The TranSenz Guide to Applying for a Certificate of Eligibility and Spouse Visa for Japan
This guide is a follow-up to our guide to Getting Legally Married in Japan and is based on a translation of Sawa’s original article, 国際結婚手続き 配偶者ビザ編.
An updated version of this guide, including step-by-step instructions, translations and annotations of all required materials, and sample forms is now available for purchase in your choice of ebook formats.
I wrote this guide based on my own experience. Sawa and I were living together in Bangkok, Thailand when we decided to move back to Japan so we had to rely heavily on my parents-in-law in Japan for assistance. You will need someone in Japan to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility (CoE) on your behalf- whether that be family or an attorney. I will walk you through what that person needs to do as much as possible.
Difference Between Certificate of Eligibility and Visa
Even though the title of this article says “Spouse Visa,” the first and most difficult step is acquiring the “Certificate of Eligibility,” (CoE) or 在留資格認定証明書 (zairyu shikaku nintei shomeisho). The CoE takes anywhere from 1-3 months to acquire. Once you have it in hand, applying for your visa takes about one week.
A CoE is essentially a mandatory prerequisite to applying for your visa, no matter what type of visa you want. It is technically possible to apply for a visa without a CoE, but you will have to submit all of the same documents that you would submit for the CoE, plus a convincing explanation as to why you couldn’t apply for the CoE first. In this case, you are basically applying for both CoE and visa simultaneously but, since the CoE process is conducted only in Japan, all of your documents will have to be mailed back and forth, lengthening your application process significantly especially if there are any mistakes in your application.
The Immigration Bureau has Certificate of Eligibility application instructions on its website, but we learned during application that the instructions in English and the instructions in Japanese are, in fact, vastly different in specificity. If you follow only the English procedures, you’ll likely wind up in months of tsuika shorui (追加書類) hell. Tsuika shorui means submitting additional documents and accounts for the reason the process takes 1 to 3 months: One month if you follow the Japanese directions (or my translation, below). Three months if you content yourself with the English explanation and then submit supplemental documents, one-by-one.
Certificate of Eligibility Application Documents (English and Japanese)
| English List | Japanese List | Japanese list translation |
|---|---|---|
| Application form 1 copy | 在留資格認定証明書交付申請書 [PDF] 1通 or 在留資格認定証明書交付申請書 [Excel] |
(same) |
| Photos (4cm×3cm) 1 copy (The photos must be clear enough without background, must be taken within 6 months before the application procedure and cover upper body with uncovered head.) | 写真（縦４cm×横３cm） １葉 ※ 申請前６か月以内に正面から撮影された無帽，無背景で鮮明なもの。 ※ 写真の裏面に申請人の氏名を記載し，申請書の写真欄に貼付して下さい。 |
Photos (4cm×3cm) 1 copy *The photos must be clear enough without background, must be taken within 6 months before the application procedure and cover upper body with uncovered head. *Write applicant’s name on the reverse of the photo and paste it to the appropriate place on the application. |
| A return-mail envelope affixed with stamp(s) worth 392 yen (for the recorded delivery purpose) | 392円切手（簡易書留用）を貼付した返信用封筒 ※ 返信用封筒には，あらかじめ宛先を記載して下さい。 |
Return-mail envelope with a 392 yen stamp (for registered mail) *Return address should be clearly written on the envelope (Note: this is for domestic post, within Japan) |
| Documents certifying that the person concerned is a spouse of the Japanese national and the copy of his or her resident card. | 配偶者（日本人）の方の戸籍謄本 １通 ※ 戸籍謄本に，婚姻事実の記載がない場合には，戸籍謄本に加え婚姻届出受理証明書の提出をしていただきます。 ※ 発行日から３か月以内のものを提出して下さい。 |
Japanese spouse’s Koseki Tohon 1 copy *If the marriage is not recorded in the Koseki Tohon, then a Certificate of Acceptance of Application for Marriage must additionally be submitted. *Documents must be issued within three months of the application. |
| 日本人の方の世帯全員の記載のある住民票の写し １通 ※ 発行日から３か月以内のものを提出して下さい。 |
Residence Registration Certificate (Juminhyo) of the Japanese spouse, showing all family members. *Documents must be issued within three months of the application |
|
| Documents certifying that the profession and the income of the person concerned or his or her spouse. | 配偶者（日本人）の住民税の納税証明書（１年間の総収入、課税額及び納税額が記載されたもの。） １通 ※ ただし、納税証明書に総収入、課税額及び納税額の記載がない場合は、課税証明書及び納税証明書の提出をしていただきます。 ※ 発行日から３か月以内のものを提出して下さい。 |
Japanese Spouse’s Certificate of Receipt of Juminzei (Residence Tax) Payment, that shows both the amount of tax and amount of payment for one entire year, 1 copy. *If the Residence Tax certificate does not show both the amount of tax and the amount of payment received, then separate certificates of taxation and of payment must be submitted *Documents must be issued within three months of application. |
| A letter of guarantee by the person living in Japan. (PDF) | 配偶者（日本人）の身元保証書 １通 ※ 身元保証人には，日本に居住する配偶者(日本人)になっていただきます。 |
Letter of Guarantee written by the Japanese Spouse. *This letter must be filled out by the spouse if they are residing in Japan |
| A document that proves the status (if a legal representative or agent submits the application form on behalf of the applicant) | 代理人の身分を証する文書等 | Documents proving the identity and validity of the proxy, if necessary. |
| (No instructions provided in English) | 申請人の国籍国（外国）の機関から発行された結婚証明書 １通 ※ 申請人の方が，韓国籍等で，戸籍謄本が発行される場合には，お二方の婚姻が記載された外国機関発行の戸籍謄本の提出でも差し支えありません。 |
Wedding Certificate issued by the foreign spouse’s country, 1 copy *If the applicant’s country also issues family registers (e.g. Korea), then a copy of the family register showing the marriage may be submitted instead. |
| 質問書[PDF] １通 | Questionnaire Form | |
| スナップ写真（夫婦で写っており，容姿がはっきり確認できるもの）２~３葉 | Snapshots of the husband and wife together that clearly indicate married relationship, 2-3 photos |
This chart is meant to show that, while the English site’s general descriptions give the false impression that a wide range of documents might be acceptable, they are in fact looking for very specific proofs- proofs that would not be immediately obvious to anyone who hasn’t done this before. I will go over each of these requirements in more detail below.
One more piece of advice on turning in documents: If you require an exception to a particular condition- for example, your spouse does not have proof of residence tax payment because s/he is not employed in Japan, call the immigration bureau nearest your spouse’s hometown ahead of time to confirm what would be accepted as an alternative. Also, tell your representative in Japan to insist on turning in every document that you have prepared. The person at the desk may say that they are not all necessary, but our experience is that the person who told us that was wrong. If you have been told at any point (over the phone, etc.), or remotely suspect, that a particular document is necessary, turn it in, regardless of the desk worker’s protests. In our case, a document that was determined to be “unnecessary” at the desk, was requested by phone less than 24 hours later. Our parents, who had driven over an hour each way to the Immigration Bureau the day before had to drive back to turn it in again.
Applying for a CoE When Husband and Wife are Both Overseas
It’s easier to apply for the CoE if your Japanese spouse is working in Japan and has an established record of working there. But, if that were your case, you probably wouldn’t need this guide. If both you and your Japanese spouse are working overseas or if your Japanese spouse is in Japan but not working, the process requires a few extra steps, and a lot of mail between you and your representatives in Japan.
If your Japanese spouse is also working overseas, s/he will not have a current Juminzei and will not be able to fill in the letter of guarantee. You will also need a proxy applicant. According to the Immigration Office’s website, family members of either spouse who are legally resident in Japan can serve as the proxy. If you do not have family members in Japan, then a person with a letter of attorney or a legal scrivener can apply on your behalf.
Before You Apply: Are You Changing your Name?
If, following your marriage, either partner wants to change their legal name, do so before continuing with the CoE process (and make sure to update your name in the Japanese spouse’s Koseki!), so that you have the same legal name throughout your paperwork. Since we were moving to Japan, I decided to adopt my wife’s Japanese name. Laws on name changes vary by country (and US State), but I was able to change mine with no more documentation than a certified translation of our wedding certificate.
Important: If you change to a Japanese last name, know that you are not legally allowed to use kanji to write your name. You must continue write your name in English letters! I screwed this up and it has caused me no end of trouble.
Application Documents in Detail
Attention to detail and accuracy are absolutely critical in Japan, whether you’re applying for a CoE, college admission, or a job at Seven Eleven, so be extremely careful! Careless errors will lead to delays or possibly rejection of your application. Fill in forms digitally when possible. If using a pen, make sure it is a black, ball-point pen, and write in all capital letters. Forms will be rejected over the use of blue pen. To make corrections, do not use correction fluid. Draw a double line through the mistake and write the correction above it.
Documents below are listed in the order that they appear on the Japanese checklist. Japanese bureaucrats like it when documents are submitted in order, with multi-page documents joined by paperclips, not staples. (The first thing anyone will have to do with your document is to remove the staples to make photocopies, and careless staple removal may physically damage your application. I’ve seen it happen.)
1. Application for Certificate of Eligibility
Download from: the Immigration Bureau website. Be careful, as there are different forms for different visa types!
Notes for completing the application:
- The “Regional Immigration Bureau” is the regional HQ, not the branch office to at which you plan to apply. For example of your representative in Japan will apply in Kyoto, the regional bureau is Osaka. You can find a list of the regions and their offices on the Immigration Bureau website.
- “Nationality” in Japan means “country of nationality”. For example, “America” is correct, “American” is not. Your application is not going to get rejected over this, though.
- “Name”: Refer to the line near the bottom of the information page of your passport. You should see a code like: P<USATRANSENZ<<TRAVIS<TARO<<<. Ignore the three-letter country code (USA in the example) and write your name in the exact order it appears. Everything before the double < is your “last name” and everything after it is your “first name.” Japan considers middle names to be part of your first name.
Vietnamese applicants: Write your name in this order, even if the last name in the list is your “first name.”
Thai applicants: The “last name” field in your passport may show Mr. or Miss, but do not write that as part of your name! - “Place of Birth” and “Hometown”: If these appear in your passport, then what you write in the application must match the passport. Otherwise, write the name of the city and country.
- “Occupation” should be your job before emigrating to Japan, regardless of your intended profession once you enter the country.
- “Address in Japan” and phone numbers: Enter the address of the person who is applying on your behalf (with their concurrence, of course).
- “Accompanying Persons”: Write the number and their relationship. (i.e. Wife and 2 children, total 3 persons.) If you have none, write “None”
- “Family in Japan”: It is only necessary to enter your wife or children if they are already in Japan. If you have no immediate family in Japan, write “none.”
- If you got married under Japanese law, like we did, you may not have had to register your marriage legally in your home country. Leave question 22(2) blank.
- Fill in Section 27 with your proxy’s information and have them sign. Section 28 is only necessary if you’re having a lawyer, etc., file for you.
2. Japanese spouse’s Koseki Tohon
If you were married outside of Japan and your marriage has not been entered in your Japanese spouse’s Koseki, you will need both the Koseki and a Wedding Certificate (with translation, if the certificate is not Japanese). The Koseki will have to be acquired from your spouse’s hometown city hall and the wedding certificate from wherever you legally registered your wedding.
These documents are there to prove your relationship to your spouse. Even if your marriage is not recorded in the Koseki Tohon, you still have to submit it. . . in order to prove that your marriage is not recorded therein, otherwise your alternative documentation might not be accepted. Yes, this is as ridiculous as it sounds.
3. Wedding Certificate issued by Foreign Applicant’s home country
If you are from a country that has a similar family register system (e.g. Korea), then a Koseki-equivalent, that shows the marriage will also suffice.
If you were married under Japanese law and are from a country that doesn’t issue any certification for marriages conducted under foreign law (such as the US), write a note titled “Foreign Wedding Certificate” and explain in one-to-two sentences that your country does not issue them. Have your spouse translate this into Japanese and sign it.
4. Japanese Spouse’s Certificate of Juminzei (Residence Tax) Payment
This serves as the “Proof of occupation and income.” Specifically, Immigration is looking for proof of employment (sufficient funds to support your lifestyle) in Japan. Tax records overseas aren’t sufficient here, since it’s assumed that overseas employment will no longer be valid once you’re living in Japan. If both spouses lack employment records in Japan, you will need a Japanese sponsor, such as a parent-in-law, to submit their Juminzei and act as your sponsor (this person incurs additional paperwork responsibilities, too, including your Letter of Guarantee).
If neither you or your spouse have income in Japan, and you have no family in Japan to provide this certificate on your behalf, contact the Immigration Bureau directly to find out what to submit.
For maximum coverage, you could also submit your overseas employment records, accompanied by an explanation of exchange rates and what the same/ similar job would pay in Japan (we did). However, submitting these documents alone will not be sufficient.
Juminzei records are issued in June and refer to the 12-month period that ended with the preceding December, so you/your spouse would have to be employed full-time in Japan a minimum of 18 months, if you timed it perfectly, in order to have a report that covered one full year. In some cases, a Certificate of Employment (在職証明書, Zaishoku Shomeisho) and Tax and withholdings report (源泉徴収票, Gensenchoshuhyo) may be an acceptable substitute. As always, make sure you get approval for substitutes before trying to submit your package.
5. Letter of Guarantee written by the Japanese Spouse
Even though it clearly says “written by the Japanese Spouse,” the spouse is ineligible to fill out the letter if they are not living in Japan. The Letter of Guarantee must be written by a Japanese citizen who is working inside the country. Generally speaking, whoever submitted the Juminzei for your application should also fill out this letter.
6. Residence Certificate (Juminhyo) of the Japanese spouse, showing all family members
If your Japanese spouse is not residing in Japan, they will not be able to get a Residence Certificate, so you will need to submit the Juminhyo for whoever provided documents 3 and 4, above. At this point, you may want to also consider getting this person a thank-you gift.
7. Questionnaire Form
Get ready for an invasion of privacy unlike anything you have experienced outside of a counterintelligence interrogation cell. This sneaky form doesn’t show up on the English checklist, and does not appear to exist in English. It has to be filled out in Japanese, so you’ll likely be turning to your spouse to fill it out.
According to the instructions at the top of the form, this is an important form for consideration of your application, all answers should be as detailed as possible, and any falsehoods will result in the rejection of your application for a COE.
The foreigner is the “Applicant” (申請者 , shinseisha) and the Japanese Spouse is the “Spouse” (配偶者, haigusha). Here is the information you will need to enter:
- Applicant’s nationality, name, and sex.
Spouse’s name with furigana, nationality, address, phone number, household members
Spouse’s type of housing (owned/rented), monthly rent, and number of rooms (in LDK format)
Spouse’s employer (including address and phone), position, and date he/she started working there.
*In this case, fill out the spouse’s information, regardless of whose documents you turned in for 3-5, above. - When, where, and how you first met and a detailed explanation of your relationship up to the date of your marriage. Include dates and be as detailed as possible. You may attach additional sheets, as necessary, and may also attach photos, letters, and international phone bills to verify your statements. (We did not attach any of the latter).
Were you formally introduced (matching service, etc.)? If applicable, enter all of the following:
Nationality, name, sex, birthday, address, phone number, residence card number of your match-maker
Date, location, and method of your formal matching introduction
Relationship between the applicant and the matchmaker as well as the relationship between the spouse and the matchmaker, in detail. Writing “friend” or “work colleague,” is not sufficient. - What language do you use in your home?
What are the applicant’s and spouse’s native languages?
To what degree do you understand each other’s native languages?
If the applicant understands Japanese, describe in detail where and when he or she studied it.
When you can’t understand one another’s language, how do you make yourselves understood? (If you use an interpreter, the interpreter’s details are necessary) - If you were married under Japanese law, fill in your witnesses’ information.
- Fill in the details of your wedding ceremony/reception, if you held one.
- Fill in information about the applicant’s/spouse’s previous marriages, if applicable.
- Fill in the number of times, dates of, and reasons for the applicant’s previous visits to Japan. If the applicant previously resided in Japan, then the “reason” should refer to the residence status at that time.
- Fill in the number of times and dates of the spouse’s visits to the applicant’s home country, before & after marriage.
- Has the applicant ever been deported (received a deportation order) from Japan?
If yes, fill in the reason, date, your passport information at that time, and whether you and your spouse had lived together in a married state before that time. - Fill in details of the husband’s family, wife’s family, and your children, including relationship, name, age, address (enter “dead” for deceased relatives), and phone number. If you have no children together, you must enter “none” (なし) in table (2)
- Circle the family members that are aware of your marriage.
