I am currently working remotely on contract with a Japanese company that does not have a base in my country of residence. I intended to apply for a “Temporary Visitor” visa for business meetings (non-remunerative strictly) and tourism. Over the phone, the consulate general employee informed me that it would not be an issue and that I would need to elaborate everything in detail in the application. I did so keeping all of the known restrictions in mind.
However, when I submitted the application in person, the clerk, after consulting with the consul, informed me that they will not accept the application. The main reasons are that the Japanese company does not have an HQ in my residence country and my salary is in yen. Thus, I will not be able to enter Japan (even as a tourist) unless I receive a Certificate of Eligibility. Unfortunately this is impractical at the moment due to time constraints.
Has anyone faced a similar issue, particularly with a different result? Is there really no other recourse other than applying for a work visa with the Certificate of Eligibility?
2 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**”Temporary Visa” Application refused because I’m a remote worker for a Japanese firm – What now?**
I am currently working remotely on contract with a Japanese company that does not have a base in my country of residence. I intended to apply for a “Temporary Visitor” visa for business meetings (non-remunerative strictly) and tourism. Over the phone, the consulate general employee informed me that it would not be an issue and that I would need to elaborate everything in detail in the application. I did so keeping all of the known restrictions in mind.
However, when I submitted the application in person, the clerk, after consulting with the consul, informed me that they will not accept the application. The main reasons are that the Japanese company does not have an HQ in my residence country and my salary is in yen. Thus, I will not be able to enter Japan (even as a tourist) unless I receive a Certificate of Eligibility. Unfortunately this is impractical at the moment due to time constraints.
Has anyone faced a similar issue, particularly with a different result? Is there really no other recourse other than applying for a work visa with the Certificate of Eligibility?
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Do you need a visa?
There are about 70 countries where you don’t need one, but there are also special rules for certain countries and their workers, you could be in one of those catch-22s.
Honestly, your company should help you with this.