package course introduction

The working holiday visa is a one-year visa designed to give young people the chance to experience life in Japan. It gives them the right to work almost any job, as long as the job itself is not seen as the main purpose of their stay. The visa is only open to people up to 30 years old (or 35 in some countries), and you have to be able to show proof of minimum funds - usually about $2000 USD - as well as the money to buy a plane ticket back to your home country.

While it's definitely more work than receiving an automatic 3-month visa waiver, the Working Holiday visa has the advantage of giving you more economic freedom during your stay in Japan, so we would definitely recommend it for students from eligible countries. We also recommend the working holiday visa over the student visa for long-term study, for the following reasons:

• You can apply any time, whereas you have to apply for the student visa at least 5 months in advance.
• You can do whatever you want on the working holiday visa, whereas on the student visa, you have to study full-time (at least 20 lessons per week) for the duration of the visa.
• You can attend class when you want on the working holiday visa. On the student visa, if you don't attend 80% of classes or more, the visa may be cancelled.
• The application for a student visa is quite hard, takes some time, and requires additional documents, whereas the application for a working holiday visa is very easy and quick.