13 Universities Lead Japan's Internationalization: These core universities will play a major role in dramatically boosting the number of international students educated in Japan as well as Japanese students studying abroad.

3. Visa procedure

Status of Residence

● The status of residence applicable to international students studying in Japan is "College Student".
● The durations of visa vary from six months to two years and three months depending on the type of institution.

More information is available on the website of the Immigration Bureau, at the Ministry of Justice: http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/

Visa Application

Visas can be applied for in one of the following ways:

If you don't have a "Certificate of Eligibility for a status of residence"
The visa application needs to be submitted personally by the student intending to study in Japan at the Japanese Embassy or Consulate in their home country. Please aware that be the time required to process this visa application will take longer than those with a Certificate of Eligibility.
If you have a "Certificate of Eligibility"
Before applying for a visa, students intending to study in Japan or their proxies will apply for the "Certificate of Eligibility for a residence status" and have it issued to them at a Regional Immigration Bureau in Japan. With this "Certificate of Eligibility", students will then personally apply for visas at the Japanese Embassy or Consulate. Unlike visa application without the "Certificate of Eligibility", this alternative requires shorter processing time.

More information is available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan:
http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/index.html

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