# Is It Easy to Get a Japan Student Visa from India? Honest 2026 Guide > The Japan student visa stage at VFS is cheap and quick for Indians. The Certificate of Eligibility, filed in Japan, is where the time goes. An honest look at both stages. _Published: 2026-10-26 · Reading time: 5 min · Words: 1146_ ## TL;DR With a Certificate of Eligibility (COE), the Japan student visa stage in India is quick and cheap: INR 500 plus an INR 800 VFS charge and a few working days. The slow part is the COE, which a proxy in Japan applies for and which takes a standard 1 to 3 months; applying without a COE is possible but needs many documents and several months. ## Key takeaways - The visa stage is cheap: INR 500 for Indian nationals plus an INR 800 VFS service charge. - Most of the waiting happens at the COE stage in Japan: standard 1 to 3 months, no fee. - A COE does not guarantee the visa; applying without one needs many documents and can take several months. - Indicative visa times range from a minimum of 3 working days (Chennai) to 12 processing days (Pune, Ahmedabad, Goa). - MOFA publishes no refusal rate; after a refusal, the same purpose cannot be reapplied for within six months. **According to Japan's Foreign Ministry and VFS Global, the visa step is quick: with a Certificate of Eligibility (COE), Indian students pay INR 500 plus an INR 800 VFS charge, and the Embassy in New Delhi indicates at least 5 working days. The slow stage is the COE itself, issued in Japan in a standard 1 to 3 months.** ## Article The figures below are as published on the official sources, checked on 15 October 2026: Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, the Embassy of Japan in New Delhi, the Consulates-General and VFS Global's Japan centres in India. Whether it feels easy depends on which stage you look at, so this guide splits the process and is candid about where Indian students lose time. For tourist and work routes, see our Japan visa guide for Indians. ### Which part of the Japan student visa is easy, and which is hard? StageWho handles itTimeOfficial costCertificate of Eligibility (COE)A proxy in Japan applies; a regional immigration authority issues itStandard 1 to 3 monthsNo feeVisa at a VFS Japan centre in IndiaYouFrom a minimum of 3 working days to 12 processing days, by officeINR 500 visa fee + INR 800 VFS chargeStay in JapanSet by the Minister of JusticeUp to 4 years and 3 monthsNot covered hereThe visa stage is the easy part. Japan's visa fee depends on nationality and type of entry, not purpose, and Indian nationals pay INR 500 under the fee table in force from 1 July 2026. The VFS charge of INR 800 is non-refundable. The hard part is the COE stage: it happens in Japan, it takes 1 to 3 months as standard, and you depend on the proxy in Japan to file it correctly. ### Why does the Certificate of Eligibility decide so much? MOFA's student visa page treats the COE as the normal starting point. You submit the original or one copy, and an electronic COE can be shown or printed. Three facts matter for planning: - A COE does not guarantee that the visa will be issued. - Applying without a COE is possible, but MOFA says a large amount of verification documents is required and processing can take several months. - The Immigration Services Agency of Japan charges no fee for the COE. So the honest answer is this: with a COE in hand, the visa stage takes days rather than months; without one, expect a long and document-heavy process. ### What documents do VFS Japan centres ask students for? Every Japanese visa file starts with a valid passport with more than two blank pages, any old passports, a copy of the bio-data page, a completely filled and signed application form and one photo taken within the last 6 months on a white background. Photo size differs by office: 45mm x 35mm in Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata, and 2 x 2 inch in Mumbai and Chennai. Student additions vary by city: Office checklistStudent documents beyond the COEDelhi (Embassy)Language-school students: language certificate, educational certificate, and parent's or sponsor's financial documentsMumbai (CL-07, November 2025)Covering letter, original COE and one copy, copy of the admission confirmationBengaluruCovering letter, COE (original and a copy), admission confirmation letter from the Japanese university, higher qualification certificate; residence proof if the passport was issued outside KarnatakaAll photocopies must be on A4 paper, documents should follow checklist order, and nothing except the passport is returned. ### How long does each Japanese office take? Once the COE is issued, the visa stage follows the same indicative times as other Japanese visas: Deciding officeMain states coveredIndicative visa timeEmbassy of Japan, New DelhiDelhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and the north-eastern statesMinimum 5 working daysConsulate-General, MumbaiMaharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, ChhattisgarhMumbai 10; Pune, Ahmedabad and Goa 12 processing daysConsulate-General, ChennaiTamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, PuducherryMinimum 