Study in Japan for a Year or More: Student Visa Course
Your dilemma: you want to study Japanese in Japan for a year or more, but GenkiJACS doesn’t offer student visas. On a tourist visa or visa waiver, you’re limited to a maximum stay of six months out of a year. What to do?
The solution: Take GenkiJACS’ student visa course! On this program, you study with GenkiJACS for two to six months, on a tourist visa. While in Japan, we apply for your student visa. When it and you are ready, you switch visas, then move to our partner school to study for one year or more.
Applicants must be 18 or older, and have graduated high school.
Note: We currently only partner with a long-term school in Fukuoka. We can arrange for you to study at our Tokyo school, then switch to our Fukuoka partner school.
If you are interested in our short-term or medium-term courses, click here for more info.
Our partner school
GenkiJACS has partnered with Fukuoka International Communication College, a Ministry of Education-approved Japanese language school that offers 1- to 2-year Japanese courses.They also run a two-year college. We chose them because of their flexibility, high quality, small classes, and fun atmosphere! They run a variety of activities and culture classes, and their school is located just 5 minutes by subway from GenkiJACS. Because most of their students are from other Asian countries and may not speak English, you'll have lots of opportunities to practice your Japanese!
Request a no-obligation estimate now!
Student Application Deadline
| To receive student visa starting from | April 2014 | October 2014 | April 2015 |
| Apply to GenkiJACS by | November 20, 2013 | May 20, 2014 | November 20, 2014 |
| Start at GenkiJACS anytime between | October 2013 - February 2014 | April 2014 - August 2014 | October 2014 - February 2015 |
| Start at our partner school | April 8, 2014 | October 6, 2014 | April 8, 2015 |
Our partner school can only accept new students at the start of April and October each year. So, your study with GenkiJACS must finish at the end of March or September. If you want to study with GenkiJACS for three months and start at our partner school in April, for example, your study with us must start in January.
Visa
- Enter Japan on a visa waiver or tourist visa.
- While in Japan, GenkiJACS applies for your student visa.
- When this is received, you take it to the immigration office in Fukuoka to switch from your visa waiver to the student visa.
Most Japanese schools provide "pre-college" visas. However, our partner school FICC provides full college visas. These are longer visas (up to two years, instead of up to one year), and allow students to work more hours per week. You are also eligible for student discounts on transport and other places.
The student visa application
is quite difficult. However, GenkiJACS can complete most of the process for you, and provides support in English for any parts you have to do. We're here to make it easy for you!
Note: The student visa has several ongoing requirements, including academic (you must pass regular tests to move to the next unit of study) and attendance (you must attend more than 80% of classes or your visa will be cancelled). Of necessity, our partner school is stricter than GenkiJACS, so we can only recommend
study with them for people who are serious about learning Japanese.
Example Study Program (3 months at GenkiJACS, 1 year at FICC)
November: Application |
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December: Student Visa Application GenkiJACS requests information to complete your student visa application, and sends you enrollment documents. |
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January: Come to Japan Arrive in Japan, move in to your GenkiJACS accommodation, and start your study with us. |
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March: Receive student visa Convert from your tourist visa at the immigration office. |
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April: Move to FICC Start your study with our partner school. |
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March next year: Graduate! Finish your study at FICC, and decide your future! |
Accommodation
Choose from three options:
- Stay in GenkiJACS accommodation (homestay, dormitory, shared apartment, private apartment) for the full period (the most expensive option).
- Stay in a shared room in our partner school’s dormitory for the first six months, then arrange your own accommodation for the remainder (the cheapest option).
- Stay in GenkiJACS accommodation while studying with us, then switch to a shared room in our partner school’s dormitory for six months to a year.
Differences Between GenkiJACS and Partner School
|
GenkiJACS |
Partner School |
Class size |
Max. 7 students |
Max. 20 students |
Class composition |
Mostly Western students, English speakers |
Mostly Asian students |
School type |
Short-study Japanese school |
Two-year college |
Location |
City center |
Just outside the city center |
Teaching method |
English used as needed |
English not used in class |
| Strictness | Fairly relaxed :) | Quite strict |
Costs
| Tuition Costs |
|
| GenkiJACS enrollment fee | 21,000 yen |
GenkiJACS tuition fee |
31,500 yen per week |
Partner school fees (first year) |
770,000 yen |
Other expenses (insurance, medical check) |
28,500 yen |
Minimum Total (1 year and 2 months) |
1,071,500 yen |
Accommodation Costs |
|
GenkiJACS accommodation |
From 10,000 yen per week |
Partner school dorm (shared room) |
310,000 yen for a year |
| Minimum Accommodation Total | 400,500 yen |
Advantages of Combined Course
- Experience: Studying at two schools gives you two different experiences, to make the most of your stay!
- Support: Going straight to our partner school would be very difficult. GenkiJACS' special course prepares you in an environment where all staff speak English.
- Communication: GenkiJACS focuses on communication for daily life, so you'll spend the first two months learning the skills you need to survive in Japanese life.
- Visa: The student visa from our partner school lets you stay for up to two years and work in Japan, something you can't do at GenkiJACS. We assist with your visa application.
- Accommodation: Our partner school's cheap student dormitory makes your stay more affordable!
- Community: Even after you move from GenkiJACS to our partner school, you are still part of our community support network, so you can join our Friday parties, culture events, tours and more!
- Work: The student visa allows you to work up to 28 hours a week, to support your stay in Japan.
Note: details of partner school course may change without prior notice. Contact us to confirm details.
