Hello,
I recently moved to Japan to go to a Japanese language school at the start of October. Around halfway through October I started getting really bad stomach issues which caused me to miss a lot of school. I had been going to a hospital, seeing a doctor and also did a stool test. During this time I also received a couple medical certificates to prove to the school that I was actually sick. My attendance for November right now is around 17%. My school has told me there will be a meeting next month and I might have to speak with the Vice Principal, they have said that during this meeting they will decide whether I should stay in Japan or go back home to “get better”. Will the medical certificates I got have any influence on their decision? Will my attendance affect my chances getting a visa after marrying my Japanese girlfriend?
7 comments
Yes.
If you really are that sick you should go home and recover.
So you got here in October, apparently to study Japanese, immediately got sick and stopped going, but you have a girlfriend and are planning on getting married?
One assumes you didn’t have time to meet someone and start dating since you arrived in Japan, if you’ve been too sick to sit in a classroom for a few hours a day. Ergo, you met before you came to Japan.
I hope you can see why the school and potentially immigration officers may feel your story is a bit suspect.
You would need documentation saying you’re too sick to attend school – in which case the only responsible thing for the school to do would be to ensure you get sent home for treatment.
If you’re NOT too sick to attend class for weeks at a time, you will have some explaining to do.
I’ve seen something same happened to someone I knew.
don’t tell your school that you’re planing to get married, some schools will try to kick you out of country before you can get things done. just go ahead and get married if you guys are ready. change the visa on your own. once you get the new visa just inform the school that you’re no longer planing to come back to school.
[deleted]
Yes they will kick you out, you’re skipping the reason you came to be here. Their sole metric is attendance.
No it doesn’t make you a bad person, chill. It won’t stop you from qualifying for a spouse visa (unless your story and info together is super suss)
I hope you’re not marrying just for said visa. Go home and sort your body out eh, you only get one.
>Will my attendance affect my chances getting a visa after marrying my Japanese girlfriend?
When you apply for a spouse visa there is a detailed questionnaire the sponsoring Japanese spouse (or SPR/PR) has to fill out: https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/content/930003288.pdf
(English version here: https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/content/930003535.pdf)
Now, will your poor attendance affect changing from your current student visa to spouse visa? It’s difficult to say really, it could give a sense to immigration that your marriage is a sham in order for you to stay in Japan. And if immigration get even a wiff of “sham marriage” then it will be on you, and your sponsoring spouse to prove otherwise…. So make sure your questionnaire I shared above is robust.
However, if you end your studies, leave Japan, and cease your student visa and apply for a spouse visa from outside Japan, your previous poor attendance on a previous student visa probably wont be a problem.
But speak to immigration or an immigration professional.
They will likely kick you out. If you’re so unwell that you’re unable to attend school for the better part of 2 months, it’s in your best interest to leave and recover. They will not want you staying here while you figure out your medical issues on the student visa they sponsored for you and not attending school. Maintaining the visa is heavily dependant on attendance and is pretty strict. You do have options if you are kicked out but not a lot of time to make them happen before you’re required to leave Japan.
You’ve already got good answers, immigration may be breathing down the school’s neck.
Regardless, is this your first time living alone? If so, have you been eating properly, and not just buying cheap shit from the conbini?
Excess karaage grease will turn your intestines into a helter skelter. Likewise too much rice and not enough liquids will clog your bum right up.