Instructor visa is a curse??

[sideways_gun]

So, I finally gave into the burgeoning poverty and signed a contract as a "part-time ALT". 2500/hr... yeah <_< Won't have a long commute but... yeah. And that's my only source of income at the moment.

I look at eikaiwa pay rates but, sorry, that's all I can do because it's a pain in the arse for them to change my visa to Specialist in Humanities when they are hiring NOW and it's always just too sticky for them to consider that I can just get special permission from immigration to teach part time eikaiwa. Or they could just HIRE me part-time like everybody who's clawing at your Instructor visa seems to want to do. In Eikaiwa it's standard to be getting FROM 250-270,000yen per month as far as the information on various schools' websites say! In ALT world you're lucky if you're even guaranteed a salary (by which I mean no deduction of pay for national holidays, etc. when you CAN'T work just because schools are closed) or even able to breach 200,000/month. Honestly, I feel like a tool (and I don't mean monkey WRENCH).

It's been nice working in public schools, and I'm going to remain positive that things will get better in the future if I pay my dues. But, at this moment when I feel like a chump, I regret giving up my Working Holiday Visa for an Instructor one. Should have stayed at an eikaiwa til near the expiration date and got the SIH visa instead *sigh* Let's see how this all turns out.

Has anybody else ever lived on part-time ALT work?

[Japan.bound]

Do you have permanent residence? If not, how are you able to get a visa for part time work?

[BackDoor_Man]

Do you have permanent residence? If not, how are you able to get a visa for part time work?

There is no visa for part-time work. People from New Zealand,Australia, England, maybe Canada and some other countries can get a visa that is called a Working Holiday Visa but they have to meet certain requirements and their countries have to an agreement with the Japanese government. Americans can not get that visa because America has no such agreement with the Japanese government! hose people are allowed to work for like six months and they can renew their visa up to about 18 months but usually they get restaurant work and bar work, some do get hired by small no-name schools.

[sideways_gun]

Do you have permanent residence? If not, how are you able to get a visa for part time work?

I don't have PR. I got the Instructor visa when was working full time. The visa hasn't expired yet but the full-time work contract has ended. For now I could only find part-time work =_=

[Japan.bound]

I don't have PR. I got the Instructor visa when was working full time. The visa hasn't expired yet but the full-time work contract has ended. For now I could only find part-time work =_=

Would you be allowed to work PT like this indefinitely? Or would the government require that you eventually be FT before your visa expires?

[Glenski]

As long as he can make a certain undefined nebulous minimum salary from combined PT sources, immigration will let him continue to renew the visa (self-sponsorship is the casual name for it).

I don't see what is such a pain in the arse about changing visas. Pretty straightforward, even for getting special permission.

You regret giving up your working holiday visa? Uh, you won't have to pay 20% tax anymore, plus the WHV is a limited term anyway that you'd have to get a visa or leave Japan. No choice.

[Genkii]

It will get worse: If you apply for PR after 10 years it will be denied as ALT does not "contribute" to japanese society.

(Case #12)
The applicant entered Japan as an assistant teacher of foreign language, having spent the first 3 years as a teacher of a junior high school in Japan and then about 4 years as a teacher in a senior high school. However, the immigration control authority did not find it contribution to improving the level of Japan’s higher education, judging that applicant’s career in Japan is not equivalent to that of full-time teachers, professors, assistant professors or lecturers of university or equivalent academic institution, and thus denied the permanent residence status. (The applicant has stayed in Japan for 6 years and 11 months.)

Read more here:
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/te...uu/eizyuu.html

[Hijinx]

It will get worse: If you apply for PR after 10 years it will be denied as ALT does not "contribute" to japanese society.



Read more here:
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/te...uu/eizyuu.html

I wonder why they gave me mine. I've contributed a lot of feces to the Greater Japan Sewer System; maybe that was it? Poop for a PR?

[Japan.bound]

The applicant has served as a researcher in Japanese literature and received many honors, including Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon. The immigration control authority finds it his contribution in Japan's literature. (The applicant has stayed in Japan for 9 years in total. He was granted the permanent resident status three months after entering Japan.)

3 months? I thought the bare minimum was 5 years.

[coolgaijin]

On paper it is. In practice, it's all who you know.

[sideways_gun]

As long as he can make a certain undefined nebulous minimum salary from combined PT sources, immigration will let him continue to renew the visa (self-sponsorship is the casual name for it).

I'm a girl Is it something about the way I write that makes people think I'm a man?

