Hello everyone,
I'm currently at the tail end of my doctoral program, after finishing my master's program 3 years ago in the same (Japanese) university. I've gotten a job offer from a company and am preparing to move / change my residence status / etc etc., with a few bumps in the road that have had me a little concerned.
Currently, I am planning on withdrawing from my doctoral program in March. My university requires several peer-reviewed papers to be submitted, but I fell short by 1, so I'm not able to complete the degree. However, I have to start working since my scholarship will run out, and my company doesn't mind that I am dropping out.
The current problem at hand is visa procedures. It seems they haven't had much experience dealing with temporary visas (the other foreigners working there have permanent residence) and the current concern is whether I can get approved for a work visa if I withdraw from the doctoral program.
From my understanding, the bare minimum is a bachelor's degree, which I supposedly exceed since I have both a bachelor's (from my home country) and a master's (in Japan), but after showing my diploma to the company, they said my master's might not be valid degree because it is a 博士前期課程, and that I should double-check with immigration that it's okay to apply for a work visa with just a bachelor's from Portugal.
Is this true? From my understanding, the master's is a full degree separate from the doctorate, and I got a diploma and all which says I was conferred a degree of "Master". I'd like to know if anyone has experience with this type of situation, and if there's going to be a problem with immigration – or if there's anything extra I need to prepare for this because of the withdrawal.
It's been quite a stressful time for me with a lot of different things to juggle, so I really super appreciate any insight. Thank you guys so much.
by kotominammy