Hello everyone!
I am a 22 y/o medical student from Sweden. In January 2023 I will be doing a research project in Japan. It is not a master’s or a bachelor’s thesis, it’s simply a research project that one must do as part of the Swedish medical programme. The duration of this project is 6 months.
My professor works and lives in Sweden but has extensive contact in Japan. He said that it should possible to arrange for me to do my research project at one of his labs in Tokyo.
Since I will not be officially studying at a uni in Japan, I cannot apply for a student visa. My professor thinks that a cultural activities visa would be the most appropriate. However, my professor has never had students from Sweden go to Japan before, and is not familiar with the visa application process.
Would a cultural activities visa be appropriate for what I will be doing in Japan? I will basically be doing research in a lab or in the hospital, under the guidance of a professor or PhD. It would all be unpaid and I will be financing my stay in Japan on my own.
What is the likelihood a cultural activities visa getting accepted during covid times? When should I ask my professor to start the COE application process?
So many questions. I would be very grateful for any kind of answers or tips! Thank you!
//Emma
1 comment
>Would a cultural activities visa be appropriate for what I will be doing in Japan?
No. The cultural activities visa is for studying/training in an aspect of traditional Japanese culture. Karate. Tea ceremony. Stuff like that.
If your research project involves traditional Japanese medicine you *might* be able to make a case. But the fact that you’d be working in a lab and not studying with a traditional practitioner would work against that.
You need to be looking at the Designated Activities visa, which is basically the catch-all “doesn’t fit any other category” visa. A subset of designated activities is used to cover interns, which is a much closer fit to what you’re looking to do.
>When should I ask my professor to start the COE application process?
If you’re planning on going in January the answer is ASAP. CoE processing time runs from a couple weeks to 3-4 *months*.