I’ll be on my way to Osaka for my exchange studies, but there have been some significant changes in my plans. To enter Japan, I need to obtain a student visa, and everything was going smoothly until just 25 days before my flight.
I received a message from Osaka University stating that they couldn’t issue the CESR document, which I need to apply for a student visa. The reason? My parents were not informed to renounce my Japanese nationality when I moved abroad more than 10 years ago, and Japan cannot issue a new document until this process is complete. I immediately began the renunciation process, but unfortunately, many government processes in Japan require physical paper documentation, so this renunciation will take at least a month to complete.
Once the renunciation is finalized, I must send the document to Osaka University so that I can obtain the CESR. Obtaining the visa will then take an additional week. My initial plan was to get the visa in time for my current flight because I had also planned to attend the F1 Japanese GP.
During this process, I also lost the JASSO scholarship, as one of the requirements was to be eligible for a student visa at the time of scholarship application. My original plan was to cover my living expenses in Japan with the scholarship, but now that plan has fallen apart.
I knew that studying abroad in Japan would come with expenses, but they’re piling up before I’ve even set foot in the country. Now I have to book a new flight to Japan, forego the F1 race, and cover my living expenses in Japan from my own pocket.
Anyways, does anybody know how to proceed with the renunciation process and visa process simultaneously? Or does anybody know how to speed up the renunciation process so that I could get the CESR document faster? I have a friend in Sapporo where I was born, and I wonder if it would be faster to have him apply for the renunciation instead of asking the Japanese embassy in my own country?
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This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Challenges with Student Visa and Japanese Nationality for Exchange Studies**
I’ll be on my way to Osaka for my exchange studies, but there have been some significant changes in my plans. To enter Japan, I need to obtain a student visa, and everything was going smoothly until just 25 days before my flight.
I received a message from Osaka University stating that they couldn’t issue the CESR document, which I need to apply for a student visa. The reason? My parents were not informed to renounce my Japanese nationality when I moved abroad more than 10 years ago, and Japan cannot issue a new document until this process is complete. I immediately began the renunciation process, but unfortunately, many government processes in Japan require physical paper documentation, so this renunciation will take at least a month to complete.
Once the renunciation is finalized, I must send the document to Osaka University so that I can obtain the CESR. Obtaining the visa will then take an additional week. My initial plan was to get the visa in time for my current flight because I had also planned to attend the F1 Japanese GP.
During this process, I also lost the JASSO scholarship, as one of the requirements was to be eligible for a student visa at the time of scholarship application. My original plan was to cover my living expenses in Japan with the scholarship, but now that plan has fallen apart.
I knew that studying abroad in Japan would come with expenses, but they’re piling up before I’ve even set foot in the country. Now I have to book a new flight to Japan, forego the F1 race, and cover my living expenses in Japan from my own pocket.
Anyways, does anybody know how to proceed with the renunciation process and visa process simultaneously? Or does anybody know how to speed up the renunciation process so that I could get the CESR document faster? I have a friend in Sapporo where I was born, and I wonder if it would be faster to have him apply for the renunciation instead of asking the Japanese embassy in my own country?
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Okay, there’s a lot that’s confusing here. Why was it necessary to renounce and get a COE rather than entering as a citizen? That would have been the faster route. Was it just because you wanted the JASSO scholarship?
> To enter Japan, I need to obtain a student visa
You did not need a student visa until you renounced your citizenship; you already had eligibility to enter Japan as a citizen.
Did you know you were a Japanese citizen? It’s certainly possible that your parents both didn’t renounce for you, and didn’t tell you that you were a citizen.
Citizenship opens a lot more doors for you to be in Japan besides being an exchange student. Is renunciation what you wanted? Or have you started a mostly one-way process because of a rush to see the F1 race?
So just to be clear; You are currently a citizen of Japan and have the right to enter the country whenever you like and do whatever you want while you’re here. You are looking to give that right up so that you can then get permission to come to the country to be a student?
I think you better think about this seriously. Obviously you are trying to come here as a student to get a scholarship, but in exchange for that you have to give up your citizenship in Japan.
I think in the long run it’s probably better for you to keep your citizenship And give up on your scholarship. Think about how easier it will be to live and get a job in Japan if you are a citizen
Since your scholarship has already fallen through, *why the hell would you renounce your citizenship*?! Get a Japanese passport (or an emergency travel document that will let you enter the country) and just enter on that.
Do not give up a citizenship for absolutely no reason at all.
Whoa whoa whoa, why are you renouncing?
If you were born with dual nationalities you DO NOT NEED TO RENOUNCE. Just get a Japanese passport and move to Japan. Problem solved. [See this comment thread for details](https://old.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/8iczg8/renewing_japanese_passport_as_a_dualcitizen/dyt8oo0/?context=3).