Student Visa
The full file, end to end — we choose the school with you, the school applies for your Certificate of Eligibility, and we take you through the financial documents and the embassy interview.
Student Visa
A student visa is a status of residence, not a tourist stamp: a school in Japan applies to the Immigration Services Agency on your behalf, and only after that Certificate of Eligibility is issued does the embassy in Dhaka put the visa in your passport. Everything before that certificate is paperwork — and that paperwork is what Discovery does.
Who this route is for
HSC / A-level finishers
Twelve years of formal education is the floor for a Japanese language school. Start Japanese now and apply for the next intake.
Graduates and diploma holders
Go straight to a college or university program, or use a language school as a one-to-two year bridge into one.
Career changers
A Japanese qualification plus Japanese language is the cleanest way into the Engineering route later — study first, then switch status.
Families planning ahead
Parents who want a documented, lawful route for their son or daughter. Every step is on paper.
Intakes and how long the visa runs
The main one. Apply by the previous September — a full academic year, and the intake most colleges recruit from.
Apply by the previous January. A 1 year 9 month language course.
Apply by the previous March. A 1 year 6 month course — the second most popular.
Apply by the previous July. A 1 year 3 month course, smallest of the four.
Issued for 6 months to 2 years and renewed inside Japan while you stay enrolled and attend class.
Deadlines are the school's, not the embassy's, and the Certificate of Eligibility adds months on top of them — which is why we start a file long before the intake you are aiming at. Tell us the intake and we will work the calendar back from that school's own cut-off.
What you need to qualify
- At least 12 years of formal education (HSC, A-level or equivalent).
- For a Japanese language school: JLPT N5, or a certificate showing about 150 hours of Japanese study — Discovery's own N5 course satisfies this.
- A sponsor who can show the tuition and living costs in a bank account, with a consistent transaction history behind it.
- A clean academic gap explanation — Japanese immigration asks about every unexplained year.
- A valid passport with at least six months left, and no previous visa refusal that has been hidden.
Where students go
Discovery processes student files for five countries. Japan is the flagship route and the one this page is written around.
How your file moves
- 1Free counselingWe look at your certificates, your gap years and your sponsor before promising anything.
- 2Japanese courseN5 at our Dhanmondi center, which is also the 150-hour certificate the school needs.
- 3School applicationDocuments attested, translated and couriered to the school you chose.
- 4Certificate of EligibilityThe school files it with the Immigration Services Agency. Roughly 2–3 months.
- 5Embassy visaSubmission at the Japanese embassy in Dhaka with interview preparation from us.
- 6Departure and landingTicket, accommodation, airport pickup, residence card, city hall registration and the part-time work permit.
Documents you will be asked for
- Passport, plus every old passport you hold
- SSC, HSC and any degree certificates with transcripts
- JLPT N5 or a 150-hour Japanese study certificate
- Sponsor's bank statement and bank solvency certificate
- Sponsor's income proof — trade license, salary certificate or tax return
- Birth certificate, NID and a statement of relationship to the sponsor
Discovery arranges the attestation, notarisation and certified translation of every document on this list.
Student visa questions
Yes, but only with the Permission to Engage in Activity Other Than That Permitted, which is a separate application from the Ministry of Justice. It allows up to 28 hours a week during term and full time — 40 hours a week — during official academic vacations. Discovery files it right after your visa is approved, so you hand it in at airport immigration when you land and can start legally.
For a Japanese language school you need either N5 or a certificate for about 150 hours of study. Our own N5 batch produces that certificate, which is why most of our student files start with the language course rather than the paperwork.
It varies by school, but plan on the first year's tuition plus living costs sitting in the account, with a transaction history behind it rather than a lump sum that appeared last week. Immigration looks at where the money came from, not only at the closing balance.
No, but it has to be explained and documented — a job, a business, an illness, a failed attempt elsewhere. A gap with no explanation is one of the most common reasons a Certificate of Eligibility is refused.
Most students change status: to Engineering if their degree matches a professional job offer, or to Specified Skilled Worker if it does not. Both are on this site, and we handle the change of status for our own alumni.
Start your student file
Bring your certificates to our Dhanmondi center and we will tell you honestly which intake you can realistically make.
- Free first counseling session at our Dhanmondi center
- Document processing, attestation and certified translation
- Embassy interview preparation and post-arrival support