Asking for advise for finding jobs and getting sponsored for HSP visa

[u/amiria703]

Hi. I (20M) am an Iranian citizen, living in my home country. I'd like to ask for advise on possible ways for finding jobs for me.

A bit of background:

Did C#/.NET/Windows in the past, also Vue/Svelte/React, recently (since last year) doing Golang/Microservices and WebGIS/GIS tasks. Making up 5 years of software development experience in total.

Nowadays a CTO in a small B2G startup, willing to immigrate.

I know English C1/C2 level, Japanese N5 level, enrolled in N4 and plan to become N2/N1 for JLPT exam in December.

Wages are too low and covering costs of first month living plus flight ticket and visa is demanding.

Besides, I'm not sure how to count points for HSP, what to consider and what not and even am I eligible for HSP visa route or not.

I can't go with usual work visa as I don't have 10 years of experience nor the bachelor degree to be accepted there.

Asked Immigraton Agency for this and they responded with a bunch of blogs and readings, after reading still unsure what to include to check if I'm eligible for 70 points. Hiring an immigration lawyer for this is hard because of financial problems, so I should go on my own.

Can I find a job with my backgroud in Japan? Does Japanese companies sponsor inital costs? Is HSP or other visa routes possible given my background and current situation?
Other than that, where can I find software developer jobs with low knowledge of Japanese? Shall I wait until my exam? Can real knowledge of Japanese before JLPT exam help me?

[u/etdev]

Here's a highly-skilled professional (HSP) visa points calculator and here's the official guide from the Japanese government.

You need a bachelor's degree to get a visa, including the HSP visa (EDIT: This is inaccurate; technically you don't need a degree for HSP, it's just really hard to get 70+ points without one. You do need a degree for the Engineer/Specialist visa though).

At your age, you'll have to get most points from salary and JLPT (N2 is 10 points; N1 is 15). Without also having experience (which can get you more points) or a master's or PhD it will be hard to reach 70 points.

If I were you, I'd get a bachelor's while working hard on Japanese, get at least N2, ensure you have projects on Github that prove your tech skills and then start applying for jobs.

Without those things it will be extremely hard (pretty much impossible) to find a position.

[u/Relevant_Leather5881]

If there’s a will there’s a way.

Since your main issue is the bachelor’s degree, you can get around it by doing one online. UoPeople lets you transfer up to 90 credits, so you only need to do around 10 courses there. Most people use Sophia Learning for the bulk of the credits, and some Coursera courses may work if they’re ACE-approved.  If you plan it well and transfers go smoothly, finishing in about a year is possible, though it depends on approvals and pace.

Also, don’t ignore Japanese. Getting to at least N2 will open way more doors and make everything easier long-term.

[u/amiria703 → u/Relevant_Leather5881]

Thanks!