8. Snapshots of you as a couple.
Two to three standard-size photos that clearly show both husband and wife and indicate that you are a couple.
9. Application photograph
4 cm high by 3 cm wide, showing head and shoulders face-on, with no hat or head cover and no background. Pictures must be taken within the past six months, have the applicant’s name on the reverse, and be glued to the appropriate place on the application form. Japanese bureaucrats will compare the photo you submit to your passport photo and any other photos of you they have and check the dates to see if they can prove that the photo is more than six months old. If they determine that it’s too old, your application will be held up until they get a new photo.
10. Self-addressed envelope with at 392 yen in stamps (thanks to reader guren for pointing out the price change with the recent tax hike!)
You must apply for the COE within Japan, so there is no provision here for an international reply. Once again, you’ll have to rely on your domestic sponsor to receive your documents and forward them to you by EMS, etc.
11. Other
Other items may be necessary, depending on your situation.
- Your Guarantor’s inkan (personal seal). Alternatively, the guarantor can simply seal the document in advance, but if your guarantor is Japanese, the chances are good he/she carries his seal everywhere, anyway. A Ginko-in is sufficient (but a shachihata, rubber stamp, will not be accepted).
- If you are applying by way of a proxy, documents that prove the proxy’s relationship and suitability to serve in that position.
In the case of Spouse Visa, acceptable proxies include family members. Your proxy’s Juminhyo (if it shows the relationship) and government ID should be sufficient. If your proxy is your guarantor, they they’re already submitting their Juminhyo anyway.
If a lawyer or legal scrivener is applying for you, you’ll need a letter of attorney or contract, in Japanese, of course. But then, the lawyer or scrivener ought to be able to supply that. - Anything else that is arbitrarily determined to be necessary at any time during the evaluation of your application.
Submitting Your Application
The decision on where to submit your applicant will depend on your location: if you reside in Japan, or your spouse/proxy’s location. It is rumored that the more distant the Regional Office is from major cities/ concentrations of foreigners, the faster it will be able to process your application, but it really depends on the office’s backlog at any given time. It is certainly best to avoid areas that have a lot of international college students in the Feb-Mar and Jul-Aug time frames, as these offices tend to get flooded with applications from the area colleges.
In our case, we applied to the Sendai Regional Office during January and got approval within a month, despite a few delays that resulted from the Immigration Office flip-flopping on whether certain documents were necessary (insist on turning in everything, regardless of the desk clerk’s opinion).
My mother-in-law did all the running back and forth to the Immigration Office (an hour drive each way) and my father-in-law provided all the necessary certificates. Without their help, this process would have been even more of a nightmare, so I am eternally grateful!
Validity Period and Entering Japan
Check the validity period on your Certificate of eligibility- it should be 3 months from the date of issue. You have to be in Japan before the CoE expires, so get going on your visa application and travel arrangements right away! The last thing you want to do is go through all that work a second time, right? (Thanks to Vernon Reid for pointing out that this should be in here.)
Now, it’s time for the Visa
The Certificate of Eligibility is the hard part, so once that’s done, only a simple application and a week or so of waiting stands between you and your visa! Generally, Japanese embassy websites will tell you that the visa application process takes 1-3 months, but that is assuming that you don’t have a Certificate of Eligibility and are completing both processes at once. If you have a CoE, then the visa will be a breeze.
In most places, you’ll apply directly to the Japanese Embassy or Consulate for your visa, following the instructions on their website. In Bangkok, however, the Embassy has contracted out management of the application process to a private, Thai-owned business called the Japan Visa Application Center. I assume this is due to the volume of applications received in Thailand. The JVAC office was larger and busier than many travel agencies I have seen, and appeared quite profitable, despite charging about 500 baht for their services.
*Trusting my passport in the hands of a private Thai business seemed like a risky proposition to me, based on past experiences, but when I called the Embassy to ask if the business was trustworthy, they got offended at my question. The JVAC is on the up-and-up, so don’t be worried.
Requirements for the Visa Application
Fortunately, there are no sneaky differences between the Japanese and English explanations here. The visa application process is straightforward and simple and takes about a week to complete.
- Certificate of Eligibility
- Applicant’s Passport
- 5 cm by 5 cm ID-style photo (see above for description and warnings
- Visa Application Form
- (Another) Questionnaire
*Whether or not this questionnaire is necessary seems to depend on the country from which you are applying, rather than your nationality. The primary purpose of this questionnaire appears to be a weak effort to stop Trafficking in Persons (TiP). - Visa fees (There are no fees for Americans, but if there are fees for your country, don’t get upset- fees are based on your country’s visa treaty with Japan, and whether or not your country charges visa fees to Japanese.)
If you want more detail, an updated version of this guide, including step-by-step instructions, translations and annotations of all required materials, and sample forms is now available for purchase in your choice of ebook formats.
Single- or Multiple-Entry?
It doesn’t matter. Once you’re in Japan, you’ll get a residence card that will double as a re-entry permit for almost all situations. Multiple entry only matters if your period of stay in Japan is 90 days or lesss, because you don’t get a residence card in that case. Not a problem for Spouses.
Congratulations! It’s time to book your flight!
If you’ve been following our guides from the beginning, you’ve probably been working on this process for nearly three months, or so, beginning with your international marriage. Now, you’re finally ready to move to Japan! お疲れ様です!
If you found this guide useful or if you have anything that you think we should add, please let me know in the comments below!
Hello you’re so nice person giving answer to everyone i hope you will help me…
I married with Japanese women one year ago i have never been to Japan she come in my country Pakistan for one week and married with me and go back to Japan we got all necessary documents for coe but the problem is that my wife is getting public assistance and didn’t payed tax…. So we have proxy guarantor My cousin’s wife is Japanese nation she will be my guarantor…. It will any effect in our case… I’m thankful to you if you help sir….
Hi Umar,
In general, just having a proxy guarantor would not be a problem, but the fact that your proxy guarantor is not related to either of you could be a problem, especially if that person is also your financial supporter. The challenge there would be that if your wife is not working and you have no source of income in Japan, the Immigration Bureau is going to want to get a better idea of how you will support yourselves. If there is someone closer to either of you that could be your guarantor, like a member of your wife’s family, that may be better.
The other challenge that it looks like you might face is proving the legitimacy of your relationship. If you have never spent any time together besides the one week that it took to complete the marriage paperwork, the Immigration Bureau will want to see other proof that you have been in contact with each other constantly, etc.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Good day , I have some questions please. My wife is a student of Keio University and we married about 7 years ago. on oct 1 she applied for coe on my behalf and that of our children 4 in number. On dec 3 she got a reply from the immigration asking for for the below questions:
1.First, you have to prepare photocopies of all passbooks(預金通帳) you keep.
You have to include the front and next page of the passbook.
2. Do your parents send you money?
If so, please prepare photocopy of the record of remittance.
You also have to submit a photocopy of the family relationship certificate.
3. If you have brought money from your country, please submit some document about it.
If your family or friend have brought money, you have to make some document to explain with that person.
4.Do you do part-time job?
If so, please prepare photocopies of all pay slips after Jan.1st of this year.
Then photocopies of your passbook have to show that history.
5. You have to get tax certificates from the city hall in your area for the recent one year.
6. Do you receive scholarship?
If so, please make a photocopy of the scholarship certificate.
Can you please guide me through as she must submit everything latest dec 12.
Realy appreciate all your efforts.
Hi olajide lawal,
I’m afraid I do not know what you are asking. All of the Immigration Bureau’s requests seem straightforward to me. Your wife has to assemble those documents and submit them. Do you have a specific question about any of them?
It sounds like the Immigration Bureau is asking for any possible proof your wife can provide that shows that she has enough money to support your family in Japan.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis. Thank you for your response to my query. I have indicated my emaill add on this comment. Hope to receive the list of documents needed, one in japanese language and with english translation. So that I can guide my husband. Thank you so much.
Hi Maricris San Juan,
At the bottom of the article – above the comments – you will see a place to sign up for my email list. If you enter your email there and sign up, you will get the list of documents in English. (It is an automatic process, so just entering your email address in the comment doesn’t work, sorry).
The list of documents in Japanese is available on the Immigration Bureau’s website. All I have done is translate it and explain the documents, since the Immigration Bureau only provides limited information in English.
I hope that helps!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis. Just want to ask for clarifications on the following items:
1. I will be leaving Japan on January 2019, so my Japanese husband will be applying for my COE. What is the document needed for him to be able to file my application of COE?
2. Once the COE has been released, can my husband apply for a Spouse Visa on my behalf? Considering I am still in the Philippines and my temporary visa has already expired.
3. If the answer in item 2 is no, then what type of visa will I apply while I am currently staying in the Philippines and my temporary visa had expired.
Thank you so much Travis and I hope you can help me out on my queries. Thank you for your continous help to all of us in need of guidance.
Hi Maricris San Juan,
1. He would need everything listed in this article! If you signed up for the mailing list at the bottom of the article, I will send you a checklist of all of the documents, as well.
2. No, you would have to apply for the visa yourself, but you apply for the visa in the Philippines, so being there would not be a problem!
3. Once your husband mails you the CoE, you will apply for a Spouse Visa for Japan in the Philippines then use that to return to Japan.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
1. Do i need to change my passport so that I can use my married surname when i apply for a spouse visa?
2. What about my application for COE, do i still need to use my maiden name? If so, will there be a problem if the name appearing in my COE is my maiden name then in my passport its my married name. (In case i have replaced my passport)
3. When will be the correct time to change my passport? Before my husband applies for my COE or after I receive my spouse visa? My passport is still valid for 10 years.
I am sorry if I have a lot of questions. Thank you again for your assistance.
Hi Maricris San Juan,
1. Yes, if you want your married name to be reflected on your Japanese residence card and official documentation here, I would recommend getting your name changed in your passport before you apply for the Certificate of Eligibility.
2. You have to use the name that is written in your passport. There is no requirement to change your name – you can keep using your maiden name if you want – but if you do want to use your married name, it would have to be changed in your passport, first.
3. Either one is fine – it depends on what you want. But I would recommend that you do it either before you start the CoE application or after you have arrived in Japan. If you wait until after you arrive in Japan, though, you would then have to go around and update your name in all of your Japanese documentation, as well, which would be a bit more work.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, I am in the process to apply to renew my spouse visa (originally got one year, moved to Japan, now also working in Japan). My understanding is that I need to submit pretty much the same documents, with the exception of Questionnaire, pics of my wife and myself together, and foreign marriage certificate. So, I need to submit: the application form, 2 pics, koseki, juminhyo, my spouse tax/income documents, letter of guarantee, fees, current resident card/passport. I will also add my salary slips and my Japanese bank account statement (even if not necessary). Am I missing anything? Thank you very much for your help. Gab.
Hi Gab,
Yes, the list of documents you wrote is accurate. For the passport and residence card, you only need to show them, not submit them. I also think adding your bank account and pay slips is a good idea.
When I first came to Japan, my father-in-law was my guarantor and we submitted his tax information, but from the time of my renewal one year later, we no longer submitted his tax documents and I just submitted my proof of employment and salary, even though I did not have residence tax paperwork yet. I was still able to get a 3-year renewal (which was the maximum at that time). Of course, if you have your spouse’s tax documentation, then I recommend submitting it, we just did not want to keep relying on parents at that point.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks Travis. One more clarification, the fees are actually paid with a “revenue stamp”, correct? The one for the immigration has a particular name? And, do I have to include it with the application or later when I receive the extension? Thanks again. Gab.
Hi Gab,
Yes, the fees are paid by revenue stamp. There is no particular format of stamp specific to the Immigration Bureau.
You would pay it when you receive the extension. They should send you a postcard telling you to come pick up your new card and that postcard will also have instructions about the revenue stamp. You can take the card to any post office on your way to the Immigration Bureau and show it to them and they will know exactly what you need.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Travis,
Seems that the majority here is married to a Japanese. How different would the procedure be with if neither of us is Japanese?
Assuming they need the original of the Marriage Cert. from Canada. They won’t return that to me or a copy is fine? “Wedding Certificate issued by the foreign spouse’s country, 1 copy”
Hi Dennis,
I’m assuming that one of you is a Permanent Resident of Japan, correct? Otherwise, your application process would be completely different.
If one of you is a permanent resident, you would both submit the documentation for the “foreign” spouse, including a marriage certificate from each of your home countries (assuming you are from different countries). You will not get your documents back, so I recommend submitting a certified or notarized copy.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, thank you for your very helpful information, but I would like to ask where I can get the questionnaire form that needs to be filled out by my japanese wife? I Can’t find it in Japan’s Immigration website. Thank you in advance and God Bless.
Hi Jem,
It’s not immediately obvious from the article above, but the Japanese text in the “Questionnaire” column of the table is actually a download link for the questionnaire. (It links directly to the PDF on the Immigration Bureau website.) I think it might only be linked from their Japanese site, not in English.
Here’s another direct download link.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi
Thank you for writting this article.
this is very helpful !!
i do have a quation
i am a canadian citizen currently living in canada
my wife (japanese) is working in japan right now and recently her canadian spouse visa was approved and she is ready to move to canada to live with me next year.
but i wish to work and live in japan sometime next year or so.
as far as i konw the company(a foreign company in japan) that i wish to apply for only accept japanese spouse visa
i want to apply for my japanese spouse visa while she is still working and living in japan since it is easier.
but can i still apply for my japanese spouse visa even though there is a chance that i might not get the job and live in japan ?
Hi Kevin,
Thank you for your kind words.
Once you receive your Certificate of Eligibility, you would have to move to Japan within three months, or it loses its validity. Simply visiting the country on vacation wouldn’t be enough – you would actually have to establish a residence there and record your address with your city hall, enroll in national health insurance and the national pension, etc. So, I would recommend that you hold off on applying for the CoE until you have a definite date to move to Japan in mind.
A spouse visa application is not conditional on you having a job in Japan, so that would not matter, but you would need to start living there.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you very much for putting this together. I’m about to submit for the COE and it’s been very helpful.
Am I understanding this right? Even though my American wife is registered on my Koseki Tohon, I still need to provide my U.S. marriage certificate and all the supporting pictures, etc.? Or is that only for those registering their marriage at the same time as the COE? I’m a little worried about this because my marriage certificate uses my U.S. name which is different than my Japanese name on my Koseki Tohon. I do have my U.S name listed in parentheses on my Japanese passport and there were no issues when I registered our marriage to my Koseki Tohon so maybe it’s not an issue I need to worry about. Any insight is much appreciated.
Thank you,
Bryan
Hi Bryan,
The requirements here assume that you have already registered your marriage, so yes, you would need to provide everything, including your US marriage certificate (if one exists), the photos, etc.
If your US name is listed in parentheses on your Japanese passport, then there should be no problem with your US certificate being accepted. They would just need some sort of formal documentation showing that the name is accurate, and that would seem to be enough.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis! I wanna ask about the “annual income” in the form. Will I base it on what’s in my kazei shomeisho (income certificate)?
Hi Christine,
Yes, that would be appropriate, unless you have other sources of income that you want to add, as well. It does not need to be precise – you can round it to the nearest significant number (millions of yen or hundreds of thousands of yen).
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Good day! I wanna ask if i can submit the english version of the questionnaire instead of the japanese version to the immigration. Because I can’t compose a paragraph in Japanese (I know a little only). And i had the same procedure of marriage like what you did. Did you also wrote that in the questionnaire? That you both get married while you weren’t in Japan?
Thank you for helping us always!
Hi Jessica,
Unfortunately, if you submit the Questionnaire in English, you would also need to include a Japanese translation. It would not need to be an official certified translation in this case, since it is your own words and not an official document, so you could ask a friend, etc., to do it.
For the marriage, even though we were living abroad, we were officially married in my wife’s hometown city hall, according to the paperwork, so I wrote that (Her parents were the witnesses on the form, so I included that as well), although I indicated that we were living together in another country at the same time.
I hope that helps!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
I’m sorry for barging in here Jessica. Hi Travis, we’re currently on the process of applying for my COE. I just send the documents to my husband, and he got it just now. The thing is, I forgot to include the original copy of our Marriage Certificate, just the translated marriage cert made by a professional translator. Is that enough or do I still need to send our Original marriage cert? Thank you in advance. 💛
Hi Jillian,
The original marriage certificate is required in addition to the translation. You might “get away” with it if the Immigration Bureau doesn’t notice, but in my opinion, that would be too much of a risk, so I would recommend sending it right away.
