Hey, I wanted to ask you guys about visa switching.
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I don’t want to have to return to Canada to switch my visa to student. I’m currently on WHV and will need to switch to Student visa for exchange at a university. I want to know if it’s possible to do that within Japan.
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I’ve heard many people switch from student to work within the country but not many the other way around. According to Uni of Tokyo you have to leave and come back, but online it says u can do it within Japan.
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I’m going to go to immigration and ask there but I’d like to know your guys thoughts on this 2
2 comments
AFAIK that loophole has been closed. It used to lead to people coming here on a WHF visa to job search(which is against the visa).
To become a student visa you need a valid CoA that has been applied for by your school. You cant get a CoA while in Japan so yes, youd need to go home, get a valid visa from the embassy or consulate and then come back.
I believe the terms of the agreement between Canada and Japan do allow you to request a change of status from working holiday maker to student.
It’s not the same for every country though, which is why you’ll see conflicting reports.
Just remember, you wouldn’t be applying for a visa. You’d be applying for a change of status. It’s different forms and a different process. The details are here: https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/status/student.html?hl=en