What kind of visa do I need?
The visa is called "Specialist in Humanities/International Studies" and is good for one to three years.
How do I obtain the visa?
If your application is successful and you sign a contract with LH, you will sign and return to us an Employment Agreement and Personal History form, plus a photocopy of your passport photo page, 4 photos, and the original of your university graduation diploma. With these, we will make the application in Takamatsu. Typically it takes 3-6 weeks for us to get a "Certificate of Eligibility" back from immigration, which we then mail to you. You take it to the Japanese consulate with your passport and get the visa stamp BEFORE leaving for Japan.
Why do you need the original of my diploma?
That's Japanese immigration rules. They won't accept anything else. Notarized photocopies are NOT accepted. However, they only need to sight the diploma and then they return it to us immediately, so we either mail it straight back to you or keep it in our office safe till you arrive, in accordance with your instructions. Recently we have seen original of official transcripts also pass as long as it is stated somewhere that
the person actually graduated and when.
How many hours do I teach in a day?
The contract asks for a minimum of 6 hours of value-added time (teaching, curriculum development, assessment and reporting) duties per day. Actual contact teaching hours can vary from just 2 to 7 or 8 per day, but hours can be spread out. In very busy seasons, a schedule involving six 40-minute lessons in a row with just 5-minute breaks between each before getting a 45-minute break is possible. Scheduling Hours refers to the hours that the school is open, from 9.00 a.m. to 9.00 p.m.
Do teachers work 5 or 6 days a week?
Five days a week, either Monday-Friday, or Tuesday-Saturday. However, overtime is possible.
Will my schedule be the same every day or will it vary?
Some variation is likely.
How will I get my schedule each day?
LH operates a digital office and ALL teachers are expected to open and check their schedules online. This gives teachers a schedule, which can be checked from any computer with internet access. Your schedule will be available to view at any time and can be considered fixed after 5:00pm on the preceding day. After 5:00pm Tuesday you will know your schedule for Wednesday etc. These schedules are then printed by the teacher to make what we call a 'Daysheet', so students can sign them to show receipt of lessons. A printer is available at all LH offices.
