Japan/Korea Admissions Docs: What SG Students Need (2026)
TL;DR
Transcripts, predicted grades, translations - what do Japan and Korea universities actually require from Singapore applicants? Full document checklist with what to request from your school early.
21 Jan 2026, 00:00 Z
Planning a revision session? Use our study places near me map to find libraries, community study rooms, and late-night spots.
Q: What documents do Japan/Korea universities actually want from Singapore students - and why does it feel so inconsistent?
A: Because it is inconsistent by university and programme. The high-value move is to build a clean “admissions document pack” early (transcripts + predicted grades + grading notes + identity documents), then verify the exact rules on your target programme page and email admissions only when something is unclear.
TL;DR (2 minutes) - Start with official portals to shortlist programmes, then verify documents on the programme page: - Japan: English programmes hub + school search - https://www.studyinjapan.go.jp/en/planning/learn-about-schools/english-programs/ - https://www.studyinjapan.go.jp/en/search-for-schools/school_search.php?lang=en - Korea: Study in Korea (official) planning portal - https://www.studyinkorea.go.kr/ko/plan/main.do - Build your “document pack” first. You’ll reuse it for multiple universities (and scholarships). - Don’t wait until results release to start collecting documents - that’s when schools are busiest.
Status: Last reviewed 2026-01-21. This is a planning guide. Always verify the latest document rules on the official programme/admissions pages of your target universities.
If you’re still deciding your route (degree vs language-first), start here:
1) The real goal: build one “master pack” you can reuse
Singapore students often do this the hard way:
- “I’ll only prepare documents after I decide my one university.”
That’s backwards.
Instead, build a master pack you can reuse across:
- Japan programme applications
- Korea programme applications
- scholarships (MEXT/GKS or non-government routes)
- visa paperwork later
2) Your Singapore “master admissions pack” checklist
This is a neutral checklist (not a promise every university requires every item).
A) Academic records
Prepare:
- official transcripts / report records (whatever your school issues as “official”)
