Quote:
Originally Posted by Nyororin
Please clear this up with me.
You say you will not be in Japan for more that 6 months , and that the course you will be taking is 5 months. Coming from the UK, you are eligible for a 6 month tourist stay....
So why should you need to reapply to extend the visa? Yes, you`ll need to extend the visa, but it wouldn`t be reapplying - it would simply be extending your period of stay...
I have never heard of a school asking a student to lie about the fact that they will be studying. In fact, lying would actually hurt your chances of having the 90 days extended as it would be hard to come up with a good tourism reason for needing to be in Japan that long. What school is this??
Tell immigration that you`re taking a short term Japanese course that is paid in advance, and show them the dates it is beginning and ending. That is the right way to go about things. There are tons of short term students who come to Japan to study Japanese on tourist visas. Getting a student visa just isn`t worth the time and pain if you are only going to be taking a course that fits within the tourist visa period.
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The problem is that technically you can't go to school with a working holiday visa. If I were the OP, I would get the WHV just to save the grief of having to try to renew a tourist visa.
The reason the school is recommending a tourist visa is that this releases the school from being legally responsible for anything the student does during their stay. If the OP tells immigration that he wants a tourist visa, but that the purpose of his visit is to attend school, he'll likely be refused.
OP, tell this school you want them to provide you with the form you need for a proper visa. If they give you a hard time, tell them you'll give immigration the instructions they sent you telling you to illegally state the purpose of your visit. I'm sure they'll come around quickly then. If they are a properly accredited school, they should have no problem providing you with the legal paperwork which you need. If they still insist that you try to study in Japan using a tourist visa, then find another school.
If you still want to go to this school, apply now for a working holiday visa, just tell them that you are coming to Japan to experience the culture.