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Japan Job Seeker Visa 2024
Japan’s J-Find Visa (Job seeker visa) FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a benefit to hire a lawyer in Japan?
I want to apply directly to the Japanese Embassy in my country.
What is our service ?
Our advantage
Reference page

Japan Job Seeker Visa 2024

Japan’s J-Find Visa (Job seeker visa) FAQ

For the information on J-Find visa, please refer to: J-Find visa: Japan’s New Visas for Elite Global Professionals – A Comprehensive Guide

J-Find visa is a job seeker visa that will let graduates from world top 100 universities stay longer in Japan as they seek employment there. However, various criteria have to be fulfilled by the candidate. First, please see the above page, which describes the J-Find visa criteria. Other questions are answered as follows.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the process of requesting your firm?

First, are you in Japan now? If you are in Japan, come to our office for a fee-based consultation.

If you are NOT in Japan, the process is a little more complicated. Currently, if you want to apply for a J-Find visa for the purpose of job hunting, you cannot have someone in Japan act as your application representative. This means that you need to choose one of the following two plans (and one more additional plan);

[Plan A] Appying visa with COE: You enter Japan on a tourist visa, visa waiver scheme or other short-stay “Temporary Visitor” visa, meet with us to confirm your status, and we will submit the application to the Immigration Bureau on your behalf. You do not need to stay in Japan until the result of the examination. After you return to your home country, we will negotiate with the examiner and mail the COE (Certificate of eligibility) to you in your home country after it is approved.

[Plan A’] Appying COE and convert to J-find visa in Japan: You enter Japan on a tourist visa, visa waiver scheme or other short-stay “Temporary Visitor” visa for 90 days, meet with us to confirm your status, and we will submit the application to the Immigration Bureau on your behalf. In our experience, the COE (Certificate of eligibility) examination period required by the Tokyo Immigration Bureau is approximately one month in 2023. You can then apply to convert your “Temporary Visitor” visa to a J-Find visa. The conversion process takes about two weeks. This allows you to obtain a J-Find visa in Japan without having to leave Japan. Conversely, if you adopt this Plan A’, once you have entered Japan you will not be able to leave Japan until the J-Find visa process is fully completed. Only foreigners who are prepared to remain in Japan continuously for approximately two months can adopt this plan.

[Plan B] Applying visa without COE: You can apply directly to the Japanese Embassy in the country where you currently reside. However, although we can review your documents, you must make the application at the Japanese embassy yourself. The Japanese embassy may not accept your application. Since I am not in your country, it is difficult for us to negotiate with the Japanese embassy. So, please ask Japanese Embassy in your country at first. However, some Japanese embassies and consulates in China (Beijing, Shanghai) have confirmed cases of J-Find visa applications being accepted without a COE. If you are applying at the local Japanese embassy or other Japanese consulates, our firm can still provide support, such as preparing a Legal Opinion Letter by Gyoseishoshi immigration lawyer.

At the moment, many of our clients take the plan A. Please contact us for more information.

I live outside Japan now, can I meet with you online and sign an electronic contract?: Online interviews and e-contracts are available at our firm. However, please note that, as mentioned above, I can only submit COE applications to the Immigration Bureau on your behalf during the period you are in Japan. It is very difficult for foreigners to understand, but we, Gyoseishoshi immigration lawyer, can only represent you, the applicant, while you are physically in Japan. You cannot appoint us as your representative from abroad online. Ultimately, this means that you will need to meet with me in Japan in person.

Can I choose to apply for 2 years of J-Find visa in one go?: No, the first time you can only apply 6 months or 1 year’s validity period, however J-Find visa is extendable up to 2 years.

How long does the COE review process take?: The standard processing time required for the examination of COE at the Immigration Bureau ranges from two weeks to three months. In our experience, at the Tokyo Immigration Bureau, the examination result is often given in about one month. However, it also depends on the time of year. You must enter Japan within three months of the COE issue date.

I would like to apply for a COE for a J-Find visa and then change directly to a J-Find visa. Is that possible?: At first, you can not apply from your Temporary visitor status to J-Find visa directly. However, if your COE application decision is made during your stay in Japan and a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) is issued, it is possible for you to change the status to J-Find visa. For more information about Temporary visitor visa to change another visa, please refer to “Complete Guide: Change of status from Temporary Visitor (Tourist) Visa to Spouse Visa and Other Visas“.

