spousal visa --> work visa

[Fallin' up]

Hey everyone.

I've been searching around a bit for information on my situation, and have found found some pertinent info on here, but still have some questions/doubts.

Im married to a Japnese national. I came to Japan 1 1/2 years ago on a spousal visa. 6 months ago I recieved a 3 year extension. Now things have taken a turn for the worse in our relationship and divorce seems an imminent reality.

I have spoken to my boss about my situation a he has agreed to sponsor me....but theres one problem. I dont have a BA. My boss insists that this is not an issue but I have my doubts.

I am aware that work visas can be issued if you have "X" amount of years experience in your field. I dont. Im working as a web designer and was hired based on the strength of my portfolio. I only worked for one year in this field back in the states.

Im definately planning on getting some legal advice, as I'd really like to stay here in Japan, but I thought I'd check with you guys first since you seem to be a knowledgeable bunch.

Thanks in advance

[cstaylor]

How'd your marriage fail?

[6810]

oops, did a re read. Now (like usual, I look like a nob).

Thus the edit...

anyway, is the marriage far from gone? Is it dead? How long were you married? Why split? Personal, I know, and none of my biz, but if it can be fixed it can. And if it can't it can't. So, none of my business.

So, can you fake it or fix it long enough to get PR?

[Fallin' up]

irreconcilable differences.
need to know the gory details? just curious?

[Fallin' up]

PR? Permanent residence Im assuming? How long does it take to get that?

Ive been in japan for a year and a half. Weve been married for two.

[6810]

[Fallin' up]

We had plenty of problems and have been together for about four years, married for two. It was in the first 12 months that things were at their worst - ie - around 2.5 years of being together in total.

interesting...any insight into why that is? Did you also get married and then move here with your wife?

[Taro Toporific]

PR? Permanent residence I/m assuming? How long does it take to get that?

Ive been in japan for a year and a half. We've been married for two.

Permanent residence normally takes 5 years (3 years is now a rare possibility) but you normally need to be married to Japanese. Getting a work visa as an unmarried web monkey without a BA is going to be tough. However, since you are already here and doing web work the mysterious, phase-of-the-moon, immigration Brownie Points will be in your favor.
Best bet: Get a immigration lawyer or "fixer".


My question:
J-immigration doesn't force you to change to change your work visa when you get fired or quit. Does immigration actually force you to change your spouse visa? You said that 6 months ago you received a 3 year extension of your spouse visa. Can't you just cruise for 2.5 years on that spouse visa until it expires?

[Fallin' up]

[
Best bet: Get a immigration lawyer or "fixer".

fixer?? Do tell please .....

...I dont believe I'll be forced to change status until the 3 years is up. Cruising is exactly what I intend to do, unless I find out I'll be screwing myself by doing so.

[Taro Toporific]

fixer?? Do tell please .....

...I dont believe I'll be forced to change status until the 3 years is up. Cruising is exactly what I intend to do, unless I find out I'll be screwing myself by doing so.

They are all sorts of weird-ass paralegal immigration "fixers" in Japan --- The technical term is "Administrative Scrivener" gyoseisyoshi are licenced by the Japanese Ministry of Justice, and are entitled to make application to the Immigration Bureau on behalf of an applicant (basically they try to "fix" your application so immigration will be have to give you the visa). (Sorry, I don't have any recommendations for real immigration lawyers or gyoseisyoshi .)

[karekora]

total off subject I know, but Im interested in the fact that you've got a web designer job in Japan. Im in the UK at the moment, but have Graphic Design and Web Design skills and would love to go and work in Japan again.
(first time around I was ... an english teacher...)

May i ask how you got that job? And, how easy it was?

I dont have a Degree or HND... Just a 2 year National Diploma and 3 years experience in the field in the UK. I guess thats a problem in Japan.

Id really like to go back and live in Japan again, its just I dont want my only job options to be english teacher/english teacher/english teacher...

thanks & hope u get your visa sorted OK

[Blah Pete]

If you get divorced and still have time remaining on your spouse visa you can stay until the visa expires. So it sounds like you are good for another 2.5 years.
I have met a few bar girls from the P.I. that get married to some old guy then divorce just to get the visa.

[6810]

Hey Taro,

I don't know for sure, but if you divorce, and I imagine one would have to do so legally (ie signing papers etc) then you are in technical violation of your spousal visa, given that you would no longer be married to a Japanese national.

My wife works in adminsitration at a local branch of Toyota and has on at least two occaisions seen people reported to immigration and deported.

One was a Sri Lankan man who was in a sham marriage, didn't live with his wife, had a girlfriend and was so confident of the ineptness of immigration that he openly flaunted this. When he applied for permanent residency, they investigated him and subsequently deported him.

The other was a Chinese woman who recently divorced her Japanese husband and came to our area for work - of course, she was on a spouse visa and by divorcing was in violation. My wife's company got a call from immigration... she too was detained and is possibly at the moment in the process of being deported.

As for me and my wife and our troubles? Partly communication. I reached a level of proficiency in Japanese where I no longer felt like I was being constantly misunderstood. The second thing I figured out is to never compromise my own ethics because of "cultural difference" (however, responding flexibly and sentively to so called difference is a crucial part - by compromise, I mean not bending over and getting fucked over by family, company or anyone and always being 100% me...) Finally, loneliness had to be dealt with. Being "away from home" can kill you. I called friends, wrote letters, email etc, but it just took time, over a year before I felt "ok" about being in Japan. Since then, little by little, I feel more at home here. That was it. But it all added up to real nastiness at the time.