The Immigration Bureau may accept the application but then demand the original as a “missing document” or they may refuse to accept the application until it is included. In either case, it would be in your interest to have it ready to submit as soon as possible.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much Travis. My husband will apply my COE tomorrow. Hoping and praying for positive results. ☺️
What if my eligibility get approved but im in the philippines? Can someone get that for me?
Hi Karen,
When you applied for the CoE, you typically would have had to give your address or supply a pre-addressed envelope to the Immigration Bureau. They will use that envelope or post the CoE to that address, so as long as there is someone there who can receive it and re-ship it to you, you should be fine.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you Travis for the clarifications regarding the Certificate of Eligibility and the application for the change of status of residency. I have reported my marriage at the Philippine Embassy and the document will be release after two weeks. Then I will proceed with the application of the change of status of residency.
Just need to ask a few questions Travis:
1. Do I need to apply for a replacement of my passport, from maiden name to my married name? Or will my current passport suffice, the one with my maiden name?
2. In my application for the change of status of residency, will I be using my married name? But the passport that I will be submitting is still under my maiden name.
I hope you can send some clarifications on the abovementioned items.
Thank you so much for your continued guidance to all of our queries. More power!
Regards,
Maricris
Hi Maricris,
It’s my pleasure! I’m glad I could help.
1. You are not required to change your name, at all, by Japanese law (I don’t know if it is mandatory in the Philippines). But if you want to, then I would recommend that you either do it before you start your Certificate of Eligibility application or wait until after you move to Japan. Either way is fine, but I would recommend that you avoid changing your name while applying for the CoE. You want to have the same legal name at the start of the application and the end.
2. You should use your name as it is written in your passport, so use your maiden name if you will submit that passport.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanl you so much for your clarifications and advice Travis, it really helped me a lot. You are indeed a great help to us all.
Regards,
Maricris
Travis:
Thanks so much for this guide! It made the process much easier.
My (Japanese) wife and I lived together in the USA for 20 years and are now both moving to Japan. I applied for the COE from Tokyo using your guide and had no problems. (They were concerned about no job, but we showed high bank balances in both US and Japanese banks and that was fine.) My wife did have to get her Jumynshyo and Koseki up to date before I applied.
For reference, I applied for the COE in Tokyo on July 15 2018 and received it on Oct 9, so it is currently about a 2 month wait even when the application had no issues.
I’m currently in Japan with a Temporary Visitor visa (good until December), and will go to the Shinagawa immigration office this week with the Application for Change of Status Of Residence form, the COE, another photo, and 4000 yen revenue stamp. I expect to get my Visitor visa stamp cancelled from my passport, and a 3-year Spouse visa added instead. Does that sound about right?
Thanks again for your help!
Hi Steve,
Thank you for your kind words and feedback!
It may take a few days between when you submit the application and when it is approved. I have seen same-day processing for a Change of Status of Residence (with CoE) at more rural locations, but I imagine that Shinagawa is going to be a little more busy. You won’t need to provide the revenue stamp until you pick up your Residence Card, once the application is approved.
You should have your Temporary Visitor stamp in your passport cancelled and instead, you will receive a Residence Card showing your status and period of stay (which will be equal to whatever is printed on your CoE). My understanding is that they will not add a new stamp to your passport, though that information could be out of date. In either case, the Residence Card is what matters most.
Once you have your Residence Card, you will need to go to the City Hall or Ward Office within 2 weeks to complete residence registration (Report of Moving In), which should also start the process of getting you enrolled in National Health Insurance, the Pension Plan, etc.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis. Just want to ask for your advice regarding the change of status of visa. My husband and I are still waiting for the release of our Marriage Certificate from the City Hall. Once I received the Marriage Certifcate. will it be possible for me to apply for the Change of Visa from Temporary to Spouse Visa while my application for Certificate of Eligibility is still on process? My tourist visa will be expiring on November 22, 2018. In one article, it was mentioned that the application for the change of status visa must be filed within 45 days. May I ask for your advice on this? Thank you so much.
Regards,
Maricris
Hi Maricris,
You should apply for either the Certificate of Eligibility or the Change of Status of Residence, not both.
The application process for both is essentially identical, except for the application form. The difference is that you would apply for the CoE if you are living outside of Japan and preparing to apply for a visa and you would apply for the Change of Status of Residence if you are currently in Japan.
Once you have the marriage certificate (and updated koseki) from the town hall, as well as your marriage certificate issued by your home country, if applicable, you should take that to the Immigration Bureau immediately with the other requirements to apply for a Change of Status of Residence.
I have never heard the 45-day requirement that you mentioned. Could you tell me where you found that so that I can look into it and try to give you a better answer?
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hellp Travis. I’m Maricris from the Philippines. Just got married to a japanese last October 1, 2018 and I am currently on a temporary visa. We got married here at Fukaya Cityhall, Saitama Pref. Have a few questions regarding the spouse visa and the CoE.
First, about the questionnaire form in your article, is it written in Japanese with English translation? Do I have to fill this up or my japanese spouse? My level of Japanese is just a beginner stage and I only studied online.
Second, we are preparing the requirements for the CoE. As for list above, its states that the Wedding Certificate issued by the foreign spouse, is this the Report of Marriage being issued by the Philippine Embassy to Filipinos getting married here in Japan. Hope you can send your reply at the soonest. Thank you for this very imformative article.
Regards,
Maricris
Hi Maricris,
Your Japanese spouse should fill in the Questionnaire. There is an English translation of the form available now on the Immigration Bureau’s website, but that is only for reference, so you can help your spouse think of how to answer. But the final form has to be submitted in Japanese.
For the proof of wedding registration, my understanding from other applicants I have talked to is that you can submit proof of having registered your marriage at the Philippine Embassy or Consulate in Japan to meet that requirement. You do not need to wait for the formal marriage documentation from the Statistics Bureau.
I hope that helps.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much Travis for your help and assistance. 😊
Hello, I just came across this blog as I searched in google. Thank you for taking the time out and writing such a helpful blog. I have a question and would appreciate if you could answer. I have a valid COE and I am planning to apply for a visa in next week in our local consulate in Toronto. My question is I was planning to come with my family (wife and 2 kids) and later on applying for their residence in Tokyo as they arrived but can I apply locally for my family for their Visas as well. To what I read I need a different COE for them.
My category of COE is Engineer/ Specialist in Humanities and International Services.
We are Canadians and don’t require Visa to enter Japan for about 90 days.
Friend/Business Partner suggested its much easier for them to get their Residence in Japan then applying in Canada.
Thanks again!!
Amin
Hi Amin,
You would need a Dependent CoE for your family members (one each) for them to apply for a Dependent visa and come to Japan. That link goes to an article I wrote about that application process. The Spouse visa is only for spouses of Japanese citizens or Permanent Residents of Japan.
I’m afraid I think your business partner is mistaken about the process, though. You would have to arrive in Japan and establish your residence here before you can apply for the Dependent CoEs. Once you have them, you would send them to your family in Canada so that they could apply for their visas then come to join you.
The Immigration Bureau would not allow them to change their status of residence from Temporary Visitor (the 90-day visa-free stay) to Dependent while in Japan. That change is permitted for several other statuses, but not for Dependent.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
First of all, Thank you for this article and also for replying to all the queries.
In my case, luckily i have received CoE and applied for the visa in the Japanese embassy. I wanted to know what is the process/steps after reaching Japan and how much time does it take, to get my Resident card. I understood from some other articles that during immigration at the airport (on my arrival) they will issue the card directly. Is that all?
Thanks again
Mandeep
Hi Mandeep,
Thank you for your comments. I really should devote a full guide to that process, so I will put it on my list of things to add to the site.
In most cases, your Residence Card will be issued at the airport where you arrive. If you arrive by sea or at a relatively minor airport, they may not be able to issue it directly, but in that case, you would get the card after you complete your residence registration in the city where you will live.
In either case, you will have to complete residence registration at the city hall where you move in. You would go there with your residence card, passport, and some documentation of your address and complete a “Report of Moving In”. They will then print your address on your residence card and get you started with the procedures to enroll in National Health Insurance, the National Pension Plan, etc.
*If you plan to enroll in health insurance through an employer or join your spouse’s plan as their dependent, that process could be different.
By the time you leave the city hall office, you should have everything complete, or at least in progress!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Mr Travis
im still worry about time . still one week for 3 month to end but still no replay . even as you said if there is any chance to refuse first they will ask to add some document but no ask no replay until now . this week will be the longest week in my life hh
what do you think ?
any advice Mr Travis ?
thank you so much
have a good times
Hi Hana,
I’ve heard from at least one other applicant here that her application has taken longer than the three months, so it may be that the immigration bureau is particularly overwhelmed or slow in some places now.
Once it has been three months from the date that you submitted the application, I would recommend that you contact the immigration bureau and check on the status. Typically, they do not answer questions about ongoing applications, but if it goes over the processing time limit, they may give you some information.
Since they haven’t contacted you for additional documentation, I don’t think there should be a risk of the application not succeeding.
Please let me know how it goes!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
thank you so much
i will try to be more patient this week haha
some times i think about your help and be so thankfull to you
and sure i will tell you in same day i get my coe
hope you the best in your life
Hi Hana,
Thank you very much for your kind words!
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the feedback.
I hope you will hear good news soon!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis
hope you are good
only today the result came
we apply the coe in 25jun and the result came today 4.october
is not accept it i dont ask my husband why i was shocked (thanks god any way)
we planing to apply visit visa for
3 month and see what can do about certificate pregnant and ask for certificate there with this good reason or have more time together and back then applay again
do you have the form of letter of hosting and letter or garantee ?
thank you so much for help
next time i hope that i have good news 🙂
Hi Hana,
Thank you for sharing your experience. I am very sorry to hear that they did not accept your application!
I find it particularly strange that they never asked you for any additional documents before rejecting the application.
Typically, the only reasons I know of for rejection would be if there was insufficient evidence of a relationship between the two of you or if there was a concern with the proof of financial resources (possibly including tax payment status). If you think that either of those items could have been weak points in your application, then I would recommend that you try to strengthen them and try again.
You can get the letter of guarantee format from the Immigration Bureau’s English website. Unfortunately, I have never heard of a letter of hosting being a required document for the Certificate of Eligibility application. There is nothing like that listed in the required documents in English or Japanese. Do you have any more information on what that might be?
I hope your visitation visa and your next CoE application attempt go better!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
another small question
is the letter of hosting mean letter of invitation ?
Hi Hana,
I’m not sure, but a Letter of Invitation wouldn’t be required for a Spouse CoE application. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help with figuring out what that might be.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis
thank you so much for your quickly answer
i think so too maybe the reason is that we didnt have a good picture together i told you in a old comment that we have only 3 pictures with same clothes and not so much different position and we had only 4 days together befor marriage he came to my country and meet then he back and apply for marriage then to register our marriage in morocco it take a 5 month so in end of jun we apply the coe . about the tax is ok all was pay and other documents too . my husband has no knowledge maybe about how to fill the or answer the question maybe if he didnt answer right is that be a reason to reject it ?
in other way as i said we are planing to apply visit family visa . if we decide to go another way is it good ?>> i mean if he come to morocco and stay a month and i get pregnant is that make things sure and strong for this relation then go back to apply another coe > or better to go visit visa and apply coe and change it there in japan to spouse visa ?
sorry to have this much question but in my situation i have to ask about all a can do to live with my husband i really miss him .
have a geat time travis
i forgot to say about letter of invitation i ask the embassy and they said i need it in visit visa . i just was confused if i need letter of invitation or hosting in visit visa but the embassy give me the answer
thank you so much
Hi Hana,
Thank you for clarifying!
I have hear about the Letter of Invitation for Temporary Visitor visa applications, but I’m not as familiar with that process. I am glad the embassy was able to answer your question!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Hana,
It does sound like the short history of your relationship may be a factor, though I can’t be sure.
Besides the pictures, there is a section in the Questionnaire that asks the history of how you met, and another that asks about the trips you have taken to each other’s countries (to get to know one another).
If that is indeed the problem – and based on what you have written, I don’t see any other glaring concerns – then anything you can to do make the evidence of your relationship stronger would be to your benefit. Certainly, being pregnant or having a child together (with the two of you formally documented as the parents) would be strong, but I would never recommend that just for the sake of making your visa application process easier! If you were planning on having a child anyway, that’s a different story.
In any case, any visits between you and him in either Japan or Morocco, and in the meantime, records of emails, phone calls, chats, etc., between the two of you would make your case stronger! Maybe you going to Japan would be the stronger case, though, because then you can meet his family members, etc.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis
thank you so much for your information
i will be carefull this time
and i will tell any good news in same day , i cant forget you as helper 🙂
have a great times travis .
Hi Mr TranSenz
how are you
i have a questions please
-if they reject our COE how much time we can apply again ?
-and can i ask for a visit family visa even they reject it ?
we are still waiting our COE still one month and i already have many worry haha
always i think about plan b
have a good day
thank you
Hi Hana,
One month is perfectly normal – even two months is not uncommon, so don’t worry about the time meaning that a rejection might be likely.
If there is a chance that they would reject your application for there being insufficient evidence or documentation, they would typically contact you first to give ou a chance to resubmit whatever was missing.
If your application is rejected, there is no waiting time required before you can apply again. If you find out why it was rejected and can edit the application or get more documentation to support whatever area was the problem, then you could apply again right away.
I don’t know much about tourist/visiting family visas, unfortunately, but I do not know of any rule saying that you could not apply for one in the meantime. I think you are only allowed to apply for one visa at a time, but you could apply for a visiting family visa while waiting the results of your CoE application.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
thank you very much Mr travis .
hope you the best 🙂
hi travis, I have been following this blog of yours and found so much helpful. But anyways, i want to ask something, I and my husband got married last June 2018, two week after he came back to japan and a month after our marriage, he applied COE for me. will the result be approved? we have been in a relationship since 2014 but he worked in japan january 2017 since he was a japanese descendant.
Hi Djdeldel,
If your husband is a Japanese Descendant, not a Japanese Citizen, then you would be applying for a different status that is specific to spouses of Japanese Descendants. But it sounds like you’re already past that stage.
As long as he has submitted all of the required documentation for the application and has everything he needs, like proof of financial support, etc., I see no reason why your application would not be approved.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello travis, thank you for replying my query. anyways, i have another clarification, my COE was filed thru an attorney. how many months will it take to be approve? will it be shorter than 3 months? it has been more than a month, and no additional reqs was ask from us. what do you think? I am worried. thank you very much
Hi Djdeldel,
The Immigration Bureau says that processing can take 1-3 months. Filing through an attorney would not shorten that application time (though it could lengthen it,, if there was any processing time required by the attorney’s office before the application actually got to the Immigration Bureau.)
The processing time depends on how busy the office is where you have applied and whether or not there are any questions regarding your application. It is almost unheard of for an application to be complete in just one month, so you do not have anything to worry about yet. Typically, as long as there are no requests for additional documents, you should be in a good position. Do you have any particular reason for concern, such as a weak point in your application?
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks travis, i am at ease somewhat. i hope it’ll be on soonest time 😀
Hello Travis,
Thank you very much for all the helpful information. I would like to ask for your opinion, because our case is maybe not ordinary and I got a few contradictory advices from lawyers as well, from one side that I’m gonna be ok, on the other side, my application is not exactly expected to be smooth.
I’m from Czech republic, EU and me and my Japanese girlfriend are planning to get married in October this year. I have been in Japan for 3.5 years as a student, spent 2 years at a Japanese language school, 1 year studying 進学日本語学科 at YMCA国際専門学校 and after 1 year I switched to second year at the same school to 国際ビジネス学科 from which I’m supposed to graduate next year in March. I’m already 40 years old and since getting a well paid job in company is very difficult in my situation and also not an aim for me, I would like to start own business 個人事業主 in Japan asap. Going to school is quite suffering for me. Because of that I would like to quit my school after finishing first semester at the end of this September. Unfortunately to get 婚姻要件具備証明書 from my country takes 2 months and it will arrive at the beginning of October, so I wouldn’t be able to get married and apply for visa before dropping out the school. Would be there any issue if I would quit my school and apply for spouse visa a few weeks after that? Probably not going to make it within the 2 weeks I have to notify immigartion what I’m no longer student.
Other than that our conditions should be ok. My current student visa are valid until 06/2019 and my attendance at school was usually around 90%.Regarding our financial situation, I’m paying for my stay in Japan from my savings, haven’t done any part time job and my girlfriend would act as a guarantor since she has a full time job 3500000 yearly income, 正社員 for 3 years at financial company. Eventually her mother can also act as a guarantor and she has about double of the income.