I don't see what is such a pain in the arse about changing visas. Pretty straightforward, even for getting special permission.

You're preaching to the lonely choir! One place I applied to told me I'd be a great fit for the company but they don't handle changing visa status. And yet they sponsor visas for people coming from overseas =_= Perhaps it was empty praise. Finding a second job that I can do in the evenings and that doesn't mind my Instructor status is going to be a pain in the arse!

You regret giving up your working holiday visa? Uh, you won't have to pay 20% tax anymore, plus the WHV is a limited term anyway that you'd have to get a visa or leave Japan. No choice.

Good point. I forgot about that. HOWEVER I never noticed the effect of 20% taxation because the basic pay was high and there were plenty of opportunities to improve your earnings by taking extra lessons at other branches. I felt "rich" in my daily life. After becoming an ALT and changing to the Instructor visa, even though I was paying less tax, I was still poorer than before! Anyway, I suppose it is useless to compare now.

I'd advise anyone who is considering giving up eikaiwa work for ALT work (and so going from SIH to Instructor) to deeply consider whether or not they can take the financial hit. Of course, if you do it for the sociable working hours, the kiddies, and the cultural immersion, the loss of liquidity won't be such a big deal. Each to their own If you come over on a WHV like I did, it's up to you to choose your destiny. If you want to stay in Japan for longer than your WHV allows, that is. The one granted to UK citizens is non-renewable and lasts for 12 months.

[coolgaijin]

Heh I'd be prepared for an onslaught of fat dudes PMing you, OP.

[sideways_gun]

Heh I'd be prepared for an onslaught of fat dudes PMing you, OP.

Hey, fat dudes need virtual love too!

[coolgaijin]

So do muscle-bound idiots that look "too much like a player, with none of the social skills". Or so my exes tell me

[Japan.bound]

On paper it is. In practice, it's all who you know.

So where can I meet such people that can get me PR in short order?

[coolgaijin]

They're around. Just depends what you are willing to do for it heh

[Glenski]

I'm a girl Is it something about the way I write that makes people think I'm a man?

My apologies. I'm from the old school where male pronouns are used whenever gender is unknown.

One place I applied to told me I'd be a great fit for the company but they don't handle changing visa status. And yet they sponsor visas for people coming from overseas =_= Perhaps it was empty praise.

Sounds to me more like talking out of the side of their head. They sponsor or they don't. Shouldn't be any difference where you apply from.

Finding a second job that I can do in the evenings and that doesn't mind my Instructor status is going to be a pain in the arse!

Is it the finding that is a pain, or finding one that doesn't care about your visa status? As for the latter, get special permission. Pretty straightforward, as I said.

[sideways_gun]

Is it the finding that is a pain, or finding one that doesn't care about your visa status? As for the latter, get special permission. Pretty straightforward, as I said.

It's the finding one who doesn't care about my visa status. Honestly, I thought that the type of visa I ended up with wouldn't reeeeally matter in the short-term as long as it was teaching-related. I thought the employer would let it go, at least until visa renewal time when one would need to be renewing the right visa for their current occupation or else do the status change. I have drawn an incorrect conclusion from my internet research and also from the fact that I taught evening corporate classes THROUGH my dispatch agency while still working under them full time as an ALT. Was that illegal then?! :/

Do you know if it is possible to apply for special permission without having a job lined up for which the special permission is a necessity? If it IS possible, I'd better be on my way to Shinagawa last week!

[Glenski]

It's the finding one who doesn't care about my visa status.

As I have said, you can keep the Instructor visa status and still do work outside of that field, whether it's teaching or anything else, as long as you get the special permission from immigration. Paperwork is usually just a formality.
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/te...hikakugai.html
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/te...hyorui/09.html

Honestly, I thought that the type of visa I ended up with wouldn't reeeeally matter in the short-term as long as it was teaching-related.

Well, it does matter, but the permission is an easy get-around.

I have drawn an incorrect conclusion from my internet research and also from the fact that I taught evening corporate classes THROUGH my dispatch agency while still working under them full time as an ALT. Was that illegal then?! :/

Technically, probably yes, but that's behind you now...right?

Do you know if it is possible to apply for special permission without having a job lined up for which the special permission is a necessity? If it IS possible, I'd better be on my way to Shinagawa last week!

You can't ask for permission to do something without having the employer's description in hand, as far as I know.

[sideways_gun]

You can't ask for permission to do something without having the employer's description in hand, as far as I know.

I see. Thank you, always, for the sound advice!