How to Fill the Japan COE Application Form, Line by Line

Last August a student walked into our Uttara Badda office holding two pages of a handwritten form and a red pen. "Sir, I've filled it already — I just need your signature." I looked at it: his name was spelled differently from his passport, his address listed the village but skipped the post office, and his date of birth was written the Bangladeshi way instead of the Japanese format. That one form pushed his intake back by six weeks.

So let me walk you through the COE form line by line. First, what COE actually means: Certificate of Eligibility. It's not a visa. It's the clearance Japan's immigration gives your school, and once you have it, you take it to the embassy in Dhaka for the actual visa stamp.

Before you start: which form, and who fills it

Applying from Bangladesh, you'll usually get two forms together — the Application for Certificate of Eligibility and the school's own 入学願書 (Admission Application). They ask for almost the same information, so write everything out on a scratch sheet first.

You can fill the COE form in English or Japanese, but Japanese is easier for the immigration officer to process. Don't panic if you don't read Japanese yet. If you're thinking about studying abroad after HSC, Japan is one of the few places where you can study abroad without IELTS — you just need JLPT N5 level or equivalent preparation.

• Every line you write must be backed by a document you can show — passport, NID, mark sheets.
• Write in block capitals, blue or black pen.
• If you make a mistake, start on a fresh form. Correction fluid or crossed-out text can get the form rejected.

Line by line: page one

1. Nationality / 国籍

Write Bangladesh or バングラデシュ. Not "Bangladeshi" — that's the single most common error I see.

2. Date of birth / 生年月日

Use the Japanese order: year, then month, then day. Born 8 August 2004 becomes 2004 / 08 / 08. It must match your passport exactly.

3. Sex / 性別

Just M or F.

4. Name / 氏名

Exactly as printed in your passport. Surname first, given name after — like RAHMAN, MD SAKIB. No nicknames, no extra spaces.

5. Address in your country / 本国の住所

This is your Bangladesh address. House or road number, area, thana, district, postcode — all of it. My advice: match it to your NID, because immigration does occasionally verify.

6. Occupation / 職業

If you're a student, write Student or 学生. Nothing else.

Line by line: the school and course section

From here the questions are about your school. Skim this section before you even choose a school — it tells you what information each school will ask for.

• Name of school: the official name, in Japanese if available. E.g. Tokyo Central Japanese Language School.
• Course name and duration: something like "College Preparatory Course, 2 years".
• Proposed date of entry: usually the April or October intake.
• JLPT level: your most recent passed level. Haven't passed N5? Don't leave it blank — write "Studying, N5 expected July".

7. Guarantor / 身元保証人

Usually the school principal signs this box, not you. But the section below is yours — the financial sponsor, the person paying.

8. Sponsor details

Your father or mother — whoever's bank statement you're submitting. Name, date of birth, address, phone. Relationship goes as Father or Mother.

9. Sponsor's income and savings

The number here must match your bank certificate. As of 2025, language schools generally want to see around 18–20 lakh yen in savings — roughly 14–16 lakh taka, but the exchange rate moves, so check the current rate yourself.

One thing: income and savings are separate boxes. Plenty of students write the savings figure in the income box, and then immigration cross-checks the bank papers and starts asking questions.

The mistakes that get forms sent back

I review 40–50 forms every intake. These come up almost monthly:

• Name spelled differently from the passport — Hussain versus Hossain.
• Date of birth written day-first instead of year-first.
• Postcode left out of the address.
• Form sent without signature and date — in Japan, an undated document is an incomplete document.
• An old bank statement — usually the last 3–6 months are expected.

And one more: students hunting for a low-cost study abroad option sometimes pick the cheapest school, then can't explain clearly on the form where the deposit money came from. Write it in one line — land sale, business income, father's savings. Whatever it is, say it.

What you can do this week

Before you sit down with the form, finish three things. First, photocopy your passport and NID and keep them beside you. Second, download the latest version of the form from your school — these forms change year to year. Third, collect the certificate and statement from your bank. With those three in hand, filling the form takes under an hour.

For the bigger picture on choosing a school and course, read our COE guide and the visa document checklist. Starting Japanese early? The JLPT guide will help.

I counsel students at Inochi Global Education Institute's North Badda, Dhaka office on Pragati Sarani — about 13 minutes from the Japan Embassy. Once your COE form is filled, bring it in and I'll check it line by line with you before you sign anything. Our Dhaka office details are here, and if you want to talk through the whole Japan plan, have a look at our study in Japan service.