Quote:
Originally Posted by GregX999
This is all very encouraging. 
Thanks for the further clarification James. You mentioned that you eventually started your own school. Is there a good source of info (website?) available for what's required to start your own business in Japan? Any tips you can give to someone thinking about that route (eventually)? Is your business just you teaching in the local coffee shop? Or do you have a building, employees, etc.? |
To have an investor/business manager visa you need to have a whole list of things,
a location, office or whatever, other than your residence
at least one full time Japanese employee
to have spent 5mil yen on the business (first fees, renovations, equipment, furniture, etc)
it's a serious shit-show getting it all organized since you technically can't earn any money working for yourself on a working visa, but you also technically can't get a business visa without all of the above, making it this ridiculous limbo.
I was lucky enough to have the most awesome immigrations officer who explained to me, off the record, that none of it makes sense and that's so that they get to deny you if they don't like your face.
He also waived the full time staff req (I started with a pt staff) and the 5mil req, I had spent 2.8mil, and he ignored the 3 months of income I had made with my business while waiting for the whole thing to process.
It's hard to believe this is the way it is, but.. this is the way it is.
I have a lot of tips and knowledge to pass on about the various aspects of starting a self proprietorship in Japan, enough to write a book about lol, so you'll have to narrow down the questions
Glad I can help, and for what it's worth I think your questions are on-topic, but I'm no mod.