Japan student visa requirements in 2026

Sources checked: 2026-10-23 to 2026-11-13.

New to moving to Japan? The main routes, and what each one asks for, are on Japan visa requirements in 2026. The JLPT and CEFR levels used below are compared in the JLPT and CEFR table. This page covers one route: Student (留学, ryugaku), the status for studying at a school in Japan, and the visa steps every student goes through, whatever the school.

Which schools can sponsor a Japan student visa?

The Student status covers study at a university or graduate school, a technical college (高等専門学校, koto senmon gakko, or kosen), a high school, a vocational school (専修学校, senshu gakko) and a Japanese language school, among others. The Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA), the government office for visas, grants it for up to 4 years 3 months at a time (ISA student page, read 2026-11-12).

Which school fits you:

• Japanese language school: Japanese first, a degree or a vocational course later. See Japanese language schools in 2026.
• Degree taught in English: see English-taught degrees in Japan.
• Degree or vocational course taught in Japanese: you need the Japanese level in the next section.

Language schools have three extra rules:

• The school must be approved. A school on the old immigration list (法務省告示校, homusho kokujiko) can sponsor your visa until 2029-03-31; after that, only schools certified by Japan’s education ministry (MEXT) can (ISA). See how to check a school before you apply.
• Study length: normally up to 2 years (ISA, for language school applicants, read 2026-11-12).
• Start dates: usually twice a year (April and October) or four times a year (January, April, July and October), depending on the school (same page).

At the end of June 2026, 479,626 people held Student status in Japan, 14,842 more than at the end of 2025 (ISA tables).

How much Japanese do you need for a Japan student visa?

It depends on the school: A1 (about JLPT N5) for a language school, B2 (about JLPT N2) for a university course taught in Japanese, and a year at a language school or a test for a vocational school.

Language schools. Before: 150 hours of Japanese study counted as proof of A1. Now: a test certificate or a school interview is required, for students entering from October 2026, and for changes of status and renewals filed from 2026-07-01 (ISA language school rule, read 2026-11-12).

• Tests that count: JFT-Basic (the Japan Foundation Test for Basic Japanese) at A1 or above, or JLPT N5 or above. For now, ISA also accepts other tests at set scores, such as JPT (the Japanese Proficiency Test) 315 or more, J.TEST (the Test of Practical Japanese) level F or above, NAT-TEST level 5 or above, and BJT (the Business Japanese Proficiency Test) 300 or more (ISA, for language school applicants, read 2026-11-12).
• The school interview: the school writes down how it judged your level on a confirmation form (各種確認書, kakushu kakuninsho), which only the school may fill in. ISA’s example of a sound check: 10 questions at the level of the tests above, judged against their pass mark (ISA Q&A, as of 2026-05-19, questions 2 and 4, read 2026-11-12).
• No proof needed: nationals of the countries and regions on ISA’s list who submit a degree certificate from a university abroad (ISA language school rule).

Universities. Students entering from the 2027 school year who will take classes or research supervision in Japanese need B2 (about JLPT N2). Students entering by the end of the 2029 school year (March 2030) can prove it with any one of these (ISA student Japanese rule, read 2026-11-12):

• JLPT N2 or above
• EJU (the Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students) Japanese score of 200 or more: reading, listening and listening-reading added together
• BJT score of 400 or more
• JPT score of 525 or more
• 600 or more class hours of Japanese

Finishing a B2 course at a certified language school also counts as proof. ISA recommends that universities also check your level themselves, with a written test or an interview.

Vocational schools. You need one of these (same ISA page):

• 1 year of Japanese at a language school on the immigration list or a certified one
• a Japanese test: the same tests and scores as for universities above, such as JLPT N2 (ISA student Japanese rule, read 2026-11-13)
• 1 year at a school in Japan’s regular school system, such as a high school

If your Japanese is clearly below B2, ISA may decide you cannot do the study you came for.

How does the Certificate of Eligibility work?

The Certificate of Eligibility (在留資格認定証明書, zairyu shikaku nintei shomeisho), or COE, is the document you need before you apply for the visa. It takes four steps (ISA COE procedure, read 2026-11-12):

1. Get a place at a school. A language school also checks your Japanese, with a test certificate or an interview.

2. File the application. You, a staff member of your school, or a lawyer or administrative scrivener (行政書士, gyoseishoshi) registered with immigration can file it at a regional immigration office. Someone filing for you can do so only while you or the school’s staff are in Japan. You can file online; ISA does not accept applications by mail.

3. Wait for the decision. The application is free, and the standard time is 1 to 3 months. Since 2023-03-17, you can receive the COE by email.

4. Apply for the visa at a Japanese embassy or consulate. A single-entry visa costs about 15,000 yen since 2026-07-01, up from about 3,000, paid in local currency; some nationalities pay a different amount (TravelVoice, 2026-07-01). Check with the embassy where you apply.

What documents do you need for a Japan student visa?

For a student COE, ISA’s checklist includes (ISA student page, read 2026-11-12):

• The basics: the application form, one photo, a return envelope with stamps for registered mail, and a copy of your passport.
• School documents: what the school sends depends on its immigration grade, and schools with a good record send fewer. See how ISA grades language schools.
• The school’s confirmation form (各種確認書, kakushu kakuninsho), filled in by the school. At a language school, it shows how the school checked your Japanese (ISA language school rule).
• Who pays: a statement of who pays your costs (経費支弁書, keihi shibensho), and proof of any scholarship.
• New from April 2027: for students entering a Japanese language school from April 2027, the checklist adds a confirmation of ability to pay (経費支弁能力に係る確認書, keihi shiben noryoku ni kakaru kakuninsho).

