Applying for a Japanese Visa in Hong Kong as an American Citizen

cre: Applying for a Japanese Visa in Hong Kong as an American Citizen

Tuesday | August 15, 2017 | Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong

Good morning !

Thanks for viewing my blog. My name is Allen and I will be documenting my adventures in Japan here for the fall semester (August to December 2017). While I’m sure I’ll be blogging about more exciting things in the future, I’m starting with a more informative, and therefore denser, post on my entire visa application process. As the title suggests, my situation was quite unconventional as I spent my summer studying at Chinese University in Hong Kong. Since their program runs from the end of June to the end of August and IES Abroad Tokyo starts at the end of August, I have not had the opportunity to apply for my Japanese visa in the United States. As a result, I had to do a lot of emailing and researching to make sure everything was going well. Could I even apply for a Hong Kong visa? What if it doesn’t work? Should I stop studying in Japan ?! I had a lot of worries, but I’m happy to say that everything went well and I successfully received my Japanese visa!

What is a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) and how to get it (March – May 2017)

After receiving an acceptance from IES Abroad in March, I had a bunch of forms to fill out, the COE being one of them. Simply put, the COE is a mandatory form that communicates to Japan your objective to enter the country (to be a student). The COE form is available on the IES Abroad portal, and in addition to general information, it also requires your airport of entry / travel itinerary (so you need to find a plane ticket before submitting), your letter of support financial (contact your international Office programs) and passport photos (you must have them taken). Additionally, IES Abroad will need your medical history and medical examination before you can apply for your COE. After IES Abroad has applied for your COE, it takes a few months for it to be completed. IES Abroad typically receives COEs from Japan in July, which means students don’t receive them until early August. Only then can we go to our local consulate to apply for a Japanese visa. Do I need to remind you, our program starts at the end of August! Naturally, it seemed really stressful, but IES Abroad reassured us that the visa process is usually quite quick (around a week).

• For me, Oxy bought my flights in December because I was going to be in Hong Kong for college sponsored summer research. Therefore, I knew exactly when I was going to arrive and through which airport. Easy!
• The financial support letter, written by the Office of International Programs, indicates how you will be funded during your stay abroad for the semester. It cannot be written before May 15th. I don’t know why, but it means you can’t finish your COE until the end of May.
• I had my passport photos taken at Walgreens; any local pharmacy should have a photo section. I believe it was about $ 15 for two passport photos (expensive !!!). Be careful, I smiled with teeth in my original photo and when I applied for my Japanese visa in Hong Kong I had to take another photo without teeth. My suggestion would be not to smile, take off your glasses, hat, etc. right from the start.
• As I was still in school until mid-May, I made an appointment with my local clinic after school ended. Therefore, I only had about a week to take a medical exam and have my clinic sign the IES Abroad form. It took them about a week to send the form back to me because they were waiting for my blood test. If I remember correctly, I got my form back like the day before the WCC, which was a bit stressful! If I could go back in time I would have gone to the clinic while I was still in school to have more cushion time.

Waiting game… (June – August 2017)

After completing all these tasks, I had to prepare to go to Hong Kong.

Tokyo_Predeparture_Allen Chen.png

I did everything I could in the United States, but at that point it was still not clear whether the Japanese Consulate in Hong Kong would even accept my request. At that point, I started communicating with Melanie Rockoff, the IES Abroad Program Advisor for Tokyo, about my concerns and with her advice, I was able to find a consulate in Hong Kong. Subsequently, I started emailing the consulate to see what forms / letters I needed to apply for a visa through their office. First, they asked me to write a formal letter explaining my academic status and the full timeline. In addition, I had to provide letters confirming my acceptance to IES Abroad Tokyo and my overseas funding source. I prepared all of these documents while in the United States and waited patiently until August.

At the visa office! (August 2017)

After waiting two months, I finally received my COE the first week of August.

Tokyo_Certificate of Eligibility_Allen Chen.png

I immediately made an appointment with the Japanese consulate in Hong Kong the next day. For all Hong Kong readers, I finally applied through VFS Global at North Point. As I mentioned earlier, I had to take my passport photo back, but luckily there was a photo booth in the office.

Tokyo_Passport Photo_Allen Chen.png

(Pictured: Allen nervous, sweaty and stressed)

After that, I stood in line, took my ticket, waited a little longer, and finally it was my turn. I presented my COE, passport, US driver’s license, Hong Kong student ID card and all the fucking forms I had just to make sure they understood my unique situation and would accept my application. . Fortunately, they did !!! The whole application cost me around 49 USD / 380 HKD (50 HKD for two passport photos, 270 for visa application and 60 for shipping and handling). The visa office subsequently kept my passport and mailed it back. The visa application officer said it would take around 5-7 business days for everything to be completed, although he said COE applications tended to be processed faster. I applied on Wednesday August 9, 2017 and was contacted by my consulate on Monday August 14 by phone and email to tell me that my visa was ready to be picked up. As I had requested that it be delivered to CUHK, I had my passport in hand the next day 15.

ULTIMATELY!

After such a long and stressful process, I am relieved that everything is settled. I have to thank Melanie from IES Abroad for her invaluable help throughout the process. I couldn’t imagine going through this process completely on my own. Therefore, I hope this blog post is useful to anyone who is studying abroad just before IES Abroad Tokyo, who is studying in Hong Kong before Tokyo, or anyone who is apprehensive about the process of Japanese visa. If I was able to get a visa abroad, I am sure you will do too!

Writer’s Note

The visa application process will vary from person to person, so my experiences will likely be different from yours. Therefore, this article is intended to document my experience and emotions during my application. Although I hope it is informative, I do not intend to use it as a reliable guide. If you have any questions, contact your program advisor! Also, sorry if this post is super dense and boring ??? Hope the pictures will help you a bit 🙂

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