To study in Japan for more than three months you need the Student status of residence (ryugaku). It takes two steps. First, your Japanese university, college or language school applies on your behalf for a Certificate of Eligibility (CoE) at a regional Immigration Services Agency (ISA) bureau. Then you use the CoE to obtain a visa in your home country. Citizens of Russia, other CIS countries and Georgia pay no visa fee; processing takes from four to five working days; and a CoE is valid for three months, within which you must enter Japan.
The CoE stage is decisive, and that is where your finances are checked. There is no fixed legal amount: ISA wants evidence that you or your sponsor can pay for tuition and living costs. Schools suggest roughly $17,820–19,090 (¥2.8–3 million) or at least $20,000 in the bank. How much financial paperwork ISA wants depends on the school's class and your nationality: Russia and Kazakhstan are on ISA's list of countries processed in the standard way, Uzbekistan is not.
How to get a Japanese student visa: the essentials
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Status | Student (ryugaku): universities, colleges, language schools and similar institutions |
| Period of stay | Set by ISA, up to 4 years and 3 months at a time, renewable in Japan |
| Who applies for the CoE | Usually the school, as your proxy, at an ISA bureau in Japan |
| CoE processing | Depends on the ISA bureau and the school: at Yoshida Institute almost four months pass between the April-intake deadline and ISA's decision |
| CoE validity | Three months from issue |
| Where to get the visa | Russia: Japan Visa Application Centre in Moscow (the embassy's consular section no longer takes applications) or the consulate for your district. Kazakhstan: embassy in Astana. Uzbekistan: embassy in Tashkent, walk-in queue |
| Visa fee | None for citizens of Russia, CIS countries and Georgia; the visa centre charges a service fee |
| Processing | Russia from 4 working days; Kazakhstan on the 5th working day if nothing is missing |
| Work | Up to 28 hours a week with permission; up to 8 hours a day in long holidays |
Dollar figures use the ECB reference rate of 29 September 2026 ($1 ≈ ¥157.1).
How the process works
- Admission. Apply to the institution and pass its selection. Language schools collect April applications in late summer and autumn of the previous year; universities follow their own calendars.
- CoE documents. Gather the school's list and translate everything not in Japanese into Japanese. Japanese-issued certificates must be under three months old.
- ISA review. The school files with the regional bureau; ISA may request more documents.
- Payment and CoE. Language schools usually ask for six months' or a year's tuition after approval, then send the CoE. Since 17 March 2023 the CoE can be issued by email: show the email on your phone or a printout at the visa office. For paper CoEs, a copy is accepted.
- Visa at the visa centre or embassy.
- Entry within three months of the CoE's issue. At Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, New Chitose, Kobe, Hiroshima and Fukuoka airports your residence card is issued on arrival.
- First two weeks: register your address at the municipal office within 14 days and join National Health Insurance.
Allow three to five months from submitting documents to the school to a visa in your passport, plus a month to gather translations, certificates and a year of bank history.
CoE documents
Requirements depend on the type of institution, how ISA rates it and your nationality. At Class II schools, financial documents are required only from nationals of countries not on ISA's list: Russia and Kazakhstan are on it, Uzbekistan is not. For language schools without an "appropriately managed" rating, ISA's full list (2026 version) is: application form and photo; passport data page; last graduation certificate; the test certificate if the school assessed your Japanese by test; the sponsor's statement of financial support and proof of relationship; an original bank balance certificate; evidence of how the funds accumulated over the past year; the sponsor's employment and one-year income; a scholarship certificate where relevant; and an explanation of any previous refusal.
The application also includes a confirmation sheet in which the school states your Japanese level and how it was checked; for language schools, the test or interview section is mandatory for intakes after September 2026. The sheet is not needed if you are a national of a country on ISA's list (Russia, Kazakhstan) and submit a foreign university degree. For universities rated Class I or II, ISA's list is short — application, passport copy, checklist with the confirmation sheet and an explanation of past refusals — with no financial documents, although the university may ask for them itself.
How much money to show
| Benchmark | What the source says |
|---|---|
| Study in Japan (JASSO) | Sponsor's savings certificate, one-year income certificate, documents on the source of funds |
| ISA, schools without a rating | Original balance certificate, one-year history of how funds were built, sponsor's employer and annual income; at Class II schools, balance and fund history only if your country is not on ISA's list |
| Yoshida Institute, Tokyo | At least $20,000 balance |
| GenkiJACS, Fukuoka and Nagoya | Minimum about $18,010 (¥2,830,000) for tuition and living; $19,090 (¥3,000,000) recommended |
The funds should cover tuition and living costs for at least the first year. JASSO puts average first-year fees at about $5,220 (¥820,000) at national universities and $8,270 (¥1,300,000) at private universities (excluding medicine) and vocational colleges, and $3,880–12,090 (¥610,000–1,900,000) at language schools. See our cost of studying in Japan guide.
What strengthens the financial file:
- A history, not a lump sum. Money that appears a week before the certificate raises questions; document its source.
- Sponsor income that explains the savings.
- Clear proof of relationship — birth certificates for parents, a chain of documents for other relatives.
- Japanese translations of every foreign-language document, as ISA requires.
- Payment routes agreed early. Ask the school which lawful payment methods it accepts and whether they work from your country; bank conditions change.
Applying for the visa in Russia
The consular section of the Japanese embassy in Moscow no longer accepts visa applications. Apply at the Japan Visa Application Centre (JVAC), Olimpiysky Prospekt 16, bldg 5, Olympic Hall, ground floor, Moscow, booking online and paying the centre's service fee. The minimum processing time is four working days, but the embassy advises applying several weeks before travel. The Consulate General in Saint Petersburg has also announced a visa centre; residents of the Far East apply to the consulates in Vladivostok, Khabarovsk or Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk according to their district.