[Mulboyne]

I think you are right that immigration is getting stricter about spouse visas. They still have to find out, though, to take any action. Unfortunately, if the relationship has turned sour then a vindictive spouse could certainly become a snitch.

I have worked with people who have been granted visas without a BA but I think only a lawyer or the kind of immigration advisor Taro mentioned can give you an up-to-date view on the current probabilities.

Why a divorce rather than a separation? Choose the later and you stay legal while giving yourself a chance to see if those differences really are irreconcilable.

[gomichild]

A friend in a similar situation a while back discovered that after the divorce you have perhaps a one year grace period left. I'm can't remember though if you had to apply for it.

As others have mentioned immigration is a tricky deal and everyone seems to have a different story. It depends on who you deal with and what kind of day they are having. This is why getting help is a good idea. If you go through the first buffer (the drips they hire to handle the counters) you will most definitely be turned down. It's the mysterious old dudes behind the scenes who have the power to make decisions.

You do have a couple of points against you. It's great that your employer is willing to sponsor you. However they are pretty strict about you having that educational piece of paper. And your length of working in the field isn't very long. As for permanent residency - I'll be coming up to ten years living here this year and no one at immigration has ever breathed a word of considering it to me. However it is good that you are thinking about your options early enough to be able to prepare and take action.

As for your marriage - obviously I don't know you and have no idea about your situation, but I've been married to a Japanese national for 4 years and it always hasn't been a bed of roses. Especially in the first couple of years when you discover things about the other person that you had no idea about before. I feel from your tone that you are angry and hurt and probably understandably so, but I would encourage you both to at least seek some marriage counselling, or even separate counselling before you make that decision. Obviously you both loved each other enough to marry - and that was not so long ago. A third party who is impartial and detached may help you mediate towards a solution to your issues. Or at least examine them so you both of a better understanding about what happened.

[Fallin' up]

@gomi thank you, and i agree that i shouldnt make any rash decisions.

@korekara I actually started working for the company while I was at home (california, big japanese community there) I then expressed my interest in living in Japan to my wife and boss and that was that. try to make connections. Its all about who you know I guess. have you tried any of the japanese job sites? daijob etc...

@all it seems like I really need to see a lawyer. If anyone can recommend a good one then I'm all ears. Ideally our marriage will work out but just in case it doesnt it seems I need to start planning now.

[Greji]

@gomi thank you, and i agree that i shouldnt make any rash decisions.-snip- it seems like I really need to see a lawyer. If anyone can recommend a good one then I'm all ears. Ideally our marriage will work out but just in case it doesnt it seems I need to start planning now.

Opinions are like assholes says the old saw, so having qualified that I will state mine.

I do not know your marriage situation. I do not know if you, or your wife, or both are wanting the divorce.

If you are serious about trying to save your marriage, you have to remember that as a rule most J-women are super realists and if they believe that if the husband wants or is planning a divorce, they will shift to the vaunted "shoganai" mode and start planning their life sans you. If it reaches that point you may have little to no chance to salvage the marriage.

If you feel that you must see a lawyer, I would hide that fact from your wife to the greatest extent you can, because that will register as an automatic "shoganai".

Good Luck and I hope everything works out for the best.


FWIW
Oink

[cstaylor]

I then expressed my interest in living in Japan to my wife and boss and that was that.

Why did you want to live in Japan? Were you already married at that point?

[Fallin' up]

Why did you want to live in Japan? Were you already married at that point?

I had visited several times and always thought it would be a great place to live for a while...just a new experience I guess.

We got married shortly after arriving here.

[cstaylor]

Sounds like we're in similar situations, although by your description you've had a tougher time adapting.

Why do you want to stay in Japan after you divorce your wife? If something like that happened to me, I'd head home.

[sillygirl]

I did it.

Went from Spouse of J National to Humanities visa.

It was really easy...had had the Spouse visa for about 10 years. Then my last year in Japan was the Humanities one sponsored by my employer.

Had to go to immigration and complete a change of status form..

[6810]

Do you have a degree? The OP doesn't.

[sillygirl]

Do you have a degree? The OP doesn't.

Ah, didnae see that...yes, I do.

OP - pm me.

[cstaylor]

I did it.

Went from Spouse of J National to Humanities visa.

It was really easy...had had the Spouse visa for about 10 years. Then my last year in Japan was the Humanities one sponsored by my employer

That supports my previous post: why stay in Japan after you're divorced?

[sillygirl]

That supports my previous post: why stay in Japan after you're divorced?

My hubby and me split in 98. He moved to England and so we didn't get divorced for visa reasons....

[cstaylor]

So... that's strange. You married a Japanese, then he moved to England, and you moved to Japan?

[sillygirl]

So... that's strange. You married a Japanese, then he moved to England, and you moved to Japan?

I know! Whack, eh? No. We met & married in Japan - he decided to live in UK after we split. So I brought him over here (had a 2 week holiday) , found him a job, apartment and came back to Japan on my own.

Think he's still around my hometown somewhere. Hope I bump into him, so I can give him a copy of our divorce papers - I keep them with me in my handbag just in case!

(Love that I got divorced on my own in the City Hall - bargain at 600Yen!)

[Greji]

(Love that I got divorced on my own in the City Hall - bargain at 600Yen!)

You mean I can get rid of Old what's her name for 600 yen? What a deal!

[sillygirl]

You mean I can get rid of Old what's her name for 600 yen? What a deal!

Well, getting married was only 600Yen. It's like a buy one, get one free offer at that price...

[Fallin' up]

PM'ed you sillygirl.