Originally Posted by
CloudSailor
I know a similar question/answer have been posted on here...
-Can a pilot on a 5 yr. contract move to Japan with his spouse?
-If so... what are the requirements for the pilot's and spouse's visa/immigration?
-If so... one could, in theory, spend the consecutive days off, in addition to blank days, at home (in base) correct?
-Last related question... if living in Japan is definitely not on option, what city in the U.S., where you have layovers, would give one most time at home? ANC, ORD or HNL?
Thanks for any info, it's greatly appreciated.
The option to move and actually live in Japan is a new on that is being offered to AJX pilots for sure. I am not sure if AJV is offering that option. I know of only one pilot that has taken that option and gotten a work visa to actually live in Japan. Once you get the visa you become responsible for Japanese taxes and that makes a lot of people not very interested in the idea.
Not sure on the specifics required. You would be best off asking the contract companies for the specifics. It is probably similar to the process to get your visa when you come for training. The company will send documentation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and apply for a Certificate of Eligibilty which will be sent to you. The certificate is basically a pre-approval for your visa. You send that and your passport to the embassy and they issue a visa. If you do it once you are already here, I am sure the process is different.
If you are here as a resident you still get your 10 days off. You can take them consecutively or broken into smaller groups. You will also blank days depending on the staffing and schedules for the month. Blank days and standby days would both be spent at your home, apartment, or hotel in Narita. Blank days are considered days you are working so if you have 3 or 4 in a row, the company will not want you to leave and go home. I have had to go home on a blank day before and I had to change it to a vacation day or lose a days worth of pay. If you live in country though, no problem.
ANC and ORD are AJV cities so I dont know about them. I have herd that AJV may be losing them because they need a bigger aircraft and will wet lease the route to another company, however I dont know what the status of this is at the moment. For AJX, you usually have at least 1 HNL overnight and I have had as many as 3 in one month before.