Coming with dependants

[Daichi]

If accepted to JET, I will be accompanied by my wife and two little boys. I am curious about other people in a similar situation both aspiring and current. There is very little real information out there on JET's with dependants, even the AJET SIG on family JET's has seemingly fallen by the wayside. If you feel like you could provide some insight please do.

[pnksweater]

Hi. We're out there, but many of us are too busy to spend a lot of time putting info on forums. There are some posts regarding Tokyo orientation, finding a preschool for your kid, and a thread about dependents and insurance floating around the forum, just to name a few off the top of my head. There is a JET with Partners group on face book, http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/grou ... 2461737445, and one of the forum members has just started a blog. http://familyjet.blogspot.com/ I’m in the process of putting together a printed resource for JETs with dependents. If you have a question you can’t find an answer to, shoot me a PM and I’ll see if I can help out.

[Industrious_Ant]

Hi Daichi,
My situation isn't exactly like yours, but I did come with my dependent husband and currently we are expecting
our first baby We will be having the baby in Japan and I have recontracted for another year, so coming with
dependents is definitely do-able. As Pnk Swtr said, there are lots of people out there with dependents, but usually you won't find them on this forum. A better forum to search might be Gaijin Pot. I'm on there a lot searching for answers to questions all the time. It's been very helpful.

Here is how our experience played out.
I came to Japan as a JET, my husband followed 3 weeks later. It was good to have that time apart, because our apartment needed setting up (we didn't have barely anything because the JETs before us broke their contract and were forced to sell off all their useful goods before they left). On top of that, there were lots of little things I had to do with my work (cell phone application, signing up for bank accounts, internet, amenities bills, etc) so it was nice to have the time and silence to figure those out on my own. It was also nice to culturally adjust so I could help my JET lagged husband get the swing of things when he arrived.

The town we live in is in Kyushu. It's a midsized town. My city seemed to have some sort of agreement with another school to always hire a couple, so our town was equipped with the right sort of apartment to handle us. It had only ever been couples that had lived there. I assume that if you get in, it will be to replace a JET who was either a couple or had kids, but it might be different. My husband didn't find work right away, but eventually (months down the line) he got a great job. Our town was definitely set up for kids. Lots of day cares and schools and classes for housewives to take during the week.

Getting the dependent visa for my husband wasn't too hard (I think, it was a long time ago).
Make sure you bring originals of your marriage license and birth certificates of your kids.
I can't even remember the process that we did anymore, but I know it involved going down to the Immigration office and filling in some paper work and paying a fee. Ask your supervisor, they might have more info. If not, consult Gaijin Pot or do a search on Google. If you are really having issues, get back to me and I will try and dig up our paperwork that we did on the process.

My husband didn't get work right away, but he eventually did (months later). For a dependent to work, you need to file another document with immigration to amend your dependent visa. The dependent visa only allows them to stay in the country, not work...so you have pay some other fee and fill out some other paper to get that done.
Again, not too difficult...just had to make sure we had all the right paperwork with us when we went to the immigration office.

I have been a JET for almost 2 years, and will be going into our 3rd year.
We found out we were pregnant in October, but weren't interested in going home. I checked with my school and they had no problem with me staying on and returning to work after the baby is born (although this is not normal practice in Japan).
Because we have been here 2 years, we have a great community of English and Japanese speaking friends, so there have been many people to help us with doctors appointments and figuring out the child-bearing system here in the country. It has been a great experience so far. Without the language skills though, it can be a run-around and even frustrating. I would try and get connected with your local CIR and explain that you will need a hand with some translation stuff. If they can't help you directly, they might be able to refer you to a Japanese friend or colleague that can. You will probably need all the help you can get for enrolling your kids in school and doctors appointments and all that good stuff. However, you never know...you might end up in a bigger city or a place where English is more readily available. I have heard of English speaking doctors for sure, and my OBGYN knows a lot of English medical terms because I think he studied in Germany. Still, getting the full translation is always better

Anyhow, if you have any other questions, let me know.

Cheers!

[Industrious_Ant]

Oh wow, just saw that you are from Manitoba!
My dad was born and raised in Portage La Prairie

M.

[Daichi]

Thank you both, I am sure more questions will be coming.

[Jennaplus2]

Hi, good luck to you. It is a challenge to bring a family over, and it is a bit hard to find information, but it is totally doable and worth it! I will answer anything I can as well.