My girlfriend is 10 years younger than me and we are living together for about 7 months, been together for 1 year. We have a lots of photos from our life, including traveling in Japan and photos with my girlfriends family hanging out together. My parents are not alive and I don’t have any siblings. Would be there any possible obstacles when applying for spouse visa? Application branch will be Osaka.
Thank you.
Francis
Hi Francis,
In terms of finances, you should not have any trouble. Your girlfriend’s salary would be more than sufficient, But the timing of your intent to drop out and your marriage paperwork/Change of Status of Residence application could be problematic.
Once you drop out, you would no longer meet the requirements to stay in Japan as a student and you would have to leave the country or apply to change your status of residence withing 2 weeks. If you stay longer than 2 weeks and then start your application, the Immigration Bureau may ask you what you have been doing in the meantime. If they learn that you were not studying, then you could be considered an illegal overstay, regardless of whether or not there is time remaining on your period of stay.
If the Czech Republic is one of the countries that Japan has a 90-day visa-free stay waiver agreement with and, if that is the case, perhaps they will be more lenient, but it is risky and there is no guarantee or safety net. If you are found to be an illegal stay and have to depart under a departure order or deportation order, you would not be able to return to Japan for 1 or 5 years, respectively.
If you can afford to, I recommend that you stay enrolled in the school until you are able to file your Change of Status of Residence application at the Immigration Bureau. That is the surest way forward.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi! Regarding the “signature” areas, should i write my name in kanji like the usual with stamp/hanko? Or is it the western style (cursive)?
Hi Shinobu,
You should sign your name like you do in your passport. My Japanese colleagues at work sign in handwritten kanji, for what it’s worth.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, first of all, thanks for the blog, it`s been an enormous help.
So, I am currently in Japan as a temporary visitor and am in the process of trying to change my status of residence to spouse of a Japanese national. I have been following your guidebook (which is excellent) very closely and believe I have comprehended everything and produced a strong application. However, I am becoming increasingly concerned, and so could really use some help. I don’t really have a specific query as such, I just want to explain my situation and get your opinion, if that’s okay?
So, last week, my wife and I went to our local immigration bureau to submit my application only to have it rejected and be told to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility instead. Now, as far as I understand, based on my research, both from your book and various forum posts online, my application is actually valid and it’s the immigration staff who are at fault in this case.
Unless I really have misunderstood everything I’ve read, I believe that I can skip the COE process and apply for a change of residential status as I was not married at the time of entering Japan. I do understand that for tourists this process isn`t ideal, and that such requests require extenuating circumstances, though I am fairly certain my situation should qualify as such, since I couldn’t have applied for the COE, anyway.
Frustratingly, at the immigration office, whoever we spoke to just kept fobbing us off with the same rhetoric. My wife did manage to get through to one staff member who was slightly more flexible, and who advised us to try at the main office in Tokyo (my local office is in Chiba, but under Tokyo`s jurisdiction). He stated that under some circumstances, exceptions can be made if there is a valid reason (which I already knew!). What really irks me, though, is that our time and energy were wasted because no-one was willing to give me an opportunity to explain my extenuating circumstances. So now, we have to go through this all over again in Tokyo, instead of the office I`m actually supposed to apply at! I don’t know anything about the Tokyo office, but since Tokyo is considerably more cosmopolitan than Chiba, I am hoping that this might mean the staff there are a bit more competent/experienced in dealing with issues such as mine. And, just to add to my stress, my 90 days are almost up (long story, but yeah, I should have done this so much sooner!).
And that`s about it! So in a nutshell, I have made a valid (though not ideal) application and have strong extenuating circumstances to support this. However, no-one seems to want to let me apply!
My apologies for the long-winded story, I just felt the need to vent my frustration, but I would really appreciate your thoughts on this. Is this kind of situation common? How would one go about getting someone to actually listen to my circumstances and accept my application? I am really starting to panic at this point, as I am running out of time, and although not a complete disaster, returning to my home country (the UK) would be massively inconvenient at this moment.
Rant over, and thanks for reading!
Hi Alex,
I’m sorry to hear about your struggles and I hope that your appeal in Tokyo goes better.
Ultimately, though, there are no explicit exceptions to the requirement to apply for a CoE. Exceptions in situations such as yours, which, as you said, are generally accepted, are ultimately judgment calls. If the head of the office isn’t willing to budge, then you’re unfortunately low on options.
My best recommendation to you would be to write a 理由書 or explanatory statement detailing why you are applying in Japan before you visit the Tokyo office. That document should explain why you were unable to apply for a CoE before coming to Japan (because you were not married) and should detail the steps you have taken since coming to Japan to get your marriage finalized and start the application process. It should also indicate your intention was always to transition to a spouse status, but since you were not legally married, this was your only course of action. When you visit the Tokyo office, my recommendation would be to appear apologetic, make it clear that you understand that the rules are that you must apply from outside of Japan, but since you could not do that in advance, to ask them if they can make an exception give your circumstances.
Approaching it from the position of “I know exceptions are possible in this situation,” or being confrontational or overly assertive will not win you many friends, and since it’s a judgement call, you want the person on your side.
The thing that might hurt you is being toward the end of your 90-day stay. If it was earlier in your stay, you might have encountered more flexibility. If there is any explanation for the delay that you can show, that would help, I think.
If you are not ultimately successful in winning the Tokyo office over to your side, then you might not necessarily have to return to the UK. You could either spend the intervening time in a third country or take a short out-and-back trip somewhere close, return with a new 90-days, and wait with your wife for the CoE to arrive. Once the CoE arrives, you could then take that to the Immigration Bureau office and apply for a Change of Status of Residence (again, with a explanatory note saying that you had intended to apply for a spouse visa with the CoE, but were spending the intervening time in Japan on a tourist status to be with your wife and were still there when the CoE arrived).
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello again! Thanks for your prompt and detailed reply.
What you say makes complete sense. I’ll just have to try again and see how it goes. As you say, if I’m unlucky again, I’ll just have to accept defeat and apply for a COE.
With regard to applying for the COE and potentially staying longer in Japan, I am actually on my second visit in the last six months. Although I am nearing my 90-day limit this time, my previous visit was only for 21 days. Do you know whether this 180-day allowance is measured by the number of passport stamps, or do they actually take into consideration the number of days you have physically spent in the country? Do you think in my case, it might be possible to extend my current stay by using those remaining 70 or so days from my previous visit, or would I likely need to leave and come back regardless?
Thanks again!
Alex
Hi Alex,
Unfortunately, I am not particularly familiar with tourist visas and did not know of the 180-day stay that you mentioned.
There are only a few select countries that are able to extend their 90-day stay without having to leave Japan – I think they are mostly in northern Europe and that the UK is not one of them, but I’m afraid I do not know for sure.
I’m sorry I could not be ore helpful.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello again, one more question, sorry!
So, yesterday, my application was accepted and I got the stamp in my passport which lets me stay a while longer.
Obviously that’s a relief, and I can relax for the time-being, but being the worrier I am, I now have something else bothering me.
I have a contact in Japan who claims to work for immigration. After telling her about my application, she pretty much dismissed it said it’ll get rejected. She said acceptance rates for spousal status are extremely low and that the only people who get accepted tend to be those of high financial or academic standing. She also said that if I don’t have a job (which I don’t), I’m all but guaranteed to be rejected.
Obviously I intend to work when I find the right opportunity, and I am currently working towards finishing my university degree, so it’s not like I’m coming here to sit around and sponge off the state. But until I do find secure employment, I am in the position of relying on stipends from my wife and brother (¥80,000), and the odd one from other family members.
I’m probably over-worrying, and this “friend” does have a very malicious streak, and I’m probably better off cutting her out of my life. I saw her as a friend and source of help, but as soon as she knew I was married, her tone changed.
Obviously, having a job can only help an application, but I was under the impression that not having one would not be detrimental either, so long as you have at least ¥80,000 a month, either of your own money or from others.
Anyway, what do you think of her comments? Should I disregard them as nonsense? I certainly felt a positive vibe from the immigration officer who dealt with me (though I understand they will not make the final decision), so hopefully that’s a good indication.
Hi Alex,
I do not think your friend is being truthful with you.
In my experience, Spouse CoE applications have a very high success rate. The only times I have heard of people being rejected was when they had insufficient financial resources, or there was not enough evidence that the marriage was legitimate (such as the couple having spent almost no time together prior to marriage).
You certainly do not need to have a job lined up in Japan – it is almost impossible to have one at this point, anyway.
I do not see any particular reason to worry!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello! Your article is very helpful, thank you!
I’am a filipina (permanent resident), I just got married last June 2018 to a filipino also.
And now we are applying for his COE. I have a few questions please I need your help on answering some questions on the application form.
Like in #24 Method of support to pay for expenses while in Japan #24(1) I’m confused which one should I choose SUPPORTER or GUARANTOR? or should i choose both? (I will be his guarantor and his supporter when he comes here in Japan) and is it neccerssary to put the amount of support per month?
#27 Applicant, legal representative or the authorized representative, prescribed in paragraph 2 of article 7-2. Should We put my name here as my husband’s representative? And at the last part,
Signature of the Applicant (representative) Do we have to put our names, both? As a an Applicant and representative? Or just the name/signature of the applicant or my husband? And last, can we write in english our explination on how we met on the questionnaire even if the questionnaire I got from the immigration is in Japanese or I should get the explination translated into Japanese? Sorry for I have so many questions. Thank you so much.
Hi kayquintos28,
For financial support, you would fill in the section for guarantor. (Supporter is for a financial supporter that is not his guarantor).
Yes, the amount of monthly support is necessary. That is one of the most important things the Immigration Bureau will look at.
For #27, since you are submitting the application on your husband’s behalf, you would fill in your name and relationship to him. (Unless your husband is applying directly)
For the signature line, only you would sign (again, unless your husband is submitting the application himself, in which case, he would sign).
For the questionnaire, there is an English version available now, but you will also have to submit a Japanese translation.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much for your reply, really such a big help! Sorry one last question, on a questionaire on writing the story of “how we met” who will be writing this story? It should be me or my husband?
Hi kayquintos28,
You should be the one to write it, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be from your perspective in the first person.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi good day! I have a lot of questions to ask regarding the questionnaire and application form. I’m scared to answer because it is my first time to apply and i don’t want to commit any mistakes.
1. Is it ok to leave blank spaces in the application form/questionnaire? If not, what should I write?
2. Regarding the “Family in Japan”
There is a (Resident card number) space to be filled up. I am Japanese, should I leave it blank?
3. Is it necessary to fill up the “Place of employment to which the applicant is to belong”? If not, should I leave it blank?
4. Is it ok to put Tagalog as mother tongue of both parties? (I am half Japanese but I don’t speak Japanese well) “When you are unable go make yourselves understood in any language, how do you communicate?” – What should be the answer for this since we both fluently understand tagalog?
Lastly,
5. I lived in the Philippines since I was about 6 years old. I am 24 now and I only came back here in Japan last 2015. We got married last May 21 of this year here in Japan (without the presence of my husband). So for the question regarding if the spouse has visited the applicant’s home country (until marriage), what should I write?
By the way my husband is Filipino.
Thank you in advance!
Hi Anna,
I’ll try to answer your questions as best I can.
1. I would recommend that you do not leave any blanks. If a question does not apply to you, then fill it in with “なし” or n/a
2. You can fill it in with なし or n/a or just draw a line through the box to indicate that it does not apply.
3. If your husband does not have a job lined up at present, you do not need to fill that in. なし or n/a would be fine. (It won’t hurt you to say that he does not have a job yet).
4. Yes, that is fine to fill in Tagalog for both. For the question about not understanding one another, fill in “n/a”
5. The spouse’s visits to the applicant’s home country refer to your visits to the Philippines, so write the dates that you resided in the Philippines prior to getting married.
I hope that helps!
– Travis
Should I write the date when I stayed in the Philippines since I was 6 years old up to 21 years old? I lived there 15 years straight. Wouldn’t the immigration be confused?
Hi Anna,
I would recommend writing the date from when you were 6 years old. Immigration should be able to figure it out!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis. I’m a Brazilian national married to a Japanese citizen and we both live in Australia. Thanks to your article we were able to apply for my COE few weeks ago. However, the immigration office sent us a letter asking for my wife’s Kosekitohon which my wife’s family in Japan forgot to attach to the application…. Since we got married in Australia we’ve already registered our marriage at the Japanese embassy, however the immigration office has also asked for a marriage certificate issued by my country, which I won’t be able to provide in time since the Brazilian embassy is just too bureaucratic, and I was given only 3 weeks to mail these document to the Japanese immigration. Do you think that providing them only with my wife’s most recent kosekitohon since it already has the register of our marriage in Australia? Thank you very much!
I meant, do you think it might be ok if we submit only my wife’s Kosekitohon?… We are also writing a letter explaining our circumstances, etc. Thanks! .
Hi Tiago,
The marriage registration from your home country is one of the requirements for the application, so without it, there is a strong possibility that your application would not be accepted. I have never known anyone to have their application succeed with missing required documents.
If you cannot provide the document in time, then you may end up having to apply again from scratch. I would recommend that you make sure that you have all of your required documents assembled in advance (you may even want to go so far as having your family from Japan send you the items you have to acquire there, like the Koseki, so that you can ensure that you have everything together) to increase your chances of success without having to replace documents later.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you very much for replying. Yeah, we’ve made a big mistake and we’re already trying to get the koseki sent from Japan to register my marriage at the Brazilian embassy here in Australia ASAP. The Japanese immigration has asked us to provide them with a 理由書 if we can’t send them my brazilian wedding certificate by August 31st. Now I’m wondering if they will give us a new deadline once they analyse our 理由書 /Riyusho.
Hi Tiago,
In my last comment, I think I misunderstood you. I thought that you had registered your marriage already in Brazil and that it would take that long to get a certificate issued to prove you had registered it.
If you haven’t registered it yet, then you might be able to submit proof of having registered it (once you do) as well as the riyusho. I know in other countries, like the Philippines, where it takes months from the applicant submitting the marriage registration to when it actually appears in the records and a certificate becomes available, that the Japanese Immigration Bureau will accept proof that you have started the registration process. I hope that can work for you, too.
If that works, maybe you won’t need the extended deadline!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
I am currently staying in a dorm by our agency (work), and i am planning to apply my husband for a CoE this Oct. Is it okay or should i rent my own house before I apply him eligibility? (for the questionnaire regarding the LDK, rent column)
Hi Marie,
It should be fine if you do not yet have housing arranged when you apply for the CoE. I knew applicants who were still living in a student dorm (no families allowed) when they applied for the CoE and only moved to housing that could accommodate their families after they had received the CoEs and started the visa application process.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you! But what about the juminhyo? Will my co-workers name appear there? Because we share the same house. (There are 3 more workers who live here with me.)
Hi Marie,
Your coworkers should not show up on your Juminhyo, as best as I understand, but yhat depends on how the residence is registered at the city hall, so I’m afraid the only way you can find out for sure is to actually get a copy of your Juminhyo.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi
Question,
1.how to process the change of surname i have a japanese husband im a filipina
2. After submitting doc for Coe How long should we wait if its approved?
Thanks
Thnks
Hi Loui,
1. You would change your surname by the legal processes in the Philippines. Unfortunately, that is beyond my expertise.
You could change it before you apply for your CoE or after you receive your CoE/visa and move to Japan. (It is not a problem for the CoE application if your surname does not match your husband’s).
2. Typically it takes 1-3 months to approve and issue the CoE.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello, Travis,
Firstly congratulations for this item, these people a lot of people!
I live in Brazil, I do not know if you can help me.
I have been a granddaughter of Japanese and married for 1 year and 4 months, now our COE has been denied since my aunt (of blood) was no longer working, she worked for 3 months and sent along with my documentation her 3 holerites in the process the end of the immigration, they called the service where my aunt worked to confirm if she continued working, as she had left they obviously denied … we will enter again with documentation, but this time the guarantor will be my aunt’s husband. Do you believe that the COE runs the risk of being denied to my husband because my uncle is not blood? I’m very insecure as we waited the 3 months and it was terrible, now let’s wait again. Forgive any error because I used a virtual translator.
Hi Carol,
I’m sorry to hear about the trouble that you had with your CoE!
