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Immigration Procedures

Certificate of Eligibility of Residence

You need to acquire a “College Student” visa in order to study at Sokendai. For the visa acquisition, you have to apply for the visa in person at the Japanese Embassy or Consulate nearest to your residence in your home country. It usually takes no less than 3 months for issuance of the visa. This long process can be shortened with a Certificate of Eligibility (COE). A COE is issued before the visa application by the regional immigration authority in Japan, as evidence that you fulfill all the conditions of the Immigration Control Act, and thus by showing the COE to the Japanese government officer in your home country, you can obtain the visa more easily. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you apply for the visa with a COE. The following is the outline of the visa acquisition procedure with a COE.

  1. Your academic adviser or departmental staff at Sokendai will submit an application for a COE to an Immigration Office with jurisdiction. (See 4 in the chart below.)
  2. After issuance of a COE, the academic adviser or departmental staff at Sokendai will send it to the student. (See 8 in the chart below.)
  3. The student will apply for a visa at the Japanese Embassy/Consulate nearest to his/her residence with the COE. (See 9 in the chart below.)

From filling of Application for Certificate of Eligibility(COE) of Residence Status to Visa Application and lssuance

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To apply for a COE, you need to follow the steps outlined below.

How to apply for a COE

  1. Download an Application Form for Certificate of Eligibility and fill out the form according to the sample.
  2. After completing the form, send the file to your academic adviser.
  3. Also, send a copy of your passport showing all basic information, your photograph and documents to certify that you can defray all the expenses incurred during your stay. (Please see here.) Then, your academic adviser or the departmental staff will apply for the COE with the documents you sent.
  4. After one and a half months, the COE will be sent to you. Then, please go to the Japanese Embassy/Consulate nearest to your residence and apply for the visa with the COE. As you are required to submit several documents as well as the COE at your application, please check the website of the Japanese Embassy in your home country and prepare them beforehand.

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