UPDATE: I got the visa! They didn’t even ask for my 卒業証明書、whether the one from my language school, or my Associate’s degree, so that’s a relief. The status says “Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / Int’l Services” which I think is the standard visa status, and it’s for one year. So this proof that it’s possible to get a work visa (or rather, switch from student visa to work visa) with just an Associate’s degree.
So I applied for a change of status (from student to work visa) in the beginning of June and graduated language school at the end of June (2-year program). I was working part-time (English teacher for kids) for a few months until the end of June and applied for the work visa with that company. Months and months passed without any news, and visiting Immigration twice only resulted in them telling me that they are very busy and to just keep waiting.
Last time I visited (about three weeks ago) they told me that I would definitely get the results by the end of my special period (which is this Friday, so they were cutting it close) and today they called me and said to come in by Friday and to bring my passport, residence card, a 6,000 yen revenue stamp, and my school's graduation certificate. I assume this is good news? I was worried because I only have an Associate's degree, and my work history isn't related to English teaching, so the only experience I really have is the part-time job I was working at. But I also thought that if my education and work history background weren't enough that they would have just denied my application months ago instead of waiting until the very end, right? Can anyone confirm that this is good news?
by bloody_angel1