Japanese Language School requirements?

[yukio_michael]

I'm planning on going back to Japan in October to go to attend at least a years long language school. I'm wondering what the requirements are for attending a language school, I understand that different schools may have different requirements but that they may opperate fairly similarly.

I'd preferably like to go to a school that has some sort of housing available so I don't have to worry about going through the hassle of finding an apartment.

If you have the money to attend school, how stringent are the requirements to do so, in people's eperience?

tia~~

[Ewok85]

If you have the money, I don't think there is any requirements.

A quick for language schools will give you alot of information on those sorts of things though.

[Pachipro]

I thought you might do something like that yukio michael after reading some of your posts and I was going to suggest it. I'm going a ways back, but I do not believe it has changed all that much. Maybe others can add to what I say.

First on your list you need a sponsor who is a Japanese citizen and who has a job. This could be your girlfriend or a friend or anyone who is willing to do it. A sponsor will vouch for your character, take full responsibility for you, including living quarters and agree to pay your expenses back to the states should you get into some trouble. The school could also provide sponsorship.

Next you will have to be accepted by a language school. That is the easy part as money talks there as anywhere. No requirements there except that you really want to learn Japanese. Some provide lodging, others do not. But my guess is that it may be more expensive, up front, than finding your own place with the help of your girlfriend. However, it may be your only choice right now depending on your circumstances.

You will probably have to pay some cash up front, like 6 months or a full year.

After acceptance comes your visa at the Japanese Embassy or consulate office. There they will ask you, as they did me, to sign a statement saying that you are not going there to find employment and to teach English (even though you are allowed to work 20 hrs a week on a student visa.) My own sole purpose of going to a language school though was to get back to Japan in the quickest time possible, teach English, and open my own school. I succeeded in both. They will also ask you for the paperwork that a sponsor must send to you before they will even consider granting you a visa. You may also have to show proof of cash you will be taking for you to live on.

Then it is up to you. With a sponsor, and being a "student" it will be easier for you to teach English for income as they do not have to do anything except hire you as you already have a visa and a sponsor. If you get married while there you will have a spouse visa and that will enable you to work virtually anywhere and to stay in the country indefinitely.

I hope this helps and good luck to you as I know how much you want to go back.

[yukio_michael]

I hope this helps and good luck to you as I know how much you want to go back.Thanks so much for your in depth response Pachipro, it was an old response of yours, (as well as a number of other peoples) that I'd went back to recently to do some planning.

I think it was the information about sponsors that most confused me from some of the schools sites, you've cleared that up.

Unfortunately me + my ex have split up, it started mostly over having left Japan, (not to give you my life story, but she lives in NYC now... something she had been planning even before I met her... kind of counter-productive to living in Japan, really...) but being stuck out in California in between contract payments hasn't helped either... I have other friends there, so hopefully I can arange something.

It's always complicated. Thanks again.

[ullvarg]

Since it's rather late now i can't post a hole lot, but sice I'm starting my school in a couple of weeks i can get you in the right direction now and anser any further questions later.

##requierments##
If you whant to attend a language school, you need 12 years of previous school, the cash and a finansial garantoure (this persone can be anyone from anywere with some money in the bank and a job)

##Accomidations##
Most language school offer a dormatory living style (you don't have any private space) but they are usualy also happy to help you find an appartment

##Chosing the school##
I'm guessing that you whant to go to tokyo, from what i have read from your other posts. I don't have any personal experience with this school, but i have heard nothing but possitive things about this school.
http://www.kaij.co.jp/

##I wrote this on another forum, a fast walkthrough of my application##
(everything that has to do with CSN is to ignore, it's a Swedish govermental office)

1. Found a city that was appealing
2. Found a school there that was appealing
3. Called CSN to check if that school was approved for CSN loan
4. Applied for the school and asked them to send me a certificate of enrolment and a certificate that that they wanted the tuition fee for the first year in a clump sum, and asked them to fill in a form for CSN. (All of this as soon as possible)
5. received these things a couple of weeks before I was approved for a visa.
6. Sent it in to CSN together with another form and a personal letter explaining my situation and the whole thing with first year�s tuition fee in a clump sum.
7. Got approved by CSN
8. My certificate of eligibility was issued and my school wanted me to pay them 50000Skr
9. transferred the money and my certificate was in the mail.
10. Bought a one way ticket to Tokyo
11. Got my certificate and brought it to the Japanese embassy in Copenhagen
12. And here I am waiting for my CSN money and my flight over there

##Extra info##
You do need someone to act as a guarantee that u can pay your way, some schools accept a document that CSN can issue and others don't. I had to get my dad to act as a guarantee and he had to sign some stuff and send in a send in a typout from the bank showing his bank status and a certificate showing that he was employed and his salary.

You will need about 50000Skr because CSN won�t pay you any earlier than 3 weeks before the education starts.

