Students may not enter Japan as a tourist and switch to a student visa within Japan. Japanese Immigration does not recommend this method for those who will ultimately be under another visa type. In the event that Immigration denies your application for a student visa, you would have to leave Japan before your tourist status expires. This is one of the reasons why Japanese Immigration recommends people to only enter Japan with the appropriate visa for their stay. TUJ strongly encourages you to take care of COE/visa matters before entering Japan.

For TUJ to sponsor a student's visa, we are required by Japanese Immigration to ensure that students have sufficient assets to pay for tuition and living expenses while they are in Japan.

No. Financial documents must show money you currently have access to. Please refer to the Visa Application Documents and Process section of the website for a list of acceptable documents.

Student visa holders may enter Japan no earlier than 14 days before the first day of new student Welcome Week. Check the Newly Accepted Students website for the arrival date of the semester you are entering.

If you are currently residing in Japan on a student visa, please refer to the Changing from non-TUJ Student Visa section and submit the required documents to the visa coordinator upon your acceptance to TUJ.

Since TUJ is sponsoring your visa, the school requires the advance payment as a means of proving your commitment to studying at TUJ. Before TUJ can send your COE, you must pay the first semester of tuition, housing, matriculation, facilities and student activities fees (approximately ¥1,600,000). Please review the advance payment section on this website for more details.

If you are on 100% GI Bill benefit, you are exempt from the advance payment. The university will send you the COE as soon as we receive your COE back from Immigration.

No, you are not required to stay in TUJ housing as long as you can prove that you are currently living in Japan. If you are not currently living in Japan and feel that you should be exempt from the TUJ housing requirement, you will need to complete a housing waiver before our housing application deadline.

Yes! The status of students on a TUJ-sponsored student visa is "Student." This means the main purpose for being in Japan is to study. As a result, with limited exceptions, all visa-sponsored students must be enrolled at TUJ full-time while residing in Japan. For undergraduate students, full-time enrollment is defined as 12-18 credits for fall and spring semesters and 9 credits for summer semester. These requirements can only be met by enrolling in courses offered at TUJ. Online courses from Main Campus do not fulfill this requirement except for those who are registered for the 2 + 2 program.

You can start applying for your visa extension 90 days prior to its expiration date.

Yes, however the student visa alone does NOT permit you to work. You need to obtain a work permit separately.

As long as you file a LOA petition form and remain outside of Japan for the entire semester you are on leave, it will not affect your visa status.

NO YOU MAY NOT! If you are taking the summer semester off, you need to submit the Summer Absence Form to the visa coordinator in the Office of Student Services (OSS) and leave Japan for the entire summer. You can return to Japan 30 days before the start of fall semester and not a day earlier.

No, you do not need a re-entry permit.

Only in very limited circumstances are students approved to take a reduced course load. Due to strict immigration policy regarding full-time enrollment, TUJ will not allow students to take a reduced course load for more than a total of 3 semesters while pursuing an undergraduate degree regardless of the reason or circumstances.