Hey all,
So a while back, I posted and this is a follow-up.
Quick recap: Mid-late 30s American. Software engineer of 10 years in senior/lead role. High financial stability with no debt beyond a ~2% interest mortgage and enough savings to cover US bills for at least one year, should that be necessary. Attended uni in Tokyo 2009-2011 but hit money trouble and had to go back home without finishing the program. Still have connections in Japan and regularly visit. Have had longstanding desire to move back, which only became a practical consideration in 2020 just in time for the pandemic to push plans out 2-3 years.
My current high-level plan is to live there for at least 3 years, which should be enough time to get through the honeymoon period. At that point I can gauge my feelings and adjust plans accordingly (renew visa another year, pursue accelerated PR, or return to the US). My aspirational date for all of this is mid-to-late 2026 or early 2027, but if it can somehow happen more quickly that’s fine too.
Filling out an HSP calculator somewhat conservatively, not counting some older experience with defunct companies and not adding language qualifications, I land at 70 points. If I pass N2 (have been self-studying the language to decent success) —or— continue to work in the industry for another couple of years so I can more easily claim 10 years of experience, I’ll have 75-80 points. Policy changes notwithstanding, if can live in Japan on a working visa for the next few years, getting a PR shouldn’t be a problem. My sole complication is not having a degree.
To address that shortcoming, I followed recommendations from replies in that earlier thread. Instead of going with the original plan of finishing my degree in Tokyo, I enrolled in an online university and started putting aside some money to cover moving costs and act as Japan-specific emergency reserves (separate from existing ~1yr padding).
I’m now approaching the end of the university program and anticipate graduating with a bachelor’s in software engineering before April 2026. With this in mind, I’m now considering my approach so I can get the ball rolling on the various processes. Things are starting to get real.
The most practical strategies, as far as I can gather:
- I convince the company I work to establish a Japanese branch, which can then sponsor my visa. I have yet to discuss this with my superiors. I won’t get into details for the sake of anonymity, but I think this is a fairly likely possibility. Continued payment in USD may be possible, depending on the precise type of visa.
- I cease to be directly employed by my current company and instead work for them through an employer of record service. Less messy than the branch office method, but comes with the caveat of the EoR taking a chunk of my paycheck and it coming in JPY, complicating paying US bills.
- I quit my job and work for a local employer long enough to get my PR, and then return to my old company. Probably simplest, but similar to the EoR option involves a big pay cut and could bring US bill payment challenges. Depending on the company there’s also Japanese work culture burnout risks.
- I enroll in a language school for a student visa, then switch to part-time work (up to visa limit) with my current company. Comes with the caveat of reduced pay and time spent there on student visa doesn’t count towards HSP-accelerated PR. Won’t have much free time. Probably also not practical to stay on student visa for the full 3-year span.
There’s also the business manager path, but as I understand it, that’s much more difficult to qualify for now due to recent changes ($200k+ investment, etc) and probably not worth considering unless a big pile of cash falls in my lap.
Of course, I am fully aware of the tax implications and will loop in a specialist lawyer and accountant regardless of the route taken because ensuring that this is all done properly is absolutely critical.
Is this a reasonable read of my options? Is there anything I’m overlooking? In my shoes, what would you do?
For a more stupid question, back when I was a student I’d racked up some unpaid insurance bills (remember how I ran into financial trouble). Will those be held against me in the visa process? Obviously given the dramatic change in my situation, I’m now willing and capable of settling the balance and paying any penalties, but I don’t know if that’s even possible. It’d be awful to go to all that trouble only to be sabotaged by my stupid college age self.
Thanks!
by Powerful_Pancakes