My contract finishes on the 27th of July and i am thinking of staying another week or 2 to travel.
My visa is valid until next year. Do i need to change my status to tourist? Or is it ok as it is?
As long as your visa is still valid, no problems. Even if your job ends your visa doesn't expire. (That's one of the reasons JET gives you the plane ticket home--they want you to go back home rather than be able to legally bum around Japan on your still-valid visa.) I think you have to leave within 30 days of the end of your contract in order to still qualify for the free ticket home.
If your visa is going to expire, even by a day, then you need to go to the immigration office and fix it. I think you get an extension, but I'm not sure. Overstaying your visa is a bad thing.
I'm confused about this too. As of July 30, I will no longer be a JET... but I'm staying in Japan. Is it really true that the JET visa is still technically "valid" since you're "entitled" to those three years on JET, even if like me, you only do 2 years?
I'm confused because right now I'm applying for the Nikkei visa, but I may or may not have it by July 30. I don't get how immigration is going to handle it... like once they approve my new visa, are they going to take my JET visa and mark it up?? Is it OK for me to still be chilling in Japan in the meantime?
Also I'm concerned because I plan to be out of the country the first 2 weeks of August. Can you leave Japan on the JET visa and come back on it even if you're not a JET anymore?? Does your town (or whoever contracts you) do something to your visa once you finish JET? Otherwise how would customs at the airport know what my real status is...??
Anyone with experience with changing their visa type (and leaving the country for vacation but coming back) please let me know!
As soon as, like the day after your contract, you are supposed to file forms for a change of status of residence. you can stay on as a tourist or apply for a new visa, during your application stage you can leave the country if you currently have a valid visa, which if you are not recontracting you dont really, i cant really go into what you can or cant get away with but officially you are not allowed to stay in japan on a JET visa if you are not a JET. If something happend and they did find out you could be in a world of trouble. so even people that are in their third year and are going home if you are going to stay after the end of your contract you are supposed to change the status of your visa in order to do so.
This is my first year as PA at this time of the year, so I dont have all the answers, but over the next few days/weeks i am going to be looking into this and talking with john and looking at old shigajet posts to see if i can get a good run down for all of you.
until then,
mark
Sometimes there’s a difference between what the immigration would like you to do and what you have to do I’d say :o)
Even if you ask the immigration office for some info on any topic, I’d double check it by
a) asking another immigration office about the same problem
b) asking a Japanese person to check the same info on your behalf
The following is based on my experience so far; in Osaka the two immigrations offices (Tenmabashi ans Tennoji) often gave different/contradicting bits of information, and were not willing to say exactly which norms they were referring to – and that for me just stinks.
Ideally even if you have a visa that’s still valid, immigration would love you to give it up as soon as you’re not working any longer, and get out of the country OR give up your working visa changing your status to tourist visa and get out of the country once your holiday is finished.
Remember you have to pay every time you change your status/get a new visa or re-entry etc. , and that makes immigration happy.
However, I asked about this at my previous workplace immigration section, and at the city hall here, and if you have a valid visa and a valid reentry permit you may come and go as you please.
That’s what I did when I quit my previous job in Osaka – I simply went home with my working visa, reentry, AND gaijin card.
You should not overstay your visa, that’s for sure.
An option if your working visa is expiring and you want to stay here a bit more, is getting it extended as tourist visa for up to 3 months. You can apply for the extension about a couple of months before your working visa expires.
Finally, if you have a working visa and plan to work here I’d keep it as long as possible. Once you have a valid working visa you can change it to another category (i.e. specialist in humanities > skilled worked) fairly easily if your new employer backs you up; however it is not always so easy to find an employer that’s willing to sponsor a brand new visa.
My job finishes on the 27th of July and i have asked for my flight for between the 7-11th of August. My visa is valid until July 2009.
Do i have to change my status to tourist and give them my money? What if i don't change it?
I know if i overstay my visa i am in trouble. This is not the case. Are there problems with just my status?
Emma,
If your visa is valid until July 2009, then you don't have to worry about renewing your visa. No doubt technically speaking (by the letter of the law), immigration would want you to switch to a tourist/temporary visa to reflect your actual status so that they could collect some more money from you, as you say. In practice, though, I would say that no JETs actually do this -- and it isn't a problem because you have a valid visa and thus are not overstaying.
When you actually leave the country, the immigration people at the airport will have no idea when your final day of work as a JET actually was. They will only see that your visa is valid until July 2009, and that you're leaving well before that.
Hope this helps,
John
Emma,
If your visa is valid until July 2009, then you don't have to worry about renewing your visa. No doubt technically speaking (by the letter of the law), immigration would want you to switch to a tourist/temporary visa to reflect your actual status so that they could collect some more money from you, as you say. In practice, though, I would say that no JETs actually do this -- and it isn't a problem because you have a valid visa and thus are not overstaying.
When you actually leave the country, the immigration people at the airport will have no idea when your final day of work as a JET actually was. They will only see that your visa is valid until July 2009, and that you're leaving well before that.
Hope this helps,
John
As long as your visa is still valid, no problems. Even if your job ends your visa doesn't expire. (That's one of the reasons JET gives you the plane ticket home--they want you to go back home rather than be able to legally bum around Japan on your still-valid visa.) I think you have to leave within 30 days of the end of your contract in order to still qualify for the free ticket home.
If your visa is going to expire, even by a day, then you need to go to the immigration office and fix it. I think you get an extension, but I'm not sure. Overstaying your visa is a bad thing.