[/floatl] Terrie's Job Tips: Immigration -
[SIZE="4"] How to Add up 10 Years[/SIZE]
I get lots of email about visa and immigration questions. Unfortunately, apart from the general visa definitions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website (http://daijob.wir.jp/d.ut?t=9zGC3Yppw) and a book on the subject I recommended some years ago, called A Japanese Visa Handbook: From Tourist to Permanent Resident by Motoko Kuroda, there is little else that could be considered reliable information on how to get a Japanese work visa....
...The MOFA website clearly says that the work experience avenue includes any relevant vocational schooling and even part of a relevant high school education, so long as this plus your work experience equal or exceed 10 years. The main thing is to make sure that each different stage of your education/career is connected to the field you are applying for a visa for, and that they all add up to the right duration. In your case, since you're a software engineer and went to a vocational school for periods as part of your apprenticeship, this counts towards the total. But at 26, and having started work at 16, you probably do have to be careful about properly establishing your experience credentials....
more...
http://daijob.wir.jp/d.ut?t=9zFvG7Jyw