However, I do not think that you should have any trouble when you reapply. Even though your uncle is not related to you by blood, if he declares that he is willing to support you, that should be enough. I do not see any reason why the Immigration Bureau would deny the application.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you very much, Travis. God Bless You
Hi,
My husband and I are USA citizens. We have a son. Right now I am in Japan with my son on a child (spouse) of a Japanese national national visa(my moms Japanese but she moved to America and has given up her japanese citizenship). I’m living with my grandma. My husband is in America. We don’t have the largest savings. But I have a part time job. I make 80,000. I am going to tell immigration I need help with childcare so I can work a full time job to make more money so I need my husband to come to japan. Also he can work part time too and our family will be together again. We already have a company that wants to hire us and they will prepare the documents for me to bring to immigration for proof of our salary if my husband is able to come to Japan. Naiteishomeisho and letter explaining what the work is like.
Should I apply for spouse visa? Or dependent visa? We are trying to prepare all the documents without the help of my family because they are difficult. Can I be the guarantor? Would it be good to submit proof of our marriage even when applying for dependent visa? I’ve not been in japan long enough to pay for taxes. Will my business contract with hourly pay be enough?
Hi Rain,
Actually, it sounds like your best option might be to apply for a working visa for your husband through the company that wants to hire you both. That would put you in the best situation. In that case, the company would prepare the documents you need.
Since you are not a Japanese citizen or permanent resident, you cannot apply for a Spouse visa for your husband. As a Child of Japanese Citizen, your husband would not be eligible for a Dependent visa, either (there are also working restrictions on dependents). There may be some other type, such as a designated activities or long-term resident visa that you could use to bring your husband to Japan, but that is outside my area of expertise, I’m afraid.
If you are eligible to apply for permanent residency, then your other option would be to do that, first, then apply for a spouse visa for your husband.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
I Travis, can I switch to working permit?
If I am already in Japan and want to switch to work permit and have already found a job and they want to hire me regardless that I don’t have university degree or 10 years exp in the field (basically they just want specifically me) is it possible to get a working visa? I’m on child of Japanese visa now (aka spouse visa) and I want to call my husband here but my guarantor says if I call my husband here (apply for COE) or move to where the company is (Yakushima) she will stop being my guarantor (which means I cannot renew my family visa when it exp in may). I can begin working in December/January already in Yakushima. I have 40,000¥ savings. My husband has no money because he is sending it all to me. The company also said if I have any worries about money they will sponsor me and even put up to 2,000,000¥ in my account so I can apply for COE for my husband. We have naiteishomeisho 200,000¥ for me and 100,000¥ for my husband. If possible, I would like to switch to work visa and get my husband here on spouse visa/long term resident/dependent visa with work permission (he’s going to work part time at same company and help me take care of our 1 1/2 son who has long term visa right now).
We are also thinking maybe that I can just keep my family visa and move to Yakushima begin working and keep workin until it’s almost exp. then go to immigration and say hey I’ve been working here for X months and they want to keep me so can I just switch to working visa instead of family visa?
My husband will need to come to Japan for this plan to take care of my son. He will probably come on a tourist visa, then help me take care of our son. Then I can work full time and prove to immoj that I can support my husband. We want to then apply for his spouse visa/long term visa/dependent visa with work permission. Because I’ll already be working at said company and there will be a simple explanation why they want to hire my husband (no degree, no exp), but just because I’m already working at the company.
(This will happen before my visa exp in may, I will go to Yakushima in December, he will probably come in jan, then we apply for his visa in feb or mar, then I renew my visa in apr or may)
(Just restating the facts so you don’t have to reread the whole chat history)
Ps. When you apply for working visa, if the company says they want to hire you even tho you have little to no exp in the field of work, does immoj grant you a working visa?? Just curious.
I would like to apply for my husbands visa now but I’m afraid immoj will say no and it will become more difficult for them to say yes next time because they already said no.
Also if I plan to apply for Husbands COE now m and move while it is processing, can I ask immoj to mail my employer the COE or if they require more documentation? I’m afraid it will get lost in the mail if I am going to move to Yakushima.
Hi Rain,
Unfortunately, my expertise is only in the Spouse of Japanese National/Permanent Resident visa and Dependent visa (as well as Student Visas, though I haven’t written about those here). Everything I know about these visas is based on personal experience – my own, or working with people who have applied for them in the past. I am not an immigration lawyer and I am afraid I do not have any relevant knowledge of other visa types.
I think you may be better served by talking to a lawyer or someone who specializes in working visas. I do not want to give you the wrong advice.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
I found out from immigration that because I have a spouse/child of a national visa my husband is eligible for long term resident visa and has no restrictions on work or hours. Now I am wondering whether I should tell immigration that he is coming here to work full time and be close to us or I should work full time and him work part time to spend more time with our son. The company hiring us is a tour guide company that deals with Japanese and English speaking tourists (hiking in Yakushima) I speak Japanese fluently. My husband speaks little to none. I’ve no first aid training or experience guiding tours. My husband was a former bicycle tour guide for several months guiding tours and has cpr first aid certification. He has more stamina than me. My son is 1 1/2 years old and we will probably put him into daycare of some sort and even possibly a third option to tell immigration is that we can be available for full time work if our son is in daycare. There are many options we can say to immigration but we want to know what is best for him to get the visa. The company is going to write the letter about who is the main focus (we want rain to work full time because bla bla bla or we want rains husband to work full time because bla bla bla and we can hire the spouse as part time. Or as a third option we need English speaking tour guides full time and we need both of them to work bla bla Bla.
We don’t have too much savings, I have about ¥160000 and my husband has $600 (he just got his job) but he gets paid every Friday and is going to send me allmost all the money. I get paid ¥80000 right now and won’t be able to support him and my son in immigrations eyes. That is why we reached out to the company to show proof to immigration that we will be able to financially support ourselves once we begin working with that company.
Also I’ve contacted immigration many times and I thought I was going to have to show more documents to get his visa but it seems minimal. Should I turn in extra documents anyways? I researched a bunch of stuff online and found a bunch of extra documents that might prove helpful. Anyways they said they need
– 392¥ addressed envelope
– Photo of applicant
– Invitation letter from me not the company
– Guarantor letter from me not the company
– Juminhyo
– Kyuuryo meisai (pay slip or contract with salary) and my bank statement (they didn’t specify minimum balance that I need to get my husbands visa)
– New wedding certificate
– Photos of the wedding and photos of couple (children not necessary in photos)
– Wedding questionnaire
– A letter from company explaining the details of work and a Naiteishomeisho内定 証明書
they said they don’t need
– Residence card of guarantor (I’ll bring this anyways)
– Child’s OR husbands OR my birth certificate
– Details of company/organization form
– Any other company related information to prove that they are a legitimate company like a copy of their business license or taxes etc
-Criminal background check (i understand that this is not necessary as I saw a webpage explaining that child of Japanese national spouse does not need to show proof of good conduct) link below
http://www.sakura-iloe.com/shikaku/longTermResident1.html
– proof of medical insurance
– proof of taxation in the USA
I need advise please help me decide what to do!
I also need to send a letter explaining why I can’t provide my tax documents because I haven’t been i japan long enough to pay taxes (I meant to mention that my husband will be sending me about 500 usd every Friday and my salary is ¥80000 per month right now)
Well, I found out more info from immigration. It seems it doesn’t matter who the full time worker is or anything. Since this is out of your expertise, I’ll just have to apply and hope for the best. I’ll hopefully come back and post what happened. Thank you Travis
Hi Rain,
Thank you for adding this!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Rain,
Thank you for sharing your research!
I have not done much research on the different kinds of long-term visas, personally, so I was not familiar with that process. Your research was very helpful for me and I’m sure for many other readers!
Regarding your question of who should work, it is very common in Japan for both parents to work, so it shouldn’t be a problem to say that you both will work. Actually finding childcare for your son might be more difficult, but for now, my recommendation would be to say that you both intend to work full-time.
Unless this application process is significantly different from the others I have seen, they should not dig in too much to how you will organize your personal life, find daycare, or split duties between you and your husband regarding childcare.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks Travis! By the way, what is LDK format? It’s mentioned in the marriage questionnaire and I don’t know what it means.
I live in a traditional Japanese house and don’t know how to write ldk format. Who can I ask for advice?
Hi Rain,
If you rented the house, then your landlord/real estate agency could tell you. If the house is privately owned by your family member, etc., that person would know how to refer to it.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Rain,
LDK means “Living, Dining, Kitchen.” Before the LDK portion, you would add a number representing the rest of the rooms (e.g. bedrooms, etc.). A house with a living room, dining room, and two bedrooms, for example would be a 2LDK. If your house did not have a living room or dining room, then you wouldn’t use those letters. For example, some small apartments that just have a bedroom and a kitchen, it would be 1K (no L or D) or 1DK if the kitchen also had room for a dining table.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
I’ve lined up almost all the documents and im just a little concerned about the funds or bank statements we will be providing from my account. Right now I’ve about 170000. I’ll be applying for the coe on the 29th of this month. My husband is sending me his money every week. About 500 usd or 5000¥ and I’ll be depositing that weekly. So he doesn’t really have money to be bringing here (we won’t be putting his bank certificate in the application because it will be little to none since he sends it all to me) and I’ve obviously got a low balance. Will this be a problem? I’ve gotten zaishyokushomeisho proving my current part time job paying me 80000¥/month and a letter saying I need help with childcare so I can work full time and my husband can help with income by working part time. Naiteishomeisho for 200000¥/month for me and 100000¥/ month for my husband, we decided to say he is going to be the childcare taker and work part time. The Naiteishomeisho says we they would like us to begin working feb 1st.
(Does it matter that I’m living and applying from Osaka but we plan to work in Yakushima? I found a place to live but it’s not a rental and I can’t list it on my Juminhyo until we move into an apartment which will happen later. I found childcare affordably too.
Also on my Juminhyo, it has all the members of my family livin in Osaka on it, but only my and my sons info are displayed. My aunts and grandmas info is not disclosed. (Grandma owns the house we are living in right now) will this be a problem? Does she need to be the guarantor? Or is it ok if I am? (She doesn’t want to be gurantor, she is already responsible for me and my son) we also plan not to live with my aunt and grandma when my husband gets here, and it is stated clearly so in the application. (We are moving to Yakushima where we already have jobs a place to live and childcare) but I only have proof of the jobs for the application, everything else is by telephone
I found a good job at my station and was wondering if it’s going to be a problem if I change jobs while my application is being processed (probably will not be good I’m assuming)
Hi Rain,
I think the income shown on your two Naiteishomeisho should be sufficient to cover what the Immigration Bureau wants to see. Yes, I recommend submitting the other documentation in the meantime, but when you fill out the application form, the financial support sections should be based on your respective employment offers.
By the way, $500 USD is closer to 50,000 yen, not 5,000, for what it’s worth.
Since you are living in Osaka now, you would have to apply at the Osaka office. It should not matter that you will be moving to Yakushima later.
You should be the guarantor, even if your grandmother owns the house where you are living, and it should not be a problem if she is not on the Juminhyo.
If you change jobs during the application process, be sure to notify the Immigration Bureau. They will likely call your job to make sure you are still working there, so you need to make sure they call the right place.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, my employer is willing to be my husband sponsor as well. I’ll call immigration and ask what other documents the sponsor should send to prove sufficient income for support.
my family said if I apply for my husbands visa and move to Yakushima they aren’t going to help me (sign for/approve) apply for my visa extension (renewal) can I do that by myself? My employer will sponsor me. However we don’t want my child of Japanese national visa to change to a working visa. Is that even possible?
Relatives are making it unreasonably difficult to reunite my family 🙁 but my employer is fully backing us!! (He even said he would be willing to deposit money into my bank account to increase acceptance of the visa!) But I think I’ll decline. I won’t deposit a large amount all at once because that’s fishy, I’m going to put he will sponsor us for ¥80,000/month each (what do you think?) maybe less? Idk..
My husband is sending me now 60,000¥ per week and we have 300,000. But he has zero in the bank. Did you mention I should send his bank info as well? Got confused in your last message about “Yes, I recommend submitting the other documentation ” and what you said about the financial support section and our respective employment offer means #24 method of support: I would put self: company name, 10man and supporter in Japan employer name and relationship (Undecided? 8) Man
Guarantor: wife’s name and company 20man
Carrying from abroad 1000usd
And for supporter Q#24 (3) & Q#25 would he have me AND the employer as a secondary supporter? Because I’m already guarantor. But the supporter lists current job and income.
Hi Rain,
I’m sorry to hear about the challenges you are having with your family.
You should be able to renew your Child of Japanese National status on your own without your family’s assistance, I think. The only documentation you would need from them is proof of your relationship and you might be able to get that from the city hall on your own, since you are one of the persons mentioned in the form.
Regarding your employer sponsoring you- your employer can only sponsor your visa/residence status if you change to a working status. However, proof of employment, with your salary, etc., would allow you to show the immigration bureau that you are fully capable of sponsoring yourself. So, essentially, you would be sponsoring yourself based on your job with your employer.
The same thing goes for your husband. If your employer is planning to sponsor him by hiring him, then you would actually fill out his work details including salary in question 23. Then, in question 24(1), you would fill in the corresponding monthly amount in the “Self” section. (And your income that you would be using to help cover his expenses would go in the “Guarantor” section.) You would only fill in your employer’s information as a financial supporter in 24(3), if the employer was going to cover his expenses without him having to work for it.
You would only fill out question 25 if your husband was not planning to work at all and would be your permanent dependent. Although that is also translated into English as supporter, the meaning is different.
By the way, I do not think it would look fishy to see a sudden large change in your bank account. I work with student visas all the time, and it is very common for the students not to have any money in their accounts until just before they apply for the visa. Then, their parents will deposit all of the money that the immigration bureau needs to see all at once.
My reference to the “other documentation” meant that even though you are basing your application on your new employment in Yakushima, since you have not started that, I thought it was a good idea to submit proof of your current employment and salary, too.
I hope that helps!
Good Luck
– Travis from TranSenz
It’s becoming more and more troublesome to follow my relatives requests. I would rather not burden you with all the information (and venting, please excuse me for being personal) but it may serve a purpose in finding a solution.
My relatives said they won’t sign for being guarantor on my family visa renewal if I accept the money from the employer and apply for my husbands visa. (I’ve talked to my mother and she is fully supportive of my employers help and is going to try and convince my grandmother to continue being my guarantor) I can begin apply for his COE after mine gets renewed after February, and we will also have about 2,000,000¥ by then, this means Husband will probably be able to fly to Japan as early as may-August. Unless he just decides to fly here on a tourist visa in feb and change visa status (inconvenient because he won’t be able to work during that time)but possible to get visa if all the paperwork is correct (I Will be needing help taking care of my son so there’s the excuse)
My visa exp is may 9. I can apply as early as feb 9 to renew my family visa. It take 2w~3mo (mar-may) to renew.
If I try to apply for husband visa before February, whilst holding my family visa, my relatives will surely be against it and possibly notify immigration that they quit being my guarantor (this is an extreme case and I don’t think it will happen, but if it does, will I be deported?). can I apply for all this in secret? and have immigration mail the employer the COE or if they are requesting more documents they usually send mail right? This would make sure I don’t lose the mail if I move to Yakushima in the meantime and (let’s say my family got the COE or other mail but threw it away, mail will be safe if it’s sent to employer) immigration would understand to send to employer with a letter of explanation. It’s possible to make this happen without my family knowing any of this (in theory, right?) which may not be the best idea, but I have been feeling a power struggle here and it’s not getting me anywhere. I think my family is plotting for me to stay here with just my son for 2-3 years.
I’ve had multiple opportunities to have a full time job with contract in osaka but my family has made me decline every single one. I’m only allowed to work part time. They say it’s for my son, so that he can see mom often, but I feel it is an ulterior motive to make it seem to immigration that I can’t suport my husband. I have no idea. I’m at my wits end trying to think of ways to stand up to my family and move out. I hope my mom can convince my grandma.
Best case scenario would be:
Mom convinced grandma to be guarantor and let rain do her thing
Employer signs for supporter for husband
I apply for Husband COE now
Move to Yakushima in December
Renew rains visa with grandma as guarantor and Employer as supporter
Husband comes in January (almost 2,000,000¥saved)
2nd option, not very cooperative:
Employer signs for husbands supporter,
Apply for HusbandCOE in secret, have immoj send mail to employer
Apply for Husbands COE now
Employer gets mail and sends to Husband
Rain applies for visa renewal with family IN FEBRUARY, wait for mail 2w-3mo THEN move to Yakushima.
