Hi guys, I’m an Australian student in my final year of university and after going through several online interviews I recently got a job offer from a Japanese company. According to my company, my official “first day” is April 1st 2024. In Australia, the university year generally goes from February to the end of November and graduation ceremonies are held in May the following year. This obviously doesn’t really work with my company expecting me to start on April 1st. I looked into it, apparently I can apply for receiving my diploma early, but even then the earliest I would be able to receive it is mid to late January. My question is: Does this affect applying for COE?
I was thinking that if my company is applying for COE on my behalf there would be a whole process within the company before the application even gets sent out, which would make it difficult for me to get a COE, apply for visa and get the visa in time for arriving in the country before April 1st. I’ve been reading about COE on the Immigration Services website and it seems like I’m also able to apply for COE on my own? Or is it a rule that you absolutely need your company to apply for COE on your behalf if you’re going to Japan for work?
Or alternatively, do you guys think it might be a better idea to arrive in Japan on a working holiday visa and then change visa status later on? I’m not 100% sure, but after doing some searching it seems like Japanese Immigration has gotten stricter in recent years and you have to leave the country in order to change visa status from working holiday visa. Although, I also read that it depends on the country, so would anyone happen to know if Australia is one of the countries that is able to change visa status from working holiday visa without leaving Japan?
Sorry for all the questions guys, I’d really appreciate if anyone could offer any kind of wisdom 😔😔
3 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Question about Certificate of Eligibility and other visa options**
Hi guys, I’m an Australian student in my final year of university and after going through several online interviews I recently got a job offer from a Japanese company. According to my company, my official “first day” is April 1st 2024. In Australia, the university year generally goes from February to the end of November and graduation ceremonies are held in May the following year. This obviously doesn’t really work with my company expecting me to start on April 1st. I looked into it, apparently I can apply for receiving my diploma early, but even then the earliest I would be able to receive it is mid to late January. My question is: Does this affect applying for COE?
I was thinking that if my company is applying for COE on my behalf there would be a whole process within the company before the application even gets sent out, which would make it difficult for me to get a COE, apply for visa and get the visa in time for arriving in the country before April 1st. I’ve been reading about COE on the Immigration Services website and it seems like I’m also able to apply for COE on my own? Or is it a rule that you absolutely need your company to apply for COE on your behalf if you’re going to Japan for work?
Or alternatively, do you guys think it might be a better idea to arrive in Japan on a working holiday visa and then change visa status later on? I’m not 100% sure, but after doing some searching it seems like Japanese Immigration has gotten stricter in recent years and you have to leave the country in order to change visa status from working holiday visa. Although, I also read that it depends on the country, so would anyone happen to know if Australia is one of the countries that is able to change visa status from working holiday visa without leaving Japan?
Sorry for all the questions guys, I’d really appreciate if anyone could offer any kind of wisdom 😔😔
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You do have to leave after a working holiday visa and apply in your country, generally, but getting your degree in mid to late January for April start should be fine but..
Where do you go to school that your graduation ceremony is 6 months later??
I went to uni in QLD and after sem 2 finishes in November, ceremonies are in December… this is the normal time period, so I would look into double checking with your uni?
Is the ceremony not independent of your degree itself? The ceremony is usually exactly what it’s name is, a ceremony. Degree itself is earned once all your grades have been finalized? You should talk to your school about this because they’re the only ones who can answer that question.