MOST Overseas Scholarship Guide (3): Pre-Departure Preparations — NTU to Kyoto University

The timing of the results announcement varies each year — I waited until November 29th, which was agonizing.

Let me first say a word about not being awarded. If you don’t receive the grant, you can still choose to visit the overseas institution that already agreed to host you — but you’ll need to look into other funding sources or prepare sufficient personal funds. Whatever the outcome, please write to the domestic and overseas professors who wrote letters for you, thanking them for their support and letting them know your plans going forward.

If you did get the grant — congratulations, truly!

In recent years, MOST has been actively organizing orientation events for awardees. If there’s one in your cycle, try to attend — you’ll meet fellow awardees and seniors who went before you, and their firsthand experience on visas and daily life abroad will be invaluable.

My experience: I applied in 2017 from the NTU Graduate Institute of Linguistics and departed for Kyoto University, Japan in 2018. Below I’ll walk through the process from both sides — overseas and domestic.

Overseas: Kyoto University, Japan

This section covers applying to go to Kyoto University specifically; some parts may also be helpful for others heading to Japan. If you’re going to the U.S., you can check out senior labmate Zhang Yuyun’s write-up on ROGIL.

Reconnect with Your Overseas Professor and Confirm the Details

Given how long the gap is between submitting your application and hearing the results, if you haven’t been in contact with your overseas professor during that time, reach out as soon as you receive the award. Use the same email thread from before (so the message doesn’t get buried), explain that you’ve received the funding, thank them for their earlier support, and confirm the key logistical details. A few critical things to address in that email:

• Research period: Academic calendars vary by country, and professors generally prefer you to align with their institution’s semester dates for administrative ease. In Japan, the academic year starts in April, so my professor suggested I arrive in April. In the US, it’s typically August or January. Discuss with your professor when the timing makes the most sense — and don’t let it exceed the 千里馬 maximum duration.

• Status and visa: The visa process is where things get complicated, and every country is different. If you know seniors who went to the same country, talk to them first. Also ask your professor about this directly.

  In my case, the Kyoto University professor’s initial offer was to sponsor me as a “Special Research Student” — but that status requires paying monthly tuition (¥29,700/month). Fortunately, seniors who had been through this before (I had already joined a Kyoto University international student group) clued me in that there was a better option:
  [Student status] Enter Kyoto University as a 外国人共同研究者 (Foreign Co-Researcher)
  [Visa type] Enter Japan on a Cultural Activities residence card
  If your professor has handled this before, they can move quickly. In my case, I provided the professor with documentation and experience reports from previous seniors, and the professor then submitted the application to the Kyoto University administrative office. It eventually worked out!
  Tip: when applying for your residence permit, try to get it issued for slightly longer than your actual stay — for example, if you’re going for one year, ask if you can get a year and two months. This gives you extra buffer time to settle in and handle the move.

• Housing: It’s worth asking your professor about accommodation too. Given the close working relationship you’ll have with the lab, you may be eligible to apply for on-campus housing. Kyoto University, for example, has dormitories available — but the application needs to be submitted through your professor.

• What you’re expected to do: What are you actually doing at the lab? How often should you be there? Are there deliverables expected before you leave?

Once all of these points are sorted with your professor, the administrative process will gradually kick in. These procedures typically take at least one to two months, so start as early as possible. Don’t set your departure date too tight — bureaucracy always takes longer than you think.

Applying for Status at Kyoto University: Certificate of Eligibility (在留資格認定証明書)

After confirming with my professor that I could enter as a Foreign Co-Researcher (2016/01/14), ten days later the visa application form finally came through — emailed directly from the Kyoto University International Service Office, with a link to fill in the required information. One item that required special attention:

Financial support certificate — e.g., scholarship, evidence of bank balance

At this stage, you can download a financial proof certificate from the MOST website to show that you’ll have government funding during your stay.

After submitting the application, if you don’t hear back within a reasonable time, follow up with the school’s administrative office. Once the university sends the documents to the Japanese consulate office, the Certificate of Eligibility (在留資格認定証明書) will be express-mailed directly to Taiwan (usually arrives in about two days). Once you receive it, scan the QR code to notify Kyoto University that you’ve received it — then it’s time to handle the Taiwan-side paperwork.

