Everything about moving to Japan for permanent residence from Russia

The desire to emigrate from Russia is quite common both among young people who are looking for various options for personal development and realizing their creative potential, and among the older generation who wants to expand the range of their entrepreneurial opportunities, and simply change their lives for the better.

Eastern countries are very popular among Russians who want to immigrate. These primarily include Japan. This country is characterized by high indicators of the quality of life of the population. Japan is incredibly developed and maximally adapted to comfortable life.

However, for those who want to go to live in Japan, the fact that this country does not support immigrants at all will be disconcerting. Japan is considered one of the most closed countries for immigrants. There are quite strict laws and rules for visiting foreigners, as well as a system of serious penalties for staying in the country illegally. Thus, if a foreigner was deported for being in Japan illegally, he will be prohibited from entering the country for the next 10 years.

But the desire to live in the land of the rising sun does not disappear from this. Most still dream of moving to Japan for permanent residence. How to leave for Japan with minimal risk and no problems in the future? The answer to this question may have several options.

Unskilled work

One of the most popular desires of everyone who wants to move to a developed country is to start finding a job. And of course, the most in demand among immigrants is unskilled work. However, the interests of the Japanese government are radically at odds with the wishes of immigrants. It is unskilled labor that is not welcomed by the Japanese authorities.

Officially, only two types of foreigners can get unskilled jobs: students and interns. However, government restrictions are often circumvented. Especially small business owners in Japan. Entrepreneurs cannot afford to hire their compatriots, since the latter, even in unskilled work, make high demands on working conditions, which cannot be said about immigrants from economically weaker countries. In this way, small business owners employ immigrants illegally.

Highly qualified specialists

Despite the strict policy of the Japanese immigration service, the government still shows interest in the workforce among foreigners. This applies to highly qualified specialists who not only have completed higher education in a reputable educational institution and have impressive work experience, but also have a perfect command of English and at least a conversational level of Japanese.

For qualified specialists who come to live and work in Japan, the country's government is developing special programs. They include:

1. Continued training and improvement of professional skills.
2. Professional retraining in accordance with the requirements.
3. Improving management skills.
4. Gaining entrepreneurial skills from a curriculum course.

Japan remains the most open to qualified specialists and neighboring countries, such as China, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia. The similarity of languages ​​and mentalities characteristic of residents of eastern countries plays a big role here.

Marriage registration

Registering a marriage in order to gain the opportunity to move to Japan for permanent residence is the most risky undertaking. Immigrating to Japan this way is not very popular. The thing is that, unlike most other countries, Japanese residents do not accept fictitious marriages. Here they find it offensive and low. The Japanese have always respected traditions and are considered one of the most correct nations.

Therefore, authorities literally protect their citizens from entering into fictitious unions. For these purposes, many years ago, special services were created that check every new marriage concluded with a foreigner. There are frequent visits to the newly-made family, and if signs of a fictitious marriage are revealed, the spouse is immediately deported from Japan.

It is worth noting that in some cases a fictitious marriage is still possible. There are various dating services offering girls and guys to establish contact with Japanese citizens. But with such an acquaintance, you need to understand that the Japanese will not even guess that the relationship is fictitious. Therefore, this option of obtaining Japanese citizenship is not suitable for everyone.

Pros of immigrating to Japan

Despite possible difficulties with adaptation associated with language and cultural characteristics, there are obvious advantages of immigrating to Japan:

• Japan is an island country, strongly elongated from north to south. The climate varies significantly between the islands. In Hokkaido you can experience a snowy winter, while in Okinawa there will be eternal summer.
• Economic stability and standard of living. This country has one of the highest GDP and HDI indicators.
• One of the lowest crime rates in the world. The police carefully monitor the safety of citizens and tourists.
• Good prospects for qualified workers. Large international companies always have vacancies with high salaries and good career prospects.

Popularity of Japan as an immigration destination

For emigrants from Russia and the CIS countries, Japan is not the most popular destination for immigration. This is due to the complexity of the Japanese language, significant differences in mentality, and the difficulty of obtaining the official right to move. Japan has gained the greatest popularity as a country for immigration in China, Taiwan, Korea, and the Philippines. According to official data from the Japanese Bureau of Statistics, the total annual flow of emigrants per year is approximately 31 thousand people as of 2021.

However, only those who were able to officially find employment or marry a citizen of the country can successfully move to live in Japan. Refugees in Japan have virtually no chance of gaining a foothold in the country. In 2021, only 27 refugees out of 7 thousand received the right to reside.

From the end of the second half of the 20th century to the beginning of the 21st century, the number of migrants gradually increased, this was indirectly due to the “Japanese Economic Miracle” - one of the well-known phenomena in which a record level of growth in Japan’s economic development was recorded.

The economic crisis of 2008 can be considered the beginning of the decline in the number of migrants. Economic instability affected the entire territory of Japan, which caused a rather large, by the standards of this country, outflow of specialists from the country. After Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came to power, the problem with foreigners began to improve, and since 2012, annual migration statistics began to gradually increase positively.

