Working Holiday Visa
Introduction
A working holiday visa is a special visa for young people between the age of 18 and 30 (25 in case of some countries), to stay in Japan for up to one year. Working Holiday Visa holders are allowed to work part time while staying in Japan. Unlike the student visa, the working holiday visa is easy to apply, can be obtained in just a week, and most importantly, it is free.
The conditions for the working-holiday in Japan
The application for a working holiday visa is open to all, provided that the following elements are respected :
• Be between 18 and 30 years old when submitting your application : if you are 30 years old when you submit your application, your application will be accepted.
• Not having already obtained this visa : Indeed, the working holiday visa is not renewable.
• Have at least € 3,100 in an unblocked current and / or savings account.
• Accept the terms of the bilateral agreement : it is simply a matter of accepting that the working holiday visa remains above all a visa for traveling and for exercising a professional activity that can supplement one’s budget (night work is not allowed).
• Not to be accompanied by a child.
• To be in a good health.
Work in Japan with the WHV
After obtaining your working holiday visa, you will be able to travel throughout Japan but also have a job that allows you to supplement your financial means.
By traveling to Japan on a working holiday visa, you will have tourist status and therefore, you will not be able to carry out all the professional activities that you want. In fact, most night work is not authorized during your stay in WHV. Among these activities, the following workplaces are not accepted :
• The bars,
• The nightclubs,
• The game centers,
• The cabarets,
• The pachinkos.
Of course, the problem is not working at night, but rather the environment in which you work. As far as catering is concerned, you can perfectly do your work at night if it closes late.
And when it comes to working hours in WHV, there is no limit (possibility of working more than 28 hours) provided that you do not work every day for a year. Your working holiday visa remains above all a visa for travel.
We are now going to take an interest in your file so that you can apply for your first working holidays visa and I will give you all the best advice so that it is accepted the first time.
You must submit the file yourself at the Japanese embassy.
Identity photography
The first thing you need to have is one good quality ID photo that is less than six months old. You must paste it on the visa application form.
• Its format will be 35mm X 45mm (format of an official ID photo).
• Do not take into account the dimensions mentioned on the visa application form.
• ID photographs scanned / printed via a printer are not accepted.
• The ID photo must show the entire head.
The passport
In your file, you will also need to bring your passport and a photocopy of the identity page of your valid passport. Whether your photocopy is in black and white or in color does not matter.
If the residence address shown on your passport is an old address (different from the one at which you currently reside), you must provide proof of residence (electricity, water or gas bill).
The Japan Working Holiday Visa Application Form
Then you must complete a visa application form (preferably, the signatures on the passport and the form must be identical). If you have any doubts on how to complete this form, please leave the relevant fields free. When submitting your request, the person who will receive you will tell you on site how the missing fields must be completed.
Important : paste your identity photograph on the form (top right). If you do not do this, your file will not be accepted.
The visa application form has two pages with many fields but most do not necessarily have to be completed. Here are the fields that you absolutely must fill in :
Page 1 : use your passport* to fill in
• Surname (as shown in passport)*
• Given and middle names (as shown in passport)*
• Date of birth*
• Place of birth*
• Sex : Male/Female*
• Marital status : Single/Married/Widowed/Divorced
• Nationality or citizenship*
• Passport type : Diplomatic/Official/Ordinary/Other: it will be an ordinary passport if no other seems to match you.
• Passport No.*
• Place of issue
• Date of issue*
• Issuing authority*
• Date of expiry*
• Purpose of visit to Japan
• Intended length of stay in Japan
• Date of arrival in Japan
• Dates and duration of previous stays in Japan : if you have been to Japan before your WHV application
• Your current residential address (if you have more than one address, please list them all)* : Address, Phone, Mobile, e-mail.
Page 2:
• Checkboxes : If you have never committed a crime, been in jail, been in possession of drugs, etc., check all the boxes under « No ».
The medical certificate
In your file, you will also include an original medical certificate attesting to your good health. The validity of the medical certificate must not exceed one month on the day you submit your request. Please note, if you are already in Japan when you are preparing your file and you do not have your medical certificate, you will have to wait until you return to your motherland to go to the doctor and obtain this document. This is the only one you cannot get directly from Japan.
The motivation letter
You must write a cover letter in which you will detail the origins of your interest in Japan. In this letter, you will especially not talk about life plans in Japan and I will also add to avoid talking about part-time job (arubaito) even if you can exercise one with this visa. Just answer the question explaining why you love Japan.
To write this cover letter, you can write it in English or French.
The resume (CV)
Regarding the CV, the Embassy of Japan provides you with a CV template that you can fill out. But nothing prevents you from providing a unique CV that you already have. If like me you have already done a student visa in Japan and worked part time, please note this on your CV with the dates and names of your school and job.
The stay project
Finally, we come to the last part and undoubtedly the most difficult to complete. Indeed, many people have had to return home to change their travel plan so that it exactly meets their expectations. As far as I am concerned, I was able to write my travel plan correctly and my application was accepted directly. That’s why I’ll help you write it down so that yours is perfect.
The stay plan can be written in English or French and is divided into three parts.
The period corresponding to the cities in which you plan to stay :
The best advice I can give you is to write your document in chronological order. That is, for example, the first three months you will be in Tokyo, the next three months in Osaka, the next three months in Kyoto and so on. If your travel plan makes sense on reading, the person who will take care of your file will have no trouble understanding it.
The cities in which you plan to stay, specifying :
• The type of accommodation,
• The amount of rent you will pay,
• The link to the site where you found your type of accommodation.
The activities you wish to carry out in Japan, specifying :
• The places in which you plan to travel,
• The budget by tourist place that you want to devote to it,
• If you are studying Japanese at a school, indicate the name of the school, the address and the amount of the tuition fee,
• If you have a job, indicate the type of job and the expected salary,
• In order to put the odds on your side, I also advise you to make a summary of each of your expenses by city, showing your calculations. You can take into account the following : accommodation, food, transportation, total expenses and total earnings.
Covid-19 : Written Pledge
Due to the health situation regarding the Covid-19 disease, the Japanese authorities require the presentation of a « Written Pledge » signed by a sponsor in Japan. This document is therefore a new mandatory document to complete your file for a student visa application.
The « Written Pledge » (誓約書) is a written oath that indicates that your sponsor takes full responsibility for ensuring that you comply with the sanitary measures in place in Japan. This document has been put in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
The sponsor can be a host structure, an employer (company) or even a school.
The « Written Pledge » can only be issued by your sponsor.
I give you below some important links :
EMBASSY OF JAPAN IN AUSTRALIA
INDIVIDUAL WRITTEN PLEDGE
JAPAN AIRLINES NOTICE
When your sponsor has signed the « Written Pledge », they can send it to you. Then, once in possession of the « Written Pledge », you must contact the Japanese Embassy in Paris by email « rdv.visa@ps.mofa.go.jp » telling them that your file for a student visa application is ready. Then they will give you a date for an appointment, and you will go to the Japanese Embassy or consulates to supply all your file for a student visa in Japan.
By submitting your application to the Japanese Embassy in Paris, the staff will confirm the student visa application with you. You will then be asked to come back to collect your visa.