[oviparous]

This thread is a godsend. If I get accepted, my husband will be joining me seven months into my first year because of his work back home -_- Anyone knows if that's too late? Does the visa have some sort of activation date? I plan to stay longer than a year. (At least three.) However this really depends on placement. I hope to have kids in Japan as well.

[oviparous]

I just called the Japanese Embassy in Singapore regarding the issue about my husband joining me only seven months after my appointment, and the result is this:

1) When I reach Japan, I will obtain a Certificate of Eligibility for him. (Or maybe, in the case of JET, the contracting organisation will get this for me? I didn't specify my job was for JET.)
2) I post the Certificate of Eligibility back to Singapore and he goes to the embassy to get his visa done.
3) After his visa is approved, he has to enter Japan within three months of the approval.

Now I'm kind of worried. Haha. This means, ideally, my hubby should apply for his visa five months after I leave for JET (if I get accepted, that is).

At least now I know more about the situation.

[funnybunny899]

ANYBODY COMING WITH SCHOOL AGED CHILD....if accepted I'd be coming with 12 year old.

[nicklar]

See my post in other thread...

[Industrious_Ant]

I just called the Japanese Embassy in Singapore regarding the issue about my husband joining me only seven months after my appointment, and the result is this:

1) When I reach Japan, I will obtain a Certificate of Eligibility for him. (Or maybe, in the case of JET, the contracting organisation will get this for me? I didn't specify my job was for JET.)
2) I post the Certificate of Eligibility back to Singapore and he goes to the embassy to get his visa done.
3) After his visa is approved, he has to enter Japan within three months of the approval.

Now I'm kind of worried. Haha. This means, ideally, my hubby should apply for his visa five months after I leave for JET (if I get accepted, that is).

At least now I know more about the situation.

Hey!
Just read your post.
It didn't work like that for us at all when my husband came over as a dependent, but maybe it is different because we are North Americans? Not sure.

Anyhow, my husband came over a month later on a tourist visa.
He bought a two way ticket just in case (actually it was almost the same price as a one way ticket).
We didn't need a certificate of eligibility.
We just went down to the immigration office in our prefecture with his passport and an original of our marriage license
and did the paper work. I think that was it. I don't even think we needed to get it translated, but it was in English.
In Singapore, what language do they make your license?
It did take a few phone calls from colleagues to figure out what exact process we needed to follow, and there
was rumor of needing the Cert of Eligibility and translation, but in our prefecture of Miyazaki, it didn't seem to be the case in the end.
I think the process keeps changing.

So, to answer your first question, I don't think it matters when your husband comes if he just comes over as a tourist, but if you want to play it safe, you can go the route that your embassy mentioned. There is no harm in getting a certificate done in advance.

Cheers!
http://industriousants.wordpress.com/

[Industrious_Ant]

Just started a blog recently that chronicles our journey of having a baby in Japan.
Maybe it will be helpful to some here

http://industriousants.wordpress.com/

M.

[Vanslacker]

If accepted to JET, I will be accompanied by my wife and two little boys. I am curious about other people in a similar situation both aspiring and current. There is very little real information out there on JET's with dependants, even the AJET SIG on family JET's has seemingly fallen by the wayside. If you feel like you could provide some insight please do.

I am a current JET in Akita prefecture with two daughters (1 and 5). I would be more then willing to answer any questions you might have. Please feel free to message me.

I have a blog I haven't done much on for a while (see my signature at the bottom of the post) ... school and 3/11 has had me out of the loop but have started writing for it again and will be posting soon.


I hope you are excepted and are able to bring your family on this awesome journey. It can be challenging with a family but I really think has helped us to be closer. I also think it is one of the best things I could have done for my daughters.

[ms_daikon]

We're prospects too and thinking of bringing our 4 & 6 year olds. Hubby is a bit concern about the radiation issue in the Pacific ocean especially in regards to the health and safety of our children. We requested placements in the South (ie. Kochi) but still weary whether we still want to go. Is this a concern for others with young children?

[Daichi]

If we are accepted, my wife and I are going with a 3 year old and a 5 month old in tow. While I can understand the concern, it is not enough to turn us away from a fantastic opportunity. We have been in contact with people in Japan and I think we can safely say that large media, especially western media has done a great job of scaring people. That being said even if the radiation threat has been blown out of proportion you need to do what is right for you and your family so that feel safe.