Suprize! We have ¥2,000,000 saved AND we already have Husbands visa
Above is if we would try to keep my family status visa. Below is if we would change my visa status to working visa.
I would change my family visa to working visa (hopefully not too difficult because I am already in Japan) through employer, then simultaneously apply for Husbands dependent visa and ask for 28 hrs work permission. *this may change my sons long term resident visa status as well to dependent
This option will be dramatic as well because I will probably still be living with my family for 3 months while waiting for the visas to come through. (I could get famous if my family drama was on tv!) Unless I first move to Yakushima in December, then apply for change of Visa status from Yakushima with employers assistance.
Here is the to do list:
Tell family I’m going to do it without their help for my visa
(Move to Yakushima now?)
Employer sends “show money” to rain and letter explaining to immoj why lots of money is being given to rain,
sponsor rain and sign for guarantor
Change visa: family>working
Simultaneously apply Husband Dependent COE (and sons)
Request permission for part time work.
(Move to Yakushima)
Sorry to be so personal but I just didnt know how to separate my family problem and my visa problem. It’s easier to explain the whole situation. Thanks for reading, if you can’t advise me anything, I understand and I’ll have to figure it out on my own.
Hi Rain,
I’m afraid I’m not sure I followed all of that. I can’t really offer any advice on the family challenges, but it seems like it might be a simpler route altogether if your husband were to apply for a working visa via your employer. Then your family wouldn’t be involved at all and that entire process could go on without their knowledge. He can always apply to change his status to dependent later, if it becomes necessary.
You had a question about sending the visa paperwork to your employer, but I’m afraid that immigration will only send it to the person who submitted the application (you), so it would end up at your family’s residence unless you had already moved to Yakushima by then and had applied to the Immigration Bureau there.
I wish you the best of luck in resolving the situation with your family and their support, as well as the visa questions!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, does it matter if my husband does not have a degree or only has one year of relevant history (tour guide) for the working visa application? He also does not speak Japanese but is learning..
Hi Rain,
I’m sorry, but I really do not know anything about applying for working visas and what the requirements or qualifications are. I have never held or worked with any working type of visa.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Good day Travis,
It’s Charles again, I commented here a couple of months ago. It’s almost 4 months now and according to the company, my application is still under evaluation by the Immigration Bureau (They were also asked to submit additional documents however none from my part). I was wondering if there is anyway for a foreign individual who lives outside of Japan to contact the immigration bureau and inquire or follow-up about the application. Can you please point me in the right direction on how to go about this because the wait is very difficult and I’d really just like to know what’s going on.
Thank you.
Hi Charles,
4 months seems like a long time. The process should take a maximum of 3, but perhaps there was some paperwork processing on the part of this agency before they submitted the application to the Immigration Bureau.
If you have your application reference number and know which Immigration Bureau office it was submitted to, you can contact them to try to ask for a status update. Typically, the Immigration Bureau does not respond to any requests for progress updates, but if you tell them that your application has already taken more than 4 months, that may get them to respond.
(Of course, you would have to contact them in Japanese.)
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you for this extremely helpful website. I recently received my COE while visiting my wife in Japan after only a little more than a month after applying in Yokohama! I don’t think I would have been able to navigate the process successfully without this amazing resource.
I have a question about the second step in the process. I will be in Japan until late August, when I will be returning to NYC. Is it advisable to apply for the spouse visa when I am in the States or can I apply for the spouse visa while I am in Japan? I am a little nervous about submitting my passport while abroad since anything can happen to it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Hi WS,
You should actually be able to take your CoE to the nearest Immigration Bureau and apply for a Change of Status of Residence. That would allow you to change your status to Spouse without having to leave Japan, plus you should not have to turn in your passport to do it. (You would have to show it, but not turn it in).
Typically, the process of applying for a Change of Status of Residence is identical to applying for a CoE, but since you already have the CoE, you should be able to apply by just submitting the application form, your CoE, and a new photo.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi!
Thanks for this very helpful article. 🙂
I just want to know whether they would have the certificate sent / delivered at home.
I am in Japan now with my Japanese husband under tourist VISA. I applied for the eligibility certificate myself of course with my husband last month. I just want to ask how will I know if it’s approved or not. Also, if it’s approved, should go to the immigration to get the certificate in person, or they will have it delivered.
Thank you so much.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Hi Ivanka Yokota,
You’re welcome!
If the CoE is approved, it will be sent to the address on the application form. It will just arrive one day with no prior notice.
If they have any questions or need follow-up information, they will also contact you at the address on the application form.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Travis,
Thank you for your response! Very helpful.
Hi
Am Manikandan From Tamilnadu India,
Could i know is there any tracking system available to check the current status of my Certificate of Eligibility application for Japan.
Since i appilied on March end i could not find the way for the current status and furher how long to wait to get CoE.
Kindly help me.
Thanks
Hi Manikandan,
Unfortunately, there isn’t in general. The Immigration Bureau never gives updates and does not respond to inquiries by phone.
I apply for over 300 CoEs a year in my day job, and it’s always a point of frustration that I can never find out the status.
However, if you applied in March, then over 3 months have passed and they certainly should have given you an answer by now. Since three months is supposed to be the maximum processing time, I would recommend that you contact the office where you applied, give your application reference number, and let them know that over 3 months have passed, so you would like to know if the results are available.
Since there is no tracking system, calling them directly is the only way.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi
hope you are good
my husband is japanese and we did marriage certificate in japan with out my present
then i did moroccain marriage after
now i want to go to japan for spouse visa
i heard that the certificate of elegibility is difficult is that true ?
my husband come to my city once and we didnt take a lot of photos together except 3 in same place same clothes and not different position
our marriage was in october last year so have been 7month of marriage
my question is the certificate of elegibility will be easy to get in our case ?
he stay 4 days in my city and that was in engagement time after he go back to japan with my papers and register our marriage
Hi Hana,
The application process is tedious, but it is not difficult, as long as you can submit everything they ask for.
If you have only ever met your husband once and you do not have any other photographs together, you will at least need to provide records of communication between you, such as letters, emails, chats, phone calls, between you before and after your marriage to demonstrate that it is a legitimate marriage.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
thank you so much for replay
yes he ansower all questions and put all email and screen shot of our talking
we didnt talk a lot with video chat becouse he didnt understand english well and im planin to learn japanese to contact good with husband
so you give a hope that they will accept our coe
hope you the best Mr.Transsenz
Hi Hana,
I wish you all the best with your application!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Married to a Japanese women I had a Japanese residence card with “spouse of a Japanese National status” available for 3 years. This residence card expired in February this year and I completely forgot to make the necessary to request to extend it.
Today we went to the Immigration Office in Shinagawa,
The Immigration Office presented us the situation as follow:
– I cannot work for salary as immediate effect
– I have a choice to make immediately, today, between 2 options which are
1) despite being married to a Japanese National and having a Japanese daughter I decide to quite Japan without being able to come back in Japan for 1 year long. The departure from Japan being in a minimum of 1 month after today.
2) I decide to stay in Japan the time for the Administration to launch a process to get a new Residence card. This process should take about 3 months. During that time I cannot work for salary.
We took decision to go for the 2nd choice.
What can be done now to expedite the process?
What is your impress about this situation?
How long do you think this will really takes to sort this out?
Thank you
Hi Arkhane,
I’m sorry to hear about your situation.
I have a friend who went through #2, as well. Personally, I think that’s the better choice, as it keeps you with your family!
There is nothing you can do to expedite the process (or any process with the immigration bureau). They are slow and bureaucratic, but taking a long time does not necessarily mean that you won’t receive a positive answer in the end.
The only thing you can do is if they ask you any question or request any additional documents, to be sure to turn them in as quickly as possible.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
hay Traviz
I got scholarship to continue my study in Japan. In this case, I will bring my husband. So, can you help me to deal with my condition as students who wanna get spouse visa for my husband?
thank you
Hi Meitaya,
You would be applying for a Dependent Visa, not a Spouse Visa. (Spouse Visa is only for spouses of Japanese citizens or permanent residents).
You will need to come to Japan on your own first, then apply for a Dependent CoE for your husband. Once you receive it, send it to him in your home country so he can apply for a visa.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
I was previously married to a Japanese national in Japan and got divorced .Since moved on and I’m in another relationship. If I was to get married again, would I have to visit the British Embassy in Tokyo and administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit like I did the first time to prove I’m divorced / not married?
Many Thanks
Richard
Hi Richard,
Yes, you would need the same proof of eligibility to marry any time you get married in Japan.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
I’m afraid my question is not really related to your post but i’m hopeful you can still give me an answer. I am married to a japanese national and am currently living here in japan. We are planning to apply for my permanent residency but i am jobless at the moment. Would that affect our request for a permanent residency? Thank you so much for taking time in reading this.
Hi LC,
There is nothing in the permanent residency application that requires that you be employed.
If your Japanese spouse is employed and serves as your guarantor and supporter, that should be sufficient!
… I really should do an article about that process at some point.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much for your reply. Yes, my husband is working and we dont have any children yet.
Thanks for considering on having a post about this kind of stuff. Im sure a lot of foreign spouse would find it very useful. 😊
Hi LC,
In that case, there should be no problem with your application. I will add the post to my list to write!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Your website has been very informative and helpful, but I was wondering if you could lend me some advice. We have been in touch with the immigration office, but both times received less than informative answers to our questions:
We both have been living abroad since 2014 (before that Japan), me working in Sweden, her in Dubai until a few months ago. We got married 2 years ago in Sweden and registered the marriage in Japan last year. She now got a job starting next week in Japan, I am planning to transfer in October if possible, else I will change jobs. Her family is..complicated, so the plan is that she would be my guarantor. Money for us isn’t a problem, but obviously, we don’t have any tax form in Japan from the previous year. Would it be enough that I declare that I can self support myself, write down a suitable monthly support (e.g. 200000 Yen), then write something like 2000000Yen remittance (I could show a swedish bank statement to that amount) to include this etc and she can attach her job contract. Then she would hand these documents all in together with all the other required forms, except the tax form of course.
What do you think?
Hi Patrick,
I know the Immigration Bureau can be irritatingly unclear. They do not want to give the impression that something would certainly be acceptable without having reviewed it, since they are afraid you could come back and make a claim against them.
If your resources in the bank are sufficient and your wife has a salaried job but no tax records, you should still be able to apply with the documentation that you suggested.
In your case, I assume you wouldn’t have a monthly income when you arrive in Japan, unless you already have a job lined up here. But if you write that you will derive something like 100,000 – 150,000 yen of support per month from your personal savings, by way of international remittances (ATM withdrawals from international bank), and you can show your account balances, that should be more than sufficient to meet your financial requirements. Even lower than 100,000 yen/month should be fine since you will be living together.
For your wife, as guarantor, I would recommend showing her contract, with pay and term of employment, as well as a note explaining why she does not yet have tax records.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks for the info.
Yes, it sure is confusing. Sadly not as easy and convenient like when we came here to Sweden..everything done online, clear directions etc etc and above all, simple clear instructions and for at least our case, not much was needed..
So it is enough to write down my wife as guarantor, in 24) just mark self and possibly Guarantor, then skip 24/3 and 25 and have her fill in 27 and sign it before she hands it in right?.. I will pickup a copy of your book as thanks for the help when this is completed 🙂
Hi Patrick Kishino,
Yes, I agree that the process is painfully complicated! My frustration was what motivated me to write this article and the book in the first place! (Thank you for your kind offer to purchase a copy, by the way!)
I would recommend that you mark self and fill in a monthly amount in 24(1). Fill in the same amount under remittances from abroad in 24(2), skip 24(3) 25, and have your wife fill in 26 and 27. She still needs to fill in 26 to declare herself as your guarantor, even if she is not providing you with financial support in 24(1).
If you also write support from your wife as guarantor in 24(1), then her financial support would presumably come from within Japan, so you would not include that in the amount that you list in 24(2).
I hope that helps!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
i want to bring my wife to live with me in japan and even her coe is also with me, my problem is what will happen if my wife will not come to japan within the 3 month of coe issued,
Hi Shiva,
If your wife does not arrive in Japan within three months of the CoE being issued, the CoE would become invalid. You would have to return it to the Immigration Bureau, along with a letter explaining why it wasn’t used, and start the application all over again.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Good day Travis,
Thank you for this wonderful post. I also have a few questions regarding the process. I graduated last October and I’ve been trying to find a job in my country for the past few months but nothing seemed to be going my way. With a huge stroke of luck, I managed to land a job in a very prominent company in Japan last February. With that, I stopped finding a job. The company asked for a scanned copy of my diploma (This is the only document that was asked from me) and submitted the certificate of eligibility on Friday last week. With my luck the past few months, I feel that things are going to smoothly for me and my anxiety always creeps in. Is there a chance that my certificate of eligibility will be denied? I am very much afraid that it will happen and I’ll be back to where I started. Would writing “unemployed” on the application form affect the outcome? I graduated from one of the top universities in the country and my passport also possesses dozens of stamps from travelling to other countries in Asia however I’m not sure if that would be enough to get my certificate since I’m just an unemployed fresh graduate. I know that it will usually take 1-3 months but I’ve been unemployed for so long already. After this I would also have to go through with the visa, is it stricter? Are the chances of getting denied higher?
Hi Charles,
If a large company is applying for the CoE on your behalf, you can be sure that they have experience in the process and should have no trouble getting your CoE.
Writing unemployed should not be a problem, since you are coming to Japan on a work visa and will have a job here. That is what matters most!
I don’t think you have anything to worry about. It can be a bit of a long wait, but I have never head of anyone being denied a working visa if a company applied on their behalf.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much! This really puts me at ease! I guess all I got to do is be patient, I hope my visa goes just as smoothly!
Hello good evening..if someone’s know the list of requirements for take a permanent visa here in japan..i am filipino (this coming December is my 5 years living here in japan) my husband is half japanese ..his visa is permanent..His will try to apply my permanent visa but we don’t know the requirements..
Hi Lhaine,
I haven’t written a post yet about the requirements to apply for permanent residency, but it is on my list of things to do. In the meantime, I regret to say that it is a longer topic than I can cover in a comment here.
Unfortunately, the directions on the Immigration Bureau’s English website just say to ask at your local immigration bureau office. Visiting the local office to ask would probably be your best start for now.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I would like to thank you for making this blog and sharing your experience. What amaze me the most is your heartfelt concern to all commenter no matter how small our question may be.
I have few question I hope you can help out. First, I would like to give a brief background of myself and my wife.
We`re both from the Philippines got married in the Philippines embassy in Roppongi Tokyo this March 14, 2018. I currently have an Engineering/Humanities and International Service valid until Maech 2019 (though I used to have an Instructor visa for the year 2017-2018 and had a student visa from 2015-2017). I don`t have a resident tax yet becaue I didnt work when I was a student
My wife has a multiple tourist visa for maximum stay of 30 day per entry.
Here are my questions;
1. Application for eligibility
My wife`s mother is living in Japan married to a Japanese(no blood relation).
Should I still write my wife`s mother in the application in the family section AND her Japanese stepfather? with their proof of relation like birth certificate?
2. Japanese spouse`s koseki
We went to municipal office to register her in our household BUT the staff said that I can register her after receiving her residence card.
7. Questionaire form
Would you suggest that we write in a bullet type form for easier comprehension or writing is full proper paragraph is better.
8. I bought a return ticket for her this June because we hope that we can just exchange the visa once she`s here.
On the section of the number times been to Japan on the COE form will it matter if she comes to Japan before the result or they don`t really care about it?
Again sorry to bother you, thank you in advance for your time.
Hi Mark,
Thank you for your kind words!
You wrote this comment on the post about the Spouse Visa application process, but since it sounds like you are not a Japanese citizen or a Permanent Resident, you would actually be applying for a Dependent Visa for your wife. The requirements for that application process are different – and a bit simpler!
1. I would recommend writing your wife’s mother in the form, but not her step father unless he legally adopted her when they got married. As far as I know, you do not need to provide any proof of their relationship, such as a birth certificate.
2. Since you are not Japanese and do not have a koseki, this does not apply in your case. (It is not required for a dependent visa). But the city hall was correct, she cannot be registered until she has her residence card, after you complete this process.
7. The questionnaire form does not apply to the dependent visa, so you don’t need to worry about that!
8. Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, you cannot apply for a Change of Status of Residence from a Temporary Visitor/Tourist visa to a Dependent Visa, so she would have to return to the Philippines to apply for a visa after you get the CoE. If she is in Japan when you receive the CoE, you can always try to go to the Immigration Bureau office with that CoE and a Change of Status of Residence application. I have not heard of that being successful in the past, but it does not hurt to try!
