What will happen if I cannot sign for the scholarship?

SUMMARY

• 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.

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.

If you cannot make any of the deadlines, the best thing to do is to contact your office and notify them. While the consequence will still be the same (no allowance for that month), they will tell you in case there are any other procedures and avoid getting an unexpected call in case they cannot reach you. If you fail to sign for repeated months, you should also tell them, as the office may worry about your status.

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.