Japanese student visa to short term/temporary visitor – my experience

Hi Everyone,

So this is a big and ongoing topic… The visa rules tend to change over time and they depend on where we are from, so let me share my experience. I'm a Hungarian national.

I was on a Japanese language course for 6 months, but I've got the student visa in my passport for 1y 3mnths. It's not a mistake, they give you a chance to extend it by paying for the next semester(s). But – as others have written before – if you finish your studies earlier than stated in the visa in your passport, the school will inform the immigration office and your student visa will be invalid.

Looks like all language schools (including mine) really want to push you to leave the country in 2 weeks after you stop.

I've read all the posts and comments here about this topic – and from other's experiences – I was suspicious that this 2 weeks is not true and decided to find out myself.

So basically the language schools are protecting their asses because they are our visa sponsors and don't want to get involved into any shady things that students might do (eg. working illegally and/or overstaying).

This 2 weeks might be true if you don't want to stay longer and change your visa. But the school never mentions other options, on the contrary, they say you MUST leave the country in 2 weeks time, and ask you to email your plane ticket to them. They also told me that it's not possible to change your student visa to temporary visa, you have to leave Japan in that 2 weeks, and you can come back as a tourist/temporary visitor. Thanks God, I didn't listen to them, and just went to the Immigration Bureau to find out myself.

I saw other comments here from people who have been told at the immigration that they indeed have to leave Japan and come back as a tourist. It might be because of different nationalities, but I have been told at the immigration bureau that after the school finished, I can stay for 3 months, no need to change my visa. I asked back like 3 times. The officer said the same. I just regretted a bit that I didn't make him write it down and put a hanko and his name on it, because these are just words, but that's what he said. If it's a mistake, it was his mistake. But I'm leaving Japan in a month anyways, stopped my part time job, and I informed my school as well about all this, to give them a peace of mind.

So please remember, that the language school is not the immigration office, they can't order you to leave the country. BUT! Please go to your regional immigration bureau to clarify your situation and options as early as you can, and don't just assume you can stay.

There are different student visas (language school, university, etc.) and different options what you can do afterwards, but if you want to change your visa, you really need to apply for that before your student visa expires and/or you finish your studies.

Hope it helps, and I'm curious about your experiences.