All Systems GO!

I'm not even going to attempt katakana... which I am starting to study in earnest soon!  But... this is the latest from Nova:

Thank you for completing and returning your Employment Documents to the Toronto Recruiting office.  We will now organize and send them to our Foreign Personnel office in Japan.  There, Nova staff will prepare the visa application for submission to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration in order to apply for your Certificate of Eligibility (COE). 

You may recall from your job offer package that the COE is the first step in obtaining a visa for permission to work in Japan.  The process takes approximately 6-8 weeks in total from the time your application has been submitted.  Since the COE has an expiry date, Nova Foreign Personnel staff in Japan will submit your documents based on your targeted departure date.  Once your COE has been issued we will contact you so you can make arrangements to take possession of it.  The final step is to visit a Japanese Consulate or Embassy to apply for your visa...

So things are underway!  That means I should really get on renewing my passport... I wonder how long Vy was in line the other day?  I really don't fancy spending my whole day at the passport office.  Now, I just need to get on saving that $2K I need.