Moving To Japan In a Month But I Don’t Have A Visa or Flights Booked

3 comments

1. This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.

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   **Moving To Japan In a Month But I Don’t Have A Visa or Flights Booked**

   Not quite sure if this is a common occurrence but I’m supposed to be going in exchange in exactly 30 days from now to TMU for a year as a part of my degree in the UK. While everything is sorted in terms of money and financing the year, I don’t have a visa nor any flights booked. In April I submitted all the application things for the COE as well as a medical examination and since then I have been waiting for its issuance as without it, I cannot apply for a visa.

   Whenever I sent them (TMU) an e-mail about it, they said that they are waiting for the COE from the Ministry of Justice and be patient as it is quite a rigorous process.

   The flights are getting more and more expensive which is actually a big concern for me too.

   So essentially my question is: Is it normal to wait this long and will I be able to get my student visa in time? (btw I’m supposed to be arriving on the 19th of September for orientation and classes start at the beginning of October)

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   Thanks in advance for any advice.

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2. I would get back in touch with your host university and see how long it will take for your CoE to arrive. I had mine at least 3-4 weeks ago, if not longer. If you have to be late on your arrival then so be it unfortunately. I would not recommend buying flight tickets until you have your visa, unless you can pay extra to have them flexible (able to change the date etc).

   I booked mine last week for the first week of September and they were roughly £1100.

   Also please note, that the visa appointments at the Embassy in London (which I assume you’ll be going too since you said you’re from the UK) has a three week wait for appointments. I had to book online at midnight (literally) for an appointment three weeks from the date I was booking. As far as I can tell, this is the only option and you can’t request an earlier appointment. Also please be aware that you will have one appointment with the embassy to apply and leave your passport, you will then need to go back a week later to collect. So keep this in mind for your scheduling.

   I’d be inclined to say it’s ‘normal’ for everyone who is going on their year abroad to have their documents back in time but there’s always going to be a case where some people just don’t. As long as you convey to your host university about the delays, and when you have your flight booked as well as when you will arrive, it should be okay. You may just miss some orientation days, but sometimes this can’t be helped.

   I applied for my CoE via the host institution in about March (at least that’s when they requested the documents from me) and I received my CoE digitally the first week of July. Maybe based on that you can work out your own timescale.

   Obviously, without the CoE you can’t get your visa, and without your visa you can’t (probably shouldn’t) book your flights. Unless emailing the host insitution helps, then you can’t do much until it arrives. I’m also on my year abroad this year so if you need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out. Good luck!

3. Book the cheapest flight on an airline that has no change fees. I had good experience on Delta to Tokyo. I kept waffling on the departure date and they kept accommodating me with a simple phone call and they never charged me an extra fee.