Admission Information for International Students
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For MEXT students
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Scholarship, Housing, and more.
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Exchange students who are not Japanese citizens must have a ‘college student’ or other suitable visa status in order to register for courses at Sophia University. A ‘College student’ visa is valid for one year. The visa should in principle be obtained in a student’s home country. In order to apply for a College Student Visa, the student will need an Acceptance Letter from Sophia University and a CERTIFICATE OF ELIGIBILITY issued by the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau.
When an applicant from a partner institution is accepted academically into Sophia University, Sophia University applies to the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau for the CERTIFICATE OF ELIGIBILITY, which will be issued in approximately 6-8 weeks.
The following documents are necessary for obtaining the Certificate of Eligibility.
1. Application for Certificate of Eligibility ( Can be downloaded and submitted online)
Please ask the coordinator of your institution for the website URL to download the forms.
2. A photocopy of the applicant’s passport title page. Number, place of issuing, period of validity, and birth date must be visible. Students from Korea, R.O.C., or P.R.C. are requested to supply Sophia with the official Chinese characters for their names.
3. Two photographs (length 4cm x width 3cm)
No edge, Just side, In formal pose, Clearness and No background scenery. Color photocopies or computer printouts are not acceptable.
As soon as the Certificate of Eligibility is issued, Sophia will forward the Certificate to the student's home institution. The student must present the Certificate of Eligibility, his/her letter of acceptance, and his/her valid passport to a Japanese embassy or consulate either in the country of citizenship or in the country where the student's home institution is located. The bureaucrat will issue the college student visa and stamp it in the back of the student’s passport.
N.B: This process cannot be carried out inside Japan: Visas are only issued in a student's home country or the location of the students' home university. The students may need to leave Japan to obtain the visas if they arrive too early.
International students living in Japan must register at the local governmental office within 90 days of their arrival. They will be issued an Alien Registration card (Foreign Resident Registration card) within a few weeks, and this will serve as an identification card during their stay in Japan. Alien Registration Law states that a foreigner living in Japan must carry the card all the time, and present the card to the immigration officials and/or police when requested. When you fail to present this card, you may be required to pay fines. For detailed information about Alien Registration, please refer to THE HANDBOOK FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS .
International students temporarily leaving Japan must apply for a Re-entry Permit from the Immigration Bureau near their registered residence. Failure to obtain this permit will result in losing your visa status. For detailed information with regard to the Re-entry permit, please refer to THE HANDBOOK FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS .
