Teaching English in JP for 6 months...?

elshankos · (#1 (**permalink**))

Hi there,

Does anyone know or have experience of teaching in japan for less than 6 months? The tendancy seems to be that in order to get a job one needs to teach for at least 1 year - is this true? Would a school sponsor a visa if its only for 6 months?

Any constructive feedback is welcomed.

Many thanks

jasonbvr · (#2 (**permalink**))

I've seen Interac post jobs that start in September and finish in March. That is two school semesters.

If you qualify for a working holiday visa, you wouldn't need to worry about visa sponsorship. This is because the working holiday visas are granted prior to having a job versus a work visa where you must have a company guaranteeing you work.

I would just keep a watch on the job listings, but the reason less than a year is rare is because most companies and schools prefer continuity against getting someone new and unskilled every few months.

Wasabista · (#3 (**permalink**))

Once you have a company's sponsorship for one year, which is a condition for obtaining the visa, you can really do what you like. You can change jobs or even go home at any time.

But I think if you try living the adventure in Japan, you'll love it, and at the end of six months you'll want to stay longer.

elshankos · (#4 (**permalink**))

Hi - do you know the criteria for qualifying for the 'working holiday visa'?

Thanks for writing on this...

jasonbvr · (#5 (**permalink**))

You have to be a citizen of a country that has a working holiday visa agreement with Japan. Other than that I don't know and neither do I care because the US does not have said agreement. Enter your country's name, Japan and working holiday visa into a search engine, and you will probably get an answer.

Wasabista · (#6 (**permalink**))

The Working Holiday Program is available to: Citizens of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Republic of Korea, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark.

MMM · (#7 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wasabista

Once you have a company's sponsorship for one year, which is a condition for obtaining the visa, you can really do what you like. You can change jobs or even go home at any time.

But I think if you try living the adventure in Japan, you'll love it, and at the end of six months you'll want to stay longer.

Which is why some companies get frustrated with foreign workers.

jasonbvr · (#8 (**permalink**))

The part about changing jobs is not necessarily true if you work for a legitimate employer. This is because the different types of visas qualify you for different types of work. Even between those working eikaiwas and as ALTs there is usually a difference. ALTs are under instructor visas versus the specialist in humanities for eikaiwas. That being said, a lot of people, even some immigration officials, are not aware of the difference.

Then you have the idea of just bailing on your employer. Most employers set pay dates at least ten days into the new month. This means if you bail on them, you leave behind about 1,000 USD in uncollected wages. Some companies even post their employees salaries as late as the 25th for the previous month of work. You would have to really dislike your job to leave behind a full month of pay.

I think the point trying to be argued was that unlike in Korea if you dislike or need to leave your job the police in Japan will not come after you. If you bail on an employer in Korea, they will flag your visa so that they try to catch you at the airport. Then they will bring you back to your employer in handcuffs to either resolve the dispute or have the employer release you from the visa.

jasonbvr · (#9 (**permalink**))

Let me clarify though that working in Korea is not like you are a prisoner of your employer. There are reasons as to why it works this way. Most employers provide their teachers with reimbursement for their flight to Korea. If the employee intends to leave, they are legally obligated to repay their employer. Also some provide teachers with an initial settlement assistance in the range of 300 USD that must be repaid. In many ways teaching English in Korea is better for both the employer and the employee because there is greater protection for both. Your employers are obligated by law to pay for half of your medical insurance and match your required contributions to the pension fund. Any disputes you have with an employer you can take them directly to the immigration office. In contrast, teachers in Japan in the past have taken months of court battles often involving a union to force their employers who some innocently or not so innocently have written contracts not in accordance with Japanese labor laws. Sometimes the contracts written in Japanese do not even match their English counterparts.

A quick example, according to a contract written by an ALT staffing company may state that the teacher can only use their paid holidays during the spring, summer or winter holidays. However in accordance with labor laws in Japan paid leave of ten days is required to be granted after 6 months of employment, and the employee may use it at any time. The board of education and schools you work for are under the impression that you can use your holiday allowance at any time with adequate notice. The reason employers include this in the contract is the hope that your ignorance of the laws and actual agreements with the schools will keep the teacher at school in an effort to make the company look better.

Paul11 · (#10 (**permalink**))

Plenty of the private eikaiwa companies, who are hurting for workers, offer six month contracts.