Thursday, February 18, 2010

The Japanese And Immigration Bureaucracy

Before received my official acceptance from Sophia University, I was warned by the International Student office of my school that Japan would send back a package that would not spare the trees. They were correct.

Most other study abroad students, mostly Europe or Latin America in my case, get a few sheets and they are ready to go.

This is the pile of paperwork that I had to dig through. This may not seem quite as impressive by the photograph, but it did add up- and I did a couple pieces. You know the "thick envelope" that people associate with acceptance to a University? I received one of those for all purposes... all for a couple semesters of study at their school. As they send it to my school as opposed to directly to my address, I had to pick it up and hope that I would somehow not lose something important.

In all honesty, the paperwork sent is mostly understandable. Japan wants to ensure that any foreigners staying longer than 90 days is registered and has a purpose for remaining in the country. However, they do go a little overboard in sending an official letter of acceptance and several other documents specifying my student status in addition to the certificate of eligibility that the school obtained from the Japanese immigration offices. It certainly seems redundant to have all of these components to submit for my visa, but I doubt this is different from the United States as we are notorious for our red tape.

Not all of this is red tape. Some of this is legitimately useful. After 15 hours on a plane, I am going to want to know exactly where I will need to go for language testing (the day after I arrive... which will not be particularly fun) and how I pay for my housing. So while I may be indirectly responsible for the destruction of a 200 hundred year old tree by applying to this school, at least they are thorough.

To me, this is just one step closer to getting overseas. After having a heath setback at the beginning of the month (I recommend avoiding open abdominal surgery if at all possible), this was a very nice reward.

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