Hello!
So long story short I’ve been a digital nomad for some time, but have been keen on switching things around for a while and contacted a school in Japan. They accepted me, but once we were finalizing the deal and I was about to send the deposit they told me I had to stay in my country until departure.
The visa will be issued in May, so I’ll be back by then. But, they told me the immigration office might request other documents. **Is there any way they can request anything I have to be physically present in my country and confirm my identity in order to pass on to them?**
They seemed very strict about me **not** going anywhere, but staying in my country will cost $80 a night, something I’m not very keen on paying for the coming 2-3 months.
I tried to put my head around this, but I cannot imagine anything they would need to have from me that I cannot A) Send digitally or B) Send through my parents or close relatives living in my country.
Perhaps some of you have been in a similar situation and can give me some insight cause I’m pretty puzzled, to say the least.
Thanks a lot in advance and have a great day.
2 comments
>I’ve been a digital nomad for some time
First off: You need to be aware that Japan ***hates*** digital nomads. If you’re expecting to stay on after your time at school, or skating through school while using your student visa as an excuse… Well, you should reconsider.
You will *not* be able to stay in Japan after your schooling as a remote worker. And students are limited to 28 hours a week, and there are attendance requirements in order to maintain your visa status.
That said…
>Is there any way they can request anything I have to be physically present in my country and confirm my identity in order to pass on to them?
No. But you will need to be in your home country in order to process your CoE into an actual visa at the embassy.
Japanese embassies/consulates will only process visas for citizens and legal residents. So if you’re Norwegian (Just assuming, based on your username) you *must* process your visa in Norway. The embassy in, say… Indonesia will not process your visa unless you’re a legal resident there.
>Is there any way they can request anything I have to be physically present in my country and confirm my identity in order to pass on to them?
That’s a question you’d have to answer for yourself really. The main things they’d be interested in is potentially proof of baseline Japanese education and proof of sufficient funds. If you’re acting as your own financial guarantor they may ask for a physical print out from a bank on official letterhead. They may not though. If you’re like a friend of mine and share a name & place of birth with an international terrorist you may need to provide a criminal background check. But I’d imagine if you had that problem you’d know about it by now.
Honestly I imagine you’d be fine though. They’re just recommending it out of an abundance of caution.