Introduction

The Ryugaku Visa is issued two times each year for study starting in early April or October at universities. Some universities offer Japanese language courses as preparation for university studies, so it is sometimes possible to get a ryugaku visa for language study in such cases. It is not possible to then use the same visa at a language school - you would have to change visa status first.

The deadline for application varies, but the more famous universities with language schools will fill up faster than others, so apply in advance if you can. Think at least 6 months in advance.

Applications for the ryugaku visa are through your chosen university. The visa is issued by the Immigration Office and is for study at that University only. Institutions are reluctant to let students move freely from university to university as Japanese universities are generally desperate for more students, and any foreign students that they get are held onto. There is also the issue of administrative cost in bringing a student to Japan and completing all the visa formalities. However, it is occasionally possible to change institution - although this might be expensive, and there are no guarantees of credit transfer. The Japanese educational system just is not set up to deal with transfers on a regular basis.

Applications:

The official requirements as listed on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website:

College Student

1. A copy of a certificate of admission from the educational institution where the person concerned intends to study. In the case where he or she intends to study as a research student or an auditor, documents certifying the substance of the research or the subjects and the number of lessons from the educational institution concerned.
2. Documents certifying that the person concerned can defray all expenses incurred during the stay in Japan. In cases where the expenses incurred during the stay in Japan are defrayed by another person, documents certifying the income of the person who intends to defray all expenses and documents showing why he or she intends to defray all expenses for the person concerned are required.

In general this means all or most of the following (similar to requirements for the shugaku visa):

1. Application form: The Immigration Office standard application form for the Certificate of Eligibility is required. This is bilingual in English and Japanese, and most universities send you this to complete. [PDF APPLICATION FORM FOR CERTIFICATE OF ELIGIBILITY]
2. Proof of present employment/status: A copy of a student ID if you are a student, or a letter from the university/school to be safe. If you are working, a letter from your present employer or an explanation of why you cannot provide such a letter (eg. you haven't told them yet that you are leaving for Japan and it would affect your job if you did). [STUDENT: PDF EXAMPLE - WORD EXAMPLE :: EMPLOYEE: PDF EXAMPLE - WORD EXAMPLE]
3. Proof of Education: The graduation certificate/diploma from your highest level of education and the Academic Transcript from that same institution.
4. Proof of savings: The immigration office likes to see at least 800,000 Yen or equivalent for 6 months of study and about 1,500,000 Yen for one year. The more you can show the better. If you are on a scholarship, show proof of that scholarship.
5. If you are paying your own way:
1. you should show savings sufficient to support your studies in Japan. Proof can be either a letter from your bank on official bank paper stating that you hold an account with the bank and stating the balance of your account(s), or a normal bank statement showing the balance. [PDF EXAMPLE - WORD EXAMPLE]
6. If someone else (a financial sponsor) is paying your way:
1. they should show either a letter from their bank on official bank paper stating that they hold an account with the bank and stating the balance of their account(s), or a normal bank statement showing the balance. [PDF EXAMPLE - WORD EXAMPLE]
2. proof of their relationship to you (your birth certificate is ideal if your parents are paying or any LEGAL documents that connect you both).
3. a Letter of Paying Expenses which states that they will pay your living and study expenses in Japan [PDF EXAMPLE]
4. proof of employment (a letter from their employer detailing position, start and end dates of contract, and salary if possible). [PDF EXAMPLE - WORD EXAMPLE]
7. Personal Guarantor: If the Japanese government or the university require a guarantor from you, you will have to provide a Letter of Guarantee signed by your guarantor in Japan stating that they will be legally, financially and morally responsible for you during your stay. If you cannot provide this, then you may be unable to get a visa for Japan. [PDF FORM]
8. Doctor's letter: A letter from a medical doctor in your country stating that you are healthy. Generally this will require an in-depth examination (cf. shugaku visa which does not) including blood test, chest X-ray and maybe a urine analysis. Universities usually send you a standard form to have completed. [PDF EXAMPLE - WORD EXAMPLE]
9. Photocopy of passport: Some universities only ask for the page bearing your photo and passport number; others ask for every page including the cover. Check with the university or copy every page just in case.
10. Passport photographs: Depending on the university, usually 6 or 8 standard colour passport photographs, 4cm by 3 cm, head and shoulders, showing both ears. Plain background, try and look as normal as you can - it helps. A PASSPORT PHOTOGRAPH IS NOT A PHOTOGRAPH OF YOUR PASSPORT, IT IS A SMALL PHOTOGRAPH OF YOU (yes, unfortunately we do need this explanation).
11. Application fee: All universities will charge you an application fee, and will not process your application without it. The fee is usually of the order of 30,000 to 35,000 yen per university but may be less if only applying for language courses.

Note that individual universities have their own requirements, so you will need to check with your chosen university for exact details of requirements. Remember that a university will also have an entrance examination if you are applying for a degree course and if you cannot pass this entrance process, you will not be able to apply for the visa. Your application fee is not refundable in cases where you do not pass the entrance examination or process.

You have to assemble these completed documents and send them to the university to which you are applying with any extra documents that the university requests. Make sure that you apply by their deadline, but maybe earlier if you require a guarantor - sometimes the process can take a long time.

After the application:

On completion of the application, the university should inform you when:

• They accept the application and submit it to the Immigration Office
• They receive confirmation from the Immigration Office that the visa has been approved/denied

If the visa is denied by the Immigration Office (not the place on the university course), then you cannot come to Japan and will not be able to apply for another visa of any type for 6 months, and for another student visa for 12 months.

If the visa is approved, then you have the option of accepting or declining it.

• If you accept the visa: At this point you have only paid the application fee: you now have to pay the fees that the university asks (most ask for 6 months' tuition fees and maybe accommodation fees) and they will send you the Certificate of Eligibility you need in order to get your visa. You need to take this document and your passport to the nearest Japanese Consulate to get your visa. It usually takes overnight to a couple of days to get the visa issued, but it depends on your nationality and where you are.
• If you decline the visa: You just don't send the money and the university will not send you the Certificate of Eligibility. If you are unable to take up your visa for any reason, please inform the university as soon as you can - they need to know as well how many students will be coming for the course to plan lectures and accommodation. If you have a specific reason why you cannot come, you can apply again for the next ryugaku visa. If you do not, then you may be unable to get another visa of any kind for 6 months and a student visa for 12 months. Please note that in such cases, you will almost certainly have to repeat the entire application process again.

NOTE 1: If you just bring the Certificate of Eligibility to Japan and show it to the Immigration Officials at the airport, they will either put you on the next plane home, or call the univeristy where you are supposed to study and complain, or both. They may let you enter the country if you apologise profusely, claim ignorance and stupidity and the university also does the same (very unlikely).
If for any reason you cannot get the visa stamped into your passport before coming to Japan, then you may be able to enter the country on a tourist visa and then change to the student visa at the Immigration Office nearest your university. If the tourist visa is easy for you to get (i.e. you are from an OECD country), this may an option to consider - but note that in no way is it guaranteed that you will be able to get the visa in this way, and we do not advise this course of action. If at all possible, get the ryugaku visa stamped into your passport before you come to Japan. However, if you bring the Certificate of Eligibility with you to Japan of your own volition, with the intention of changing to the ryugaku visa at an Immigration Office in Japan, make sure that you do not show it to Immigration Officials at the airport/when you enter the country. It will cause you a lot of problems.

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