In the mean time, fill in the number of times that she has visited Japan as of the day that you submit the CoE application form. It does not matter if she visits Japan again after that date. It won’t hurt her application!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Travis,
Thank you for your prompt response.
I had checked your dependent visa page. You’re correct it’s simplier and appropriate on our end.
I have some follow up questions if you don’t mind.
1. If we process the elegibility will she be granted the same expiration of visa like me since she’s under visa? Or she’ll be given 1 year too.
2. General question what are the different duration of dependent visa?
3. Let say she’s given 3 MOS visa can we request for extension?
Thank you and You’re REALLY A LIFE SAVER
Hi Mark,
1. Her Period of Stay should be independent of yours. However, if you were to leave Japan permanently, she would also have to leave, even if she had time left on her period of stay, since her legal basis for her dependent residence status would be gone.
2. The possible periods of stay for a dependent visa are: 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 1 year and 3 months, 2 years, 2 years and 3 months, 3 years, 3 years and 3 months, 4 years, 4 years and 3 months, 5 years.
3. Yes.
I’m glad I could help!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Travis,
Thank you very much. More than answers you’ve given us confidence in processing. I will update you if she got approve when we try to switch her visa while she’s here.
Hi Travis!
Me and my japanese spouse got married last december 2017 and I am 4 months pregnant now. My husband is not paying his tax in full since he got divorced with his ex wife last 2013 but paying it in partial until now. My question is that would it be possible for my coe application to be denied because of that? He will go next week to the immigration office for my coe application. Does he need to put on his letter that I am pregnant now? Been so stress lately because of this. Hoping for your reply. Thank you in advance. Godbless!
Hi Pia,
Congratulations!
I do not know how the tax payment situation would affect your application because I do not have any specific examples. If he is authorized to make partial payments instead of payment in full, then that should not be a problem.
When you submit your CoE application, I would recommend submitting a copy of your 母子手帳 (the handbook they give you to keep track of your pregnancy and baby’s development) showing that you and he are the parents of your unborn baby. They should help strengthen your application a little bit by showing the commitment of your relations. I did the same thing when my wife was pregnant and I was applying to renew my spouse status.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Travis,
Thank you for the reply. My follow up question is, I just had my baby book last week. Should I photo copy that as well as my ultrasound records and send them to my husband? I already changed my status here in the Philippines thats why the record shows the surname of my husband. You are really a big help to us Travis. You are such a blessing!
Hi Pia,
Are you having your baby in the Philippines? Sorry, I was under the impression that you were in Japan.
In Japan, the baby book you get shows both parents’ names and the baby’s due date.
Even if your book does not show that, then I would still recommend you send copies of the pages of the book that show the information about the baby and the parents, if any. You should not need to send the ultrasound pictures.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
I have a question related to using a bank statement as a proof of additional financial resources (in addition to the minimum 80,000 yen from a supporter in Japan). Will those bank funds ever be checked again after the COE is granted? For instance, at the time of the visa application itself or even upon entering Japan? I have a good deal of cash in the bank right now that I would like to utilize to strengthen my application, but that may go down a bit before I actually move. Is that a possibility or not a good idea?
Thanks,
ET
Hi ET,
They won’t check your bank account balance again after you submit the statement (they won’t have any way to do so!), so you don’t need to worry about that.
It is fine if the balance goes down a bit in the meantime before you arrive in Japan.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks again for all your advice!
One last thing, My wife (who is Japanese) is looking into getting her 住民票but she found that since she her address registered with the Japanese embassy in the USA, she may need to get a different form from the Embassy here called 在留証明. Have you heard about this form?
ET
Hi ET,
I am not directly familiar with that document, but it looks like it is used as an alternative to a 住民票 for some procedures.
When I got married, my wife was still registered in her family’s 住民票 even though she was living overseas, so she was able to get that.
I would recommend that you, or whoever will apply for your CoE on your behalf from Japan, contact the Immigration Bureau and make sure that a 在留証明 can be used as a replacement for the CoE application.
Please do let me know how it goes!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks, I will!
Hi Travis,
Good afternoon.
I hope you can help. I went to Immigration Bureau and applied my CoE & Spouse Visa on 2nd April. My passport got a stamped by immigration. What is this stamped for? I would like to know if I can leave Japan before I got CoE; because I have a business schedule in mid of May to Macau. What will it be happened if I leave Japan before I receive CoE? Would my application be cancelled once I leave and I have to re-apply it when I back
Hi Steph T,
If you applied for a Change of Status of Residence, they should have stamped your passport to show that you had submitted the application, the date, and your application reference number.
With that stamp, you are able to stay in Japan up to two months from the date of the stamp, even if your current period of stay expires. It should not affect your ability to leave the country at all.
You would still have to go through the normal procedures for entering and leaving the country, based on your current residence status.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
I just wanted to update you on the use of 在留証明. That worked perfectly, but it had to be in combination with 戸籍の附票 that indicated that my spouse’s residence is overseas. That document just had the previous 住民票 address crossed out and said 米国 on the bottom line as the current residence.
ET
Hi ET,
Thank you very much for the updates! I will keep that in mind for applicants with questions in the future!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello travis, ask for a help. My husband is a filipino and a nikkie jin.. he’s visa status is long term .. we’ve already applied for COE last may 2017 but got denied. We’ve been maried for almost 3 yrs.. what are the possible reason why our application always denied? Even if we applied for tourist “visit relative” still got denied. 😔 he has koseki.. we got married here in philippines..and he’s monthly income minimum of 200,000 yen. Do you think he should register our marriage in koseki? Or there is another problem in our application? We are planning to apply for another Coe this coming june 2018.. hope you could help us o suggest for any possibilities. Thanks.
Hi Jane Alvizo,
If your husband is not a Japanese national, you would need to apply for a Dependent CoE, not a Spouse CoE. That should be a much simpler process.
But you mentioned that your husband has a koseki. In my understanding, only Japanese citizens have those. I am a permanent resident and I don’t even have one. So, I am a little confused about his status. If he has his own koseki, then he would probably have to report your marriage to the Japanese government and get you added to his koseki. That could be part of the problem.
His income would seem to be sufficient, as long as he has all of the proper tax records. I’m afraid that without actually seeing your application, I don’t know what else could have caused them to reject it. The Immigration Bureau never asked him for additional documentation? Usually they will request clarifying documents if there is a specific problem.
I’m sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello.. thanks for reply.. i mean the koseki is from his lolo…😊 the immigration does not request any additional requirements..but thankyou for replying.. we will try to apply a dependent CoE soon..😊
hello, sorry for asking in you comment box, im just worried, my husband who is a japanese national file my coe last dec 28,2017 but then april 5,2018 after 3 months my coe is denied.. whats wrong? by the way we just married last dec.8,2017 in japan, i had a temporary visit visa then and we got married before my visa end i got back to my country, why is it that my coe denied? he tell me that he will go to immigration office after 10days to ask why my coe denied.. im just worried
Hi Melody,
I’m very sorry to hear about your struggles.
Did the Immigration Bureau ask him to submit any additional documents during the application process? Typically, if there is something missing or incomplete, or the Immigration Bureau needs more evidence, then they would ask the person to submit additional documentation before rejecting the application. If they asked for additional documentation and he did not provide it (or it was not enough for their needs), that would be the best hint as to why the application was rejected.
If they did not ask for any additional documentation, then I’m afraid I cannot give you a certain answer why the application was rejected. In general, missing or incomplete documents, insufficient financial resources, and insufficient proof of the validity of the relationship are the most common reasons I have heard of for applications being rejected. Those are the areas I would recommend that you check first.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
no they did not ask anything. me and ny husband waited for 3 months but denied. maybe because my husband was divorced before and we have a 12 year age gap. mybhusband will go to immigration after 10 days and he will ask whats the reason, hoping that he can get an answer, can he fight for my coe? is there any chance that we can have it?
Hi Melody,
Unfortunately, there is no way to fight or appeal a rejected application. If he finds out what was missing with it, then he can correct that and apply again from scratch, though.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis!
Good noon. Do I really need to apply for the Spouse visa with COE in my home country? What if I am in Japan as “Temporary Visitor” status then apply for Change of Status of Residence w/ my COE? Will that be possible? If so, will it take 1 month to 3 months again just like the processing time of COE? Hoping to hear from you soon. More power to you!
Hi Sakura,
If you are in Japan as a Temporary Visitor and have your CoE, you should be able to take the CoE, the Change of Status or Residence Application, a photo, and the fee (4000 yen) to the Immigration Bureau and get your residence status changed on the same day.
You would not need to prepare all of the supporting documentation again and there should be no waiting time (unless they are particularly busy that day).
I just heard back from another commenter earlier today who did exactly that and had his Spouse residence card within two hours!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
In relation to this, I’ve read in some places online that applicants that have done this had to wait the full 1-3 months. Is there a reason that some people have to wait and others get the change on the same day? Is there anything specific that needs to be brought to the immigration official’s attention when turning in the Change of Status of Residence, photo and CoE together to make sure that it gets processed as quickly as possible?
I am in the waiting process for the CoE, but because of our schedule for finishing jobs, if the CoE itself takes the full 3 months it’s going to put some financial pressure on my wife and I if we have to hang around in the United States waiting for it to finish and then apply for the visa here as well. But I am wary, just because of so many things I’ve heard about people being discouraged from using the CoE in Japan to change the Status of Residence.
In your experience has this been relaxed recently (as it seems most of the stories of people waiting a long time for the Change of Status when they already had the CoE was a few years ago)? Or do you think this is up to the person at the desk when you bring your paperwork in?
As always, thanks for your great advice,
ET
Hi ET,
Unfortunately, I have never heard of anyone having to wait the full three months to change their status of residence in country, if they already had the CoE, so I can’t comment on those stories. (If they did not have a CoE and were applying for a Change of Status of Residence from scratch, it could certainly take that long!)
I have seen people getting it changed the same day, if they have the CoE, or a maximum of a few days later, depending on how busy that particular office was. Some other commenters on here have said that it took them a few weeks to get their Change of Status approved, because the office was busier where they were.
The only other thing that I would recommend that you bring with you when you go to the Immigration Bureau would be a letter of explanation saying why you are using the CoE to apply for the Change of Status in country instead of applying for a visa from the US. It could be something as simple as stating that you were visiting Japan while waiting for the CoE to be issued and since it was released while you were there, you want to apply from within the country. They may ask for that and they may not. Otherwise, everything you listed seems to be enough. After that, it is up to how busy the office is.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks again for the help Travis!
Hi Travis,
I would like to inform you that I have successfully got my COE and was able to change my status of residence from Tourist visa to a Spouse of a Japanese National here in our local immigration bureau. However, I am a little anxious because they did not put any stamp on my passport regarding my tourist visa that will expire next month. They just gave my Residence card. Do you happen to know if they should have put a stamp on passport also or a residence card is all I need in changing my residence status? I am really wondering if the immigration officer that assisted me just forgot it. Hoping for your favorable response.
P.S. Thank you so much for your wonderful blog and book and also for all your assistance, Travis. More power to you!
Hi Sakura,
Thank you very much for your kind words!
If they issue you a Residence Card, they do not stamp anything in your passport regarding the tourist status – that is normal procedure, so do not worry.
The Residence Card is the most important document you can have to show your status. The passport stamp only applies for statuses (or periods of stay) that do not grant a Residence Card.
By the way, they should have put a stamp in your passport when you first applied for the Change of Status of residence – this would be a rubber stamp with your application number written in, not a sticker like the tourist landing permission. If any immigration inspector sees that stamp in the future, they will know that you applied for a Change of Status of Residence and should know to ask you for your Residence Card, so you have nothing to worry about.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello,
Thank you very much for the excellent guide, I’m sure its saved me a ton of time with the application!
I have a couple of questions..
My spouse is a Japanese national. She has ample savings, and she is also the only one with a full year’s residence tax records and the resident tax certificate . Therefore I was going to use her as the guarantor. For financial support, I was going to put down a mixture of my own earnings and hers.
I’m self employed and currently on a work visa here in Japan. Officially I earn a salary of 200,000 yen per month here, and I have a recent gensen choshuhyo tax cert. as proof. For my earnings though, I don’t have any bank statements or anything that can work as proof, just the gensen choshuhyo which shows this amount and taxes paid on the amount.
As mentioned before, as I don’t have a years worth of residence tax payments yet, there is no certificate for that for myself, so I will need to rely on my spouses’.
From reading your guide and suggestions, it seems it would be enough for me to submit my gensen choshuhyo for my company, and a Certificate of Employment that shows the period of employment and salary. If I combine this with my spouses’ earnings/savings, do you think this will be enough/or a good idea? I could submit my spouses’ bank statement as proof of her savings etc too.
So I was wondering about the Certificate of Employment – do you happen to know if that document should be in Japanese? is there a template you have I can use for that, so that I can create my own version (as I’m self employed)? I did a bit of research with Google Sensei, and found a number of templates out there, but thought I better ask for guidance on you, as I didn’t want to submit the wrong thing. I’ll be making the Certificate of Employment myself, for my company as self employed here in Japan.
Thanks so much!
Hi James,
The only financial proofs you are strictly required to submit is your Japanese spouse’s Residence Tax records. That should also be enough to prove her financial capability to be your finanial supporter as well as guarantor.
However, if you are going to list that you will support yourself partially, then I would recommend including your Certificate of Employment with salary and Gensen. It can’t hurt, and it should certainly be more than enough.
I don’t have a template for the Certificate of Employment (although that’s a good idea to develop for the future).
It sounds like you are self-emloyed but have an officially registered company. Am I right? In that case, a letter on company letterhead, if you have it, titled 証明書 that describes your role within the company (社長?), type of employment, salary, and period of employment should be fine. If you are the sole employee and also signing the document, I’m not sure how the Immigration Bureau would view that. They may ask you for more information on your company and it’s registration/financial situation, so be prepared to submit that, if requested.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks Travis for the rapid and thoughtful reply!
My company is officially registered in the UK. In Japan, currently i’m on a work visa – a Representative Office for my company, here in Japan.
I have a document that my immigration agent provided a couple of years ago, when I first applied for my work visa. This document I’ve now updated to include my companies letterhead. The document is in English, and titled ‘Letter of Appointment’. Basically it must be what my agent used as the English equivalent of my Certificate of Employment. It includes my yearly salary, which matches the gensen exactly. It includes my job title, duration of employment, type of work, office’s address, etc, and best of all it is signed by another employee (back in the UK). As I recall I had to get another employee, someone back in the UK, to sign the document, to prove that my company can continue to operate there without me.
Do you think this is basically the same as a Certificate of Employment, and it is ok to submit this in Letter of Appointment instead, in English? or would it be best to recreate the document entirely in Japanese, titled Certificate of Employment, etc. Thanks Travis!
Hi James,
Thank you for the detailed explanation! In that case, the document that you described sounds like it would be fine. Since it is issued by an office in the UK, it makes sense to be in English (and if that worked for you for your visa, there is no reason why it shouldn’t work for you again now).
Ultimately, it’s only in there to prove your financial means, it’s not otherwise an essential part of the required documents, so they should not have a problem accepting it in English, as far as I can tell.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Brilliant, thanks Travis!;)
Hi,I just wanted to have some information about visa
I was staying in the Philippines now,
And my husband wants me to get some short stay visa first and after That the spouse visa as well because he wants me to wait my eligibility certificate in Japan instead of here in the Philippines that’s why I get a short stay also,
so should I process first the short stay visa or spouse visa eligibility at the same time?
Hi Mayumi Ishii,
If your Certificate of Eligibility is still processing, you should be able to apply for a Temporary Visitor visa in the meantime. Then, if your CoE is issued while you are still in Japan, you may be able to take that CoE and a “Change of Status of Residence” application form to the local immigration bureau office to change your status right there without having to return to the Philippines. I would recommend starting the CoE process, first, just to get it started, then start working on the Temporary Visitor visa right afterward.
I would recommend that when you apply for the Temporary Visitor visa that you do not mention that you are applying for a CoE for a Spouse Status and do not mention that you want to change your status while in Japan.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you very much Travis, its really help.
Hi there.. I hope you could help me..
We have applied for visa without CoE here in the Philippines.. i was just wondering if you have an idea on how many months would it take to be processed by the embassy.. i have searched and read articles regarding this concern and all i could find was 1-3 month timeframe.. what got me confused is that the agency who applied for our visa told me that it would take about 6mon or more..