Certificates issued in Japan must be dated within 3 months. Documents in other languages need a Japanese translation.

How much money do you need for a Japan student visa?

You must show who will pay your costs: ISA’s checklist asks for a statement of who pays (経費支弁書, keihi shibensho) (ISA student page, read 2026-11-12). ISA does not accept a plan that pays all tuition and living costs from part-time work (ISA, for language school applicants, read 2026-11-12). ISA’s student pages name no fixed amount in yen (checked 2026-11-12).

• Your sponsor: the statement of who pays names the person paying. Schools ask for proof: ECC in Osaka, for example, asks for a sponsor’s bank balance and proof of income (ECC guide 2027).
• Your plan: ISA says that a stable student life in Japan needs a money plan made with these rules in mind (same ISA page).
• Ask your school what proof it accepts before you apply.

What it really costs, line by line:

• First-year fees, the first bill on arrival, and a month in Tokyo or Osaka at three spending levels: Japanese language schools in 2026.
• Tuition and housing at seven universities that teach in English: English-taught degrees in Japan.

How many hours can you work on a Japan student visa?

With work permission (資格外活動許可, shikakugai katsudo kyoka), you can work up to 28 hours a week, and up to 8 hours a day during your school’s long holidays (ISA work permission for students).

• Any 7 days count: ISA asks schools to check that your hours stay within 28 a week whichever day of the week they start counting from (ISA Q&A, as of 2026-05-19, question 9).
• Getting permission: new students given more than 3 months of Student status can apply at the airport on arrival; otherwise, apply at your regional immigration office (Study in Japan).
• Excluded work: bars, clubs and other adult-entertainment venues (ISA, for language school applicants).
• School checks: every 3 months, your school asks about your permission, your employer, your work and your daily hours. It reports serious cases, such as an employer forcing more than 28 hours a week (ISA language school rule).
• Breaking the limit: it can lead to removal from Japan or a refused renewal (ISA, for language school applicants). It also counts against you when you change to a work visa: in ISA’s words (our translation), a student who habitually works over 28 hours a week “is not regarded as having good conduct” (ISA guideline, revised April 2026).
• Agents: ISA warns about agents who promise more than 300,000 yen a month from part-time work (same ISA page).

What 28 hours a week pays at the minimum wage in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka, and whether it covers school and rent: Japanese language schools in 2026.

What can you do in Japan after you graduate?

You can change to a work visa once you have a job, or stay for a while to find one. Which option is open depends on your school and your Japanese.

• Change to a work visa: apply to change your status once you have a job offer, for example to the engineer visa. See switching from a student visa to the engineer visa. The Japanese level each work visa asks for is on the Japanese level for each Japan visa. A degree from a Japanese university or graduate school also adds 10 points on the Highly Skilled Professional (HSP) points table (Japan HSP points in 2026).

• Waiting for a start date: a graduate of a school in Japan with a job offer can stay on Designated Activities (特定活動, tokutei katsudo) until the job starts. The job must start within 1 year of the offer and within 1 year 6 months of graduation. The company must promise to stay in touch with you, and to tell immigration without delay if it withdraws the offer (ISA, job offer holders, read 2026-11-12).

• Job hunting: graduates of a Japanese university or vocational school can switch to Designated Activities for 6 months, renewable once, so about 1 year in total, if their record is in order and the school recommends them. A second year is possible through a qualifying local-government programme (ISA, job hunting after graduation, read 2026-11-12).

• Job hunting after a language school: possible only in a narrow case. You hold a bachelor’s degree from a university abroad, attend a qualifying school (for example, a certified one) with attendance of about 90% or more, started job hunting while enrolled, and have the school’s letter of recommendation (same page).

• Designated Activities No. 46, for wider work in Japanese: this is for graduates of a Japanese university or graduate school, and of some other Japanese schools, who hold JLPT N1, a BJT score of 480 or more, or a degree with Japanese as the major. It allows work that mixes service jobs with fluent Japanese, such as running a restaurant floor while interpreting for guests. A job of only dishwashing, cleaning or factory-line work does not qualify, and graduates of universities abroad are not covered (ISA guideline, revised April 2026, read 2026-11-12).

• J-Find: up to 2 years to look for a job or prepare a startup. It is for people who graduated in the past 5 years from a university in the top 100 of at least two of three world rankings (QS, THE and the Shanghai ranking), with savings of 200,000 yen or more (ISA, J-Find, read 2026-11-12).

For the Japanese level employers in Japan expect from graduates, see Do you still need Japanese if your degree is in English?

Which study route fits your Japanese level?

Pick the row that matches your Japanese today.

The language school shares come from 21,580 students who finished at 184 member schools of the school association Nisshinkyo in the 2024 school year (Nisshinkyo survey, March 2026). A language school asks for A1 before you start, so with no Japanese yet, reach A1 at home first or choose a degree taught in English.

Before you apply: This page is general information, not legal advice. Meeting these rules does not guarantee a visa; ISA decides each case. Rules change, so check ISA’s student page on the day you apply. For your own case, ask a lawyer registered in Japan (弁護士, bengoshi) or an administrative scrivener approved to file immigration applications (申請取次行政書士, shinsei toritsugi gyoseishoshi). Sources last checked: 2026-10-23 to 2026-11-13.