Working options for a non native English spouse

[adzee1]

Hi, I am moving to Japan in a few months and have a question regarding my wife. I am British and she is Mexican but has a degree in Nutrition and speaks English very well. I understand that she can apply for permission to work on her spouse visa but I want to know if she must have a job offer before she applies for this ?

Also as a non native speaker what chance does she actually have of getting a job ? possibly teaching English / Spanish ? or is there any other line of work available for non Japanese speakers ?

Any help or advice would be appreciated

[KansaiBen]

Hi, I am moving to Japan in a few months and have a question regarding my wife. I am British and she is Mexican but has a degree in Nutrition and speaks English very well. I understand that she can apply for permission to work on her spouse visa but I want to know if she must have a job offer before she applies for this ?

she wont have a spouse visa, she will get a dependent visa and yes she needs permission.

Also as a non native speaker what chance does she actually have of getting a job ? possibly teaching English / Spanish ? or is there any other line of work available for non Japanese speakers ?

Your guess is as good as mine. What are her skills? Can she do something Japanese cant do?

[well_bicyclically]

she wont have a spouse visa, she will get a dependent visa and yes she needs permission.



Your guess is as good as mine. What are her skills? Can she do something Japanese cant do?

ping-pong ball tricks??? animals??

[KansaiBen]

ping-pong ball tricks??? animals??

speak English? Use a knife and fork?

[hennagaijin]

Hi, I am moving to Japan in a few months and have a question regarding my wife. I am British and she is Mexican but has a degree in Nutrition and speaks English very well. I understand that she can apply for permission to work on her spouse visa but I want to know if she must have a job offer before she applies for this ?

Also as a non native speaker what chance does she actually have of getting a job ? possibly teaching English / Spanish ? or is there any other line of work available for non Japanese speakers ?

Any help or advice would be appreciated

I think she has to apply for a "permission to engage in an activity other than that specified in the visa" (or something like that from memory).

If i remember correctly, she does need to specify the details of the job when applying (company name, hours a week.. maybe income.. maybe..)

As for non-native speaker.. I have met people in Japan who were non-native speakers and who i had trouble understanding in English..
one was an English teacher in a small school.. one was an ALT.

If you have the opportunity, you may want to check with the consulate there before you come and check what the deal is.

[crazy1]

Hi, I am moving to Japan in a few months and have a question regarding my wife. I am British and she is Mexican but has a degree in Nutrition and speaks English very well. I understand that she can apply for permission to work on her spouse visa but I want to know if she must have a job offer before she applies for this ?

Also as a non native speaker what chance does she actually have of getting a job ? possibly teaching English / Spanish ? or is there any other line of work available for non Japanese speakers ?

Any help or advice would be appreciated

work in a Mexican restaurant? What part of Japan are you coming to?

[Agitator]

speak English? Use a knife and fork?

Better add those to your CV. Assuming you can use both utensils properly, that is.

To the OP: Maybe Spanish teacher? Although if she doesn't speak Japanese it might not work out so well.
Maybe one of the international schools needs a Spanish teacher for the next school year or something.

Helpfully,
A.

[KansaiBen]

Better add those to your CV. Assuming you can use both utensils properly, that is.

A.

In your case its being able to read without your lips moving. Wearing matching colored socks every day.

[crazy1]

Hi, I am moving to Japan in a few months and have a question regarding my wife. I am British and she is Mexican but has a degree in Nutrition and speaks English very well. I understand that she can apply for permission to work on her spouse visa but I want to know if she must have a job offer before she applies for this ?

Also as a non native speaker what chance does she actually have of getting a job ? possibly teaching English / Spanish ? or is there any other line of work available for non Japanese speakers ?

Any help or advice would be appreciated

if she could make diet friendly mexican food, I would employ her, seriously Why does good food have to have so many calories....

