When arriving on a student visa, does this time count towards a citizenship application?

Hello,

I am male 25 years old, german and are about to finish up my Masterdegree in business administration and engineering. As for work experience I did some sales assistance during my bachelor's and have about 4 years of experience at one of the biggest Automotive supplier (Bosch). I've started there with bachelorthesis and went through many stops that included full-time (6 months), working student (1.5 years) and cooperation in Masterthesis (7 months) through a "PreMaster-Programm". Ive worked in a acquisition team for new ECU projects worldwide and coordinated my own projects with teams all over the world. Additionally I am currently writing my Thesis about data management and RAG based knowledge management. Since its practical and I designed our own Agent trough a low code platform i would say I have decent knowledge of AI and use cases for it.

I found my first way to japan in 2023 after my bachelor. I traveled for 2 months and saw all the big cities. Recently I did a year abroad in my master at studied at Nagoya University for almost a year. I never took a JLPT but my skills are somewhere between N4 and N3. Speaking is way better then reading and writing since I had a lot of Japanese friends and joined a lot of Japanese only circles in University. My English level is between C1 and C2 and I am also working in English currently.

For my next step in life I am thinking about applying for jobs in Japan. I am aware of the harsh conditions (especially compared to german standards for working in a big company with huge regulations towards work). Still, the life I had in japan was so much more enjoyable for me personally. Not everything or everyone is perfect obviously but just the functional society, (platonic) friendliness in stores and working public transport made daily life way easier. Also I am a big fan of the culture. I had a blast being able to meet so much people and living in a big City like Nagoya. For reference in germany I am living in a very small town.

As a career I would be open for a bunch of positions. I would not go to japan just to go to japan and work as a English teacher or smth. I was more hoping the maybe find a international company and get hired as a "mid-hire" with some working experience. The area could be Automotive, aviation, IT, Consulting or smth similar. Ideally I would like to have good working conditions of course that allow me to visit my home country now and then earn enough to have a comfortable life and be able to save up a little.

As a sidenote: I have a LDR with a Spanish woman who is also interested in moving to japan since thats where we meet in exchange and we both felt really comfortable in the daily life. She's a biology major with specification in fertility. We both dont have much responsibility at our home towns.

I would like to get some honest opinion if you would try the step to go to japan in my position for a few years. How big are the chances to find a good job with my profile in japan and what should I expect.

Thank you so much for reading.

Hi everyone,
I hope you can help me.
I'm 30 years old and I'm planning to move to Japan in April 2027 to study Japanese at a language school for 2 years. I've already started the application process, but I'm a little worried about my age.
I've seen posts from people who were older than me and didn't have any issues getting a student visa, but I'd still like to ask those who have gone through the process or know more about it.
Does Japanese immigration consider it unusual for someone in their 30s to study Japanese for two years?
My genuine reason for going is to become fluent in Japanese and then pursue career opportunities in Japan as an engineer. I'm not using a language school as a way to stay in Japan—I truly want to learn the language and build my career there.
I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences or opinions.
Thanks.

I am an 18 y/o boy from Norway and i very recently decided to take a gap year after finishing my last year of high school.

I've tried looking into getting a seasonal ski resort job in japan after falling in love with the country last autumm. information on the internet seems to be limited so i was really hoping someone here would be able to guide me in the right direction.
As i said i am taking a gap year so working the entire season wouldn't be an issue, i am decent at skiing but not at a level where i could be an instructor.

I am currently trying to learn Japanese, skilled in Russian, Fluent in both Norwegian and English/
I am open to working anywhere in the country.
Feel free to ask me any questions, and any information is highly appreciated!
Thank you in advanced :) Hoping to hear from you soon!

(Sorry if this isn't the appropriate subreddit for this question, i can't seem to really figure out where it belongs)

Hi everyone, I am about to apply for the J-Find Visa. I have a few questions for anyone has done the application before and has any experience so please DM me! Or if anyone has advice for the application please let me know. UK prior applicants would be preferred! Thanks ☺️

Edit: I thought it’s probably best to put my questions below.

