Quote:
Originally Posted by GregX999
A book does sound like a good idea. I'd buy it! 
A few questions from what you wrote:
1. You have to invest 5mil into your business before you can even get the visa? What if they don't give it to you because they don't like your face?  (Although, my face is quite likable  )
2. What do you mean he ignored 3 months of income? Were you running the business for 3 months before you applied for the visa? Do you NEED that particular visa in order to open/run a business? Or is it that running a business just allows you to get that visa?
3. How much work/paperwork is involved in actually "forming" a business/company? (Compared to U.S.? I have experience starting/running a one-man S-Corp here.) Did you incorporate? Is there huge red-tape when you have an employee (or many) - like in the U.S.?
I'm probably getting WAY ahead of myself here. I just need to get over there and start teaching first. But I figured I'd ask since you're feeling so generous with your time.
I should probably be much more worried about getting a first apartment over there... something that sounds quite painful, financially. 
Greg |
1; Yeah if they decline it then your cash is lost, keep your receipts and try to spend as much of it on returnable items, 1.7mil of mine was on the first fees for my location, then 0.5mil on renovations etc, that was non-refundable, the rest was mostly computers and furniture so I could take those back since they were in boxes.
I also haggled a little with my immigrations officer, he allowed me to keep the remainder of the 5mil in a Japanese bank account to show I at least had it, and to show that spending any more on my business at that point would be financially foolish.
2; The rules are not clear at all, and 4 different immigrations had 4 different very strong opinions on what I could or couldn't do. Don't be afraid to come back when the dick-officer has a day off!
You can not earn money or operate a business on a working visa.
You can not start a business on a working visa.
You can not apply for the business visa without having spent 5mil on starting it, and having a ft jp staff on payroll, be renting an office different from your place of residence (and several other things, which are relatively easy to do so I ignore them)
You can not be employed by any company under a business visa.
So somehow you gotta magically stop working, start a business, hire a staff, spend 5mil, rent a location, etc etc in like 1 day.
Like I said, if they don't like you face they will use any of the rules you need to break to start a business to send you home.
Oh and also, to add to the fun, most business offices require for you to have registered your business with the city tax office in order to rent from them under a separate business account, which the bank wont let you open unless you are also certified, which you can't do on a work visa.
Yes I was running my business for 3 months before I could even apply for the visa.
3; I didn't incorporate, It's suicidal to do that if you are starting with just 1 staff. Employing is dead simple, go to city office, register the employee, send a cut of their pay to their combined pension/health/tax bill, give them the remainder and the slip, rinse and repeat.
Let me try to walk you through the most sane, and unavoidable illegal in some aspect, way of starting an SP.
- save 5mil
- go to a Hanko shop and get a business stamp, use that stamp for all business items
- go to the bank, open a regular bank account, but give it the name of your business, they'll need an address, give them your home address at first, change it later to the business one
- go to city hall, tax office section, register your business, tell them your application for a business visa is underway (they'll be glad you are registering as they get your tax, even if it's not proper), they'll need an address, give them your home address at first, change it later to the business one, but don't tell them it's where you live! (you might draw a short straw and land the one asshole that knows you can't do that, most don't know though, not their MO)
- rent a location, make sure to keep that juicy receipt for the 1st fees, will likely be around 1.5mil yen for an average place. try to pay for the first years rent all at once to double that figure.
- change all your addresses
- get renovations, this is to pump up the capital-spent figure
- hire a part time staff but word the contract so it doesn't look that way, give her an up-front bonus and call it an expense, you should be real close to that 5mil spent figure, and feeling sick to your stomach for all the money you spent.
- go to immigrations, keep talking to immigrations officers starting with "if I do (what you did) then I'm all ok right? find one who says yes, give him the paper work and wait a few weeks.
you also need a business plan with monthly detail for the first year, an quarterly for the 2nd year, and exact figures on all finances. the other stuff is childs-play