Domestic (1): Japan Visa Application

Once you’ve received the documents from Japan, you’ll need to visit the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association to apply for your visa. There are offices in both Taipei and Kaohsiung:

Taipei Office: 28 Qingcheng Street, Songshan District, Taipei 105
Kaohsiung Office: 9F–10F, 87 Heping 1st Road, Lingya District, Kaohsiung 802

I was based in Kaohsiung at the time, so the following is based on the Kaohsiung office — Taipei should be largely the same.

Once you’ve gathered all your visa documents (note: you must bring the original Certificate of Eligibility — no exceptions), you can walk in without an appointment. A staff member at the entrance will carefully verify that all your documents are in order and walk you through how to fill out the application form. After completing the form, take a number and submit everything at the counter. The staff will tell you when your visa will be ready (at least one business day) — you’ll also need to leave your passport there. Come back at the designated time to pick up your visa; fees are collected based on your status and destination.

And that’s it — you’re cleared to go to Japan!

Domestic (2): National Taiwan University

Once the visa is sorted, you still need to handle your enrollment status back at NTU.

Good news: you can take a leave of absence (休學) during the 千里馬 period. While you need to be enrolled at the time of application, the funding comes from a separate source, so there’s no strict requirement to maintain enrollment status during your time abroad — as long as your overseas institution agrees. You’ll want to weigh the pros and cons of a leave of absence vs. remaining enrolled (male students also need to consider military service implications).

Leave of Absence / Reduced Tuition

As mentioned above, your options during the funded period are:

Reduced tuition (學雜費減免): Tuition can be reduced to 1/4, but this applies only for a complete semester — I didn’t qualify because I left in April, mid-semester, so the reduction wasn’t available to me. Q_Q
Leave of absence (休學): Make sure taking a leave won’t push you past your program’s maximum enrollment period. Male students who haven’t completed military service should pay particular attention to conscription implications. Ask your administrative office for specifics.

Dormitory

If your overseas housing happens to align neatly with your home institution’s semester calendar, this isn’t an issue. But Japan’s April start date created complications for my NTU dormitory situation.

Here’s what I learned about the 太子水源BOT dorm specifically, since policies vary by status:
Exchange students: You can apply for a “dormitory hold” — your deposit is refunded and your current housing slot is preserved.
Students on leave of absence: In principle, you cannot hold your dormitory spot and will not get your deposit back. The dorm management doesn’t care why you’re taking leave.

After a lot of back-and-forth with the housing office, I found a workaround: apply for the reduced tuition status to maintain enrollment, then apply for the dormitory hold. In practice, I first initiated the exchange student procedures, applied for the dormitory hold and deposit refund at 太子, and then filed for a leave of absence. This let me handle both sides cleanly.

Signing the Contract and Receiving the Grant

After dealing with enrollment and housing, the most important step remains: signing the contract and receiving your funding. NTU will provide the contract, and you’ll need to attach:

1. One copy of the overseas institution’s acceptance letter (the same one from your 千里馬 application — but for the US you’ll also need your J-1 visa; for Japan, the visa is required too)
2. Five original copies of the contract: you need two guarantors, each of whom must provide proof of identity (non-NTU faculty must provide income documentation), and everyone must sign and stamp
3. Budget approval list: already provided
4. Official document cover: already provided
5. Application form: already provided

Once everything is ready, bring it to the 研教組 (Research and Education Division). They’ll give you a workflow sheet explaining how to route the documents through the university. The paperwork then goes up to MOST; once MOST sends back their response, return to your department office and they’ll walk you through how to actually receive the funds.

From signing the contract to receiving the money takes at least a week or more. The process is a bit convoluted — try to handle it in person as much as possible so you can track progress. My timing was so tight that I had to ask a junior labmate to help with the final steps (bless her). So the sooner your visa comes through, the sooner you should start this process.

I’ve kept this section fairly brief since the administrative staff at your school are really your best resource here — don’t hesitate to ask them directly.

Once everything is done, buy your plane ticket and go!

I genuinely believe that despite all the hassle, these seven months to a year will be one of the most valuable experiences of your entire PhD journey. Feel free to leave a comment with any questions — and if you’re a fellow 千里馬 awardee with experience to share, please do! Wishing everyone smooth sailing. 🙂

Thanks for reading :D

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