- There are two monthly deadlines for signing each month. Even if you fail the first one, as long as you sign by the second, your allowance will just be delayed.
- Failing to sign for either the two deadlines will result in no allowance for that month.
- Repeated lack of signature should be notified beforehand to your office.
Written by: Pedro Couteiro
As MEXT scholars, we all must sign for our scholarship monthly at our universities, which is also generally called the Confirmation of Presence. This confirmation shows that yes, we are in Japan and in our universities, and thus eligible to receive the monthly allowance.
But depending on your scholarship you are going to spend several years in Japan and it is natural that one might want to travel back home for longer periods or have other projects that might clash with the scholarship deadlines. In those cases, sooner or later we end asking ourselves, what happens if I don’t sign for it?
How to sign for your scholarship
Before anything else, let’s clarify the signing process. Every month there are two deadlines for signing. The calendar for that is by no means steady and is decided yearly, so you need to get yours with your university. The first deadline is usually in the beginning of the month while the second is by the very end of it. In principle, we are all supposed to sign until the first deadline, but in case you can only make it to the second, the only consequence is that instead of receiving the allowance by the end of the current month, you will get it by the middle of the following month.
What happens if you miss the deadline?
In case you miss both deadlines, it still happens that the month ends and you haven’t signed, you will get no allowance, simple as that. Wait until the next month.
In some extreme cases, one might fail to sign for more than one month in a row. How repeated failure to sign is handled depends on the university, but in the very worst case this could lead to scholarship termination.
So, if you really need to do so, please be sure to discuss any difficulties regarding the scholarship signing with your school’s in charge beforehand. Given proper reasons, applications to MEXT can be done through the office and penalties other than not receiving the allowance money can be avoided.
(Image taken from flickr.com (2017/10/06))
These guide articles are meant to be advice based on the experience of current and previous scholars. Given how situations may change depending on the school, region or year etc., we urge any scholars to approach the relevant authorities in your school if you have any doubts or concerns.