First of all I apologize if I posted this in the wrong subreddit. If I did then mods you can remove this but I would like a suggestion to where I should post this if that is the case.
This is the only place I know that I can share it so I decided to post this and get my feelings out about this to make me feel a bit better. Will be a bit long so I will also include a TLDR at the end
So for context, I am 25 years old guy. Most of my adult career, I spent my time learning Japanese in my home country. I studied Elementary Japanese 1 and 2 (JLPT 5 level). After that I also got a chance to participate in the JENESYS program which is a cultural exchange program to Japan for 10 days. Was really fun and it was also one of my main motivations to study in Japan!
After that I got into studying Japanese on my own. Took me around 2 years but I was able to manage to get a JLPT N3 certificate!
That made it one of my proudest achievements!(I know it may not seem a big deal haha but personally I am very fond of it). My original plan was to study Japanese until I can actually go to Japan and get more real life experience and gain speaking skills, which was ultimately my end goal.
I then started researching about getting into a language school in Japan. Saw a nice website that helped me out a lot with the process and have connections plus direct contact with various Japanese language schools in Japan. You can also send inquiries about student visas and all and they will help you choose schools.
Saw sponsorship requirements, seems pretty strict at first look.
1. I can either self sponsor
2. Or I can have a “immediate” family member sponsor me.
So it has to be either me, or my mum, dad or my siblings. I felt that was kind of restricting since lots of people get sponsored by their friends too so I particulary dont see why they dont accept it. My mums friend wanted to sponsor for me actually but then they are not my relatives so I cant really make them sponsor me. So the idea was to send the funds to me so I can self sponsor with that money!
I was like oh that is actually a great idea!! Since now I have all the funds I need to study for 2 years plus the living costs, I can finally fulfill my dream to study in Japan! Was very very excited and sent an inquiry through the website to see if they could confirm if I could do that. Got a reply saying they will call one of the schools to confirm.
Got a mail 4 hours later with the bad news…
Apparently the immigration wont accept the funds because its something I recieved from a non-relative and that money wont be “safe”. Instant heartbreak, was just feeling crushed. Its just super unfair. So many students could have gotten money via fund raises and student loans too but they want the funds to be something that either I or a immediate relative should have gotten on their own. This just restricts so much flexibility and finance situations of so many students too. It sucks and it hurts and idk what to do about it. I am still thinking of ways I can circumvent through this with the help of the inquiry person but I really dont know how it would go and the chances are very low at this point.
All these years wasted just because the immigration office is so restrictive.
TDLR: Studied Japanese in my home country and got N3 certificate. Was able to get funds via my mums friend for my studies. Immigration apparently wont accept those funds since its not “Safe”. Now I can’t ever go and study in Japan 🙂
4 comments
I am not sure why do you feel that you need to tell the immigration that the fund, which sits in your bank account, aren’t yours.
Couldn’t you try again with your parents or said relative as sponsor ?
As a note, what you refer to as “sponsoring” **is not** visa sponsorship. That is just verifying necessary funding and that you will be able to sustain yourself while in Japan. Visa sponsorship in terms of Japanese immigration refers to the individual/entity within Japan that will be providing the reason for your stay.
With that said, are these funds essentially a gift? Is there no expectation or obligation to repay whoever gave them? They will remain in your control for the express purpose of your move to Japan? If so, there’s no problem. Since you haven’t actually had any schools apply for a COE on your behalf, there has thus far been no rejection and if a school is saying it’ll be problematic just go to one of the other thousands of language schools.
The source of the money does not matter. What immigration is looking out for is people transferring large sums to cover the balance check which they proceed to not actually be able to use to cover living expenses. If that’s not your plan, then the money *is* yours and there is no problem.
You have plenty of language skills to get a job teaching English. That gets you into japan. Easy.