X years in a row required for PR” counter, which I assume is what you are trying to build up to by having one solid stretch of residency.
In general no, most WHV require a separate application and assume that you go through application of the COE first.
The reason that visa -> WHV -> visa conversion is generally not accepted because WHV is usually approved by embassies, not the MOJ. The MOJ has full control of processing application for extension of period of stay for most visas, but the MOJ does not really think WHV is completely under their scope of authority.
However I do not think it’s a 100% hard rule and it’s possible to do all of this without leaving Japan depending on your citizenship.
In my experience even your embassy and the MOJ are not able to provide consistent answers. So you will have to be very diligent reaching them out and give them what they need.
Most people end up opting to leave Japan for a few days for the reason of converting to and from WHV because it is still the most reliable option.
On a side note: If you are gunning for permanent residency or naturalization, a WHV will likely reset and recount your years. It’s another minor reason why most people don’t do it.