Hello! I know there are a lot of questions about visas here, and for contributing to that I do apologize, but no matter how much I searched I couldn't find a satisfactory answer for my specific question.
Essentially, I have applied to do an exchange program in Tokyo with a university that is partnered with mine (USA). This would be for my entire third (Junior) year of school, and I would be 26 at the time of leaving should I be approved.
I have a full ride scholarship to my university, and receive financial aid on top of that. This amounts to roughly ~$20,000 USD (~2,990,000 JPY) in aid per year. As per the exchange rules with the university in Tokyo, I would pay the same amount for tuition as I do here and all of my scholarships would still apply (so, I'd be paying nothing). Around the time I'd theoretically be submitting documents for my COE in a few months, I would most likely have around $11,000 – $12,000 USD (1,650,000 ~ 1,800,000 JPY) in my bank account, from my work income as well as financial aid refunds. (I anticipate saving more before I would actually depart, as well as applying for more scholarships and plan to get a baito when I'm over there, but I know the government doesn't care about theoreticals.)
Most sites I've seen online have said I would need to prove I have anywhere from 2,000,000 JPY to 2,500,000 JPY in my bank account to be approved for a student visa. However, the particular university I would be working with only suggests a minimum of 1,500,000 JPY and accepts both a combination of bank statements as well as financial aid awards to count as income.
So…I'm (perhaps understandably) a bit confused. I have no one to act as guarantor for me besides myself, I have been living on my own for years now and my mom and her husband are much much worse off financially than I am. I can't tell if I stand a chance at getting approved or not, since I don't know whose requirement would hold more importance in this particular situation.
I don't expect anyone to have a definite answer for me, and I do plan on consulting with my schools study abroad office regarding this, though they have clearly reiterated to me that should I get into this program, visa paperwork and the like is 100% my responsibility. I have heard of people moving to Japan with much less in their banks, though I'm sure they most likely had some kind of guarantor for that.
I guess I'm mostly just looking to see if anyone else (or someone you know) has been in a similar situation, and how that turned out for them. I don't want to get my hopes up if it's not likely. Thank you for reading.
by bugatti420