What is a long-term stay?
Many people dream about living a life in Japan. In order to live in Japan long-term, to stay longer than just a few months, a long-term visa is required. Also, living in Japan long term will mean you need to have some way of making money to support your lifestyle. According the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a long-term stay is “A stay during which the applicant performs remunerative work in Japan or a stay of over 90 days in Japan, etc.”. This visa category covers everything from english teachers and start-up managers, to missionaries and students. A long-term visa is also the status that means you will be able to receive a zairyu card (在留カード), which will enable you to live a normal life in Japan.
How can I apply for a long-term visa?
The current process to apply for a long-term visa to Japan has been documented in a procedural chart by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This shows both the requirements of the Visa Applicant and the person inviting the applicant to Japan.
What is a Certificate of Eligibility?
One of the main differences between a short-term and long-term visa for Japan is the Certificate of Eligibility. This document is essentially the pre-screening by Immigration to validate that your visa application is valid, and that you meet the conditions for the activities within that visa category. As shown in the chat above, it is the responsibility of the person in Japan making the invitation to apply for the Certificate of Eligibility on your behalf.
In a lot of ways, the screening for the Certificate of Eligibility is the actual review within the visa application process. This is why it can take 1-3 months for the review process by the Ministry of Justice to issue the certificate. Once you are granted a Certificate of Eligibility, the actual Japan visa application process can be completed within several business days. However, the certificate is only valid for 3 months from the issued date, so it is important to submit the visa application before it expires.
Categories of Long-term visa
There are seven main categories of long-term visas for Japan, with each category containing several individual visa types.
Working Visa
- Professor (Examples: university professor, assistant professor, assistant, etc.)
- Artist (Examples: composers, songwriters, artists, sculptors, craftspeople, photographers, etc.)
- Religious activities (Examples: religious people such as monks, bishops, missionaries, etc.)
- Journalist (Examples: newspaper journalists, magazine journalists, editors, news cameramen, announcers, etc.)
- Business manager (Examples: company presidents, directors, etc.)
- Legal/Accounting services (Examples: attorneys, judicial scriveners, public accountants, tax accountants, etc. certified in Japan)
- Medical services (Examples: physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, etc. certified in Japan)
- Researcher (Examples: researchers, investigators, etc. at research institutes, etc.)
- Instructor (Examples: teachers, etc. at elementary schools, intermediate schools and high schools)
- Engineer/Specialist in humanities/International services (Examples: scientific engineers, IT engineers, foreign language teachers, interpreters, copywriters, designers, etc.)
- Intra-company transferee (Examples: people transferred to the Japanese branch (head office of the same company, etc.)
- Nursing care (Example: certified care worker)
- Entertainer (Examples: musicians, actors, singers, dancers, sportspeople, models, etc.)
- Skilled labor (Examples: chefs specializing in the food of a foreign country, animal trainers, pilots, sports trainers, sommeliers, etc.)
- Specified skilled worker (Work-ready foreign nationals who possess certain expertise and skills in certain industrial fields.)
- Technical intern training (Examples: Technical intern)
Highly Skilled Professional Visa
- Highly skilled professional (i) (a)/(b)/(c) (Examples: highly-skilled human resources per “Points System”)
- Highly skilled foreign professional (Examples: dependents of the highly skilled foreign professional, etc.)
Start-up Visa
- Start-up (Entrepreneur supported by municipalities in Japan and the spouse or children of the entrepreneur.)
General Visa
- Cultural activities (Examples: unpaid internships, people studying the tea ceremony or Japanese flower arranging, etc.)
- Student (Examples: college students, pre-college students, etc.)
- Training (Examples: trainees in a local government, etc.)
- Dependent (Family stays) (Examples: The spouse and children of a foreign national with working visa, etc.)
Specified Visa
- Spouse or child of Japanese national (Examples: spouse of a Japanese national, biological child of a Japanese national)
- Spouse of permanent resident (Examples: spouse of a permanent resident)
- Long-term resident (Examples: persons with Japanese ancestry, Indochinese refugee settlers, the spouse or children of Japanese nationals left behind in China, etc.)
- Designated activities (Examples: foreign nationals who wish to enter Japan as personal help privately employed by diplomats, etc., foreign nationals who wish to enter Japan for a working holiday or for paid internships, candidate nurses and care workers who wish to enter Japan based on an EPA, etc.)
- Designated activities (Long Stay for sightseeing and recreation)
Diplomatic Visa
- Diplomat (Examples: diplomatic agents, diplomatic couriers, etc.)
Official Visa
- Official (Examples: administrative and technical staffs of diplomatic missions and members of the service staff, etc.)
Where can I find a Japanese Embassy in My Country?
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan maintains a list of all embassies and consulates around the world. See here for the list on their official website.