Documents for a CoE-based visa (embassy list): two application forms in English with 35 × 45 mm photos; your passport without its cover plus a copy of the data page; copies of your internal passport's photo and registration pages (foreigners living in Russia add proof of legal stay); and the CoE (original paper certificate, a copy, or a printout of the email) plus a copy. Incomplete applications are not accepted, and false information leads to refusal with a six-month bar on reapplying. Use A4, no staples.
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
Kazakhstan. The Japanese embassy in Astana (Kosmonavtov St 62, 5th floor) handles visas without appointments: submission on weekdays 9:30–12:00, collection 14:30–17:00. Processing is free for CIS citizens and, if nothing is missing, the visa is ready on the fifth working day.
Uzbekistan. Since January 2026 the embassy in Tashkent has scrapped appointments and serves applicants in queue order. CoE holders (students, trainees) are received Tuesday to Friday, 14:30–17:00. You receive a receipt on submission, which you need to collect your passport; without it the application is not complete. Visas are free for CIS citizens.
After arrival
- Part-time work permission. On first entry with a student visa of more than three months you can obtain it at the airport; otherwise at an ISA office. Limit: 28 hours a week, 8 hours a day during long school holidays; adult entertainment is always off-limits. See working while studying in Japan.
- Address registration within 14 days of finding housing.
- National Health Insurance is mandatory.
- Extensions at the local ISA office; with a period of stay of six months or more you can apply from three months before it ends. If no decision is made by the expiry date, you may remain until the decision, for at most two months after expiry. Schools report students with monthly attendance below 50% to ISA, which makes extensions and later admissions harder.
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Moving from language school to university keeps Student status; extend with the new institution's documents without leaving Japan.
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Trips home. If you leave for no more than a year and within your period of stay, you do not need a separate re-entry permit; tick the special re-entry permit box on the embarkation card when leaving.
- Family. A spouse and children apply separately for Dependent status, and ISA checks that funds cover everyone. Students usually arrive alone first and find housing.
After graduation
Full-time work requires a change of status, most often to Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, with a job contract related to your studies. Graduates of universities and of vocational colleges holding the diploma title (senmonshi) who have not found a job can switch to Designated Activities for continued job hunting: six months plus one extension, up to a year, with the school's recommendation. See our senmon gakko guide.
Why CoEs and visas are refused
- Funds without a history, or a sponsor income that does not explain the savings.
- Inconsistent dates in your study and work history, or no clear reason to study now.
- Weak Japanese where the school must verify a level.
- Past overstays or unexplained refusals.
- A school with a poor record with ISA — check status and class before paying.
ISA decides the CoE and the embassy decides the visa; neither must explain refusals in detail. A school can reapply in a later intake once the issues are resolved.
Common mistakes
- Starting late and missing the school's ISA filing date.
- Letting the CoE expire: three months is the deadline for entry, not for the visa application.
- Different spellings of your name across the school form, CoE and passport.
- Entering as a tourist and hoping to switch on arrival.
- Working beyond 28 hours; ISA checks at renewal.
What StudyU does
Only the initial consultation is free. Choosing an institution, checking its status, preparing and translating CoE documents, building the sponsor's financial file and preparing the visa application are provided under an agreement with StudyU. ISA issues CoEs and embassies or consulates issue visas; StudyU does not influence these decisions or guarantee an outcome. See also Study in Japan and Japanese language schools in Japan.
FAQ
There is no visa fee for citizens of Russia, CIS countries and Georgia; only the visa centre's service fee applies.
There is no fixed amount. Schools suggest roughly $17,820–19,090 (¥2.8–3 million) or at least $20,000, and where ISA requires financial documents it looks at the source of funds and the past year's history.
Three months from issue. You must get the visa and enter Japan within that time.
Residents of the Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk consular districts follow their consulate's rules. Everyone else is directed to the visa centre.
Yes, with permission: up to 28 hours a week, up to 8 hours a day during long holidays.
Not for English-taught degrees, where the institution checks your English. Language schools need a basic Japanese level verified by test or interview; Japanese-taught universities and colleges usually expect N2 or higher.
ISA requires Japanese translations; certification rules are set by the institution — some want notarised copies, others originals. Check the school's list before collecting documents.
Sources
- ISA: Student status and CoE documents, university Class I/II checklist (PDF), non-rated language school checklist (PDF) and country list (PDF); extensions and the special period during extensions
- ISA: electronic CoE since 17 March 2023 and CoE validity
- Study in Japan (JASSO): immigration procedures, part-time work, changing status after study, academic fees
- Embassy of Japan in Russia: visa centre, CoE visa documents, FAQ on fees and processing
- Consulate General of Japan in Saint Petersburg
- Embassy of Japan in Kazakhstan: visas
- Embassy of Japan in Uzbekistan: visa applications
- ISA: special re-entry permit and Dependent status
- ISA: job hunting after graduation
- School sites: Yoshida Institute, GenkiJACS
- ECB reference rates, 29 September 2026: €1 = $1.1355 = ¥178.41
Next steps
- Working While Studying in Japan: the 28-Hour Rule, Permission, Pay and Tax in 2026
- Senmon Gakko in Japan: Vocational Schools for International Students, Entry Requirements and Work After Graduation
- Cost of Studying in Japan in 2026: Tuition, Living Costs and a First-Year Budget
- Japanese Language Schools in Japan: Choosing a School, Costs and the Student Visa
- Studying in Japan for international applicants
- Bachelor's in Japan for International Students: Programmes, Requirements, Costs and 2027–2028 Timelines
