Craig1987

Hopefully, I'll be working as an ESL teacher. However, I'm going to live with my fiancee and get married. We are a young couple and don't have the kind of money required for the UK Marriage visa. Despite my protests to MP's, the uk border agency and even the immigration minister himself, it looks like I have to leave if I want to be with her.

I play blues/jazz/rock and classical guitar to a professional level, so I'm also hoping to do something related to that. Whether as a hobby or a profession.

Edit: Just realized, I didn't fully answer your question. My Fiance is now in Nagoya, visiting her parents. She is moving to Tokyo in a month and I'm joining her once I tie up my loose ends.

DigitalGhost

You shouldn't have too much trouble getting ESL work on a spousal visa even without a degree or ESL qualifications as the school will save a lot of time and money without the need to sponsor you and native English-speaking Gaijin in Japan who do not need sponsorship and are willing to do Eikawa work can be difficult to come by.

DigitalGhost

Just be aware though that unless you are looking to make a career out of it and pay out for all of the necassary qualifications to lecture in Universities etc, ESL work in Japan can be a particularly miserable life, particularly if you will be looking to start a family and settle there. The hours are long, the pay can be low and competition for the better positions can be fierce, particularly in Tokyo which will have by fair the largest population of westerners. Since you're male, you would also probably be excluded from some of the lower-end jobs in kindergartens etc which significantly lowers your job prospects over there.

I'd recommend to check out the forums on Gaijinpot if you haven't already since a lot of long-term ESL teachers post on there and it's pretty evident that there are some seriously bitter and twisted sons of bitches teaching English in Japan these days.

Craig1987

I've heard differently from a friend of mine who is also planning to teach english in japan. His friend is in Tokyo just now. Either way, as long as I can find something, whether it is working in a bar, I'll be fine. My fiancee and I are responsible and have no plans to start a family until we can absolutely be sure that we can afford it.

Edit: Just saw your first post. Long hours and low wages I can handle. I can work towards other things later. I am booked into an esl course in a week and a half. And I have a few friends over there in good jobs who would be willing to give me a reference in exchange for some free english lessons. I think that would be a good help too.

Either way, I'm doing this so I can be with my better half, so I can endure some hardship.

DigitalGhost

If your partner would be working as well then it would be possible to keep yourselves and a child on an JET teacher's salary but most of the information available suggests that JET is designed to be a temporary job and it could get a bit depressing over time, particularly in an Eikawa. Bar/restaurant work is definitely an option, particularly in Yokohama as a lot of American soldiers are located there and there's also a fairly large expat community living there for work who natively speak English and you could maybe even earn tips there which is a big no-no in virtually every other part of the country.

Just out of curiosity, have you been to Japan before? Because I don't think any experience abroad could prepare you for life in that country if you haven't, but you definitely do seem to have the right attitude about this.

DigitalGhost

I just noticed that you are in Toronto right now (same as me actually) and presumably considering the large Japanese population here on TWP's, you met your fiancee whilst here. The thing to bear in mind about Japan is whilst it's a fantastic country, it can be difficult to 'work towards other things' there unless you are willing to become fluent in at least Business Japanese and can learn Hiragana, Katakana and at least around 100 Kanjii.

The social ettiquette and way of life there will also probably be massively different to anything that you're used to and would be a huge adjustment. If you're still young and remaining in Canada isn't an option then why not try a working holiday together in another country such as NZ or Australia or maybe even another part of Europe? The working holiday options available to a Japanese citizen under the age of 31 are probably larger than those available to any other nationality.

Craig1987

Regrettably, I've never been to Asia before. Asides from crossing the Bosphorous (sp?) in Turkey. The closest I could say I have been is when I lived in Chinatown in Toronto for six months. I know that it can't really prepare me for Tokyo, but living there was definitely a new experience for me.

There were a group of "unsavoury" characters that used to hang out in a bar two doors down from our house. They used to joke about me, shouting abuse at me (I presume) and laughing when I walked past

Maybe you could say I've dipped my toe in the water, but I'm about to get pushed into the sea.

I know I can handle it though.

Edit:

I forgot to update the part about Toronto. I left Toronto a few months ago as my Fiancee's visa ran out. We stayed together in the uk for a few months and now she is back in Japan.

I did indeed meet her in Toronto

DigitalGhost

Yeah I think you should maybe look at WHV options for the likes of Ireland or Germany. Germany is particularly simple for a Japanese as she can land there as a tourist and then apply for the work permit inland and you (presuming you're British) will obviously have the right to live and work there indefinitely without permission.

Craig1987

We're kind of put off by the constant travelling which is why we both settled on Japan. We can both stay there for several years and one of us knows the language.

If she was to stay in Germany on the whp, it would only be temporary. In order to be able to live there permanently, she would have to speak german fluently.

DigitalGhost

No, you are actually eligible to sponsor her to live in another EU country, you would just need to apply for an EEA spousal permit there instead of a UK partner visa from the UK BIA and in some cases the visa application is even free and there are jobs in Germany for non-German speakers, especially if those people can speak fluent English.

bakedbean

All my fault for going off topic but there's some great info there (thanks DG) and wondering whether to ask the Mods to split out the thread from say posting #25. Might help others to find the info.

Craig1987

I wasn't aware of that. Germany was one of our main choices. Maybe if I get fed up in Japan or things don't work out, we can give that a try.

We both have a goal to work towards. Eventually, we want to settle in Canada. I know it's quite difficult, but it's our goal.

Edit: sorry bakedbean. Normally this (japan) subforum is very quiet with little traffic. I was just glad to have received advice from someone. Sorry for the off topic.

DigitalGhost

No problem at all, even those these forums have a dedicated Japan section now, it doesn't seem to get used unfortunately in my opinion and most of the dedicated forums for Gaijin are full of gap year Engish teachers just out of University and some other slightly immature people who sadly are mostly male and are at best described as reprobates.

DigitalGhost

Sounds like a plan but bear in mind that unless you have any family ties there or an easy route back in, it could be difficult to secure an LMO or FSW visa for Canada and the longer that you work in Japan, the less likely it is that you will be able to establish a career in a qualifying role unfortunately unless you are able to work as a chef or something whilst you're there and assuming that the current FSW rules for Canada do not change. I actually know one Chef who was originally Scottish but moved to Japan from Toronto with his wife a couple of years ago and really likes it there but it took him over 3 months to find an employer would took pity on him and gave him a chance even though he couldn't understand any Japanese.

Craig1987

We don't have family in Canada, but we do have a very large group of friends. Including two who have recently gotten the LMO themselves.

Another (very expensive) option we are considering is to study there for the three years required.