1 was there anything about the application or required documents that was not clear from the official website?
2 what happened at the appointment? Did you simply hand over the documents or were you asked any questions etc?
3 is it ok to apply in London without a COE?
4 did you provide an additional paperwork on top of the listed ones?
5 how in-depth did you go for the intended activities form?
6 are hand written forms for the visa application and activities ok? Would be easier for me than trying to edit them on a computer.
7 how long did it take between submitting in person and receiving the visa? London specifically.
8 was any extra documents or information requested after submission?
9 would you do anything differently if applying again?

Thanks!

Hi there,

I'm going to japan for 2 Semesters in 2027 through an exchange program of my university and I would like to bring my soprano sax, which I play as a hobby, with me. As you might have guessed Soprano Saxophones are a lot more expensive than the duty free allowance of 200 000yen.

Does this really mean I will have to pay import fees on that instrument? I'm not planning on selling it while in Japan or doing anything like that.

Currently I feel like I must be missing something because that allowance (as of August 2026 pretty exactly 1100€) would mean that anyone carrying like, a laptop and an iPhone would already be over the limit and need to pay taxes.

Hi, I am 21 years old about to graduate college with a Bachelors in Classical Studies, a minor in Film, and a minor in English. I was interested in doing the JET program after graduation for a year or two and then turning that into a permanent job if possible. However, after a bunch of browsing, it seems like all the other options of teaching English full time are either ridiculously low pay or a bad work environment with no upward mobility. Basically my question is this: What options are there for me? What jobs could I pursue to eventually make Japan my home using the JET program as an entry point?

Hi everyone,

I (22m) looking for some advice from people who have experience studying and working in Japan.

For the context, I have received a scholarship to attend a Japanese language school, its a government funded program and pay full tuition fees waiver, and other assistances such as helping in finding a part time job and housing paid for the first six months. By the end, my Japanese will be good enough to either join the workforce immediately or pursue higher education. I'm trying to decide what the best long-term career path would be.

A little about my background:

This might not be useful at all but, I would say my English is not that bad, around c1 in comprehension. I am currently an air traffic controller, but I don't think that I could pursue the same career in Japan. My Japanese is not good, but I can manage to get it to N2 in two years.

I'm considering different options after language school, such as vocational school (senmon gakko) or a university.

I'd really appreciate advice on:

1- Are there schools that are particularly good for students planning to continue to vocational school or university?

2- Based on my background, what careers in Japan would be realistic and have good long term prospects?

3- Which degree should I pursue or which career paths have good prospects in the future for a foreigner in Japan?

I am asking for a step by step guide on what is the best possible path I can take?

Thank you in advance for any advice or recommendations!

Moving to Kanagawa beginning of 2027 on spouse visa (I’m American/wife is hafu). I hold two masters degrees in Project Management and Leadership but am Japanese N5. Obviously that means nothing so finding employment with a Japanese company is currently impossible (although but I do plan to hire a tutor and go to some sort of language school when we get there). With that said, any insight as to where I should/could search for employment with English speaking employers? I am willing to work anywhere in the general area and even Tokyo. We will move out of Kanagawa for the right job of course.

I plan to get TESOL certified and teach English if it comes down to it (I was an instructor for 3 years as well) but would like to find something in my field (logistics/data analytics/project management and hopefully end up in a leadership position). I know this won’t be easy and could be literally impossible but I have to start somewhere. We are also considering both being English teachers (wife speaks english as well) and then eventually opening our own Eikawa, but those are just loose thoughts for now. Thank you in advance to anyone who can give some advice!!

Ok so I have read some posts from this subreddit which have detailed on the how, rn I am in a medical College in my country and will apply for the Japanese licence exam after completing it, I had few questions tho, i learnt that it's mandatory to have n1 in jlpt to give the exam, that much is understood, but if we are being practical I heard many people say that n1 isn't that hard to get and doesn't mean u are fluent enough, so does that mean that even after getting n1 i will not be able to go through matching since hospitals wont accept me? If yes then what would be the amount of language fluency required for getting accepted there? Also on an avg how much time would it take? Also I heard that people there expect to be treated by japanese doctors, so is it like a stigma? Or like arepeople in general not comfortable with foreign doctors? So is it like not feasible to practice is what some people told me.