Can I apply for J-Find using my Master degree? Or the requirement is only looking at Bachelor degree?: You can apply for J-Find visa using your Master degree as well.

Once a job is found in Japan, can the J-Find visa allow me to start work immediately like a work visa? And after 2 years if still working in a job can auto convert to work visa, or the employer need to apply separately?: Since J-Find visa is not able to function as a work visa, this visa is for searching for work and entrepreneurial activity. So, you have to change the visa status to working visa type when you find a job to start working. J-Find visa cannot convert to work visa automatically, you and your employer have to prepare documents and submit application.

What are the benefits of J-Find visa compared to a normal visitor visa in terms of job finding? Must you have J-find before you are allowed to apply for a job in Japan?: While a “Temporary Visitor” (normal visitor) visa only allows you to stay in Japan for a maximum of 90 days, a J-Find visa allows you to stay in Japan for a longer period of time and take your time to find a job. Also, after obtaining a J-Find visa, you will become a resident of Japan, which is a sufficient incentive for Japanese companies to hire you.

With J-Find visa, do I need to join and pay National Health Insurance?: Yes, you have to join the National Health Insurance (Kokumin Kenko Hoken). Foreigners who stay in Japan for more than three months must join the National Health Insurance system. This insurance covers 70% of your medical costs (therefore you only have to pay 30%) when you are ill or injured. Your National Health Insurance and National Pension contributions record will be very important when you apply for permanent residence in the future. If you want to apply for permanent residence of Japan, please do not forget to complete the National Health Insurance and National Pension procedures after entering Japan on a J-Find visa.

Do I have to be in Japan all the time within the J-Find visa period?: No, you are free to travel back and forth between Japan and abroad within the visa expire date.

Do I have to have job interview in process then can apply?: No, you don’t need to start a job seeking before you will apply for J-Find visa.

Is J-Find visa counted towards years of work experience in getting a permanent residence?: The period of time you spent in Japan with a J-Find visa would probably fall under the requirements for residence in Japan when applying for permanent residence, but unfortunately it does not fall under the period of your work history. Therefore, for example, you can apply for permanent residence three years after obtaining a HSP (Highly Skilled Professional) visa with a score of 70 or above; with a score of 80 or above, or J-Skip visa, you can apply for permanent residence in ONE year.

I’m interested in applying for the J-Find visa. I’m currently in Japan on a student visa, but haven’t been successful in job hunting. Can I apply a J-Find visa from student visa?: You are allowed to change from a student visa to a J-Find visa after you have graduated from school. Of course, your school attendance and grades will also be subject to review, so if your school attendance is poor, you are more likely to be rejected.

I would like your firm to apply a J-Find visa. I understand I have to visit to Tokyo, but how long should I stay in Tokyo? Am I allowed to stay in Tokyo while I apply for the COE (Certificate of Eligibility)?: Thank you for your interest in our firm. We will be happy to discuss your specific schedule with you in advance. We will, of course, ensure that we schedule the application process in the most efficient manner and on your preferred dates. Please note: applying for a COE will not extend your “Temporary Visitor” visa. As a general rule, it is within the time limit of your current visa (15, 30 or 90 days. Please take a look at your passport carefully). Once you have left Japan, you can rest assured that we will liaise with the Immigration Bureau and receive your COE on behalf of you.

All conditions are cleared yet I have graduated for more than 5 years. Can I apply a J-Find visa?: Sorry, you can’t. Five years have not passed since the date of graduation from a university is a basic requirement for applying a J-Find visa.

Would J-Find visa allow me to work in Japan? For example, I want to apply for an internship at IT companies in Japan while looking for a long-term job. Is this possible?: Yes, you can do an internship in Japan. Activities to receive remuneration to the extent necessary to supplement the funds required to carry out these activities is also acceptable. (Excluding adult entertainment business activities)

As for the qualification of applying a J-Find Visa, whether postgraduate diploma will be acceptable if it is obtained in a target university and within 5 years?: The postgraduate diploma cannot acceptable for apply J-Find visa. You need their university’s Bachelor, Master or Doctor degree certificate.

