Hello everyone, I am currently waiting for my COE to be approved which is expected to be at the end of February, I was thinking of my booking my flights to enter Japan 2 and a half weeks before my language school starts, waiting last minute will make the flight ticket prices go up by almost double, obviously I have the money for it, but would like to save where I can, does anyone know how early does the COE let you enter Japan??
My Language starts early April, I was thinking of booking something on the 16th of March (or sometime that week)
by ZeeZoo99
2 comments
After receiving your CoE you’ll need to make an appointment at your nearest Japanese embassy/consulate to apply for the visa. This takes up to 10 business days normally (but could be as fast as the next day).
Once you have both the CoE and the visa you can enter Japan and get your status of residence.
Most schools don’t like folks showing up too early though. Your status of residence validity period will start upon arrival and if you show up too early it could make timing awkward for you when you get to the end of your program of study.
It’s also worth mentioning that the CoE processing period varies wildly by the status you’re applying for and the regional branch processing the application. 3 months processing time is still considered normal, even for student applications. So I wouldn’t recommend buying your ticket until you’ve at least got confirmation that the CoE has been issued. Or at least make sure that if things don’t work out you can adjust the flight schedule without too hefty a penalty.
Good luck!
I am also attending a language school in April of this year.
I have already purchased my (one-way) flight. The price was already good at the time, and I didn’t want to lose out on it. I also felt a bit weary of doing it now in the case that the CoE or the visa does not get approved, but the ticket cancellation would be about 200 CAD for me. Probably would be easier to eat the $200 cost than having to book last minute. My school did say that it is unlikely that the CoE would not get approved. I decided to take the risk on that.
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