Nov 10, 2024
Post-U.S. election moving abroad searches up over 1500%
The events of the last week have kinda made me feel a bit glum about the state of the world, and I'm sure many of you reading this know exactly what I'm referring to without me having to be ultra-specific. Even though I'm not American myself, my spouse is, and my children hold U.S. passports – so I do have some skin in the game.
A big part of why we have opted to stay in Japan as long as we have is because returning to the U.S. doesn't sound appealing, and getting a spouse visa for my husband for my home country is pricey. My home country also has very specific quarantine requirements for pets upon entering the country -- the entire process is very, very lengthy (and costly) -- so for the time being it's easier and more comfortable to just stay here.
Apparently, a lot of people in the U.S. are turning to expat sites at the moment to see what their opportunities are to move abroad in the wake of the election. Searches are apparently up 1500% on ways to move abroad.
There is some information on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs site on work or long-term stay visas if you're contemplating a Japan move. This is probably your best bet if you fit into one of the categories on that page and want to be here longer than a vacation. Student visas are one of the options on that link, and with Tokyo named as the world's second best city for students for the upcoming 2025 year, there might be some additional incentive to go down that route.
A fairly new (and unfortunately, shorter-term) visa is the digital nomad one, which is valid for a 6 month period. You need an annual income from your remote employer of 10 million Japanese yen or more to qualify (that's a smidge over 65,000 USD at the time of writing this blog) so just keep that in mind.
If you are reading this and looking at coming to Japan because of the uncertain future, I hope you can find a way to do so.
2 Comments
TonetoEdo
on Nov 10
...And the Washington Times says the top searches are for Canada, Australia, Ireland, Switzerland, and Germany. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/nov/6/americans-search-options-flee-us-trump-win/ I wonder if those looking at Japan as a landing pad are sacrificing earning potential for a perceived "better life".
genkidesu
on Nov 10
@TonetoEdo the better life concept is an interesting one because it's so dependent on individual wants and needs from life, I guess. I feel like my husband and I sacrifice a bit in terms of earning potential but our overall quality of life is better. I think it's probably important to remind anyone reading this too that Japan isn't a utopia and absolutely has its own set of problems. Sometimes I think it's easy to romanticize destinations without realizing that nowhere is perfect.