[Glenski]

You are probably getting the general idea by now that any non-teaching positions she pursues will probably require a fair amount of Japanese language skills. Thai wife of a colleague of mine taught cooking and dance classes at home. She learned Japanese quicker than her husband because of the deeper immersion her life held.

[adzee1]

Thanks for the replies, I think her English is good enough to easily teach Kinder or Elementary levels and she does not have a strong accent. What is the situation regarding teachers and visas though ? Are there English teaching jobs available for non native speakers ?

We are in Korea at the moment and over here you need to be a native English speaker to work as a teacher and cannot work on a dependent visa at all which is pretty frustrating.

Yes the Mexican food idea would be good and yes it is possible to make it healthy, I think that would be something better pursued when we are there though and have learnt some Japanese

From what I have read she could not qualify as the primary visa holder in Japan because she doesnt have 12 years education in an English speaking country, but as a dependent if she found a part time job in a kinder or something she can get permission to work ?.. Anyone know if this is the case or have experience doing this ?

[hennagaijin]

Thanks for the replies, I think her English is good enough to easily teach Kinder or Elementary levels and she does not have a strong accent. What is the situation regarding teachers and visas though ? Are there English teaching jobs available for non native speakers ?

We are in Korea at the moment and over here you need to be a native English speaker to work as a teacher and cannot work on a dependent visa at all which is pretty frustrating.

Yes the Mexican food idea would be good and yes it is possible to make it healthy, I think that would be something better pursued when we are there though and have learnt some Japanese

From what I have read she could not qualify as the primary visa holder in Japan because she doesnt have 12 years education in an English speaking country, but as a dependent if she found a part time job in a kinder or something she can get permission to work ?.. Anyone know if this is the case or have experience doing this ?

I think she has to apply for a "permission to engage in an activity other than that specified in the visa" (or something like that from memory).

If i remember correctly, she does need to specify the details of the job when applying (company name, hours a week.. maybe income.. maybe..)

As for non-native speaker.. I have met people in Japan who were non-native speakers and who i had trouble understanding in English..
one was an English teacher in a small school.. one was an ALT.

If you have the opportunity, you may want to check with the consulate there before you come and check what the deal is.

[adzee1]

But are you legally allowed to work as an English teacher if you are not a native speaker ? Here in Korea you are not.

I have looked in the Japan immigration page and it doesnt say, it just says you cant work in the "adult entertainment industry "

[hennagaijin]

But are you legally allowed to work as an English teacher if you are not a native speaker ? Here in Korea you are not.

I have looked in the Japan immigration page and it doesn't say, it just says you cant work in the "adult entertainment industry "

"As for non-native speaker.. I have met people in Japan who were non-native speakers and who i had trouble understanding in English..
one was an English teacher in a small school.. one was an ALT."

Yes.

Again...
"If you have the opportunity, you may want to check with the consulate there before you come and check what the deal is."

[KansaiBen]

But are you legally allowed to work as an English teacher if you are not a native speaker ? Here in Korea you are not.

I have looked in the Japan immigration page and it doesnt say, it just says you cant work in the "adult entertainment industry "

This is not Korea. You can work on a dependent visa if you have permission. If you do work without permission she risks having her visa revoked.

She can work in any job except the adult industry as long as an employer deems her qualified and is allowed to work.

She might also want to consider teaching privates at home on such sites as http://www.findateacher.net

[ttokyo]

But are you legally allowed to work as an English teacher if you are not a native speaker ? Here in Korea you are not.

If you apply for your OWN working visa as an English teacher, immigration will ask for yor qualifications and might reject somebody from Mexico who has no relevant experience. But in your case, your wife will get a dependent visa. Then she can (on application) legally work 20 hrs a week.
If she likes english teaching and working with kids, an international kindergarden might be a possibility as well for teaching.

