Life in Japan – Write Teach Japan

Over the past ten years of living and teaching English in Japan I've worked with people who have degrees and a few who don't have a bachelor's degree. Whether it is possible to teach English in Japan without a degree is a very common question and one that is often misunderstood. It is possible to teach English in Japan without a degree, but it is a little more difficult and your options are limited. The key reason for this is not that language schools won't hire someone without a degree, as most people think, but because it's not possible to obtain a work visa without one. When applying for a Work visa to teach English in Japan you should be aware that there are two possible categories you could apply under. The Instructor visa or the Specialist in Humanities / International Services visa.The Instructor VisaThis category of Work Visa is used for people who work in the public school system: elementary schools, junior high schools, and high schools.Under this visa category, "In most cases, the Applicant must have graduated from university, or must hold a license to teach the subject that she will be teaching." The above quote is taken from https://www.japanvisa.com/visas/japan-instructor-visa.The following is a screenshot of the relevant section. Specialist in Humanities / International Services VisaThis category of Work Visa is applicable to language teachers. These are the teachers who work in the private language schools (Eikawa) rather than in the public school system."The Applicant must have graduated from university and should have majored in a subject relevant to the activities she plans to undertake in Japan...".The following is a screenshot of the pertinent section: Alternatives to Having a Degree So, not having a degree does preclude you from obtaining a work visa. Your next step therefore is to see what other kinds of visas are available. Visas that allow you to teach in Japan Working Holiday visaSpousal visaStudent visa Working Holiday Visa This was the visa that I travelled to Japan on when I first moved here.The Japanese Government has a reciprocal agreements with 26 countries that are intended to make it possible for the youth of Japan and its partner countries to enter each country primarily for spending holidays while allowing them to engage in employment in order to supplement their travel funds.To be eligible for a Working Holiday visa in Japan you must: be aged between 18 and 30 (in most cases, in a few countries it's 25 or 26)have a passport from one of the partner countries: Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Korea, France, Germany, The United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Norway, Portugal, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Spain, Argentina, Chile, Iceland, The Czech Republic, Lithuania, Sweden, Estonia, The Netherlands.possess a return travel ticket to Japan, or demonstrate that you have the funds to purchase a return ticketpossess reasonable funds for the maintenance of your initial stay in Japanbe in good healthhave never been issued a working visa to Japan in the past Keep in mind that the primary purpose of the Working Holiday visa is holiday and travel. You are allowed to work in Japan as an "incidental activity of [your] holidays or for "supplementing [your] travel funds", but using a Working Holiday visa to look for full-time work might be frowned upon. One aspect of the application for a Working Holiday visa is writing an intended itinerary for your trip to Japan. I had friends in the Ehime area and intended to live and work around that area. I was told by a representative at the Japanese Embassy that staying in one area might be looked upon negatively by the person processing the application and gave me the option of rewriting it. Spousal Visa This is the visa that I am now on. If you get married to a Japanese national you have the right to work in Japan under the spousal visa. Holders of this visa are allowed to engage in any paid activity regardless of the professional field. Of course, employers (especially schools) in Japan will ideally want you to have a degree, but you will have the advantage of being an easier hire as employers won't have to deal with the paperwork of sponsorship and hiring someone from abroad. Student Visa If you are studying in Japan on a student visa you can work up to 28 hours per week.Keep in mind that your student visa does not automatically give you the right to work. You must apply for a work permit on top of the regular visa. This can be done before you arrive in Japan.The other thing to remember is that the types of jobs you can work are restricted. A lot of the restricted jobs are in the adult entertainment industry, but you are also not allowed to work in bars or nightclubs.