First time study abroad, visa help!!!

[sakurasake41]

Hi everyone, I'm new here but I was hoping you could help me.....

I'm scheduled to go to Japan for study abroad on September 10th (I already booked my flight because the school said they'd meet me at the airport if I came on that day, plus I needed to have a flight number to apply for the stupid visa anyway). The problem is, I haven't received my certificate of eligibility yet, so I don't have my visa yet (obviously)! I've been asking the school all summer long if they've sent it yet, or when they're going to send it, but the only response I get is 'we haven't received it yet, when we do we'll send it ASAP'. When I asked what was taking so long, they didn't respond.

I'm in Las Vegas now, and the closest Japanese consulate is in San Francisco, which is where I'll have to send all my stuff to apply for my visa. I emailed them, asking them what I should do, but all they said was that I should keep asking the school, which has been useless so far.

I'm at a total loss here, and getting super nervous. Is there any way to apply for a visa once I'm already in Japan? Or is there anybody else I can call who would speed up the process or something? I'm so worried and confused. Help! T_T

[MMM]

Originally Posted by sakurasake41

Hi everyone, I'm new here but I was hoping you could help me.....

I'm scheduled to go to Japan for study abroad on September 10th (I already booked my flight because the school said they'd meet me at the airport if I came on that day, plus I needed to have a flight number to apply for the stupid visa anyway). The problem is, I haven't received my certificate of eligibility yet, so I don't have my visa yet (obviously)! I've been asking the school all summer long if they've sent it yet, or when they're going to send it, but the only response I get is 'we haven't received it yet, when we do we'll send it ASAP'. When I asked what was taking so long, they didn't respond.

I'm in Las Vegas now, and the closest Japanese consulate is in San Francisco, which is where I'll have to send all my stuff to apply for my visa. I emailed them, asking them what I should do, but all they said was that I should keep asking the school, which has been useless so far.

I'm at a total loss here, and getting super nervous. Is there any way to apply for a visa once I'm already in Japan? Or is there anybody else I can call who would speed up the process or something? I'm so worried and confused. Help! T_T

What school is it and what program did you go through to apply? I believe it is possible to get the prober visa after arriving in Japan, but it will be a hassle for you and the school.

[sakurasake41]

Originally Posted by MMM

What school is it and what program did you go through to apply? I believe it is possible to get the prober visa after arriving in Japan, but it will be a hassle for you and the school.

It's at Nihon Daigaku and I went through the International Exchange program at my college, the university of Hawaii at Manoa. I told Nihon Daigaku to send it to me directly (since I'm currently at home in Vegas now, not in Hawaii) because I was worried the Hawaii school would take forever.. when it turns out it's the Japanese school doing that :\

[sarasi]

Actually it is Japan Immigration who is processing your COE, so it is likely to be them who are taking a long time rather than the school. Is it possible for you to change your flight? If I were you I would be prepared to have to change it. Immigration can't usually be hurried up.

[Hatredcopter]

Immigration in Japan can be notoriously bad with CoE's. They say it takes 3 to 4 weeks to get it processed once they receive the paperwork from your sponsor institution, but I've heard of it taking even longer during their peak season (over two months in some cases). The good news is that once you do receive it, it only takes about 3 days for the consulate to have your visa ready. I would definitely look at your airline's terms for changing flights, just in case.

In the meantime, I'd contact your nearest consulate and ask them whether its possible to get your visa sorted after landing in Japan.

[IamKira]

I'm in a similar situation myself... supposed to be studying in the uk .. need to leave on the 11th yet i have not recieved my visa... visa consulate office has all my paperwork along with my Passport... which i need to travel to the uk... if i don't get that back by the 10th I'll have wasted $900 on airfare....

[sakurasake41]

Originally Posted by sarasi

Actually it is Japan Immigration who is processing your COE, so it is likely to be them who are taking a long time rather than the school. Is it possible for you to change your flight? If I were you I would be prepared to have to change it. Immigration can't usually be hurried up.

I'm fairly certain I can change my flight (with a penalty charge) but I really don't want to because then nobody from the university will come meet me at the airport and help me find my way to the dormitory I'll be staying at... *sigh*

@hatredcopter: Do you think it would be possible to contact the immigration office and ask them if they can hurry up? I don't know if it'll do any good or not, but if there's a possibility it'll help then I'd certainly like to try.

And last time I talked to the consulate, the woman on the phone just kept saying that I can't go to Japan with just my passport, although I was wondering if it would be possible to just put all my visa stuff in an envelope and mail it to them from japan (once I get there), putting my American home address on the envelope? I can't see why there would be a problem (since I don't even know how long I'm going to stay anyway, though at minimum it's 90 days).

[sakurasake41]

I emailed the consulate again asking if I could go to Japan and get a visa there, but they told me no. The woman said the CoE normally takes a couple of months and that I must have a visa to go to Japan, which doesn't really help me at all, but whatever...

[MMM]

Originally Posted by sakurasake41

I emailed the consulate again asking if I could go to Japan and get a visa there, but they told me no. The woman said the CoE normally takes a couple of months and that I must have a visa to go to Japan, which doesn't really help me at all, but whatever...

You don't need a visa to go to Japan. You will get a 90 day tourist visa upon landing.

[sakurasake41]

Originally Posted by MMM

You don't need a visa to go to Japan. You will get a 90 day tourist visa upon landing.

See, that's what I figured--I've been to Japan before, but that was only for ten days, so I'm just wondering if the one-way ticket would be a problem.

If the certificate doesn't get here in time, I'm seriously thinking about just going on a tourist visa and mailing everything to the san francisco consulate once I get to Japan. I don't want to get in trouble, though (even though I don't know how they'd be able to tell or what they could do about it).