Hello, folks,
I am a final year PhD candidate at a national university. Living in Japan since Sept 2017 (2 year Masters + now PhD program). Zairyu Card valid till Nov 2024. I am slowly growing my side hustle and I want to take a break from my university to focus on my business. Problem is, if I take a leave of absence from my uni, my student visa becomes immediately invalid. I need to switch to another visa. I am told that I am not eligible for a “Job Hunting” visa (aka, the Designated Activities visa) as that is available only for students who graduate from their program (and not for folks who are taking a break mid-way). A “Business Manager” (経営・管理 Keiei Kanri) is NOT an option for me as I do not have the sufficient equity capital to show, spend on an expensive lawyer, etc.
Any tips for me on how to navigate this?
(A) I am considering registering a Kojin Jigyo (個人事業) for a sole proprietorship. However, I am not sure if this will help me find an alternate visa pathway?
(B) I am also wondering if I can hustle a few part-time contracts from different people (private one-on-one contracts) for content creation, English language teaching, etc., will work? Supposing I can get 3-4 contracts to show a monthly income of 250,000 yen or more. Not sure if a Freelance Worker visa is avaialble? (I mean a DIFFERENT visa category, NOT applying for a part-time work permit while on a student visa)
(C) Can I take a break from my uni and, simultaneously, apply at HelloWork for job search to buy time until I find sufficient part-time gigs? My Japanese language ability is poor and so my focus is purely on growing my business (not finding other jobs).
(D) I also came across this news story recently about Entrepreneur visas
[https://visaguide.world/news/japan-to-ease-residency-rules-for-foreign-entrepreneurs/](https://visaguide.world/news/japan-to-ease-residency-rules-for-foreign-entrepreneurs/)
\>> Any advice on what alternate visa categories I can consider?
\>> Any evidence trail I need to create ahead of my application? E.g., monthly income receipts, invoices for work done, etc., before I apply?
\>> Any leads for RELIABLE and AFFORDABLE Immigration Lawyers? I tried contacting a few, but they were not great and lukewarm on advice. I am perfectly fine with a paid consult.
Thank you so much to this hive mind!
1 comment
1. if you leave your program now you’ll never finish it. As someone with an ABD trust me, don’t do it.
2. yes you can string together a couple of part time gigs and apply for permission to work outside your visa while you’re doing those part time gigs – just expect it to be more “difficult”.
3. no, your student visa ends effectively 2 weeks after you leave your program.
4. IIRC the requirements for the entrepreneur visa are similar to the business manager visa which has a pretty big capital outlay and Japanese employee requirement but I ANAL. Also now that I’ve shared way to much personal information I’m not a lawyer either.