On account of their conservative traditions, Japan was not as open to foreigners as compared to others despite it being a stellar country. In fact, according to a 2015 statistic, barely 2% of the country’s total population was foreigners. So, getting a visa was not easy back then.
However, times have changed. The increase in the ageing population and low birth rates resulted in shortages of the country’s workforce. As a result, the country faced shortages in the workforce.
To rectify the issue, the government of Japan has opened doors for foreigners who want to live, work, or study in Japan. In 2016, the country witnessed over 1 million foreign nationals working in Japan. And as of May 2019, there were over 312,214 international students in Japan.
For those who want to work or live in Japan, you need to obtain a work visa from the Japanese embassy. You need to fill up personal information and attain general Japanese Visa requirements. One essential requirement for the Japanese Work Visa is the Certificate of Eligibility. This certificate, released by the Ministry of Justice in Japan, must be provided to the Japanese Embassy or Consulate to process the Visa.
Among the pathways to migrate to Japan are the Standard Work Visa route and Points-Based Preferential Immigration Treatment for Highly-Skilled Foreign Professionals. Points are rewarded according to the applicant’s education, experience and income.
Now, although a work visa may be an easy entrance into Japan, what most people don’t know is that a student visa in Japan is another way to migrate to the land of the rising sun.
In this article, we will show you everything you need to know about a Japanese student visa.
Let’s begin with the requirements, shall we?
Japan Student Visa Requirements
No matter what you are applying for, there will always be certain parameters that you must follow. There are specific qualifications and documents you must have. Here are the requirements for a student visa to Japan:
- Letter of sponsorship.
- Proof of financial aid.
- Bank statement with at least 1,000,000 yen equivalent.
- Passport ID.
- Bank or income statements.
- A cover Letter composed by you declaring the reason for your travel.
- Letter of Guarantee issued from your educational institution.
- Proof you can make almost 2 Million Yen a year.
- Certificate of eligibility.
- Passport-size picture, preferably recent and 4cm x 3cm in dimensions with a full face.
You have to ensure that all documents are submitted in A4 size paper and that not all documents have to be original. To know more, we suggest you consult the Embassy or Consulate.
Depending on the school and your circumstance, you may have to provide more documents. However, you won’t have to do much if you coordinate your application through Indian correspondences such as AKAL Japanese Academy. We will get more into that later.
How To Get A Student Visa For Japan
As we have already mentioned the requirements above, let’s focus on the “how”, shall we?
You know how people say, “The sooner, the better”?
Well, this applies to Japanese schools as well. You see, there are specific dates set for the submission dates of Japanese immigration. If you fail to meet the deadlines with the required documents, the school you are applying for won’t give you the student visa. Moreover, you need to receive your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) from your local Japanese embassy.
Now, all these sound like such a hassle, don’t they? What if we told you there was an easier way? What if we told you some people would take care of such tedious tasks for you?
Enter AKAL Japanese Academy
Take a look at the benefits –
- Admission in Japanese Language Program in Japan
- Learn the Japanese language up to N5 Level (As per visa requirements)
- Visa processing for Japan
- Assistance in obtaining jobs in Japan
- Assistance to find a part-time job in Japan while you go through the Japanese Language Program (Optional)
- Assistance for “Specialized Skills” test in Japan after completing 1 year of Japanese Language Program.
AKAL Japanese Academy focuses on preparing candidates to work, study or travel to Japan and has helped many candidates migrate to Japan to study and/or work.
Following are the mandatory documents that you, the candidate, must-have if you are planning to join a study abroad program in Japan or join a Japanese university:
- Academic Records:
This includes your academic records – mainly your 10th and 12th certificate, Transfer certificate, etc. - Passport:
You need to hold a passport and submit a copy to school authorities. This will be used to obtain your student visa. - Aadhar Card:
Your Aadhar card would serve as identity proof and your passport to get a student visa. - Character Certificate:
Universities and schools generally issue a ‘character certificate’ to validate conduct proof. You will have to provide this certificate to the school. - 3 years Bank Account Statement:
You need to submit a copy of your sponsor’s bank statement for 3 years. This ensures that your sponsor has enough funds to sponsor your education.
That’s not all, here are even more benefits:
- We offer flexible time slots depending on your availability.
- We have some of the most experienced trainers and advanced training material.
- We will help you in finding the ideal job in Japan for you.
- Get the opportunity to learn from Japanese native teachers.
- Participate in lots of educational activities and fun.
- Get career counselling and tons of support from the staff.
- We will also assist you with the visa application process.
Well, now that you know the easiest way to get a Japanese student visa, we hope this article proves to be helpful.
Sayonara for now.