Who can go to live in Japan?

Emigration to Japan from Russia is a difficult matter, but quite realistic. In order to move without problems, of course, you need to do everything officially. This process will be less profitable for the applicant, but will reduce the risk of deportation and will guarantee peace of mind during your stay and work in Japan.

In addition, official employment will help you reduce the amount of time spent on completing all the necessary paperwork, since the employer will act as your guarantor, prepare all the necessary documents on its part, most likely pay for their postage, and in some cases will even bear the cost of obtaining a work visa and flight.

In addition, the employer will prepare all the necessary documents as soon as possible. And the concluded agreement, which is drawn up even before receiving a visa, will be a guarantee of stable wages and transparent conditions. In most cases, the contract cannot be terminated before the end of the term. Otherwise, the injured party is paid monetary compensation. Therefore, by fulfilling your obligations under the contract, you can be sure that your stay in Japan will not end suddenly.

How much does it cost to move to Japan? How to move to Japan?

Well, I'm moving again. In this video I will tell you how much it costs to move both from another country to Japan, and how much it costs to move within Japan, but this is at the very end, so watch until the end, and I’ll start with how moving in Japan generally happens.

I lived in this apartment for 2 years and this is my third move in Japan, so I have a lot to share. By the way, there is a review of this apartment on the channel, the link is in the tips.

Let me start from the beginning, when I first started moving to Japan, I was faced with the fact that, firstly, without coming to Japan itself, you simply cannot rent an apartment. Well, just no way. Not only do you need to have a guarantor in most cases, who will pay for you if something happens if you cannot do this, but you also need to show that your official earnings will cover your life in this apartment. In some cases, you need to indicate the guarantor’s earnings, showing that he, in the event of something happening, will be able to cover your financial losses.

Well, naturally, you ask me: “What did you do in this situation?”

I moved into a dorm and lived there for a few months because it's the easiest way to move to Japan from abroad. Some hostels do not require any data or guarantees at all, but where there are fewer contract obligations, the price is usually higher than the market.

So my first hostel was relatively expensive, for the price of a 1-room apartment in the same city of Sendai where I live, and there weren’t many others, so after coming to my senses a little, I started looking for a better place and for almost the same price I found myself A 1-room apartment in the city center, but there are a couple of points that need to be clarified.

Firstly: the fee for moving to a dorm will be a pittance compared to an apartment. But to move into an apartment you will pay at least a couple of thousand dollars. Secondly: in a hostel, how correctly, you pay a fixed insignificant amount for electricity, gas and water, but in your apartment you will pay quite impressive amounts, by hostel standards, for the same water, gas and electricity.

Thirdly: in a dorm you don’t need to clean the toilet, bathroom, etc., but in your apartment you will not only have to clean everything yourself, but also buy detergents, and so on. Fourthly: in a hostel there are no additional payments, but in an apartment, you need to pay various annual insurances, annual company contributions to the guarantor, as well as an annual commission payment to a real estate agency, etc. Fifthly: the dorm has furniture and a ready-made kitchen, but the rented apartment has nothing. Bare walls, and usually only 1 air conditioner, no matter how many rooms there are in the apartment.

The more profitable the apartment is for its monthly rent, the more you will pay in various commissions and the more conditions will be imposed on you regarding guarantors, etc.

Remember - miracles do not happen and therefore if you see a good price/quality ratio for an apartment on the market, then there will probably be a huge deposit of several thousand dollars, payment of a commission to a real estate company for 1 or 2 months of the cost of the monthly payment for the apartment, most likely You will be asked for a guarantor + you will also pay additional annual payments to the company to the guarantor. And you will be perplexed and ask: “Why then do you need to look for a guarantor if you are going to give the company’s money to the guarantor?”, and I will whisper to you: “This is Japan!” In Japan they really like guarantees; they have come up with a lot of ways to be safe in case something happens. Therefore, their interests will be paid for at your expense, but at the same time you get a good apartment.

If we are talking about an apartment that does not look very good and is old and the monthly cost of the apartment will not be the cheapest, then, most likely, there will be no need for either a guarantor or a huge amount of money when moving in, but at the same time you will simply pay Overprice option for not very good condition.

Therefore, my advice to you: set aside approximately $2,500-$3,000 minimum for moving and primary expenses for an apartment and think about a guarantor in Japan if you want to find a decent option for a not-so-exorbitant monthly fee.

Now let’s estimate how much it will cost to move to Japan regardless of whether you are going to work or study. Just the bare facts about moving.

Please note that I am only talking about prices for moving and do not consider anything else. If you want to see how much it will cost, for example, to study in Japan, then also watch this video in the tips and calculate for yourself. There is only a transfer here.

①A plane ticket will cost from about $700, see the prices yourself, because... I speak without reference to the place, but in fact, flying from Moscow or Vladivostok to Japan in terms of prices is not that much different. Maybe the situation has changed recently, I haven’t monitored it, but in my time it was exactly like that.

