To Japan - Papers Please

After having been to Japan as a student (exchange year), for “cultural activities” (research internship), wihout a visa (tourism), and as a temporary visitor (visiting PhD student under special COVID-19 rules), I’m adding another type of visa and status of residence to the list. This time, it will be a work visa — specifically, a highly skilled professional visa (HSP). Below, I’ll write about the job hunting process, visa acquisition, and preparations for moving.

🔍 Job hunting from abroad — fresh master’s graduate

In early 2019, I had my first experience with hunting for a job in Japan from abroad. The plan back then was to line up a job for when I’d finish my master’s. Going by old notes, I could reconstruct the following.

The jobs I applied for were in software engineering (NLP, web, etc.), data science, and system administration. The offer I got was for a web development position. In the end though, I also got offered a PhD position in Germany on short notice, which I ended up taking.

🔍 Job hunting from abroad — PhD with some job experience

Doing a PhD wasn’t among the “career path” options I had put much consideration into. Because of that, taking the unexpected offer in 2019 didn’t mean to me calling off Japan, but simply putting the move on hold for a bit. Accordingly, I reinitiated the job hunt as the PhD finish line slowly but surely came into view in 2023. Similar to my job hunt in 2019, I primarily searched for industry jobs (rather than a postdoc position). Different from last time, because I had a good four years of full-time employment as a research associate on my CV, I targeted 中途採用 rather than 新卒採用.

As for a rough timeline, about a year before my estimated finishing date, I updated my English LinkedIn profile, set it to “open for work”, and started to occasionally browse TokyoDev to get a first feeling for sought out skills, typical work conditions, etc. During this phase, I got contacted by one bilingual recruiter on LinkedIn and had some helpful discussions. However, since it still was quite some time until I’d be available to start a job, we didn’t get into any application processes.

After about half a year of “passive mode” I switched gears into actively preparing and applying. First things first, I translated my CV to Japanese — no typical “fill-in form” CV though; kind of felt like a thing for fresh graduates. Second, I looked into search strategies (job platforms, search terms, etc.). Below is a list of the materials I prepared and search paths I took.

The platform I ended up using the most is Green. In addition to a messaging system for being “scouted” by recruiters or companies, they also allow companies to “like” your profile, based on which you can accept to have a talk. They also endorse having a カジュアル面談 as a first step, to ensure a basic mutual understanding. In my experience, カジュアル面談 are great, but scout messages and likes, while giving a nice confidence boost, are a bit of a mixed bag. Companies and recruiters on Green seem to message and like a bit excessively, which is why I would suggest preparing a template message to check your key conditions with the other side. In my case, even though I clearly stated in my profile that I require visa sponsorship and exclusively search for full-remote jobs, a considerable portion of people that contacted me turned out to not be able to accommodate for that. So, first shoot back with a template message, and only after confirmation that key conditions are met, invest time into properly engaging.

Another peculiarity of Green is their podcast, グリテンラジオ (YT), which was a nice companion for the journey. To give a few example of the contents they discuss:

Regarding the other platforms, CareerCross lets you search by required Japanese and English level which is nice for multilingual job seekers, JREC-IN is aimed at academic jobs and a challenge in terms of UI/UX, and TokyoDev/japandev have lots of job openings that don’t require Japanese.

In addition to job platforms, I also directly searched on company websites. Looking to potentially capitalize on my mother tongue, I checked German companies that might offer the kinds of jobs I’m looking for on Japan. Additionally, because I care about open source, I searched on websites of some of the sponsors of the Open Source Summit Japan. In the same vein, I also simply searched the Web for companies embracing/endorsing/appreciating open source. Funnily enough, this last, arguably least sophisticated method led me to an article, OSS活動に理解のある企業, which in the end led me to my future employer. ^_^’

Overall, the job hunting process went like this: flow diagram of the job search process

All the interviews were in Japanese and generally a nice experience, expect for one case where the person I talked to seemed to have no interest what so ever in talking to me. Some interviews where quite general, while others delved into more technical detail. Quite interesting was an interview with a consulting firm, which included the discussion of a “case study.“ Accompanying the interview processes, I also was asked to do personality tests and provide referrals by current or previous superiors and colleagues. Two things I learned from the coding test I did, are that my SQL-fu is a bit rusty, and reading technical specifications in Japanese is not really conducive to me coding within a tight time limit.

