JET Tips for Married Couples!

Hey everyone, it's Hannah here.

Because the JET Program is one of the most competitive organizations to go through for teaching English in Japan, I thought I'd post a few tips on getting into the program. But there are LOTS of other people who have done similar things out there, and any generic tips I could give (do you need to know Japanese, what should I know for the interview, etc.) would just be repeating what is elsewhere on the internet. However, one thing I noticed is that there isn't much information out there for people who are married and applying for JET. So that's what this post will focus on!

Now, the minimum education you need for the JET Program is a Bachelor’s Degree, meaning that you may not be married when you apply for JET. Well, I am, and my husband, Ben, also applied for JET. In my opinion, it's always worth it for you both to apply, especially because if you both get in, they will place you in areas near each other, meaning you can still live together. 

So Ben didn't get accepted. But that's ok because JET helps you get what's called a dependent visa for your partner. Be aware that this only covers recognized legal marriages, so according to Japanese law, a fiancee, girlfriend/boyfriend, or common-law partner can't get the visa. Before you depart for Japan, you'll need to send in your passport to your consulate for them to process your work visa, and your spouse's passport to process the dependent visa. However, you have to have notified your assigned Board of Education that your spouse is coming (which you should have marked in your initial application form for JET), otherwise the consulate won't be able to process their dependent visa. So that covers him getting into the country, but what's he going to do in Japan? Well on a dependent visa, you cannot work. But if you find a company willing to hire you, it is possible to change your visa once you get to Japan, allowing someone on a dependent visa to engage in part time work. It's called "Permission to engage in activities other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted" (quite a mouthful). If you're interested in that avenue, I suggest searching on Gaijin Pot for potential employers.

One thing to note when applying for JET is the cost. As I am the one who was accepted into the program, my airfare to Japan (and back), the hotel stay in Tokyo during the 3-day orientation, as well as transportation to my assigned prefecture is all covered by my consulate. Ben's, however, is not. JET participants are booked through a travel agency, and you won't be receiving that information until much closer to your departure date. In my case, one section of the plane was reserved for JET participants, and they couldn't guarantee getting Ben on the same flight or at the the reduced JET price. Now, Ben is a terrible flyer, and neither of us wanted him to come to Japan at a different time (though be aware JET is going to push you to have your spouse come separately). So rather than wait and see what the travel agent could do, we went ahead and booked his ticket on the plane (ended up being about $1400). He may not be sitting anywhere near me, but at least he's on the flight, and we can always go talk to each other during the 13 hour trip. Aside from airfare, your spouse's travel arrangements are also not covered. Rather than booking Ben for 3 nights at the Keio Plaza in Tokyo (where we have our orientation), he booked his own hotel elsewhere in Tokyo, which he will then have to navigate to on his own, and then meet me back at the plaza when orientation is over to head to our prefecture. If you want your spouse to stay at the orientation location with you, the travel agency will set it up and put you in a room together, but the Keio was about $300 a night and we couldn't really afford that. Also orientation is going to be a super busy time for JET participants and you won't have much time to hang out with your partner anyway. Then when going from Tokyo to your prefecture, you'll have another travel expense! JET participants are covered, but spouses are not, so you may be needing to purchase a train, bus, or another plane ticket depending on how you are getting to your designated area. That's something to discuss with your assigned Board of Education.

Now, I wouldn’t have accepted the position in JET if my husband hadn’t been able to go with me. I couldn’t imagine doing this without him. So here’s a tip for when you’re married and applying for JET (and for when you get to the interview stage): know what your spouse is going to do and how they feel. Talk with them about what they want to do in Japan, if they are going to look for work, what they’d do if they didn’t like being in Japan, and make sure you aren’t going to be putting unwanted stress on your relationship by accepting a JET position. When you accept a position through JET, you are making a commitment, and they don't want to hire people who are going to leave before their contract is up due to relationship problems.

Bottom line: Take your spouse, but have a plan and be prepared for extra costs!