②If you go to a hostel, you can count on a deposit amounting to approximately 1-2 monthly payments - maximum! And that is all.

③If you plan to move to an apartment, add about $2,500 + purchase of furniture + various consumables to what I said earlier.

④If you are moving within Japan, within 1 city, then pay an additional moving fee of around $500 + the cost of removing bulky waste, if any. Since I have a fairly spacious car, this was not necessary in my case.

How much did I spend on moving to Japan?

I will give approximate figures, because... I don’t remember the exact numbers now, but in general you will understand and be shocked by how much I paid just for the fact of moving.

There were no special expenses for moving to the dorm, so there is nothing to talk about, but when I moved into the first one-room apartment, the same one １K about which I explained to you earlier, I paid about $2,500 for the move + the purchase of the necessary furniture and various consumables cost me about $1,000. This was the bare minimum. The cheapest bed, refrigerator, microwave and other small things. In total, about $3,500 for the move + annual expenses for all kinds of insurance, guarantors, etc. cost somewhere in the range of $500-700 on top. Regarding the cost of gas, water and electricity, I already talked in a video about my second place of residence in Japan, so watch it if you haven’t seen it. Link in tips.

Now, I'm moving for the third time and it cost me even more. This rather old, 2-story apartment in the city center cost me about $3,500 for the very fact of moving + the purchase of furniture and electronics for the house cost me about $6,000 in total: $9,500 for the third move. And it’s worth taking into account the fact that this is a fairly old house, where there will be air blowing from the windows in winter. This really hit the budget very hard, but what can I do, I physically couldn’t be in the one-room apartment, where everything is crammed in such a way that I can’t even walk around the room, there are already 3 tables, a huge bed, a rocking bench, hangers for clothes, etc. The first time I bought everything the cheapest and the same bed was already holding everything together, so I decided to buy new things, but this time they were of high quality, so that nothing would creak in a year.

How to quickly get a visa?

There are several main types of visas, using one of which you can go to live and work in Japan:

1. Work Visa. Every qualified foreign worker who wishes to obtain legal employment must have one.
2. General visa. This type is issued to all students and interns. It is also sometimes called a student visa. The document can be issued for a period of 3 months or 1 year. In the latter case, the visa can be extended for an unlimited period of time if the visitor continues his studies or is officially employed.
3. Decree visa. It is issued for relatives, namely for the spouse or children of a resident of Japan.
4. A diplomatic visa is issued by diplomats located in the country.
5. An official visa must be obtained by each official.

Japanese visa sample

Getting a visa to Japan is quite difficult for two reasons:

1. Anyone wishing to go to Japan for permanent residence or work must have a guarantor residing in the country. The guarantor must have the status of either a Japanese citizen or, in the case of a foreigner, the status of a permanent or special resident. A legal entity, for example, an employing organization or a tour operator, can also act as a guarantor. It is impossible to obtain a Japanese visa without a guarantor.
2. Japan is a very bureaucratic country. Therefore, you will have to work hard to collect all the necessary papers and documents to obtain a visa, otherwise difficulties may arise in the future, including deportation.

Immigration to Japan with a visa requires a large package of documents. The applicant must provide those papers that were sent by the guarantor, as well as their copies. For your part, you must have a passport with sufficient validity, 2 photographs 4.5 × 4.5, 2 forms filled out in English. The list doesn't end there at all. Upon contacting the Japanese Embassy, ​​each applicant will be given similar instructions and recommendations for quickly obtaining a visa; additional documents may be required.

Sample of filling out an application form for a visa to Japan

After the applicant submits all the necessary documents to the visa department of the Japanese Embassy, ​​the committee will accept them for consideration. And in due time you will be informed about the decision to receive or refuse a visa.

A sample application form for obtaining a visa can be found

Daily expenses

So, where does money most often go? In addition to individual expenses, there are fairly universal expense items: food, rent, utility bills, taxes and medical services. Analysis of these indicators allows you to get an idea of ​​the cost of living in Japan.

According to Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, spending on food and beverages in the first half of 2021 averaged ¥65,994 (42,932 rubles) per month, including ¥5,326 (3,464 rubles) for cereals, ¥11,977 (7,791 rubles) for meat and fish and ¥8,692 (5,654 rubles) for fresh vegetables and fruits (all calculations are made for a family of two people).

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Utilities, including electricity, gas and water, cost an average of ¥19,795 (RUB 12,877) per month.

Transport and communication costs average ¥15,608 (RUB 10,153) per month. The Ministry's data also includes ¥9,992 (6,500 rubles) per month for furniture and household items, ¥8,264 (5,376 rubles) for clothing and shoes, ¥14,071 (9,153 rubles) for medical goods and services and ¥ 49,395 (32,133 rubles) for other expenses, including beauty salons, cosmetics and entertainment.

All these expenses total ¥183,119 (119,127 rubles) for two or ¥91,560 (59,563 rubles) for one person. To this must be added significant amounts to pay rent, taxes and social security.