Jumping Through Hoops

When I applied for my British visa circa summer 2004 before I went to London for study abroad, I had to jump through alot of hoops:

1) $65 application fee.
2) Proof that I am going to London - i.e. acceptance letter to SOAS.
3) Proof that Fordham is letting me go to London.
4) Proof that I can travel - i.e. current passport.
5) Two passport photos.
6) Ten page application - that I had to do twice b/c I messed it up.
7) Proof that I had financial support.

And I had to wait on a line for about a half hour. Of course, the waiting time for a visa varies from consulate to consulate.

When I went to the Japanese Consulate last Thursday, I was a bit wary - all I needed was two one-page application forms filled out in duplicate with two photos glued to the top (had to use KrazyGlue as I didn't have a gluestick and almost proceeded to glue my fingers together in the process) and a current, unexpired passport. The passport part was easy - it expires in 2014, got it renewed for London - and the photos were easy, as I had a bunch lying around from a previous passport photo-taking process. And after some initial questions that were answered back in March, the application was easy peasy. A child can fill it out.

But wait - I read on the consulate's site that I need a Certificate of Eligibilty?

1) WTF is that?
2) The Consulate DID NOT tell me anything regarding to it when they sent me the application for the visa! So I have no clue what MOFA is talking about.

That was my reaction to the visa lady at the consulate. And I said that YOU - YEAH YOU, the consulate people - only sent me the application with the instructions to fill it out and return it with my passport and two photos. So there!

I still don't know what that Certificate of Eligibility is. I have heard of it but I have no clue.

So the woman says to sit down and wait, takes my application and passport and returns to the window with a Japanese guy. They pore over my application and another form with a blue highlighter and I go back up to the window - turns out that they were filling out this form in Japanese to specify what visa I need (Ryuu-gakusei, study abroad student) and for how long (2-nen, two years).

So I surmised the following - either I didn't need that stupid certificate, or that either MOFA or MEXT had it ready for me when I got the Monbusho - the woman told me that I had to write a letter to Tokyo! In the words of Cher Horowitz: "As if!" You didn't tell me I had to do it in the first place, so that's your issue and not mine.

I don't have to pay for the visa, which is a good thing. Visas are expensive. However, there is a teeny little catch: my visa says that it is multiple re-entry, meaning I can go out of the country. My British visa said that too, so I had no problem going back in and out. Right?

WRONG!

According to a helpful and informative member of my forum, the "multiple re-entry" qualification does not mean that I can go in and out as I please. It means that I have PERMISSION to go in an out as I please. If I want to leave Japan, I need to get a "re-entry permit" on top of the visa. If I don't have that sticker on my visa, I have to give in my AR card at the airport and have to go through the visa process from scratch.

And this is where they get you with the fees - it is 30,000 yen (about $30) - for a single re-entry permit and 60,000 yen (about $60) for a multiple re-entry permit (which is valid for 6 months).

Sneaky, sneaky. In my opinion, I would rather prefer the way the British do it - make me jump through the hoops in my home country where I know what the heck I am doing, rather than jump through hoops in another country, where I am paranoid about making a mistake.

Let's hope the forms have an English version.

I pick up my passport tomorrow.