Japan is the largest destination for Nepali students, with 34,731 No Objection Certificates issued in FY 2080/81 — more than Canada and Australia combined. It is also served by a different industry from the Western destinations.
Japan issued 34,731 certificates in FY 2080/81 against 21,658 the year before. Over the same period Australia fell from 33,991 to 14,372 after Nepal was moved to Assessment Level 3, and Canada cut approvals by more than half under its study-permit cap. Japan absorbed much of that displaced demand. There were 64,816 Nepali students in Japan in 2024, the second-largest nationality after China.
Japan is served mainly by Japanese language schools teaching JLPT, NAT, JLCT and the SSW-JFT route, clustered around Bagbazar in Kathmandu rather than the general consultancy strips. A firm whose record is in Australian or Canadian applications is often not the right choice here. Compare Japan providers.
A study route places you in a language school, vocational college or university on a student visa. Specified Skilled Worker is a labour route with a different visa, different testing and a different long-term path. Both are legitimate and they are not interchangeable. A provider should be explicit about which one it is selling you.
Ask which JLPT level the course actually takes you to, which schools in Japan the provider places with, and whether the language course fee is separate from the service fee. Then check the provider’s licence on our verification tool.
Japan received 34,731 No Objection Certificates in FY 2080/81, the highest of any destination. There were 64,816 Nepali students in Japan in 2024.
Language schools generally expect study toward N5 as a minimum, and many university and vocational routes look for N4 or N3. Ask any provider which level their course takes you to.
No. SSW is a labour route with a different visa and a different long-term path.