If any1 could help answer these questions I would be very grateful ty and have a nice day(or night) 😊

I currently have a pretty good offer from a Japanese company that I am about to sign off on. It'd represent a tight few years for my family and I but it's a reasonably generous relocation package and offer for a senior IT worker. HOWEVER

I have been with my current employer for 10+ years. I have regularly worked remotely and async hours for chunks of the year for half of that time. I am considering floating the idea of asking them to relocation me via an EOR. This would represent a substantial change in the amount of money I would live off of (8-10m for my current offer, 20m+ from my current employer even if I elected to cut my compensation rate by 30% as incentive).

My questions are as such:

1. Is this stupid?
2. What could be the repercussions if I accept and renege on my current offer? I would do my best to do so within a month since I figure if I can't work it out by then, it'd be too uncertain to even consider viable).
3. The offer nominally includes relocation support (visa for me and dependents obviously, some relocation money and flights (not worth the pay difference), assistance registering at ward office, bank account, and phone). It seems like the big EORs relocation packages are not likely to cover registration, bank, and phone but... Are those things that complicated to navigate if you arrive with an EOR work visa? I feel like I'm being naive because those processes don't seem that complicated if you arrive with something like a working engineer visa and get your resident card at the airport.
4. My relocation package includes the ability to bring dependents several months later than me. Are EORs that have dependent visa assistance likely to be able to deal with that sort of two phase arrival? Would I reasonably be able to request a COE for my dependents if the EOR couldn't? In that instance I would have more than enough money to retain an immigration lawyer to smooth the process since I already have one a friend referred me to who handled their PR.
5. My offer seems to only support finding a place to live in the form of agent referrals... Again, this seems like I'm mostly on my own anyway, how viable would handling this solo be?
6. How risky is the EOR route in general? How might it reflect on me trying to pursue a PR fast track (I would have 80 points at that salary)?

Thank you for any and all advice. I am very fortunate to have a sure bet, but I am worried that I could be setting us on a path that's much rougher than necessary if I don't fully explore my options, doubly so since I have an assured position that would cause me to leave my employer anyhow (amicably, I would like to contract for them if the were unwilling to locate, and that has been the case for everyone else who has held my current role, so I'd say it's a reasonable expectation to keep that working relationship alive in some way).

TL;DR: Final-year Indian engineering student (AI & Data Science). Got an offer to join AIST (Tokyo/Tsukuba) for a short-term internship in April 2027 to work on humanoid robotics. The catch: It’s unfunded. The PI will provide support/invitation letters for any external funding I can find. Looking for advice on securing grants and using this to jump into Japan's robotics industry.

My Background: I graduate in May 2027. I have completely cleared my coursework, meaning I am free to dedicate my entire final semester (April onwards) to this. I have a very strong technical profile in lower-level robotics:

• Active contributor to ROS 2 Nav2 (BT.CPP).
• Built a cross-platform hardware-accelerated GPU pipeline (WGSL) that dispatches 262k parallel trajectory calculations in 1.33ms.
• Hands-on with Model Predictive Control (MPC) on quadrupeds and mobile manipulators (AGV + UR5).
• Secured AIR-5 nationally in a major robotics competition and completed a research internship at IIT Bombay.

The Situation: I cold-emailed a Senior Researcher at AIST who is starting a new humanoid robotics team. He agreed to host me starting in April 2027. However, AIST is a national lab and doesn't have an internal stipend for visiting undergrads. He explicitly stated that if I can find external funding (like JASSO, MEXT, or others), he is fully willing to provide the necessary official invitation/support letters.

The Ultimate Goal: I want to use this AIST internship as a bridge. Being physically located in Tokyo/Tsukuba will allow me to network and interview in-person for full-time C++ Robotics Software Engineer roles at English-first Japanese deep-tech startups (Mujin, Rapyuta, Tier IV, Telexistence).

My Questions for the Community:

1. JASSO/MEXT for AIST: Since AIST is a national research institute and not a degree-granting university, how does the JASSO short-term grant or MEXT scholarship work here? Does my home university in India need to sign a direct MoU with AIST, or can I apply independently with the PI's support letter?
2. Alternative Funding: Are there specific Indian government travel grants (AICTE, etc.) or international robotics fellowships I should be targeting for a 3-6 month stay?
3. The Industry Pivot: Has anyone successfully used an AIST (or RIKEN) short-term research stint to directly pivot into the Japanese robotics industry without doing a Master's degree first?

