Researchers
Before Leaving Your Country
Ｉ Before Coming to Japan: Preparation
| 6 months before your first scheduled day of work | If you want to apply for a room in the University International Lodge, submit your application through the relevant academic or administrative staff of the academic organization to which you will belong. ⇒ See Ｉ-1 |
| 4 or 5 months before your first scheduled day of work | Please send the necessary documents to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility to the relevant academic or administrative staff of the academic organization to which you will belong. (→ After the University receives your documents, we will apply for a Certificate of Eligibility.) ⇒ See Ｉ-2 |
| 3 or 4 months before your first scheduled day of work | After receiving a Certificate of Eligibility from the University, apply for a visa at a Japanese embassy or consulate in your country.⇒ See Ｉ-2 Confirmation of tax treaties ⇒ See Ｉ-3 Confirmation of social security agreement ⇒ See Ｉ-4 |
| 1 or 2 months before your first scheduled day of work | Send personnel documents to the University ⇒ See Ｉ-5 Book an airline ticket. ⇒ See Ｉ-6 |
Ｉ-1 Arrangement of Accommodations
If you want to apply for a room in the International Lodge, you can send an application 6 months in advance. To learn how to apply for a room, please make an inquiry to the relevant academic or administrative staff of the academic organization to which you will belong, and submit your application as soon as possible. Room layout and other information can be found on the website of the Division of International Affairs, "Accommodations for International Students and Foreign Researchers at Todai." This website also offers information for finding an apartment on your own.
URL for reference
Ｉ-2 Acquisition of Visa
If you are a foreign national, before coming to Japan, you need to acquire a visa for your specific purposes and period of stay at a Japanese embassy or consulate in your country, and have the visa attached to your passport that was issued by the government of your country. If you apply for a resident status that allows you to work, you will be asked by a Japanese embassy or consulate in your country to submit a Certificate of Eligibility issued by the Immigration Bureau of the Ministry of Justice of Japan.
As it typically takes several months or longer to acquire a visa, you are advised to allow plenty of time for its application to be processed.
Certificate of Eligibility
Please notify the University's academic organization to which you will belong beforehand that you are sending documents shown below, and then send them. (The University will prepare for you an Application for Certificate of Eligibility, a Certificate of Guarantee of Future Employment, and a return-mail envelope affixed with stamp(s) worth 380 yen, which are necessary for your application in addition to below.) After the University receives documents from you, a University's staff member will act as your proxy to obtain a Certificate of Eligibility at the Immigration Bureau of Japan. It usually takes one month or two months to acquire a Certificate of Eligibility.
One ID photo (Length: 4 cm Width: 3 cm)
A copy of your passport page showing a photo of your face
Your resume in any format. An English CV is acceptable
Visa
A Certificate of Eligibility issued by the Immigration Bureau of Japan will be sent to you by the University. After receiving it, please submit a set of the following documents to the Japanese embassy or consulate in your area to acquire a visa.
Your Certificate of Eligibility
Your passport
2 ID photos (Length: 4.5 cm Width: 4.5cm)
Two visa application forms
Depending on the country, a Letter of Guarantee or a Schedule of Stay may be required.
Residence Status
If you will engage in activities for education and research, for which you will be compensated, please acquire a working visa as "professor" at a Japanese embassy or consulate in your country. This residence status limits your activities while staying in Japan. Even when you have a "working visa as professor," you cannot earn income from activities that are not permitted with your status of residence. In order to get paid for activities not allowed with your status of residence, please acquire "permission to engage in activities other than those permitted under the status of residence previously granted."
If you will work for parties other than the University of Tokyo, you should apply for approval of concurrent employment by the University. Please refer to provisions for "V-8 Concurrent employment" for more details. You may work up to 28 hours in activities other than those permitted under your status of residence.
Status of Residence Permitting Work
| Status of Residence | Activities Authorized to Engage in while Staying in Japan | Term of Residence |
|---|---|---|
| Professor | Activities for research, research guidance, or education at universities, equivalent educational institutions, or technical colleges (koto senmon gakko) in Japan | 3 years or 1 year |
URL for reference
- The Ministry of Justice (external website)
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (external website)
- Immigration Bureau of Japan (external website)
- "Visa consulting service" by the Division of International Affairs of the University of Tokyo
Ｉ-3 Confirmation of Tax Treaties
If you are from a country with which Japan concluded a tax treaty, you will be exempt from an income tax of 20% by submitting a designated application form by one week before receiving your first salary after arriving in Japan. If you are domiciled in the United States or France, you need to obtain a residency certification in your country. If you are domiciled in the United States or France, and want to get exemption from Japanese income tax, please bring your residence certification with you when visiting Japan. As it takes several months before residence certification is issued, please allow plenty of time when applying for tax exemption.
Please note that even where a tax treaty is concluded, whether or not tax exemption is applicable differs depending on the country.
Countries with which Japan concluded tax treaties for holders of working visas as professors
As of May, 2010
|
Europe Middle East Africa Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union South Asia East Asia and Southeast Asia Pacific region North America Latin America |
Excerpt from a website of the Japan Ministry of Finance:
http://www.mof.go.jp/jouhou/syuzei/siryou/182.htm
URL for reference
Ｉ-4 Confirmation of Social Security Agreement
If you come to Japan from one of the social security agreement countries, and if you fulfill certain conditions, you can be exempt from coverage of the pension system of your country or Japan. In some cases, you may add a coverage period under the Japanese system to a coverage period under your country's system. In order to apply for this, you need a Certificate of Coverage that proves your participation in the social security system of your country. Please request your employer in the agreement country to file an application with an organization that issues a Certificate of Coverage. After coming to Japan, please submit this Certificate of Coverage to the academic organization at the University of Tokyo to which you are expected to belong.
Please note that a social security system for which the agreement was made differs in each agreement country.
As of June, 2009
| Agreement Country | Aggregation of Periods | Social Security System for which Double Coverage is Prevented | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | Agreement country | |||
| Germany | February 2000 | Applicable |
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| United Kingdom | February 2001 | ― | ||
| South Korea | April 2005 | ― | ||
| The United States | October 2005 | Applicable |
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| Belgium | January 2007 | Applicable |
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| France | June 2007 | Applicable |
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| Canada | March 2008 | Applicable |
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| Australia | January 2009 | Applicable |
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| The Netherlands | March 2009 | Applicable |
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| Czech Republic | June 2009 | Applicable | ||
Source: The Social Insurance Agency (http://www.sia.go.jp/seido/kyotei/system/index.html)
URL for reference
Ｉ-5 Submission of the University of Tokyo Standard Resume Format
Please download the University's standard resume format from the following site, fill it out, and send it to the relevant academic or administrative staff of the academic organization to which you will belong. The resume requires your signature and photo. Before or after arriving in Japan, you may be asked to submit documents other than your resume necessary for employment.
URL for reference
Ｉ-6 Arrangement of Air Tickets
If you are invited by the University of Tokyo, you will be reimbursed for the actual airfare after coming to Japan. Please bring proofs of payment (such as receipts, itinerary, and airline ticket stubs). In case you come to Japan with a round-trip ticket, you will be reimbursed for one-way airfare to Japan after arrival, and paid the remaining half of the airfare before leaving Japan. Payment will be made in yen at the rate on the day of conversion in the accounting procedure.
