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Check your visa

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Do you need a student visa?

Choose your passport country, class hours and course length to see the guidance for your course.

Showing guidance for a Japan passport holder considering 25 class hours per week for 24 weeks.

  1. 1

    A passport from a Visa Waiver Program country does not establish personal eligibility. Other entry routes and nationality exceptions also exist.

  2. 2

    United States

    This directory lists US programs only. Other countries have different rules. Compare country guidance

  3. 3
    25hours per weekCourse hours

    Get the actual instructional hours from the school. Fewer hours do not automatically make a course recreational or permit study as a visitor.

  4. 4
Individual review needed

Your course alone exceeds the VWP stay limit

Language training generally requires the student route. The visitor exception is limited to a short recreational, non-credit course during a tourist visit. Your selections do not establish whether that exception applies.

  • Ask the school whether this specific course requires F-1 status and a Form I-20.
  • Confirm your purpose of travel, course credit and immigration circumstances with the relevant consulate before paying or booking.
  • Ask the designated school official whether this schedule meets the full-course requirements for your program. Do not reduce hours to try to qualify as a visitor.
  • The Visa Waiver Program permits stays of up to 90 days. A B-2 visa is not an automatic alternative for a longer course.
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This tool is general guidance based on published rules, not legal advice. Always confirm with the school and relevant embassy or consulate before booking travel.

Sources checked 2026-09-10: Department of State student guidance / Visa Waiver Program requirements

More Japan planning examples

Compare other class-hour and course-length combinations. These examples organize questions to confirm; they do not determine personal eligibility.