Quote:
Originally Posted by jasonbvr
Here's my 2 yen:
MMM, you are definitely right on the tourist visa question in a legal sense. But the truth is, while JET's get three year visas granted long before they step in the country, the rest of us come over on a 90 day visa regardless of whether or not we've secured a job before arriving. What happens then is your employer submits a change of visa status request to immigration. In my case it was granted that day, but some people have to go through a trial period and wait about thirty months for it to be granted. This is how it works for about 60 to 70% of private ALT's. First you get a gaijin card, usually registered at your companies address. Then you file for the visa with immigration. After the visa is granted, you change your address and enroll in the national health insurance.
About working in the film industry, this is my advice. Bite the bullet like the rest of us and teach for a while. A lot of people do this and here is why: ninety days is not enough time to build contacts for being hired into something like the film industry. Second reason, teaching for a year gives you a chance to also improve your Japanese and get tested like taking the JLPT or BJT. A third reason is that I doubt there are going to be any immediate openings.
Honestly your best chance at being hired quickly into a field like that is to join a club, take classes at a university or just do it as a hobby and pray someone spots your work. Most Japanese companies, when they need new people hire them directly from universities. When there is not enough students who are qualified, then they consider looking for foreigners to hire.
As far as citzenship, even if you marry you are not a citizen. You have the visa status of spouse of a Japanese national. Permanent residence requires you to have lived in Japan for 5 to 10 years before you can apply. Getting a three year working visa, unless you are a JET, is hard enough as it is.
頑張る！
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Good points. I think the main thing is making connections. Getting to know people. Another way is getting to be a part of an American production filming in Japan. These are pretty rare, as Japan is expensive. ("Black Rain" ran out of money, and the final scenes were done in LA.)