3 working daysConsulate-General, KolkataWest Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, OdishaMinimum 5 working daysConsulate-General, BengaluruKarnatakaMinimum 6 working daysAdd the COE's 1 to 3 months and the time your school needs to prepare its filing, and a sensible plan starts several months before the intake. ### Does Japan publish refusal rates for Indian students? No. MOFA publishes the number of visas issued, not refusal rates. In calendar year 2025 Japan issued 265,882 visas of all types to Indian nationals, the 4th-highest nationality and about 3% of the 7,862,060 visas issued by Japanese missions worldwide. That figure shows volume, not your odds of getting a student visa. Refusals carry a real cost. MOFA does not give the specific reason for a refusal, and a new application for the same purpose is not accepted within six months, except where circumstances have changed significantly and travel is needed on humanitarian grounds. For a student, six months can mean a missed intake. ### What makes a Japan student visa harder than it needs to be? - Applying at the wrong office. Each consulate decides applications only from residents of its jurisdiction; if your passport was issued in another state, carry address proof such as a rental agreement, utility bill or Aadhaar. - Walking in at a western-region centre. From 19 October 2026, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Goa accept Japan applications only by prior appointment. - Thin sponsor papers. Language-school files in Delhi need the parent's or sponsor's financial documents. - Starting the COE late. Its standard time is 1 to 3 months, before the visa stage even begins. Travel insurance is not a required document on the VFS or Embassy checklists, though MOFA highly recommends international travel medical insurance for any trip to Japan. COE filings happen in Japan through your school or another proxy. For the travel side of a Japan visa file, Yatra For Fun's India office in Gurugram prepares flight reservations, hotel bookings, itineraries and cover letters, from INR 1,000 for a flight reservation to INR 3,000 for the full package. WhatsApp +91 95230 91018 or talk to us. ### Frequently asked questions #### How long can an Indian student stay in Japan on a student visa? MOFA says the period of stay for a student is designated by the Minister of Justice, up to 4 years and 3 months. The exact period is set case by case. #### Is there a fee for Japan's Certificate of Eligibility? No. The Immigration Services Agency of Japan charges no fee for the COE. You pay only the INR 500 visa fee for Indian nationals and the INR 800 VFS service charge when you apply in India. #### Can I apply at any VFS Japan centre in India? No. Each Japanese mission decides applications only from residents of its jurisdiction, so apply at a centre linked to the office covering where you live. Indians living outside India apply to the Japanese embassy or consulate for their country of residence. #### Can I use the Japan eVISA for a student visa? No. The eVISA for Indian nationals covers single-entry tourism stays of up to 90 days, and even that application is submitted at a VFS Japan centre. Student visas are issued as long-term visas based on the COE. ## FAQ ### How long can an Indian student stay in Japan on a student visa? MOFA says the period of stay for a student is designated by the Minister of Justice, up to 4 years and 3 months. The exact period is set case by case. ### Is there a fee for Japan's Certificate of Eligibility? No. The Immigration Services Agency of Japan charges no fee for the COE. You pay only the INR 500 visa fee for Indian nationals and the INR 800 VFS service charge when you apply in India. ### Can I apply at any VFS Japan centre in India? No. Each Japanese mission decides applications only from residents of its jurisdiction, so apply at a centre linked to the office covering where you live. Indians living outside India apply to the Japanese embassy or consulate for their country of residence. ### Can I use the Japan eVISA for a student visa? No. The eVISA for Indian nationals covers single-entry tourism stays of up to 90 days, and even that application is submitted at a VFS Japan centre. Student visas are issued as long-term visas based on the COE. ## Sources 1. [Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan - General visa: Student](https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/long/visa6.html) — Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan 2. [Immigration Services Agency of Japan - Certificate of Eligibility application](https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/procedures/16-1.html) — Immigration Services Agency of Japan 3. [Embassy of Japan in India - Visa (fees from 1 July 2026)](https://www.in.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/Visa.html) — Embassy of Japan in India 4. [Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan - Statistics for the number of visas issued in 2025](https://www.mofa.go.jp/files/101048483.pdf) — Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan