Q: What will my legal status be in Japan during the program?
A: You will stay in Japan with a resident status of student for two years. Please note that you will not travel to Japan with “refugee” status.
Q: What will my legal status be in Japan after the program?
A: If you are a high school graduate, by entering university or a vocational school, you can extend your student until graduation. If you find employment after graduating from university/vocational school, you can apply for a resident status with work perm. The Japanese government does not issue work permits to foreigners without university or vocational school certificate (except for some designated skills status defined by the government.)
If you are a university graduate and you find employment after finishing the language school program, you can apply for a work permit. Alternatively, if you enter graduate school, you can extend your student status until graduation.
Q: What will happen if I am not able to attend university or vocational school, nor find employment?
A: If you are unable to enter a university or a school, nor find employment, you can apply for temporary protection status given to Afghans to continue your stay in Japan. PJ can give technical assistance but each student has to be responsible for one’s own legal status as the decision will be made by the government.
Q: Can I work with a student status?
A: As a student, you are legally allowed to work part-time up to 28 hours a week while school is in session, and 40 hours during school holidays. It will be necessary for you to work to pay your rent and living expenses, but your work will be also beneficial to improve your language skills and get accustomed to the local culture and people.
Q: What types of scholarships are there to attend university?
A: The tuition fee for universities and vocational schools in Japan normally costs USD50,000-150,000 per year, so it will be necessary to prepare and apply for a scholarship to make an access for higher education. Make some savings while being a language student is also important to partially cover the cost for higher education.The following are some scholarships that you can apply for.
a) Japan Education Pathways Program (JEP)
JEP offers scholarship opportunities for refugee-background youth living in Japan through its network of universities, Japan Education Pathways Network (JEPN). Previously, JEP offered scholarships of 5-6 universities per year with the full-support of tuition fee, accommodation and monthly stipend support.
https://www.reedjapan.org/jep
b)UNHCR Refugee Higher Education Programme (RHEP)
UNHCR Japan provides a programme called Refugee Higher Education Programme (RHEP) for refugees determined by GoJ or those who has a refugee-background living in Japan. After your arrival in Japan, you will be eligible to apply for some of the member universities in RHEP. RHEP is a full scholarship programme.
https://rhepalliance.org/en_home
c) Philoxenia Scholarship by JELA
Japan Lutheran Evangelical Association (JELA) offers a refugee assistance scholarship for those people with refugee backgrounds residing in Japan. After your arrival in Japan, you will be eligible to apply. A student will need to apply and pass the exam of any university in Japan on one’s own choice to get the scholarship. It is a partial scholarship to cover the tuition fee.
https://www.jela.or.jp/refugees/philoxenia/
d) Toshizo Watanabe International Scholarship (TWIS)
PJ offers its own scholarship programme for refugee-background youth living in Japan to attain higher education since 2022, based on a generous donation by Mr. Toshizo Watanabe. An applicant can study at any universities in Japan by passing the exams on their own and winning a full scholarship of TWIS. Although TWIS targets all the refugee populations in Japan, Language School Pathways students can also apply for this program.
https://pathways-j.org/en/twis
e) Other scholarship opportunities
There are other organizations which provide scholarships to international students in Japan. It can be referred to in the site of Study in Japan below.
https://www.studyinjapan.go.jp/ja/planning/scholarships/
Eligibility
Q: If some one has afghan nationality but because of situation in Afghanistan immigrated to Iran, can apply for this program?
A: If you left Afghanistan after August 2021, then you are eligible.
Q: I have been living as a refugee in Iran for several years. However, I was recently deported to Afghanistan. Am I eligible to apply?
A: Yes. If you are currently in Afghanistan because you were deported from Iran, you are eligible to apply. This applies even if you moved to Iran before August 2021 but have now been deported back to Afghanistan.
If your situation in Afghanistan is unstable and not safe enough to continue your life, you meet the eligibility criteria to apply.
Q: Why Afghan youth refugees who have left Afghanistan before 2021 August are not eligible for this opportunity?
A: Our scholarship is quite limited, and last year we received nearly 2,000 applications. Because of this, we focus on people who fled to other countries after August 2021.