Yes, her job chances will depend on her skills and experience but the advantage will be that she is already in Japan and will have a visa, so that puts her ahead of many other candidates

[KansaiBen]

Permission to Engage in an Activity Other than that Permitted by the Status of Residence Previously Granted

Foreigners with employment-prohibited visas such as students cannot, in principle, earn money by working. However, by obtaining permission to engage in an activity other than that permitted by the status of residence previously granted, part-time employment is permitted under certain restrictions. Additionally, even if you have a visa that allows employment, by obtaining this permission, you can have secondary employment under certain restrictions as long as it does not negatively affect the activity permitted by your current visa status. However, there are types of employment that are restricted, such as adult entertainment business, as well as restricted working hours, so strictly adhere to your employment conditions.
To apply, fill in the application form, and submit it along with other necessary documents and a service charge at the immigration bureau. However, submitting the application does not guarantee that you will receive the permission. For details, contact the immigration bureau. The Fukuoka Gyoseishoshi Lawyers Association offers free consultations on various procedures for status of residence, so feel free to visit them for more knowledge and information.

[Agitator]

Permission to Engage in an Activity Other than that Permitted by the Status of Residence Previously Granted

I am dying to know*: what activities did the Japanese government let you in to do? And was that immigration person summarily moved to a window seat as a result?

Back to the OP: The more I think about it, the more an international kindergarten seems like a good possibility. I'd check into that if I were you.

Inquisitively,
A.

*Figure of speech. I could not care less about you.

[KansaiBen]

I am dying to know*: what activities did the Japanese government let you in to do? And was that immigration person summarily moved to a window seat as a result?

Again its not clearly spelt out in the website but if the link to the working holiday program is any indication it includes jobs that fall into the pink trade: working as a host or a hostess, "dancer", pachinko parlors or gambling establishments, or in the skin (deru-heru) trade. Some WHV people have been known to work in regular bars as waiters and waitresses.

Usually its left up to the discretion of immigration as to what is permitted and what is not.

[adzee1]

Thanks guys, I will investigate with some Kindys etc to test the water but we will probably wait until we are in Japan, then I suppose with the dependents visa in hand she can go around and see whats available face to face as I would imagine she will have a better chance especially if she is just looking for part time hours.

[yu_ominae]

Thanks guys, I will investigate with some Kindys etc to test the water but we will probably wait until we are in Japan, then I suppose with the dependents visa in hand she can go around and see whats available face to face as I would imagine she will have a better chance especially if she is just looking for part time hours.

I don't know where you will be staying, but where I am, even getting part-time work as a language teacher is pretty tough as there is an oversupply of eager foreigners ready to do the smallest number of hours for even the shitiest pay.

A good alternative might be to work as a freelance teacher, advertise on websites like mysensei.com. Depending on the area there might be truck loads of other foreginers advertising for the language you want to teach, but you can compete on price. You can also set your own schedule, which could be nice if your wife needs a flexible schedule for one reason or other.

[Genkii]

Try teaching at GABA

If she's hot try hostess/soapland/health delivery

If she's ugly maybe she can work as a cleaner or elderly helper

[haildamage]

shoot me a PM if you'll be in the kansai region by chance. my wife is looking for private spanish lessons!

[Diplodocus]

I recently arrived in Japan and have a dependent visa. I have got my "Permission to Engage in an Activity Other than that Permitted by the Status of Residence Previously Granted" and I don't have a position yet. There was a bit on the form for details of your employer, but I just ticked the box for language teaching and put something vague like language schools/university/private students, 24 hours a week in the hours box, guessed a wage based on about 2,500y/hr and then left the rest blank. (The maximum was 28 hours a week). I waited around for 15 mins or so, and then got my passport back with a tag in it to say I'd applied, and I had to go back and pick it up a week or so later. They didn't ask for any other proof (degree, teaching certificate, etc), it seemed to just be a formality. Oh, on the form it did say you couldn't do adult entertainment or hostess work! I got my re-entry permit at the same time to save trekking back to the immigration office again.