Due to strict immigration regulations and complex application process, we would like to redirect you to our school partner. If you meet all their requirements, they will help you with your application. To proceed with getting in touch with our school partner, please use the following link: https://gogonihon.kinsta.cloud/en/school-partner-contact-form/
If you have dual citizenship and hold another passport, please try filling in our form again using those passport details. We thank you for your interest and we wish you all the best with finding a way to study in Japan.
Due to the strict immigration regulations and the complexity of the application process, we regret that we cannot assist students of your nationality as we do not have familiarity with the process for people from your country.
If you do have dual citizenship and hold another passport, please enter those details and try again. We thank you for your interest in our business and wish you luck in finding a way to come to Japan.
Is one of your goals in life to move to Japan to study or work? If that is the case, you will need a visa and a visa sponsor for Japan.
This can be quite the hurdle if you don’t know how to approach the task correctly. To get you started, we cover basic information about what a visa sponsor is, and their responsibilities in this article.
Read on to learn more about getting a visa sponsor in Japan.
What is a visa sponsor in Japan and why do you need one?
In order to complete your student visa application, you need a sponsor for financial reasons. This person ensures that you have the adequate money to live and study in Japan.
For a student visa, you have two options: self-sponsor, or have someone else sponsor you, preferably a close family member.
For self-sponsorship, you need to have been working full-time for the past two years and your annual income should be at least 2 million yen (the higher the better).
If you have someone else sponsoring your visa, that person must have been working full-time for the past two years and have an annual income of at least 2 million yen. If this person is not a parent or sibling, you will be required to submit additional documents, such as a birth certificate, to prove your relationship.
If your sponsor is retired, you will need to provide their retirement date and any pension statements if that person is receiving a monthly pension.
Some language schools may accept double sponsorship, for example from two close relatives. Please contact us about this if you would like more information.
For a work visa, your sponsor would be the company in Japan that you’re employed by.
What does the sponsor have to do?
Aside from providing money, a student visa sponsor will also need to provide documents to prove their financial viability.
Included in your student visa application should be a tax return document that shows the sponsor’s personal income. Some schools also ask for a payslip or income tax document that states the sponsor’s current company so they can confirm their employment details.
If you apply for a student visa through Go! Go! Nihon, our team will advise you during the process on all the necessary documentation.
For a work visa, your company needs to provide documents such as:
Company registry certificate
Financial statements, including recent tax returns
Proof of employment with salary
Letter of acknowledgement
Official seal (判子, hanko)
Many companies will complete the visa application process for employees, but there are also many that do not. In the latter situation, it’s always best to engage an immigration lawyer in Japan to help with the visa process to make sure you have all the right documentation and correctly fill in the forms.
Self-sponsorship for work visas
As mentioned, it’s possible to self-sponsor your student visa. But what about your work visa?
There isn’t technically a self-sponsorship visa category for working in Japan. If you are a freelancer with several clients in Japan, you would need to ask one of your Japan-based clients to sponsor your visa for an ordinary work visa. This should be a client that is both stable and high-paying. You will also need to show you already have signed and stable contracts with different clients in Japan.
In essence, you need to show that you earn enough money to support yourself, which is about a minimum of 200,000 yen per month. Ideally, this amount should be as high as possible, especially if you plan to live in Tokyo.
Your sponsor will also need to fill in a registry certificate, provide financial statements and tax-reports, and you need to get their official seal stamp on your application.
If your other contracts with clients don’t fall in under the same work category that you’re applying for, you will need to apply for “Permission to engage in activity other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted” (資格外活動の許可, shikakugaikatsudō no kyoka).
This will allow you to do work that is not specified in your work visa category. Visit the Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs website for information on the different visa categories.
Make Japan student visa applications easy with Go! Go! Nihon
Now you have a basic understanding of what a visa sponsor is and what their responsibilities are. Again, if you’re applying for a student visa with Go! Go! Nihon, our team will help you through the process and explain all the documentation and forms that you need. We have more than 10 years of experience helping students to live and study in Japan, so we know a thing or two about student visa requirements! Contact us if you have any questions.
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