GETTING A VISA FOR JAPAN: GUARANTORS

One of the biggest problems that students face when applying to Japan is getting a visa. Not all nationalities need them - it depends on whether Japan has visa arrangements in place with your own country. There is a list on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) homepage that details the visa requirements of various nationalities: see http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/02.html for the list.

Basically, if your nationality is listed on that page, you can get a visa from the Japanese embassy EITHER on arrival OR by going to the Japanese embassy in your home country. IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT COMING TO JAPAN, GO TO THE JAPANESE EMBASSY OR CONSULATE IN YOUR PRESENT COUNTRY FIRST AND ASK ABOUT THE VISA REQUIREMENTS. The embassy may ask you for the "nyuugaku kyokasho" or "letter of acceptance" to a language school, or tell you that you don't need any documentation at all. It depends on the embassy, your nationality, the country you are in at the time and your visa status there.

Yamasa will provide you with the "nyuugaku kyokasho" or "letter of acceptance" AFTER you have paid your course fees and sent in a passport photograph.

The main problem is for people from countries not listed on the MOFA homepage. If your country is not listed, then you probably need a guarantor. A guarantor is a person who promises that you will not overstay your visa, work illegally or break the law in any other way, and will ensure that you have enough money to live on, and enough to return to your own country when your visa expires. So, they need to be someone you know well or someone who trusts you completely. It also makes it difficult to find one.

A guarantor is:

1) EITHER Japanese OR foreign person (if an organization or company, a member of that organization must sign the required documents);
2) Living in Japan for the entire time that you are in Japan;
3) Someone who has a connection to you (i.e. they know you well enough to be your guarantor);
4) Employed full time OR with sufficient money that they can afford the potential expenses of overstays, deportation, legal problems etc. should they arise.

Yamasa cannot be your guarantor. Why? We don't know you yet, and the Immigration Office scrutinizes applications from students sponsored by their school very carefully - it is easier to find your own guarantor.