📄 HSP visa acquisition

I decided to aim for an HSP visa because it allows for a fast track to permanent residency. The system grants points based on qualifications, salary, and age. Depending on the amount of granted points, one can apply for permanent residency after 3 years (70+ points) or 1 year (80+ points) instead of the usual 10. In terms of preparation, I calculated my expected points (80+) and made sure I had proof and documentation for all the stuff I was banking on getting points for. In the end, I got the 80+, but the approval took quite a bit longer than expected based on reference data from previous years.

  • Visa timeline
    • 03/03: submit CoE application to immigration authorities
      (last year had an average processing time of 22 days for my visa type (ref) → roughly calculate 03/25 issue)
    • 03/28: additional documents requested (work contract + proof of employment in Germany)
    • 04/09: submit requested additional documents
    • 05/10: submit visa application (except CoE) to consulate
    • 05/24: immigration authorities say “CoE review process in and of itself finished” (but CoE not yet issued)
    • 06/03: CoE issued
    • 06/04: submit CoE to consulate (digitally)
    • 06/11: pick up visa at consulate
    • 06/14: enter the country
    • 07/01: first day at work (shifted from originally planned 06/01)

oh well, in the end it all worked out, which means if all goes well i’ll be able to apply for permanent residence in July 2025. Another process that is likely to take a while. ^_^’

✈ Moving prep

Lastly, beyond being allowed to enter the country, one needs a place to live, and stuff needs to get there. So, find an apartment, get rid of stuff that’s not worth hauling cross-continent, and figure out luggage. Below a few quick notes on the whole moving process.

Finding an apartment
My SO and me looked for places on SUUMO, at-home, HOME’S, and through real estate agents. The latter is what eventually worked out (*sound of crying wallets*). A few things we looked out for:

  • The typical not too far from a train station, bath and toilet separate, south facing, etc.
  • Building that meets current standards in terms of earthquake resistance
  • Not in too bad of a hazard zone in terms of flooding and landslides
  • Preferably on a high up floor to minimize the risk of cockroaches
  • Preferably somewhat well insulated (don’t get your hopes up with that on in Japan)

Getting rid of stuff
I sold lots of technical equipment on ebay and kleinanzeigen, disposed of old hard disks after wiping (shred/ShredOS) at electronics retail stores, sold books on momox, donated old clothes, and digitized and/or threw away lots of documents.

Luggage management
I divided everything I brought into three categories.

  • Backpack + carry on suitcase: essential documents, irreplaceable items of personal significance, standard travel stuff
  • Checked suitcase: stuff useful to have right away after arrival (replaceable everyday use items like clothes and tech)
  • Ship by post: stuff for which delayed arrival is unproblematic (easily replaceable possessions like books)

Here’s all I took with me: backpack & suitcases and the two packages I shipped.

Official stuff
More bureaucracy fun to add on top of aforementioned visa adventure. ^_^
(Side note: most of the stuff below is specific to Germany.)

  • Deregister residence
    • While I had read online the papers for this can be handed in up to 10 days in advance, at the city hall they told be I only can deregister right there and then — oh well, guess I’m technically homeless for a few days then
  • Leave health insurance
    • Requires proof of deregistration of residence + plane ticket
    • Can be done retroactively up to four weeks (I did it once I had my health insurance in Japan)
    • If you move back to Germany before turning 55, you can get back into statutory health insurance (GKV) easily. At 55 or older you probably won’t get back in and need private insurance (PKV).
  • Terminate subscriptions
    • Mobile phone contract (haven’t done that yet b/c I’m not sure I changed all my 2FA settings everywhere)
    • Liability insurance
    • Travel insurance
    • etc.

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With all of that done, on June 13, I was on my way. Took a direct flight from Munich (MUC) to Osaka (KIX) and, lucky as I am, just like on my flight to Tokyo in Aug 2022 and from Tokyo in Oct 2022 I again had a whole row of economy seats for myself. ( • ᴗ • )

So it begins! Updates will be tagged #JPpr. :)

2024-07-15