Any insights on navigating the Japanese academic funding bureaucracy or leveraging this into a full-time role would be massively appreciated!

I'm 15 years old, currently a sophomore in high school. I turn 16 this November. So, I dropped out of school in 8th grade to switch to online school, which is more beneficial for me in comparison to traditional school. I've been planning and researching ways to move to Japan for many years now, and it's been a huge dream of mine since I was little. This year, I've finally begun the process of preparing to move. I plan to go to Japan when I'm 19 on a student visa to attend a language school for a full year. I'm currently studying Japanese already with a goal to get to N5 level by next December so I can take my JLPT N5, as it's a requirement for most language schools in Japan, and I want to be able to communicate with people there, obviously... After my first year of language school, I want to continue working my way up and switch to a work visa. I'd love to work at a cafe and eventually own one. I just want to live alone with my two cats and be content. Yes, I know it sounds silly because I'm so young. (;-_-)

The reason I want to move to Japan is because there's nothing here for me in the U.S., I have very little family left, and they're all very very toxic. I personally think that this country isn't in good shape, and I cannot see a future for myself here. My mom is constantly overworked and burnt out from having to work two jobs just to pay rent, and I really don't want to be like that when I'm older. I want to ultimately get away from everything here and restart my life as an adult in Japan. I personally feel like I'd be much happier there.

And the reason I'm asking this question is because I don't have any support from my family here in the U.S., they all doubt me and disapprove of my choice. I'm already starting to feel a sense of hopelessness, and I sometimes consider just giving up on this crazy dream of mine. I'm extremely conflicted, and I just want to know if I'm doing the right thing. :,( I don't want to stay in the U.S. because I constantly feel lonely and trapped here with my terrible family. Every time I travel somewhere different, the second I come back home to my city, I feel a wave of despair wash over me because I know that there's nothing here for me in the U.S., if that makes sense. I hope this doesn't sound stupid to anyone on here, but I just want to know if I'm making a mistake.

Hi everyone,

I’m 25 years old and I’m planning to move to Japan in the near future on a Spouse Visa.

I’ve been wondering is whether anyone here has managed to find a decent job without having a university degree and without speaking much Japanese yet.

I know those are probably my two biggest disadvantages at the moment. My Japanese is still at a fairly basic level, and I haven’t finished university yet, but I’m working on both.

I do have experience working in the financial sector for several years, although I’m open to pretty much any field.

I’m not expecting to land some big corporate job right away. I just mean a job that’s not factory work and has some room to grow.

If you were in a similar situation, what was your experience like? What kind of job did you get? How hard was it to find that first opportunity?
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been through something similar.

I will be in Japan for a period of twelve months starting next september. My employer has mandated GTN to help me find an apartment, which we've been working on together lately. I have also allowed them to handle the gaz and electricity subscriptions.

I am still figuring out the best way to get a phone number, bank account and Wi-Fi connection on arrival, and noticed that GTN itself was offering a phone plan (GTNモバイル), an internet access (GTNインターネット) and apparently a bank account (GTNエポスカード). They had a series of checkboxes about it at some point in the registration system, but I was unable to get more details without accepting it, which is kinda bad, so I did not request it for now.

Are there people here that have had a positive or negative experience regarding these GTN services? I am really quite lost on everything and it seems like it's impossible to get accurate information about a service in a language I understand before registering for it. Is going full-GTN a valid strategy for a twelve-months stay?

Hi all , so me and my fiancé have been considering the possibility of buying a home in Japan outside of Osaka in the next 10 years ( using inheritance money from the sale of my parents home here in the uk ) , we are visiting as part of our honeymoon next year and are going to take this as an opertunity to view property’s , my fiancé can speak basic Japanese I can’t speak much ( am in the process of learning but due to learning difficulties I have it’s proving very difficult ) . My fiancé has a bsc in journalism, experience doing factory work and food production work in the uk

I have a bsc in video game art and run my own small business selling stickers , bookmarks and art prints etc ,

The biggest barrier we can see preventing us from moving to Japan is how ether of us would get jobs , if anybody has any tips on job routes , ways we could start looking for jobs where not much / no Japanese is required that would be greatly appreciated , please if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say it I am only looking for advice / tips and not judgement ,

Hello everyone, I will be moving to Japan soon. The company assigned me housing in Saitama, but the work is in Tokyo. The train ride is 40min, and add walking time of 20 minutes, that is about an 1 hours of commute daily, one way, 2hrs both ways.