CSN doesn't give you the money, they do give you 2000skr a month then they lend you 10000skr a month for living expenses and up to 6000skr a month for tuition fee

After my 2 years there I will be in debt to CSN about 300000skr

If I like it there ill probably go on to university there and then ill be in debt to CSN about 1million skr

It's allot of work just getting there

The Japanese school year starts in April

When speaking to CSN ask to speak with the Asia specialist, the other ones doesn't know ****

Always check the important stuff with the Japanese embassy

Keep a long distance to the package deals, they are way overpriced and they will stuff you in a class with westerners witch will result in an improvement of your English

[ullvarg]

Now that i do have a bit more time id like to apologize for my spelling and grammar in the last post, but i was stressed out.
#Some thing's to fix up the previous post, about the demand about 12years of previous school, it doesn't mater how you did in school during those 12 years if you have failed every class it's still OK, and it seems to be a kind of bendable rule
#The quote is from a private anarchy-online forum so I'm sorry to say you want check it out
#My greatest help to get everything together is a Swedish forum for studies in japan, maybe you can make something out of it, but probably not. Here's the address anyways http://www.studerajapanska.se/forum/

[yukio_michael]

I'm wondering, some schools seem to ask for your history, that is--- where you've been working, employer, and accountability for having not been in school etcetera... I've been self-employed (for better or worse) for a few years, and I haven't been in school since 1993...

Assides from planning to pay upfront for a 6mo/a year anyways, this was the text that most concerned me, is there something I should know other than my sponser etc etc, for filling out these applications? It's this type of wording that is most confusing to me:

Submitted by the applicant
・#166; Application form
(Must decide length of study in advance.)
・#166; Personal history
(Must account for any and all gaps in education or employment.)
(Married applicants should contact SNG for advice on form completion.)
・#166; Letter of reason of study
(Intended to pursuade Immigration that your plans for study are legitimate and necessary.)
・#166; Current report on family & relatives
Eight identical 4cm × 3cm photos, taken in the last 6 months
Graduation Certification
Grade transcripts
Certificate of Japanese language study
(College grads & People from countries without Japanese language education are exempt.)
Copy of passport
・#166;10 Health certificate

Submitted by the applicant if self-financing
Official bank balance certificate
(Minimum balance equivilance of 1,500,000 JPY)
Proof of employment
(Official letter issued by employer)

Submitted by financier if resident in home country
・#166;Letter of Remittance
(Oath of financial support VIA BANK TRANSFER. Min.120,000 JPY/mo.)
Official bank balance certificate
(Minimum balance equivilance of 1,500,000 JPY)
Certificate of blood relationship
(May be waived in some cases.)

Submitted by financier if resident in Japan
・#166;Letter of Remittance
Oath of financial support VIA BANK TRANSFER.
Proof of employment
(Official letter issued by employer)
Tax certificate
(Available at city or ward office)
Resident certificate
(Non-Japanese must submit a certificate of registered matters and alien registration)
Seal certificate
(Proof of seal registry)
Certificate of blood relationship
(May be waived in some cases.)

Submitted by sponsor resident in Japan (Non-financial)
Resident certificate
(Non-Japanese must submit a certificate of registered matters and alien registration.)
・#166; Indicates official SNG form required.

Are those multiple scenarios there? Does one cancel out the other---?

[Ewok85]

You need to submit the first section (Submitted by the applicant), then the second part is one of 3 scenarios -
- Submitted by the applicant if self-financing
- Submitted by financier if resident in home country
- Submitted by financier if resident in Japan

Personally I'd pick option B, be the easiest to do.

And ofcourse you need to submit the last part too.

[yukio_michael]

Is the 'oath' a bank statement saying that I have the funds required to pay for the schooling, or is that I just need to have seven grand lying around in a bank account (like everyone these days does that I know...)...?

I know it may seem uncooth for a fellow not to have a nest-egg saved up, but welcome to Dick Cheney's America. ;)

[Ewok85]

Kinda like a letter saying "I will send $XX to PersonA monthly to support them in Japan. Signed XX".

[nsxsupra]

It is easy, you just need to pay.

I highly recommend Kai Nihongo School:
http://www.kaij.jp/

I attended there for 3 month during 2002. I had the best time of my life there, it was such a blast. Students from 65 different countries. If you like to meet people.

I am study again in September, but I will like to get into an actual college for an offical degree in whatever major. As long as easy to get in and obtain the degree in 2~4 years.

I have completed high-school and 2 year of college with AA degree. Any suggestions or recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[Mike Cash]

I hate to dredge up this bit of unpleasantness, but it's a point you should have absolute clarity on before getting too far along with your plans.

You should find out if your recent refusal of entry to Japan will in any way adversely affect your prospects of having a study visa issued.

[yukio_michael]

I hate to dredge up this bit of unpleasantness, but it's a point you should have absolute clarity on before getting too far along with your plans.

You should find out if your recent refusal of entry to Japan will in any way adversely affect your prospects of having a study visa issued.I was told that my appeal process hurt me most of all, that the fact that I appealed my refusal of entry actually marked me down as some sort of 'trouble maker'... and that by and large if they wanted to an immigration official could simply deny my entry if they so chose.

I was told the best way to find out about this status would be to contact the embasy in the United States, and that the best way to make sure that I could be allowed entry would be to have a pre-approved visa status.

All in all, it scares me that in order to try to have the immigrations confer with my girlfriend, a Japanese citizen, I may have sunk my chances of ever returning to the country, simply due to one or two random people's whims.

[Silverpoint]

Forgive my burning curiosity (and the fact that it's slightly off-topic) but I haven't been able to find the relevant thread using the search function.

I'm sure everyone else is probably bored with your story by now, but I'd be interested to find out why you were refused.