Making the Big Move: Let’s Talk Visas

There are many ways to move to Japan, but pretty much all of them require getting your hands on a visa.  With the exception of a few special countries, you’ll need a visa if you plan on staying longer than 90 days or 3 months in Japan.

Requirements for applying and being granted a visa depend on what kind of agreement Japan has with the country your passport is issued from.  Requirements also depend on what kind of visa you’re seeking.  The following sites are very useful reading:

• MOFA – Ministry of Foreign Affairs (English, Japanese)
• Immigration Bureau of Japan (English, Japanese)
• Juridique (English, Japanese, French)

During my stay I’ve had three different kinds of visas and all of them required jumping through different hoops to get my hands on.