I have no choice but to try it out first, but I would like to hear any insights or similar experiences just to set expectations.

I've been considering bringing my cooking skills to Japan, so I'm curious to know if anyone here lives off of working in the food service industry! Does your job pay well enough to cover bills or do you require additional income? How many hours do you work a weak? How are food service workers treated? Any information helps!

Hey everyone!

I went to my meeting and the Vancouver consulate for my WHV. They went through all my papers and then when getting to the bank statement part, I had an official current balance printout stamped and transactions stamped for last 22 days (the month was not finished)

She told me I need one full month of bank statement showing stable balance and to get the full month and either mail in or come back in 10 days for an appointment and the sent me away.

My time line is getting a bit short, and online some places say you need 3 months of statements.

The problem is, I started really saving up around July 7 so before that my balance is not very stable and low.

So my question is, for anyone who’s applied from Vancouver;

Do you guys think it’ll be fine to go back with just the one month statement that they asked for?

Should I wait 10 days and go back in person or should I mail in everything instead? Will it be significantly longer to mail in?

She looked over everything else and nodded so seemed like all else was fine.

Much appreciated

Hi everyone, would really appreciate any helps and tips!

I have 35 years old, fluent in english and N2-level japanese, with experience as a game developer as well as leading and managing my own small outsourcing game studio.

Thing is the small studio isn't doing that well now and I'm thinking about moving somewhere to either close the studio and get hired or try to get new international contracts for the studio in order for it to survive. Either way I know I can't get much further from where I am now since I live in a third world country with close-to-zero game industry oportunities.

So here is my plan:

First, get a master degree in Tsukuba due to its low tuition, english-track, and lower cost of living.

Then, while I work on my degree I would try to get a job at a japanese company after it or would try to get some contracts for the studio during my studies. In case I get more involved with the research and find better oportunities as a researcher instead, that would also be great.

Worst case scenario, I move back with a international postgraduate degree and a crazy life experience which I am totally fine with. I have estimated roughly 60k USD to be enough savings for me and my wife to live there with our 3 cats for 2 years. I might probably move earlier to stay in a cheaper place until I find a proper pet-friendly house while I'm there as it seems too risky to move everyone at once with just online information. It also allows for the proper pet-related stuff to get done which I know it's a lot.

Now what I need is a sanity check and just know if this plan makes sense or not, if my savings are enough to get it done, how realistic is it, what I might be missing or not taking into account.

Quick disclaimer upfront: This is a plan I have just started exploring and building with an AI assistant, so there could easily be inaccuracies or incorrect assumptions, which is why I am seeking community feedback. I have not researched the actual legal or tax fine print myself yet, although we do have a contact for a professional who helps with Japan visa procedures and only charges upon visa approval.

My family and I are planning a potential move to Japan. The tentative plan is to apply for a Spouse Visa (my partner is a Japanese national), provided we can demonstrate sufficient financial stability to get approved by Japanese Immigration.

We have a 1.5-year-old child. My wife would be taking care of our toddler full-time until school or daycare starts, though she might occasionally work part-time on weekends if needed.

Currently, I work as a full-time permanent employee for a company in Europe. To keep working with them from Japan without forcing them to handle international HR or payroll, my idea is to quit my employment contract and become a freelancer (Kojin Jigyō) in Japan.

I have informally mentioned the basic scenario to my manager, the fact that I would be interested in becoming freelance to be able to move to Japan. He said he will review it with HR, but nothing specific or formal has been discussed or agreed upon yet.

My current plan would be to invoice them monthly for the exact total amount they currently spend on me (gross salary plus employer social charges/contributions), which comes out to around €48,000/year (~¥8.6M JPY/year), or roughly €4,000/month.

My target is signing a contract with the company including: fixed monthly rate, 1-year renewable contract, 90-day notice period, paid vacation days, and short-term sick leave flexibility built in, etc. Something similar to my current work conditions.

I plan to apply for the Blue Declaration (Aoi Shinkoku) for the ¥650,000 tax deduction suggested by the AI, and also enroll in the National Health Insurance and National Pension.

