I am currently a student at a Japanese Language school that started in June 2022. In November, I will have to go back home for 1-2 months and resolve some things. (My work is unionized, so I need to fulfill my contract).
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The current issue is I would like to come back to Japan as soon as possible and continue my studies (ex. January, April 2023)
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The problems that I ran into that I would like your advice on is
1. I was given a 15-month student visa and was told by a teacher at the school that immigration might not look fondly on this. They suggested I come back when my 15-month visa ends (October 2023). **Has anyone come back after 3-6 months and know if this is possible? Or is the school just giving me a hard time?**
2. Language School Visas have a limit of 2 years. **Would this count as 3 months, 6 months, or even 15 months towards my limit?**
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Thanks to everyone in advance! I enjoy it here in Japan and would love to stay and continue my studies. If I did not have to fulfill these obligations, I would love to stay here indefinitely.
3 comments
OP, the post is not very clear. You work abroad? Or in Japan? You came just to do the Japanese Language school? Is the 15month visa a student visa? If so, why would you wait until the end of that visa to start studying?
Assuming you were clear to immigration with regards to your intention to return (and had no issues with your school) there should be no major issues with temporarily leaving Japan. That said, as you would be maintaining your status, any time away would count towards any hard time limit.
You could also relinquish your status upon departure, but that would require you to re-apply for a visa / SOR the next time you plan to come to Japan.
Been a long time since I was a student, so things may have changed, but the visa you have comes with the expectation that you will use it for full time study (5 days a week), and a requirement of you keeping it is that you maintain a certain level of attendance. I think the school is required to report your attendance to immigration in cases where it dips below a certain level (below 80% in a semester). If you pick up a poor attendance you may find you run into issues extending the visa or even changing visas in the future. I’m pretty sure I had to provide my school attendance details when I switched from student visa to my first working visa inside Japan. So something to bare in mind.