Would it be fine to transition from the working holiday visa to the J-Find visa? Would I need to apply for a new COE (Certificate of Eligibility), or would I only need to complete a change of activities document?: For transfers from a working holiday visa to a J-Find visa or the other types of visa, there are some countries where this is possible and others where it is not, depending on nationality (passport). Please contact us for specific details. If you have a passport from a country where this is not possible, you may be able to shorten the period you are not in Japan by applying for a COE as soon as possible, within the period of stay of your working holiday visa.

Is there an age limit to apply a J-Find visa?: Applicants must be at least 18 years of age, but unlike the working holiday visa, there is no upper age limit stipulated.

I was told that applying for this J-Find visa is very simple and easy, just collect the documents to submit application. Do I need to ask your firm to do this for me?: Please take a look at “What is a benefit to hire a lawyer in Japan?”as follows.

Is there anyone who have applied for this J-Find visa before?: Of course there are! The operation of J-Find visa application actually started in May 2023, but already since May our firm has been supporting a number of COE applications in the period up to the present.

What is a benefit to hire a lawyer in Japan?

Since you have to come to Japan to apply for the COE actually, why don’t you just go to the immigration office and apply for it yourself while you are in Japan?

Indeed, that is one way to do it. You may be able to go to the Japanese Immigration Bureau yourself, and within a day, you can submit your application to the Immigration Bureau in plenty of time.

However, please think about it carefully.

Do you really understand what documents you need to submit to the immigration bureau?

Do you have a fixed contact address in Japan? If the immigration inspector has any doubts about your application, who should he/she ask?

The Japanese Immigration bureau does not contact persons who are in a foreign country.

If your COE is issued, it will only be mailed to the Japanese address. An electronic COE system has been introduced, and the COE application for this J-Find visa is subject to electronic application. However, the awareness of electonic COEs is still low at Japanese embassies and consulates outside Japan, and at their proxy application centres. And there are still many of them who know nothing about this new “J-Find visa” and have never seen it.

In this situation, obtaining a “paper COE” is very reassuring and avoids unnecessary problems. So, you still need a Japanese contact address.

These are tremendous benefits to be entrusted to an immigration specialist.

Japan’s COE (Certificate of Eligibility) Digitalization

I want to apply directly to the Japanese Embassy in my country.

Of course we can support you. Our services include guiding you through the documentation, checking the documents you have prepared, translating them into Japanese and writing a written opinion from us. You will need to go to the Japanese embassy yourself to submit your application, and we will support you until you receive your visa successfully.

We have helped people from several countries apply for J-Find visas remotely from Japan.

What is our service ?

Our office makes them one by one according to each situation.

services available in English or Chinese,
provides professional assessment and consultation services according to your personal situation,
review and organize your documents according to the laws and policies of the immigration of Japan,
prepare all necessary application documents, attachments and filing lists for you,
submitting your application to immigration offices throughout Japan (you do not need to be present),
respond to all inquiries and reports from the Immigration Bureau in the name of the immigration lawyer,
keep you updated on the progress of your application,
pick up your Residence Card or COE (Certificate of Eligibility) and return it to you,
assist you in applying for permanent residence in Japan (green card), if you have lived in Japan continuously for a certain number of years.

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Our office has a lot of practical experience. Our Gyoseishoshi lawyer will listen to your situation and advise you on the best way to proceed, as well as creating individualised application forms and justifications. None of the documents are the same.

Our advantage

With the new J-FIND visa policy coming into effect on 24 April 2023, YOKOYAMA LEGAL SERVICE OFFICE already has several successful cases of COE approvals coming down. We highly recommend that your important application is made by an experienced professional legal adviser. In particular, when you are applying for this visa, I recommend you to ask your immigration adviser whether they have applied for J-FIND visas before, how many applications they have applied and what their success rate is.

We also provide assistance if you are unable to come to Japan and apply for a J-Find visa CoE, directly to the Japanese embassy or consulate in your country. Our lawyers will review all your documents and prepare a legal opinion.