Is is worth it to make use of the Working Holiday Visa if I only plan to stay for a relatively short time (e.g. 2-3 months) in Japan?

You can only obtain the Working Holiday visa only once in a lifetime, and it is valid for one year). If you only use it for a few months, you will forfeit the validity of the remaining months.

You should consider whether you want to and/or have the time to stay for a more extended period. In case you can't or don't want to stay longer, instead of doing a Working Holiday you might consider one of our other other programs in Japan such as internships, volunteering or language lessons, which for many nationalities is possible visa-exempted on a Temporary Visitor Status for up to 6 months, depending on the nationality (3 months for most nationalities who can get a Working Holiday Visa; 6 months for citizens of Austria, Ireland, UK, and Germany).

If you find that you like Japan very much during this time, you can return later for a more extended duration on your Working Holiday Visa.

If you don't plan to return to Japan later for a longer duration, you can, of course, make use of the Working Holiday Visa only for a short duration of stay.

Updated on: 29/12/2023