I’ve seen a few posts about this but I’m still unsure. I’m studying at a language school in Japan, my visa/zairyuu card are valid until October, but I’ll finish my one year here at the end of June. My school tells me I have to go back to my country within 2 weeks of that date.
Does immigration really cancel your status once the school notifies them that you’ve graduated? Does over-staying the supposed 2-week period really cause trouble for future visa applications? Aren’t those 3 months supposed to give me time to prepare to go home..? My country is literally on the other side of the planet, having more leeway to plan my return would be good.
If anyone has had experience with this, I’d be very thankful to know what actually goes down.
7 comments
Depends, do you want to be deported and banned from the country for a few years?
You have 5 months to prepare…
edit: didn’t know people holding petty grudges over replies they didn’t like on other threads is a thing here XDD
Your school is correct.
Unlike a working visa where looking for a new job can be considered valid activity under the visa and there is some leeway, for a student visa once you’re out of school the purpose of the visa is forfeit and you have to leave.
You can go to the immigration office and ask for an extention of your permit up to 90 days with a valid reason, like needing more time to empty your apartment for example.
A friend of mine did that, we finished language school at the end of March and they’re staying until the end of June for that reason.
If you tell the school office about this they might be honest and tell you how to do that properly or they might try to make you pay for another trimester.
Also don’t worry, nobody is gonna deport you.
Your school is correct. A student visa only covers you while you’re a student. Once you’ve graduated your school will inform immigration and you are no longer a student. The validity of the visa has ended and you have 2 weeks to leave. Does overstaying after your visa is no longer valid really cause trouble? Think about what you’re saying for a second. Don’t be an idiot and risk being deported or a ban just because you think it’s unfair. Talk to immigration or your school about your options.
>Does over-staying the supposed 2-week period really cause trouble for future visa applications?
**Do not overstay**. You could be detained and will be barred from entering Japan from 1 to 5 years. And your illegal stay will be on your permanent immigration record, potentially jeopardizing any future visa / entry into Japan.
Instead go to the immigration office and ask for an extension. Again, do not overstay, I can’t emphasize this enough.
Also make sure when your visa ends. Mine didn’t on the last day of university. So i could stay for a little longer. I think you can also switch to a vacation visa. At least thats what some of my friends claimed to have done