Student visa/bank account question

[midgards]

This is my first post--I came across this site on Google for this particular question, though I've read the forum before, back when I lived in Japan.

I am currently going through the process of applying for a student visa, it's a six month visa (I don't know why the university didn't ask for one year--isn't that the normal route?).


The form is simple, but the question I have is about proving that I am financially sound to stay in Japan for six months to one year.

The bank account that I want to use is based in Japan, as that's where the money is, and from what I understand, non-residents aren't allowed to have bank accounts there...

I opened the account back when I lived there and I kept it open because well, it's useful to me and I like having a line of credit in Japan.

The question is, how do I present the financial statement to the authority that issues the visa? Is it a bad idea? Will they cause a fuss? Any suggestions, experiences? Thank you.

[IparryU]

The question is, how do I present the financial statement to the authority that issues the visa? Is it a bad idea? Will they cause a fuss? Any suggestions, experiences? Thank you.

it is hard to open an onshore japanese account, but there are a few banks that are onshore that are non-japanese... just off the top of my head:
Lloyds TSB
Citibank
HSBC Premier (i highly doubt you will have this account)

other than that, get a statement of your bank account and present that to them. once you get to japan, you need to get your gaijin card*, mobile phone, and bank account (in that order) and you will be set.

*you cant get the card on the same day but the official document for the gaijin card. just say "gaijin card on paper" and one of the drones might understand you.

[Samurai_Jerk]

it is hard to open an onshore japanese account

Did you read his post? He used to live in Japan and still has an account open here even though he's not a resident which is technically no allowed. His concern is whether or not using a statement from that account will cause him any problems because he's not a resident.

Anyway ...

midgards, I doubt it would cause you an legal problems to use that account information (I'm not a lawyer though so take what I say with a grain of salt). The question is whether or not immigration authorities would recognize the account since you aren't a resident. The easiest thing to do is ask the school you're applying to to find out for you. That's their student advisor's job and they generally have a direct line to someone in immigration in Japan (local Japanese embassy staff often don't know what they're talking about and give bad information).

If it is problem then you could transfer most of the money to an account in your home country while leaving your Japanese account open. Yes, you'll lose some money on transaction costs and exchange rates but you'll just have to consider that one of the expenses for getting a visa. By the way, make sure you have enough in the account the satisfy immigration before you start moving money around.

Another option if you have a decent relationship with your parents and they have enough in their account is to use a statement from their bank even if they aren't actually going to support you. That's what I did when I came on a student visa.

[midgards]

[FG Lurker]

[Russell]

[FG Lurker]

Why do you think it is illegal to have a bank account in Japan as a non-resident? Did you check this thread?

You'll note in that thread that there are specific accounts for non-residents and they are very restricted. OP has a resident bank account but a non-resident status.

I think the only reason why the university says that you need a bank account abroad is that you brought it up in the first place.

It's my guess that immigration will want the bank account (and funds) to be in the same country as the visa's sponsor. The OP seems to be self-sponsoring so he is going to have to prove that he as the funds to support himself. It may seem odd but immigration is not exactly known for being flexible, reasonable, or even logical.

I would just submit the documents of your Japanese bank account and see what happens.

That's risky advice. If immigration rejects him for not following the rules of application it may negatively affect any future visa applications as the rejection will be on his record.

Your excuse that you have been in Japan and planned to go here again does not sound strange as a reason to keep your account here.

Logically I agree. Logic and the law are often quite far apart however. In this case the law is what matters.

If it would really be a big problem, the authorities would have seized your account already, wouldn't they?

In most cases nothing at all happens because the government would generally have no easy way to find bank accounts of non-residents, and the banks have no easy way to see who has left the country and who has just moved without updating their address. Waving the account in the face of immigration doesn't seem wise however, it would almost be like daring them to do something about it.

[midgards]

[Russell]

It's my guess that immigration will want the bank account (and funds) to be in the same country as the visa's sponsor. The OP seems to be self-sponsoring so he is going to have to prove that he as the funds to support himself. It may seem odd but immigration is not exactly known for being flexible, reasonable, or even logical.

Is it written out explicitly by the rules of the immigration office that the bank account (and funds) should be in the same country as the visa's sponsor? If not, where did the OP get this information? Did he read it somewhere on the Internet, and how reliable is that source?
Also, where is it written that non-residents are not allowed to keep a bank account here? It seems very unlikely that (even) Japanese citizens would need to give up their bank account when living abroad for a couple of years.

My point is, check out your sources, and if there are no such rules, then it is not necessary to oblige by them. I could not find anything resembling said rules on the web sites of J-authorities.

[Samurai_Jerk]

[midgards]

Situation sorted!

[IparryU]

Situation sorted!

you should write down what you did so some other newcomer can read this thread and get a up-to-date solution.

good job.