Q: Can you explain more about refugee background, how can we provide it?
A: You can write a statement to explain about your situation. In addition, it is better to have a testimony of a thierd person as a referene letter. If you have an NGO or an expert to testify and explain your experiences, it gives more objective view for your statement.
Q: I am 35 years old now. Can I still Apply to this Program?
A: We have set age restrictions as follows.
“If you are a high school graduate, you must be 26 years old or younger; if you are a university graduate, you must be 33 years old or younger.”
This is because after graduation, we do not expect that you can return to your host country or home country under the current situation. Basically, you will need to live in Japan and find a job here.
However, if your age is above a certain limit, it will be harder to find a job. For people with a foreign background, it can be even more difficult.
Application documents and process
Q: What is the selection criteria for the program ?
A: The committee will evaluate candidates based on their adaptability, motivation to learn Japanese, and clear career goals. Another criteria is whether applicants have already started learning Japanese and have basic Japanese language skills.
Q: About “Recommendation letter”, It is written that a letter from someone in Japan who may offer advice, information or any support to the applicant is desirable. I don’t know anyone who lives in Japan.What should I do?
A: If you do not know anyone living in Japan, it is completely fine to ask someone in Afghanistan or in another country to write a recommendation for you.
This person should know your academic or personal background well, such as a teacher, a manager, or someone from an NGO.
However, family members cannot write your recommendation letter.
If a reference person is in Japan, it would be preferable if the person can offer advice or useful information to an applicant upon arrival.
Of course, it is preferable if someone can be your emergency contact or can support you financially even partially in an emergency, but again it is not a requirement.
Q: Is an online high school transcript from in Afghanistan accepted for admission?
A: This online high school transcript is an official document issued by an educational institution in any country, and is therefore accepted. However, it must be a valid and recognized transcript in that country.
For example, if you obtain an online transcript in Afghanistan, it must be officially recognized there and eligible for admission to an Afghan university. Likewise, if you obtain it in Pakistan, it must be recognized as valid in Pakistan. The same applies to other countries.
Q: Should the transcript be translated with the stamp of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or is the stamp of a certified translation agency sufficient?
A: It’s not required in this program. You can just submit the copy of it.
Q: My high school certificate has not yet been transcribed. Is it possible to upload my documents later?
A: You need to submit the high school certificates in your application. If you don’t have it with you now, then please write a letter to explain the situation and you can apply for us.
But you need to obtain your certificate by your interview date or by 8th of October when the final decision is made. So until that time, if you don’t receive your certificate, unfortunately, you cannot be selected for this year.
Q: In the application form a question asks” Please describe what is your career plan after you complete your education in Japan?” Do you mean after the Japanese language or After my university studies ?
A: It means after you complete all the education in Japan, if you go to university, then after complete your university education, then what’s you gonna do in Japan.
Q: I am currently a university student. Do I still need to submit my high school transcripts, even though I am studying at university?
A: Yes, because we need a high school certificate or university certificates. You don’t have a certificate of university, then you have to have submit the high school certificates.
Q: How much do work experience and social activities affect your chances of being selected?
A: In the application form, there is a section to list your work history. If you have work experience, please describe the type of work you have done. This helps the committee understand your background, especially since you will be required to work soon after arriving in Japan.
Social activity experience can also be relevant. If you think an activity is related to the program, include it in your application.
Q: If someone is in a very difficult financial situation, can they still join the program? Also, how much money should a participant prepare before joining?
A: There is no financial requirement to join the program. Ideally, it is recommended to have about 1,000 to 1,500 US dollars when you arrive in Japan to help cover housing and initial living expenses. However, this is not mandatory.
In the past, some students from various countries arrived in Japan with less than 500 US dollars and were still able to start their lives, partly because we provide some accommodation support after arrival.
You do not need to worry if your financial situation makes it difficult to prepare cash before coming to Japan.
Support after arrival
Q: After the two years of language study, what kind of support is provided to help us apply for university or find a job in Japan?
A: While you are a language student, his program offers regular counseling on scholarships, university application plans, and preparing to find a job.
If you have any questions that are not covered above, please contact us here.