Hi Reddit.
I'm a Swiss citizen who wonder's how to behave regarding the visa situation in Japan for longer stays (6months+)
First, Swiss nationals don't need a visa to stay for 90dy which can be extended to 180d if you go to the local migration office. (to my understanding without reason).
Now, Switzerland and Japan do have a bilateral treaty. When my GF moved here for a language exchange, she didn't need a visa and was directly able to find a residency permit. So stays up to one year are no problem.
As far as I researched, Japan doesn't have visa exceptions for long term stay – or at least I wasn't able to find an official article or website stating that.
What are my options fot a long term stay (6m+) and do I need a visa? Because it'd be unfair if we needed one but they don't. I'd ofc check with the embassy, but maybe someone from a country that has a similar treaty already knows.
NOTE: The treating is literally called Settlement/Establishment and trade agreement so I feel like there must be an option like this.
by CartographerAfraid37