Visa Application

Students who will be in Japan for more than 90 days (Academic semester students or students attending two or more consecutive programs) will need a visa to enter Japan. Students who will be in Japan for less than 90 days (Summer Intensive Japanese Language Program, May Short Course Program and Environmental Sciences in Japan) do not need a visa, as they will receive tourist status upon entry to the country. The visa application process may take as long as three months, though JCMU makes this easier on the students by doing most of the work. Due to the lengthy process, however, students should make sure to submit the required paperwork as soon as possible.

Visa Application Forms

Explaining the Visa Application Process

In order to obtain a visa, first a Certificate of Eligibility (CoE) must be obtained from Japanese Immigration. This is the most lengthy part of the process, and most of the post-acceptance documents are for the CoE. CoEs are sent back to JCMU and, excluding those who are outside the US, students are sent an email requesting their passport be shipped via trackable mail to the JCMU office along with the Release of Liability form. The passport, CoE, and Release of Liability form is sent to the Consulate General of Japan in Detroit, where the visa is processed and put directly into the student's passport. The passport (with visa) is then returned to the student via trackable mail unless the student lives in Oakland, Wayne, or Macomb counties in Michigan, in which case the student must pick up the passport from the Consulate General's office directly, located inside the Renissance Center in Detroit.

Student who are outside of the US during the visa application time will be sent their CoEs directly and must take it themselves to the Consulate General of Japan or the Japanese Embassy in that country in order to receive the visa.