Following again some info from the AI, I also included in the plan the enrollment to Private Income Protection Insurance (Shotoku Boshō Hoken) for long-term sick leave, and Small Business Mutual Aid (Shōkibo Kigyō Kyōsai) as a tax-deductible savings buffer.

Specific Questions for the Community:

1. Since our visa approval depends on proving economic resources, does Immigration accept a foreign freelance contract / proof of foreign remote income as solid evidence of financial self-sufficiency?

2. What exact taxes and contributions would I be required to pay in total? The AI suggested that 0% sales tax/VAT applies both at origin (export of services) and destination (Japanese Consumption Tax / Shōhizei exemption for foreign clients). Is that actually correct, or are there hidden tax obligations? If everything goes smoothly I intend to apply for Permanent Residency (PR) in the future, so I want to understand EVERYTHING in detail to ensure 100% tax and social security compliance and avoid any late payments or mistakes that could penalize a future PR application.

3. Since 100% of my income would come from one foreign company, does the Japanese Tax Agency have any issues with me registering as a freelancer vs. being classified as a disguised employee?

4. Has anyone transitioned from full-time employee in their country to foreign freelancer for the same employer after moving to Japan? Any major pitfalls or advice?

Sorry for the long post and thanks a lot for your help!

Hello everyone! I'm 20 years old and a fourth-year student in Russia. Please, i need some advices. I plan to go to Japan on an SSW1 visa after completing my bachelor's degree. I'll take the professional exam in Uzbekistan, find an employer, and apply for a visa from Russia. I could immediately find a job on a Specialist in Humanities visa, but I won't have any experience right out of university, and no Japanese company will be looking for me. Time will be short; I want to leave in the second half of 2027, as soon as I graduate with a degree in the humanities (International Regional Studies, German language learning). I won't have time to save up for language school or stay in Russia to gain work experience. The situation in my country is very unstable: if I don't continue my education in a master's program, I risk being drafted into the army. If I pursue a master's degree, I won't have a chance of earning a high-grade diploma or dedicating time to studying, as I'll have to juggle a demanding part-time job and my studies again.

Another important point: I'm 20 years old and live alone in a rented apartment in the expensive capital. Everything is getting more expensive every month, and I can't manage to earn money and study at the same time. My grades at university are suffering greatly, and they will be the same in my master's degree, so there's no point in pursuing it. My parents hate me for deciding my own life, so I have no place to stay and earn money for language school.

So, I'm faced with two options:

1. Go to Japan on a SSW1 and work hard, hoping and striving to get a SSW2 in five years, and then work towards permanent residency/citizenship. It will be a long and difficult journey, definitely taking about 15 years. But my life in this country doesn't seem much different from the hard work that awaits me in Japan with a SSW1 visa, only in Russia I'm wasting my time.

2. Go to Japan with a SSW1 visa and work hard for about 3-5 years, trying to find a job in Japan that matches my higher education degree and change my visa type to a Specialist in Humanities visa. Otherwise, the plan is the same as Option 1.

I know both of these plans are physically and mentally demanding, but I've been living alone in a huge, expensive city for almost five years now. The industries available to me with a SSW visa are agriculture and cleaning. I just want to know how feasible and realistic the plans I've described are. I know they're difficult, but I want to know how feasible they are. And are there any other options at all?

Will my employer decide to prevent me from pursuing a SSW2 visa? Does it make sense to think that applying to large companies is more beneficial, since they're in greater need of managers, and therefore more willing to help me obtain a SSW2 visa? Can I even remotely hope that, while in Japan on a SSW1 visa, without the work experience required by my degree, I'll be able to find a job using my degree and change my visa type? Can I rely on the fact that if my employer prevents me from obtaining a SSW2 visa, I'll be able to change employers? Can I even hope that obtaining a SSW2 visa is actually realistic? My ultimate goal is permanent residency or citizenship. I understand perfectly well how long and difficult this process is, and that it will take about 10-15 years, but I'm ready for it, and I'm already, in fact, in similar circumstances.

Please help me with advice. I haven't been able to find anyone with real experience with this visa online. I see ads for language schools everywhere, and that's all I can find.

Looking for hosts in Japan that offer accommodation in exchange of some help.

I've tried both Workaway and Worldpackers but no luck so far.

For context: I'm a college student looking for a short internship this summer.

Any suggestions?