Sunday, March 21, 2010

How hard is it to get a Visa to live in Japan for a few years

How hard is it to get a Visa to live in Japan for a few years?
My girlfriend might be studying abroad in Japan, how hard would it be to get a Visa so I could go with her? I have plenty of cash in the bank ($50k+), would I still need a source of income? If I was okay with spending a significant amount of money (5-10k), would it be easy to get one?
Japan - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
You will need a student or work visa to stay more than 90 days. Depending on where she will be staying, you may or may not be allowed to stay in the same room with her. You would also need a source of income while you were there. EDIT: without a student or work visa, you can't stay more than 90 days, no matter how much money you have.
2 :
You usually need working or student visa to live in Japan. For working visa, you have to get a job offer from a Japanese company. But you can't look for a job in Japan without a visa. So you need it before you enter Japan. For student visa, you have to be admitted to a Japanese college. You need to pay tuition and living cost for 4 years. It could be about $80,000. Addition: >I have plenty of cash in the bank ($50k+), would I still need a source of income? If I was okay with spending a significant amount of money (5-10k), would it be easy to get one? If you have some money, you may get visa by going to a Japanese language school. You need to go to a school or work in any case.
3 :
Unless you have a legitimate reason to go with her, impossible. The Japanese government pretty much does not give visas to people for no reason. Half the time they won't even give visas to people WITH a reason. You have to get into a language school or a university. If you two get married you can move with her as a dependant, but that's the extent of that. Your other option, if you have a four year degree already, is to apply for the JET program or another type of English teaching program where you would have to teach English in Japan, and you usually don't get to choose where you will live during this time, so it's possible that you would be quite far from your girlfriend.
4 :
I am not sure how things stand today, but in my time, you could go on a tourist visa, then, when it ran out, pop over to Korea, then come back and get another 90 days.

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Sunday, March 14, 2010

How much would it be for one person to live in Japan for 4 mounths

How much would it be for one person to live in Japan for 4 mounths?
I plan to move to Japan once I tern 18 for 4 months then see what happens. But if I only am staying 4 months I don't know how much to save up.I need the plane ticket from Utah and rent for a place right outside of Tokyo. Also I would need money for train and of course souvenirs. Can anyone help me.
Japan - 2 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
You can't stay in Japan for more than 90 days without working or other proper visas. So I will tell you on assumption that you will stay in Japan for 3 months. I think you will need $1000 or so if you stay at a youth hostel. (You need at least $2000 if you want to stay at a hotel). And you need $1500 or so for food and others. So you need $2500 for 1 month and $7500 for 3 months in total.
2 :
You can only stay 90 days as a visitor. And you just can't move there and say "here I am".In most situations you need a four year degree to work there. You'd be looking at least $8,000+.

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Sunday, March 7, 2010

How will the BAH be based if my daughter chooses not to live in Japan where her husband is stationed

How will the BAH be based if my daughter chooses not to live in Japan where her husband is stationed?
my daughter married in December her husband is stationed in Japan aboard the GW she does not want to live in Japan would her BAH be based on Japan or where she lives
Military - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Unless he is going to extend for a 3 years on board and is at least an E4 he cannot change his orders anyway from unaccompanied to accompanied. She must undergo an overseas screening both medical & dental and it has to be granted. Now if he had accompanied orders and she chose not to go he would still have to be there 3 years and might not qualify for BAH or Family Separation at all. There is no BAH in Japan it is called OHA and is only based on the rent that is paid in a rental contract that is approved. If he is in barracks or on the ship then he doesn't get it. He can get BAH based on her zip code which he will have to send her on allotment if that is what he wants to do. He would also qualify for Family Separation of $250 per month after he has been gone longer than 30 days. Now if she can go then she is missing an incredible opportunity. The bases, the culture, a chance of a lifetime.
2 :
My husband was stationed in Germany when we got married. I was not allowed to move to germany with him, as he had less than a year there and did not want to extend his contract to stay in Germany longer. The BAH we got was based on MY zipcode. He also got separation pay. Good luck to your daughter and your son in law!! Some of these other answerers drive me nuts. Some people have other reasons for not wanting to move out of the country. I was in college when I got married. There was no way I was going to drop out of school to go live in Germany for a year. And my husband never would have suggested that I quit school just to live with him. When he PCSed back to the states, we both moved to his next duty station and are now living together. The military is not a typical life.
3 :
she seriously would rather stay in the us? Slap her in the face and tell her to take advantage of that amazing opportunity.
4 :
NWIP has it right! BAH will be based on her location (zip). Although, Japan is like no duty station in the states! As far as choosing not to come, she may not have an option if she wanted to dependent on where he is at timewise on his current orders. Best of luck to her! and them! https://www.cnic.navy.mil/Yokosuka/index.htm
5 :
depends on how his orders read. if they read accompanied, he will NOT get BAH for her location. period. he will get OHA to pay for a place in town only.. assuming they even allow him to get that instead of making him live on board or in the new Afloat Barracks. if he is below E4 she wouldn't be able to live with him anyway and he will get BAH based on her location.

