I’ve had my BA for a few years now and have been teaching English for a short time (outside of Japan). I recently got a job offer from a employer in Japan and they’re going to start the visa application process, and asked me to send my original university diploma along with other documents by mail. They specified they need the original, not a copy.
Is it normal for an employer to ask this? Or is it a red flag? They told me they’ll be as careful with it as possible. I know I could apply for a COE/visa within my own country, but I don’t know how easy it is right now or if it would even go through because of COVID.
11 comments
I never heard of sending the original. I never did. And even currently I haven’t been asked that.
You just send them a scan of your original diploma and that’s it from my understanding. The embassy in your home country is the only thing that may get the original but that’s a federal establishment that returns it to you.
The closest thing that is normally done is to get the original sighted and signed by a government official. Common practice in Australia where I’m from. Never heard of someone asking to *post* the original, though I’ve had to *bring* the original to places before, otherwise if not in the same city/country they ask for the validated sighting.
In my home country (South Africa) the most an employer can ask from you (international companies and local) is a police certified copy of your original documents. The best advice I can offer is to contact them and ask if you could send them a certified copy of your diploma.
As stated in the comments here, federal establishments (embassy/high commissions/consulates) are probably one of the only times that require an original BUT with the intent of returning it to you at the earliest date possible (usually within 1/2 weeks).
Another alternative that my South African university offered was a university stamp on the transcripts signed by the dean, but that takes ages to receive and usually still requires the police certification for the company.
That sounds super sketchy not going to lie. I wouldn’t send the original of anything by mail.
They don’t need your original. Just a scanned copy of the original is ok.
Source: I worked as a recruiter and filled out many forms and collected documents for employee’s COE. Never once needed the original documents.
Unless something has changed in the 4 years since i did it, either they are lying or are wrong and don’t know it. I would not send the original. When applying for a job here in japan i sent a copy via email. I don’t even think they looked at the original when i got here.
Never ever share your original documents to someone. Probably a government official attested one should be the maximum you should give, nothing more.
Yeah nah. Don’t do that.
Your employer is inexperienced with foreign hires is what’s up. Japanese university grads can get “original” certificates of their diploma from their colleges as many times as they want. It’s basically a printout that the university stamps and is not the same as the diploma you get for graduating college printed on nice paper and all. Good luck explaining this to them though.
Asking for originals during onboarding is very common, but that’s literally you physically giving it to someone, them making a copy and handing it back to you.
Wow, I was literally going to make a thread about this too.
I have heard both, and this time when I asked for confirmation, I was told they absolutely had to have the original, and a copy was unacceptable. I’ve always sent a copy previously, and never had an issue, so I wasn’t sure if things had changed or if it was a scare tactic.
And the reason I was concerned was because another offer I got was fine with a copy. It’s not a prefecture based thing is it?
You can say it is a red flag as they do not know what they say. My company is like that. Guess what, I never ever gave them any original and never ever had any trouble. Even going to official place from whose my company supposedly needed original document, I did not need any, a plain copy was sufficient.
Make a copy conform to original by whatever mean exist in your country. If that is not a thing just go to some government place with original and copy (color if you think it is better) and explain you need someone high enough with a stamp with their name and office on it (or the like) to look at booth, put their stamp , write “Conform to original” or whatever and sign. That as the same value. Explain it is because it is for Japan and their administrative is very picky, so you are very sorry for the trouble. My country actually stopped doing these conform to original stuff but still accept to do it in specific case, including one like yours.
One of my coworker actually send the original, it took months to get these back because it ended up traveling all around the world. Do not send original.