Procedures Related to Visa, Temporary Leave from School, etc.
The procedures related to visas, temporary leave from school, return to school, withdrawal from school, study at another educational institute in Japan or a foreign country, change of your name, and other matters are as follows. Use the necessary form provided in a PDF file format. Be sure to submit such a form after obtaining approval from your chief supervisor and consent (signature) from your supervisor.
For procedures related to visa, dormitories, Temporary Leave from Japan, Out-of-Status Activities, etc, students on Shikata Campus can consult with the following office.
Click here for more information.
[Inquiries]
Shikata Branch, International Affairs Office
Address: 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama, 700-8558 (1st floor of the Administrative Office Building)
TEL: 086-235-6554 E-mail: dde7046(a)adm.okayama-u.ac.jp
To prevent junk mail, we have replaced the @ mark with (a) in the e-mail addresses below. For inquiries, please contact us by replacing (a) with the @ mark.
If you plan to travel abroad for studying abroad, giving a presentation at an academic conference, traveling a private purpose or other reasons, register with the University’s Overseas Travel Registration System before leaving Japan. After returning to Japan, immediately register with the system once again to show that you have returned to Japan.
Click here for more information on Overseas Travel Registration System.
If you cannot study for two months or more due to disease or another unavoidable reason, you can take temporary leave from school, provided that you submit an Application for Temporary Leave from School together with a medical certificate (for your disease, injury, etc.) issued by your doctor or a detailed Reason Statement and that the application is accepted.
Submit an Application for Temporary Leave from School to the office below by the 1st of the previous month of the month you would like to begin to take temporary leave from school. (If the 1st falls on a university holiday, the following day is applicable.) The application needs the signature of your chief professor to show his/her approval.
<Example>
If you wish to take temporary leave from school from October 1, submit an Application for Temporary Leave from School by September 1.
<Points to Note>
- You cannot apply for temporary leave from school retroactively for the period before your application is accepted by the office in charge. Be sure to submit an Application for Temporary Leave from School to the office in charge before the beginning of the period that you would like to take temporary leave from school.
- In some cases, you cannot gain permission for temporary leave from school, even if you have submitted an application. Consult with your chief professor and the office in charge beforehand.
- To submit an application, it is necessary that you have already paid the tuition fee for the previous semester of the semester containing the date when you would like to begin to take temporary leave from school. For example, if you would like to take temporary leave from school from the second semester, it is necessary that you have already paid the tuition fee for the first semester. However, if you are exempt from payment of the tuition fee for the first semester, it is not necessary that you have paid the tuition fee for the first semester.
- After your permitted temporary leave period is over, you will be automatically treated as returning to school.
To statistically identify the entire situation of students on temporary leave from school, it has been decided to conduct a questionnaire survey for doctoral students wishing to take temporary leave from school. When submitting an Application for Temporary Leave from School, please fill out a Temporary Leave Questionnaire and submit it together with the application.
- Click here for Application for Temporary Leave from School, Reason Statement, Temporary Leave Questionnaire, and Notes.
[Note] Print the forms on both sides. The Application Form was updated on March, 2022. Do not use the previous form.
The total duration of temporary leave from school shall be within three years. The duration of temporary leave from school that you can take per application is from two months to one year.
The period of temporary leave from school is not included in the period of enrollment in the university. If the total duration of temporary leave from school is three months or less, however, that period is included in the period of enrollment in the university.
As a general rule, the tuition fee during temporary leave from school is exempted. Depending on the application timing, however, the tuition fee may not be exempted even if the temporary leave is permitted. In addition, the application timing also affects the course completion timing. In this regard, consult with the relevant office as soon as possible.
<Example Where the Tuition Fee Is Not Exempted>
If you apply for temporary leave from school “from July 1 to March 31 in the following year” in June
You need to pay the full amount of the tuition fee for the first semester. (The tuition fee that you have already paid is not refunded.)
The tuition fee for the second semester is exempted.
[NOTE]
After your permitted temporary leave period is over, you will be automatically treated as returning to school, meaning that you are obliged to pay the tuition fee for the semester during which you return to school. If you wish to continue to take temporary leave from school, you need to submit an application once again before the end of your period of temporary leave from school.
Even if you plan to travel abroad for studying abroad on temporary leave from school, register with the University’s Overseas Travel Registration System before leaving Japan and after returning to Japan.
If you wish to return to school during permitted temporary leave period, submit an Application for Returning to School to the office in charge by the 1st of the previous month of the month when you would like to return to school. If the 1st falls on a university holiday, the following day is applicable. The application needs the signature or seal of your chief professor to show his/her approval. After your permitted temporary leave period is over, you will be automatically treated as returning to school. In such a case, you do not have to submit an application.
You cannot apply for returning to school retroactively for the period before your application is accepted by the office in charge. Even if you return to school after the 1st of a month, the tuition fee cannot be calculated per diem. You need to pay the full amount of the tuition fee for the month when you return to school.
<Example>
If you return to school on July 15
Incurred tuition fee: July (full amount), August (full amount), and September (full amount)
- Click here for Application for Returning to School
[Note]
Print the forms on both sides. The Application Form was updated on March, 2022. Do not use the previous form.
If you wish to withdraw from school, submit an Application for Withdrawal from School to the relevant office by the 1st of the month when you would like to withdraw from school. (If the 1st falls on a university holiday, the following day is applicable.) The application needs the signature of your chief supervisor to show his/her approval. If you have not paid the necessary tuition fee, you will not be permitted to withdraw from school.
The date of your withdrawal from school is the last day of the relevant month. You cannot apply for withdrawal from school retroactively for the period before your application is accepted by the office below.
- Click here for Application for Withdrawal from School
[Note]
Print the forms on both sides. The Application Form was updated on March, 2022. Do not use the previous form.
If your name and/or registered domicile has changed due to marriage, etc., please submit the necessary notification form. Also submit an original copy of an official document certifying the relevant change as a fact and showing the date of the change (e.g. an extract copy of your family register).
If your name has changed but you wish to continue to use your maiden name for your school register and various certificates to be issued by the university, also submit an Application for Using the Maiden Name / Common Name.
If you notify the university of the change of your name, you will receive a new student ID card with your new name. The new student ID card will be issued in the next or subsequent month of the month when your notification is submitted.
- Click here <in preparation> for Notice of Change of Name / Registered Domicile.
If you wish to continue to use your maiden name for your school register and various certificates to be issued by the university, submit an Application for Using the Maiden Name / Common Name, plus an original copy of a document certifying your identification with the maiden name provided on your family register/ common name (e.g. an extract copy of your family register, a copy of your certificate of residence).
Note that you cannot use your maiden name for some documents, such as an application for admission to the university and documents for employment as a TA, RA, etc.
- Click here <in preparation> for Application for Using the Maiden Name / Common Name