JETs
with Families
Hello,
First
I would like to congratulate you on being accepted into the JET program and
being placed in Toyama.
It is a
wonderful prefecture and I have had a wonderful five years here with my family,
my wife Lisa, and our two sons Darcy (now 9) and Bryn (now 7). We live in Inami in Nanto city. And I am guessing if you are reading this you
are bringing your family with you.
I would like to
start by pointing out there are, in effect, two types on families in Japan –
married, and unmarried.
If you are
unmarried and your partner is coming with you as a non-JET participant much of
the information below does not apply to you as Japan does not recognize
partnerships which are not legally documented as a marriage. Thus your partner is seen as a separate
individual who needs to get their own visa etc.
If you are
married the rules are very different.
Anyone who comes to Japan on a dependent visa is deemed to have the same
rights as the family of a Japanese citizen.
They receive health care through your health care provider, any
entitlements provided to families will also be available (for example child
care rebate and child subsidy) and your children will be able to attend the
local school (though there is no requirement to provide education for children
over the age of 15).
One of the first
things you should do is organize for your family to be registered (the system
is changing before you arrive so I am not 100% sure what this means), your
school and supervisor should be able to assist with this. Once your family is registered a number of
automatic steps should occur, your family should be provided with health care
(including a card each) and any benefits should be organized.
Organizing work
for your husband or wife is also simple.
They will need to have their visa changed (this is done at the
immigration center at Toyama airport) and will need to recorded at your town
hall. Once this is done your spouse is
entitled to work for up to 20 hours per week on their dependent visa.
For your
children if they are 6 on the 1st of April they are eligible to go to
school. This is largely free, though you
will need to pay for school lunch.
Before the age of 6 they can go to youchien
(privately run, they cost more, and you will pay for care outside normal hours
(8-3 during school terms). Or hoikuen (public day care which operates
all year round). I suggest you have a
look at your local ones and decide which one you prefer (we went youchien as they had fences between them
and the main road (the local hoikuen
did not).
A Personal perspective
For us there
have been 999 good things for every bad thing we have experienced. Our family has been accepted without issue
into our local community and we have experienced almost no discrimination. There are strange things which take some
getting used to but that is all part of the experience. My suggestion is flow with it and if you are
unsure ask someone you trust in a similar situation. For us we have a couple of close friends with
young children and when things get confusing we ask them - things then usually
begin to make sense.
I
really hope you enjoy your stay here with your family.
Kieran
Murphy
Ianmi Junior
high school
lisakieran@yhahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment