Planning a trip this fall with the intent to enter on a working holiday and then switch onto a specified skill worker visa working in agriculture after a few months. If I apply for a type (ii)SSW visa after 2-3 years, could I then go through the naturalization process after working as a seishain for 5 years?
I'll be entering Japan at 26, I have no issues renouncing my Canada/Trinidad dual citizenship, and have passed the N2. I have no plans to start a family but am very interested in involving myself in the local community/culture and purchasing property whether it be in the inaka or somewhere like Chiba. While my family is located in Canada, my interests/hobbies align 100% with Japan and I don't see myself comfortably retiring here considering the housing market. Is my plan even possible or am I missing something?
The back up plan is to come back to Canada after 6 months-1 year and get a bachelor's degree so that I could apply for the JET program. This would unfortunately use up a significant amount of time and money which makes me very reluctant.
by shinzheru
6 comments
>I’ll be entering Japan at 26, I have no issues renouncing my Canada/Trinidad dual citizenship
You’re going to renounce your Canadian citizenship to work a shitty slave-labor fieldhand job in Japan?
***WHY?***
You don’t sound like you have any plan beyond “Be in Japan”, and you’re talking about using a program known for literal human rights abuses to do that.
Before you start thinking about citizenship you need to think about shorter term solutions like “Not turning yourself into slave labor just to be in Japan”.
You qualify for a WHV. Use that. See how much you enjoy actually living/working in Japan. It’s fairly clear that you have an idealized view of the country, and the WHV is a good way to see if that view matches reality.
If you decide you want to live in Japan longer term, find a way to do so that isn’t the SSW program. It is not aimed at you, and you will not enjoy the experience in the slightest. It might even literally kill you. Yes, SSW workers have died. Quite a few of them.
Technically, you can naturalize from an SSW(ii) visa.
That said, there’s a reason why the information on that visa (SSW(i) and SSW(ii)) is offered mostly in languages of poorer countries: It’s designed to bring cheap labour into Japan. They only opened up a path to permanent residence/naturalization with SSW(ii) after it was pointed out that expecting people to work shitty exploitative jobs just to not have any perspective of staying in Japan might be *no bueno*, iirc.
Have you ever been to Japan? Why not come here first on the Working Holiday Visa and decide whether it’s really worth it working like that just for the chance of living in Japan after that?
Are you also aware of the requirements to get an SSW visa and do you have knowledge in agriculture? I’m not sure the test is available in any language besides Japanese inside Japan btw, so that might be something to consider as well.
Never minding what everyone else has said, if you come to Japan at 26 on an SSW visa and stay here and survive long enough to gain citizenship, you’ll be 31 or 32 when you achieve it. With no formal education and with the last five years of your work experience being picking carrots in a field, what kind of future job or career prospects are you expecting to have?
For your information, OP, [the Specified Skills Worker (ii) category is only offered for the construction and shipbuilding industries](https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/content/930005373.pdf).
You would also need to pass exams regarding “(cultivation management, collection/shipping/sorting of agricultural products, etc.)” which may be somewhat outside the wheelhouse of passing part-time experience with farming as a kid in summer camp.
Lastly, you assuredly would be hired on a contract basis as a farmer, not as a seishain. You could theoretically obtain permanent employment (seishain status) after 5 years if you used the (ii) category, but the company could also just choose not to renew your contract as happens with ALTs.
If you have a degree why not try teaching English? It sounds a lot more practical than being a SSW worker
finally i found a thread a content like this, i would like to ask for my friend from indonesia , what i saw from all comment in this thread, some point i still didnt get it , i knew you (Open thread) from canada and WFH from japan are allowable (indonesia still unavailable)… about WFH , ok forget it because he is from indonesia… he came here with SSW (i) Building maintenance … he told to me , if after work 5 years work in japan with SSW visa , he cant declare neutralized , because his friend has worked 5 years in japan as SSW visa , but cant declare the neutralized and need some important point to apply as such previous comment or samething and Work as SSW (i) didnt counted as to requirement staying 5 years in japan . (i dont know the truth about his friend , maybe not enough the POINT from MOJ mean or somewhat)
any clue or some suggestion about this? sorry for my leak knowledge this.