I am currently undergoing the process of obtaining a student visa for the fall term (September – February) at Rikkyo University and want to know whether or not I have to show one of the following documents or all of them in order to obtain a visa:
* Bank or income statements
* At least 1,500,000 JPY (or equivalent in your currency at the time; approx. $14,000 USD) shown in a bank statement for a 1 year student visa.
* Proof of a Scholarship
* Proof you receive Financial Aid
* Letter of Sponsorship, if someone is sponsoring you, along with your sponsor’s proof of income and bank statements
I want to forego the bank/income statement documentation since, for personal reasons, my grandparents do not feel comfortable with spending 14k just to prove that I can sustain myself in Japan. I, myself am confused with this notion, but would rather try and avoid it if possible. Therefore, I was thinking that I could submit a Letter of Sponsorship, a Financial Aid Reward Letter, along with my grandparents’ tax statements or previous bank statements. As a result, would obtaining a Japanese student visa still be achievable? Or not?
2 comments
>I want to forego the bank/income statement documentation
Unless you have a MEXT scholarship you almost certainly ***will not*** be able to forego the financial verification.
>for personal reasons my grandparents do not feel comfortable with spending 14k just to prove that I can sustain myself in Japan.
They are not “spending” $14k. They are showing Japanese immigration that they *have* $14k in the bank. It’s not a fee, it’s simply proof of savings.
>Therefore, I was thinking that I could submit a Letter of Sponsorship, a Financial Aid Reward Letter, along with my grandparents’ tax statements or previous bank statements.
Life Pro Tip: When Japanese bureaucracy requests a specific document, ***you give them that specific document***. Don’t try to play “This will certainly work” games. If they ask for a particular proof of financial support, you give them what they asked for, and nothing else.
Your grandparents tax records are only meaningful if they have income. And here you say you’re ok with showing their bank statements, so… What’s the problem?
All that said… You are not required to show them *all* of the financial documents. You’re required to show them enough financial documents to satisfy the immigration officer assigned to your file that you can, in fact, support yourself.
If you have a full-ride scholarship like MEXT, all you need is proof of that.
If your parents or other financial guarantor have a stable, well-paying job, you can *usually* provide proof of income.
If you have none of the above, or the immigration officer is having a bad day/in a hurry/hasn’t had his morning coffee, you’ll be required to show proof of savings.
You should, as a general rule, prepare for the worst-case scenario. In this case, you should be prepared for them to ask for bank statements.
The required documents are infact required.