Freelance translation > visa

[Kanchou]

Can you get a visa for freelance translation? I've been told the only way to do it is to change to a manager/investor visa but that requires five million in investment.

[wagyl]

Or a status of residence without restrictions on employment activities, such as a spouse visa, permanent residency or decendant of Japanese national.

[Kanchou]

Or a status of residence without restrictions on employment activities, such as a spouse visa, permanent residency or decendant of Japanese national.

Not an option.

[GomiGirl]

You could self sponsor - but you will need to show contracts for up to a minimum monthly income.

Google Self Sponsorship Japan Visa or something similar as there are a few blogs of people who have done it before and what they did to get it.

Usually these people have a main client that pays most of their income and then have other smaller clients picking up the shortfall. I think it is a minimum of ¥250,000 of earnings you need to show. I guess this is the magic number for being able to sustain yourself without becoming a burden on the government.

[Kanchou]

You could self sponsor - but you will need to show contracts for up to a minimum monthly income.

Google Self Sponsorship Japan Visa or something similar as there are a few blogs of people who have done it before and what they did to get it.

Usually these people have a main client that pays most of their income and then have other smaller clients picking up the shortfall. I think it is a minimum of ¥250,000 of earnings you need to show. I guess this is the magic number for being able to sustain yourself without becoming a burden on the government.

I have Googled it, and I was told flat out by the immigration office that there is no way to self-sponsor a "specialist in humanities/international relations" visa.

Also, supposedly there is no real magic number, in the end it's all up to the people reviewing your application.

And I don't have consistent income yet, but it's starting to pick up. I mostly get a couple 10,000 yen jobs and maybe one 9-man job a month (but that's on top of my current pay so it's basically just extra income).

[wagyl]

I see you joined here almost 10 years ago. No need to answer here (and you sort of already have) and you know your situation better than anyone else, but even though I am sure you are aware of it I repeat it anyway: 10 years on a humanities visa and proven ability to earn a living (and coming from the first world) shows a high likelihood of being granted permanent residency, so long as you have kept your nose comparatively clean. Just like self sponsorship, Japan just wants to be satisfied that you will not become a burden on the state without them having an easy way to send you home. Otherwise, you just have to maintain full time work with the employer who is sponsoring you while keeping the side jobs running.

[Kanchou]

I see you joined here almost 10 years ago. No need to answer here (and you sort of already have) and you know your situation better than anyone else, but even though I am sure you are aware of it I repeat it anyway: 10 years on a humanities visa and proven ability to earn a living (and coming from the first world) shows a high likelihood of being granted permanent residency, so long as you have kept your nose comparatively clean. Just like self sponsorship, Japan just wants to be satisfied that you will not become a burden on the state without them having an easy way to send you home. Otherwise, you just have to maintain full time work with the employer who is sponsoring you while keeping the side jobs running.

I have been on the forum for almost 10 years but I have only been in Japan for a total a little less than four years, and only 2.8 consecutively (on my current visa).

[GomiGirl]

I know a good immigration lawyer. I am sure she will be the best person to answer your questions. She is bilingual and not afraid of a challenge.

PM me if you want her contact deets.

[Kanchou]

I don't really want to get lawyers involved just yet...

[GomiGirl]

I don't really want to get lawyers involved just yet...

Well the value of the information you get on a free webboard is about as much as you paid for it - zero.

Get the right information from the right people and then you will save yourself a heap of time and stress.

It isn't expensive to get a professional to do it. It will be around ¥120,000 - ¥150,000 and you do not have to lift a finger.

If you just want advice on what option it will just be a few thousand yen.

[Coligny]

Yea, because paying always bring you the best stuff...

[Kanchou]

I don't really want to get lawyers involved just yet...

Well the value of the information you get on a free webboard is about as much as you paid for it - zero.

Get the right information from the right people and then you will save yourself a heap of time and stress.

It isn't expensive to get a professional to do it. It will be around ¥120,000 - ¥150,000 and you do not have to lift a finger.

If you just want advice on what option it will just be a few thousand yen.

What I mean is that if I manage to find a job it won't be an issue. Plus I might be able to get an extension, which will help.

And if I don't, going home is always an option.

[Kanchou]

I've been offered a job that doesn't pay enough and is in a place I don't want to live, so I have to wonder if I got my visa renewed and don't take the job if it's still valid since I'd be doing translation work anyway. I would feel terrible for doing something like that, but what are you going to do.

Yes, I know I should just ask a lawyer, but I figured someone here has to have had the same experience.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

I've been offered a job that doesn't pay enough and is in a place I don't want to live, so I have to wonder if I got my visa renewed and don't take the job if it's still valid since I'd be doing translation work anyway. I would feel terrible for doing something like that, but what are you going to do.

Yes, I know I should just ask a lawyer, but I figured someone here has to have had the same experience.

Take the job, get your visa and fuck over the company. They will fuck you over if need be. If you don't want the job, I'll do it (but if you're going to fuck them over, tell me where it is and when you'll do it and I'll apply soon after!)

[Kanchou]

Ｔｈｅｙ’ｒｅ　ａｌｓｏ　ｏｎｅ　ｏｆ　ｍｙ　ｂｅｔｔｅｒ　ｆｒｅｅｌａｎｃｅ　ｃｏｍｐａｎｉｅｓ... and I don't have many that actually send me work. lol.

[wagyl]

I think all of us have made compromises somewhere along the way in order to maintain an immigration status. It is up to you to decide if the compromise is too much for you. And seeing as you already have a relationship with this potential employer, they may be more flexible with you working from home (although in my experience, inflexible stubbornness, thy name is Japanese Corporate Bureaucracy).

[rambist]

I was wondering how this panned out, as I have a somewhat similar situation.

Technically I am working in-house (via dispatch, bleh), but I'm doing freelance on the side. On days when I get home from work and make more money doing a 3-hour freelance job than I made in my entire 9-hour workday (and without all the office politics), it's extremely tantalizing.

[nickels]

Well done on getting the decent-paying freelance gigs. I have one good one, but the others all offer pretty low pay.