Job Discussion Forums

[JGreen]

I just want to hear how everyone transports their original diploma to japan in order to get the working visa. My degree is on the wall in a glass frame and I don't feel good about folding it up and sticking into my backpack. As far as I know, they are not easily replaceable. Is that what they want to see at customs in Japan? Am I missing something

[JimDunlop2]

Both Korea and Japan want original documents when it comes to visa applications. I forget what the rules really are now, but you MAY be able to get away with a notarized copy or ORIGINAL transcripts.

Myself, I requested a replacement parchment from my school. They asked me why and I lied and told them that it was lost in a move or burned in a fire. I forget which lie I used now....

Nevertheless. is cost me about $70 and a week later I had a second original which I "put in my backpack" and left my other original hanging on the wall.

I also took some original transcripts with me. My school offers those free of charge as long as you aren't having them mailed to you.

JD

[mrAndrew]

I was informed by the Aeon recruiter that the Japanese gov. is looking to see that your passport and degree match to the letter. In the case that say...your middle name is a initial and your degree has the whole name you need " a letter of graduation" which my school provided to me for free and I had it in the mail the next day. When you apply for a job in the states and a college degree is a required, they(the employer) request this document from your school. My understanding is that a letter of graduation and a passport which has matching names( to the letter) will be ok. Good luck

[Glenski]

Obviously, you are not going to transport the frame and glass cover. Put the degree in a reasonably hard plastic or cardboard supported envelope or folder and put it in the backpack. It's not that large a diploma or that small a backpack, is it? After all, you aren't thinking of coming to Japan with just one bag, are you?

If it's not the problem of damaging it in transit that bothers you, but the potential for losing it, then order another copy from your university, or have a set of transcripts notarized. Both are cheap to do.

[G Cthulhu]

Don't know about how anal other countries are, but Japan accepts an original matriculation and graduation letter/statement from your uni on letterhead, along with a certified photocopy of the degree certificate itself. Your uni should give out the matriculation/graduation confirmation letters for free. (Or NZ$28 each if you come from NZ <muttermutter>) You don't need to cart the degree certificate itself around.

[JGreen]

Thanks.

G Cthulhu - The Letter of graduation sounds like the way to go. What do you mean by 'certified' photocopy of the degree though? Certified by the Japanese Embassy, the school, or a notorary?

Glenski - certainly leaving the frame and glass at home, but the degree is not getting inside my bag without being folded - and it really seems that a degree is more of an item of decoration than practical proof of graduation.

[Shonai Ben]

If I may add my experience here.
I got certified copies of my degree from my university and at no charge.
I mailed them to my employer in Japan and they in turn passed them onto immigration.
No problems whatsoever.
Try asking your university to do the same thing.
Good luck.

[Glenski]

JGreen,

[G Cthulhu]

[TokyoLiz]

Some sheepskins are rediculously huge. McGill Univ in Canada used to hand the degree to their students in a poster tube.

Maybe that's the way to go, is a poster tube if your degree is terribly large. I'm lucky, Univ of British Columbia has letter-size degree certificates that easily fit in a folder. Mine has survived three or four trips across the Pacific with little sign of wear and tear.

In Japan, everybody depends on menkyo, certification, to demonstrate that they've gone the distance. A degree from a foreign university is treated with the same respect as a passport or karate degree. That's the culture here.