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Monday, March 1, 2010

How expensive is it to live in Japan

How expensive is it to live in Japan?
I am not just looking for a comparison with the U.S; I am talking about compared to the rest of the world. Japan is an island nation, so how does it compare in terms of expenses to other island nations such as the United Kingdom and Taiwan? Also, it is densely populated, so how does it compare to other densely-populated countries such as China and India?
Japan - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Well, as it is an island nation, a lot of resources have to be imported. Electricity and gasoline are extremely expensive, sometimes up to $9 a liter (that's less than a gallon). The difference between Japan and China is that people in Japan can afford to buy things (i.e., cars) that use energy, so companies know there is a demand; the price goes up when demand is high. There's also a lack of space, as nearly all of the island is drastically mountainous, so property costs are very high as companies compete for available land. Edit: threedaypriest , you're right, had a typo there, I meant to put what I had seen on a picture I took of a sign once, it said 900 Y/ 6 liters.
2 :
Jayni is WAY off base on the cost of gasoline. It's current in the 130+ yen/L range, which is the highest I have ever seen it, and that translates to somewhere over $5/gallon. NOTE: And this is after the 'new' government took office and promised to bring gas prices down. Instead, they have risen about 25%. Go figure. That's why I think politicians apply negative atmospheric pressure.
3 :
On the flip side to the gasoline, Japan has one/ THE most efficient public transportation system in the entire world. If you are living in any major urban areas, there is no major reason to own a car. Of course people do own cars and it is expensive to own your own personal car in Japan. The thing is, it is all "subjective". Prices can be different, but the style of living is different to, so that is a major factor. Every year there are reports of "Tokyo being the most expensive city". Actually these reports (if you read them fully) are reports based on Foreigners who live/travel to Japan but do not adopt the "Japanese" way of living. As for population density: India is ranked number 32, Japan is ranked number 37 in the world, and China (People's Republic of China) is number 97. (1 is the highest population density, 239 is the lowest) The US is 178 in population density.
4 :
The answer to this question is quite difficult as the cost of living is all relative and difficult to compare. I lived in Japan for over 10 years and found the cost of things very reasonable. I also traveled all over the world and compared to Japan the prices are higher in other countries. Things like food, public transport, eating out, electronics, cars are much cheaper in Japan than most countries. Things like housing and rents can be more expensive if you live in major cities but are more than affordable if you live in the suburbs.
5 :
Japan is expensive, but the degree of cost is subjective and more so if you try to compare to such places as the UK and Taiwan. For example, a person who works for a multinational company sent to live in Japan usually are doing so with very generous cost of living adjustments in their salary (per diem for example) and if they try to maintain the lifestyle of their homeland, it may not seem very costly. But for a Japanese person or someone earning a Japanese wage to even attempt living like they do say in the UK or US would very quickly deplete their bank accounts. Housing is the most expensive hit to anyone's budget, follow by cost of food and utilities. But to the Japanese and the way they live and eat, it does not cost them as much compared to a gaijin living it up in Japan. For example, I have yet to meet a visitor from UK or US who can go without beef or some kind of meat for more than a couple of days. A Japanese or an expat who gone native would have no problem doing without beef. India is more densely populated than China, and China more than Japan. Plus, Japan has been facing a declining birthrate for several years straight and to such a degree that Japan has had to seek employees abroad to fill such positions as nurses for Japanese hospitals and elderly care.

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