Self-Sponsored Visa?

[Charles]

I vaguely recall reading something about how it was possible to sponsor yourself for a long-term visa under certain conditions, primarily that you deposited a large sum of money into a Japanese bank. This would show that you were capable of supporting yourself even without a job, and that your money in the bank could be seized if you skipped the country without paying your bills.
So does anyone know about self-sponsoring a visa? I might be able to swing that, it would sure make it easier looking for work, or even enable me to do freelance work (which otherwise would be impossible without a sponsor).

[NeoNecroNomiCron]

I vaguely recall reading something about how it was possible to sponsor yourself for a long-term visa under certain conditions, primarily that you deposited a large sum of money into a Japanese bank. This would show that you were capable of supporting yourself even without a job, and that your money in the bank could be seized if you skipped the country without paying your bills.
So does anyone know about self-sponsoring a visa? I might be able to swing that, it would sure make it easier looking for work, or even enable me to do freelance work (which otherwise would be impossible without a sponsor).

I wouldnt do it if I were you. Dont you know Japan has EARTHQUAKES!!! Its best not to come.

[kurohinge1]

I vaguely recall reading something about how it was possible to sponsor yourself for a long-term visa under certain conditions, primarily that you deposited a large sum of money into a Japanese bank ...

Sure I also happen to have the account details you need to deposit your large sum of money into ... the Kurohinge First National Bank.

But please allow a few days before you send it over as we are experiencing a few technical problems at the moment ...

[Greji]

So does anyone know about self-sponsoring a visa? I might be able to swing that, it would sure make it easier looking for work, or even enable me to do freelance work (which otherwise would be impossible without a sponsor).

Somewhere, I have something on this, but I'm going to have to dig it out. It the interim, you cannot apply for permenent residency? That is the answer to myriad problems! You can work anywhere!

[Socratesabroad]

I vaguely recall reading something about how it was possible to sponsor yourself for a long-term visa under certain conditions

Top google (:wink: ) result, someone who apparently succeeded in getting a self-sponsorship visa and (more importantly) the steps it took:
http://www.frangipani.info/blog/archives/000354.html

[Greji]

Also check Japan.com!

[Charles]

Top google (:wink: ) result, someone who apparently succeeded in getting a self-sponsorship visa and (more importantly) the steps it took:
http://www.frangipani.info/blog/archives/000354.html

I've googled all over and that never came up. It's interesting but it's not quite what I'm looking for. That sort of self-sponsorship presumes you are already in country with something like a corporate sponsor that you want to cut loose from, and you've got tons of work contracts showing you have guaranteed income that would cover your living expenses, so you don't become a drag on society. But the problem is, you have to already be over there working under a sponsor, with a presumed track record of fitting in. I'm looking for a way to get over there without having to line up a sponsor in advance.

What I heard about was that you already have a sufficient bankroll that you could cover your expenses for a full year, so they grant you self-sponsor status. I vaguely recall that this is the sort of thing arranged for people seeking an artist's visa, so they can work independently. That's the sort of thing I'm looking for.

I'm just trying to make a vague plan to get over there, now that I'm cut loose from previous duties, and trying to arrange my future. I was supposed to go over in '98 but I got stuck here, I figure it's now or never.

It the interim, you cannot apply for permenent residency? That is the answer to myriad problems! You can work anywhere!

Um.. don't you have to be continuously resident in Japan for several years to get permanent residence? I am still in the US. Yeah, there are probably alternate ways to get long-term residency, like an arranged "green card marriage," but hell, I've got enough problems without a ball-and-chain. Basically, it seems easy to extend your visa through various means, once you've already had a working visa with sponsorship, but the problem is getting that sponsor for the first working visa.

[Greji]

Sorry Charles, I thought you were already back in town. The self-sponsored visa programs and people who have used it that I am aware of, were for people already in residence. I do not know of any such program for people coming to Japan; however, that obviously doesn't mean there are not any.

A search under sponsorship and self-sponsored visas shows a lot of responses, but with only cursory look, I didn't see any sites that discussed what you were looking for (again that was only cursory). I will give it another try and talk to a couple of guys that I know who are self-sponsored (this may take a day or two but will get back with a post if I can get anything worthwhile, as this would seem to be something that should interest a lot of people).

[Socratesabroad]

I'm looking for a way to get over there without having to line up a sponsor in advance.

What I heard about was that you already have a sufficient bankroll that you could cover your expenses for a full year, so they grant you self-sponsor status. I vaguely recall that this is the sort of thing arranged for people seeking an artist's visa, so they can work independently. That's the sort of thing I'm looking for.

Point taken. But I think you will need a sponsor of some sort.

Just thought of something, though. An acquaintance of mine who had been back and forth betw. Jpn and the US needed a visa to get him in-country. Tired of the eikaiwa route, he claimed 'journalist' status. A very small-scale mag in the US - think something along the lines of a fanzine or anime mag - had to write a letter stating that he wrote articles for them (not that he wrote exclusively for or was employed full-time with them). I think he may have submitted a sample or two, but I'm not exactly sure. At any rate, he ended up getting the visa.

Something to think about, and far better than a green card marriage.