Finding work on a spousal visa?

[bee_york]

Hi everyone, I have a situation that's troubling me greatly. I was accepted for an interview with JET but my husband was rejected. If I make it through and get accepted to JET, I know my husband can come with me on a spousal visa, but how easy/realistic would it be for him to find work? He doesn't speak any Japanese. Is anyone in a similar

Comments

[aimegami]

i used to work for a big name company (several) in the Tokyo area as well as some independent schools. basically, a spousal visa doesn't allow for full-time work. this of course varies from country to country, but that was my understanding (as someone who managed teacher schedules at a few schools).

your spouse could find several private students eventually and earn money that way, if he isn't able to land a part-time job elsewhere. there are a few places that may sponsor a visa to allow him to work full-time, but those are harder to obtain. i found that many small schools are wary of going through the rigorous paperwork to change a spousal visa to a sponsored work visa.

anyhow, good luck with your interview and don't fret about your husband until after you hear the results of your interview.

[bee_york]

Yeah, I know it only makes sense to worry only after I hear about the results of my own interview--after all, what if I don't get accepted? All this fretting will have been for nothing. But still, I'd like to explore all my options and get working on any and all solutions as early as possible. :)

[go_slow_ly]

Hi, I'm a former JET spouse who came here with my husband on a spousal visa. If your husband can't speak Japanese then he's pretty much confined to English teaching. When you first get to Japan, he won't be able to work legally until he gets a part-time permit which limits him to 20 hours a week. To switch to a full time position, he'd have to find a company willing to sponsor his work visa. Since a lot of Japanese companies aren't very familiar with the visa process, they don't like to do this and give priority to foreigners who already have a work visa. I ran into this problem. There are a lot of foreigners to choose from at the moment and unfortunately English teachers are kind of disposable. But it's definitely doable.

Sorry if that sounds negative! Also the above info depends on the region of Japan you'll be in. Let me know if you have any more questions, I'd be happy to answer :)

[bee_york]

Thanks very much for the informative reply. :) How long did it take for you to find a part-time job when you first got to Japan, if you don't mind my asking? Do you speak Japanese?

[go_slow_ly]

Sure! My situation is a little different because I do speak Japanese and was specifically trying to avoid English teaching (nothing wrong with teaching, I'm just not that great at it), so I was being pretty picky. It took me about 2 months to find my first job, working for a clothing company where I was a translator for their website and I processed international orders. Ultimately I switched to English teaching though because the pay was a lot better. I think it would be relatively easy and quick to get a part time job teaching English - it's the full time job that's a bit harder.