Comprehensive Guide: Applying for a Student Visa to Japan, Step by Step

If you are planning to study in Japan for more than 3 months, then a student visa for Japan is essential. There is a specific process for obtaining a Student Visa for Japan, unlike any other immigration procedure, which requires form fillings, application processing and embassy visits which seems to be somewhat intimidating.

The student visa for Japan is considered to be the least difficult to get and here in this blog we provide you a step-by-step guide on How you can apply for a student visa for Japan. You can even get in touch with Teams Language Services for the further details

Before we delve into the application process lets understand about the types and requirements of student visa.

Complete Guide for Student Visa for Japan 2025

Types of Student Visa for Japan

As a student, you will be required to have a Student Visa regardless of whether you are attending a university, a technical school, or a language school. Once you have submitted an application for a working permit and been granted one, you will be able to work up to 28 hours per week that are considered part-time. In the event that you are enrolling in a university program, you will often be granted a student visa for the duration of your term or for an initial period of two years.

Requirements of Student Visa for Japan

A Certificate of Eligibility, often known as a COE for short, is the first thing you will need in order to submit an application for a student visa.

They will file an application for the COE on your behalf, but they will need you to provide answers to certain questions and provide some documents that are pertinent to the application.

You were also needed to submit a health check that included the results of a tuberculous examination; however, this requirement has not been in place for a number of years.

Importantly, you will be requested to submit detailed information about your financial sponsor as well as evidence of their income; thus, it is important that you have this information available. In most cases, your sponsor will be required to provide documentation of a year’s worth of your living costs and tuition fees, taking into consideration any scholarship offers that you may have received.

Documents Required for Japan Visa:

• Financial Statements
• The Statements of Income
• The tax return from the previous year
• Validation of stock holdings, earnings from rental properties, or other sources of income or savings.
• Statements of grant for scholarships.
• It is necessary to translate into either Japanese or English any documentation that is not already in either of those languages.

Aside from that, you will be required to provide the following:

• Copy of a photo page of your password
• Please provide a 4×3 ID photo that has been shot against a solid white backdrop and clearly displays your face. A jpeg file should be used to send the photograph.

How to fill Application: Stepwise Process for Japan Student Visa.

#1. Sponsor for Japan Student Visa

1. To begin, you must accept the offer, provide the necessary paperwork from your financial sponsor, and pay the registration cost.

#2. Certificate of Eligibility (COE) Application Form for Japan

1. We will activate a new “Visa” area of the application system for you after you have indicated that you would want to accept your offer.
2. Next, we will direct you to complete the section and email us the details of your financial sponsor.
3. A comprehensive set of questions that are required for the Certificate of Eligibility application form are included in the newly added visa section. In this area, we will inquire as to whether or not you have ever been to Japan, whether you have any relatives living in Japan, and most crucially, whether or not you have ever submitted an application for a certificate of eligibility.
4. In order to emphasize how important it is to answer these questions honestly, we cannot stress enough.
5. You may submit your Certificate of Eligibility to the Immigration Department.

Following the completion of the new Visa question portion of the application system, visa staff will review your responses and prepare your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) application form. This form will then be sent to the Immigration Department for processing.

#3. Waiting Period After Visa Form Submission or COE 

After your application has been filed, it will generally take between 6 and 8 weeks for your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) to be returned to the University. However, after the COVID, we have unpleasant experience with COEs taking between 10 and 12 weeks to return to us.

In the event that there are any complaints about your application or if the Immigration Department requires further information, they will get in touch with us, and we will follow up with you.

In order to cut down on the length of time it takes to have your certificate of eligibility issued, the quickness with which you respond to our contacts will be of great assistance.

#4. COE’s received back at the university

Once your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) has been granted by the Immigration Department, we will get a copy of it either electronically or in physical form. We will get in touch with you at this time and ask you to pay the tuition cost for the first semester as well as confirm the address to which you would want the certificate of enrolment to be mailed.

As soon as we have received confirmation of your payment, we will send you both the electronic (via email) and physical (by DHL or Fedex) versions of the document.

There are an increasing number of Japanese embassies that only need an electronic copy of the certificate of education (COE) in order to apply for a student visa. In these instances, we will not send the physical copy to you by courier.

#5. Book an appointment at your nearest Japanese Embassy or Consulate

You must now convert your Certificate of Eligibility into a Student Visa. To do this, file an application for a Student Visa at the Japanese Embassy or Consulate that is located closest to you. In the majority of cases, walk-ins are not permitted, and in some countries, the Embassy may have contracted VFS to handle scheduling and application processing.

If you want further information, check out the website of your local Embassy. There are some that demand an interview, and there are those that charge for student visa applications; all you have to do is be sure to check.

It will generally take them one week to complete your application for a student visa once you have submitted your passport, certificate of eligibility, student visa application form, and fee, if applicable, at the embassy or consulate that is closest to you.

#6. Move to Japan

As you now possess a student visa in your passport, you are now able to enter Japan finally. Due to the fact that we are unable to be held responsible for any delays in processing, shipping of the COE, availability of student visa application appointments at your local embassy, and other similar issues, we would only ever suggest booking your trip at this stage.