They have already submitted our application under nikkeijin just last week..
We are excited at the same time nervous and worried that it will take long than we have expected..
Please help me clear this confusion..
Thank you!
Hi Jo,
To the best of my knowledge, applying for a visa without a CoE is supposed to take 1-3 months, just like you found. However, I have also seen that almost all visa applications in the Philippines (including applications with a CoE) take longer than they are supposed to.
Perhaps someone else with direct experience can comment, as well!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis.
I am currently in Japan on a tourist visa and arrived here in November, married my spouse in December and then applied for a COE. The reasoning for applying for the COE was that I was worried a change of status may not be processed in time before my tourist visa expired this week. However, I was able to extend my tourist visa anyway so I could stay in Japan an extra 90 days until May.
I just received my Certificate of Eligibility today so I’m now planning to apply for a Change of Status to a spousal visa.
My question is this: do I need to re-submit all of the various documents again such as my wife’s Juminhyou, Letter of guarantee, Questionnaire etc OR will just the Change of Status application form be sufficient as the Osaka immigration office already possesses all of the other documents from my COE application last month? Not needing these documents again will save my wife half a day’s holiday to take a trip to the local ward office to get fresh copies.
I bought your book from Amazon by the way and it was a BIG help so thank you very much for that!! It made it much simpler to understand the COE process so that was 3000 Yen well spent!!
Hi Paul,
Thank you for your kind comments! I’m glad that you found the book helpful.
Since you have the CoE in hand, you will not need to resubmit all of the documents that you submitted for the CoE application. It should be enough just to submit the application form with a photo and your CoE. You’ll also need to have 4,000 yen to buy the revenue stamps. You only need to pay when you pick up the card, but in some cases I have seen the Immigration Bureau be able to issue cards in your situation on the same day, so it’s best to be prepared!
It would be safest to call the immigration bureau office to double-check, but that is what has worked for everyone I have talked to in the past.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis.
Apologies for the late reply but I thought I’d let you know I successfully managed to change my status to that of a Spouse so I can now live here … for the next year anyway until I have to renew. I’m planning to go to a language school now and having a resident visa makes the application a piece of cake!
I arrived at 11:30 and they warned me it would be processed that day, but it would probably take a long time so I prepared myself for a multi-hour wait. Although I was out of there by 1pm with my Alien Registration card in hand.
Again, many thanks for the help and your website (and book) was extremely useful!!
Hi Paul,
Congratulations and thank you for your kind words! Schools and jobs become a lot simpler when you have spouse status.
Thank you also for confirming that they were able to process your application the same day, since you had the CoE in hand! I am glad to hear that seems to be consistent from office to office.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
HI travIS
I have this question thats been bothering me.my wife’s ceo has been applied lastYear decembER.me and my father are the guarantors of my wife.I just started working last yr of july.So i they only ask for my payslip and shakai hoken.last deC.i went home here in the phil.I am excused at my company that i cannot come back yet for some personal reason.But may hakken kaisha cutted my shakai last january 31 bec.I am not there working.But they will apply it again as soon as i go back to japan
My question is will the immigration trace that it happened?will be that the reason that my wife’s ceo be rejected?
And i also have one more question. when wr applied for her ceo.the immigration req. are all my family members residence tax,income tax and hoken as well.Are we all the guarantors of my wife?or me and just my father?bec.thats what we wrote on the application.We are living in one house By the way.
Hi Carl,
There is only space to write one guarantor on the CoE application, but you can write multiple financial supporters.
Typically, the spouse is the guarantor if they can be.
Unfortunately, I don’t know if the Immigration Bureau will follow up with your company or not, so I can’t give you a certain answer one way or another. But it would probably be better if you returned to work sooner rather than later, just in case.
By the way, you referred to the Philippines being “home,” but are you a permanent resident of Japan? This article is about the process for spouses of Japanese citizens or permanent residents. If you are not a permanent resident, I would recommend referring to my article on how to apply for a Dependent Visa.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Yes i am a permanent resident in japan
I went just went home here in ph bec.my wife is still here.we decided to just wait for her ceo to come out so that we will go to japan together.yes i am the guarantor of my wife but we aslo attached my fathers guarantee letter and cert.of employment.is this this maybe the reason why is taking it so long to for the ceo to come bec.i went here in the ph and my shaka8 hoken is cut.?.we first submitted it nov.last yr then there is addtionao req..we provided it agin last dec.27.so how is the counting of the application?
Sorry fo my typo errors.and thats coe not ceo
Hi Carl,
There’s really no way to know why the application might be taking so long. It can take up to 3 months to process, according to the Immigration Bureau’s guidelines, and if you had to submit additional documents – right around the end of year holidays, as well – it is not surprising that it is taking close to the full three months.
It should be three months from the initial submission date, so hopefully you will hear back from them soon!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello travis.My wife’s eligibility finally arrived!all my worries are gone!so happy.
Now its time for visa.the visa will be granted right if you have the COE in hand?
Hi Carl,
That’s terrific news! Thank you for letting me know, as well.
Technically, even if you have a CoE in hand, the visa is not guaranteed, but it should not be a problem for you. The only reason I have heard of why someone would not be able to get a visa is if the reason for the CoE is no longer valid (e.g. in your case, if you and your wife had gotten divorced in the meantime). Since that is not an issue, you should be fine!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, thank you very much for the article.
thanks to my mother in law, i already get the COE without doing anything.
Only one problem is she was a bit too honest 😀
She asked for 1 year visa (actually i will be there for only 6 months for birth delivery so 1 year is good)
but I often visit Japan around 3 times/year to visit husband’s family, friends, sightseeing and i hate applying visa every time.
Do you know know how complicated it would be to apply for extension when this visa get expired?
Thank you very much !!!
Hi Sa,
You can apply for an extension of period of stay when you are within three months of the expiration of your current period of stay. You’ll have to submit more or less the same documentation, except for the questionnaire and it’s not that terribly complicated if you are living in Japan and have all the required records.
But this residence status is intended for people who will be living in Japan, not just visiting form time to time. If they see that you are not living constantly in Japan, they may refuse to renew your status.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Travis, we got the CoE today (1 year validity). It took about 7 weeks so not that bad. Really thank you so much for all the info/answers in this blog as well as the info in your book. It may be useful (to other Italians) to know that the Italian embassy in Tokyo issues right away a doc (in Italian and Japanese) that can be used as foreign marriage certificate in the CoE application (saving the trouble to have to wait for the actual registration and to have to translate the doc).
Hi Gab,
Congratulations!
Thank you for sharing how long it took and the information about the Italian Embassy in Tokyo, as well!
I keep a list of things to update in the book when I release new editions, so I will add in your information about the Italian Embassy, as well.
Thank you again and good luck with your visa application!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello travis. im bothered with something.here it is.we applied for my husbands ceo last december.before we applied it i already bought my ticket going to phil.my vacation is suppostedly 3wks but me and my husband decided that i will stay longer here in the phil and we will just wait for his eligibility.
my question is ,will the immigration trace that i went home?will it affect my husbands eligiblity?like do i need to be in japan?until now,there is no result yet.its going to be 1 month this friday.
My mother is the one who applied my husband’s ceo.i was at work that time.all my family members are in japan
Hi Hazel,
You do not need to be in Japan for the CoE to be issued and it is not going to be a problem if you leave the country to spend time with your husband!
The only “problem” is that someone has to be in Japan to receive the CoE by mail and then forward it to you, but based on your second comment, it sounds like you have that solved, already!
One month would be pretty short for a CoE to be issued, so it’s not late, by any means! This is normal processing time and you should have nothing to worry about.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thankyou so much for answering back.
But i wrote on the application that i have a work in japan.i just started july of last year.so the thing is they will call the company iam working.and. ask if i work there then the company will say yes but im in the phil right now.will that affect?
And by the way.we are from shizouka.in hamamatsu immigration we submitted it.
Its like a province in there.i jusy wanted ti share.
Hi Hazel,
As long as your absence from the company is excused (e.g. they approved your vacation time), there should be no problem!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi travis.!
I just want to ask something about coe. My husband applied for my coe last year nov. 3rd week. Then after a month the immigration asked for add. Requirement so last month january my husband already submitted the add. Requirement in the immigration needed for my coe. But until now were still waiting for my coe. It will be going 3 months by 3rd week of feb. Do i have to be bother.?
Hi Maria,
If your husband submitted everything they asked for by the deadline they gave him, then they should be able to give you a result within the 3-month processing time, even if it may be at the very end.
In my experience, I have never heard of them failing to give a final decision within the 3 month period. (Sometimes, if they ask for additional documents and the person does not submit them by the deadline, then they reject the application and tell you to try again, but if your husband met the deadlines, that should not happen!)
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you for replying travis. The immigration told my husband that the additional requirement need to submit by january 19 last month. Then my husband sent it to immigration last january 5. So we didnt failed the deadline. But until now there’s no feedback from immigration. I feel worried.
Hi Maria,
I’m glad to hear that he made it in well before the deadline. Don’t worry too much about the lack of feedback: The Immigration Bureau will only ever contact you when something is wrong or when the application is complete.
I work with international students and personally file approximately 300 CoE applications every year. Immigration never tells me a word about their progress and won’t give any information if I call to ask. It’s just their way. Nothing out of the ordinary.
I hope you hear good news soon!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello travis.! Finally my husband already got my coe.! Our next step is my visa application. Hope it will turn all good. By the way thank you for your blog. It helps the people for worrying about applying coe. And thank you for replying me. Have a great day.!
Hi Travis, just out of curiosity, do you have an idea if the one-three months mentioned as standard processing time refers only to cases where no further documentations is request? Or it includes all cases? Thanks. Gab.
Hi Gab,
That’s the standard time for all cases. If your application is complete on submission, then your screening time will be closer to one month (depending on how busy the office is).
Even if extra documents are required, my understanding is that the screening does not go longer than three months. If you haven’t submitted the documents in time to make the three month cut off, they would reject your application and tell you to start again. That has happened to some readers on here in the past.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks Travis. We applied about 6 weeks ago in Saitama (part of the Tokyo regional immigration office), and we did submit all the requested docs (plus some). I suppose nothing to do but wait. Gab.
Hi Gab,
Six weeks isn’t so long that I would start worrying yet, especially in Tokyo. As long as they haven’t contacted you to request extra documents, you should be fine.
I hope you hear back soon!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello,
I have a question,
If I marry in Japan, can I stay in Japan until the certificate of eligibility is produced ?
Hi Pieter-Jan Van Haecke,
If you get married in Japan and apply for a Change of Status of Residence from Temporary Visitor to Spouse of Japanese national, you can stay until the end of your “Temporary Visitor” status or until 2 months after you submit your application, whichever comes first.
However, there is no guarantee that the Immigration Bureau will accept your Change of Status of Residence application. They might tell you that you need to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility, instead. (There is no clear rule, so there is some discretion involved). In that case, you can only stay in Japan until the end of yoru Temporary Visitor status. If your CoE was not released by then, then you would have to leave the country.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Hope you are doing well. I have the same question as his. Me and my fiance will marry and apply for the COE while I am on a “Temporary Visitor” for 30 days. Upon reading your comment here, I know there is no guarantee that the Immigration Bureau will accept my Change of Status of Residence. But we still want to try our luck to extend my stay even until 2 months, so my question is, once I go to there office how many hours/days will it take for me to know if they will allow me to extend my stay or not?
Hi Iwamoto,
I agree that you should definitely give it a try!
After you are married and have all of your paperwork prepared, I would recommend you go to the Immigration Bureau right away with the Change of Status of Residence application and all the supporting materials you need to try to submit it. They should let you know on the spot whether they will accept your application (in which case, you will be able to stay) or whether they will require you to apply for the CoE instead.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you for your revert. We bought your book yesterday and it is really a big help for us. However, we still have a question regarding the snapshot of us as a couple. Do we need to print each on a photo paper? (If so, what size?) or can I just put many photos as I can on a clean a4 size paper? Your reply will be much appreciated! Thank you!
Hi Iwamoto-san,
Thank you very much!
I am sorry I wasn’t more clear in that section. For the snapshots, it is acceptable to print them out on regular printer paper. It is not strict like the ID photo.
Your idea of printing several out on one piece of A4 paper should work fine! 2 to a page or maybe up to 3 to a page should work. The important thing is just to make sure that the photos are clear and easy for the evaluator to understand.
Best Regards,
Travis
Hey Travis,
Could you help clear up a couple things?
1. Is it possible to have a Brother-in-law be a guarantor/financial supporter? Relatedly, while reading your book it seems to me that wherever the source of financial support is coming from, there needs to be 80,000 Yen per person, is that correct? If I was able to ask my Brother-In-Law would he then need to show 80,000 Yen x 3 = 240,000 Yen for support of himself, his wife and me? It wouldn’t extend to my wife as well, even if we are all living together (on paper anyway to begin with)?
2. If I couldn’t ask my Brother-In-Law and I used my savings, would I need to show enough for 160,000 Yen a month if my wife doesn’t have a job yet? Or just 80,000 Yen a month for myself?
3. Finally, is it safe to alway enter names in “LAST FIRST MIDDLE” order unless specified otherwise in the various applications and questionnaires?
Thanks again!
Oh, one other thing. How realistic is it to go on a Tourist Visa and change the status of residence after getting a COE, considering we are not getting married there, but have been married for over a decade?
I have three scenarios:
1. Fly to Japan from USA, once I get my COE fly back to the USA to apply for the visa.
2. Stay in the USA with relatives while my wife goes to Japan to apply for the COE on my behalf.
3. Fly to Japan and apply for Change of Residence once I have the COE.
4. Ask In-Laws to apply on my behalf in Japan.
#3 would be the best for me, both financially and to avoid being separated from my wife for a longer period of time. But it is not “necessary” so to speak. #4 would be convenient for me but not for my In-Laws and asking for them to be a Guarantor/Supporter is already hard enough.
Hi ET,
Of the options you gave, I would highly recommend #4. It is a bit of trouble for them, especially if they are not close to the nearest immigration bureau office, but if you bring them a nice gift when all is said and done, that should make up for it!
You could fly to Japan and apply for the CoE while here, but there is no guarantee that the CoE would be issued before your 90-day period of stay in the country is over. If it is issued in time, then you would have no problem in that situation taking the CoE back to the Immigration Bureau office and applying for a Change of Status of Residence.
Sometimes it is possible to skip the CoE application and apply directly for a Change of Status of Residence (by submitting all the same documentation you would submit for the CoE, anyway), but this is not allowed “in general” and only permitted in extenuating circumstances, such as if you got married after arriving in Japan so you weren’t legally able to apply for the CoE before coming. Even then, it is a matter of discretion.
If you go with #3, then be prepared for the possibility that it might turn into #1 if there is a problem with the processing time.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks again for all your help, Travis!
Hi ET,
1. Yes, a brother-in-law should be fine as a guarantor/financial sponsor. They are not going to ask him to show 80,000 yen for each person that he is already supporting. He needs to be able to commit to providing that much support for you on top of his other financial obligations to his family, etc. He also does not need to state one way or another whether he would be supporting your wife or to prove any resources related to that.
2. You only need to show resources to cover yourself. The immigration bureau is not going to ask about your wife’s finances if she is Japanese, unless she is your sponsor. Also, two people living together would not need 160,000, because there are some significant costs (like rent) that you can combine.
3. Yes!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Very helpful website!
I’m on the JET program, it’s my second year. Married to a Japanese national. Have a baby. Wife is currently not working. My Instructor visa is until August 2019, with the high probability of extending for 2 more years, until August 2021.
I’m a US citizen, and by some agreement, don’t pay Japanese taxes in the first two years while in Japan.
I came here in Aug 2016. So I don’t start paying taxes until August 2018.
Which means I will pay taxes for part of 2018, and onward. In the year 2019 I will pay taxes for the whole year, which means in 2020 I will have a paper that shows that.
My question is: Is it worth it to apply to change the status of residence now, with no proof of tax payment? Or would it be better to wait until I have paid taxes for a whole year and be able to show that? (or am I missing the point, and its more like “It’s better to just ride out the current visa until I have to change it”)
Thanks
Hi Michael,
My opinion – and it’s just an opinion – is that it is best to change to the Spouse of Japanese National status as soon as possible if you plan to live here long-term.
The sooner you change to spouse status, the sooner you will be eligible to apply for permanent residency. Permanent residency opens up more options for things like loans, life insurance, home-building, etc., so it’s good to have if you plan to continue living here!
If you have a legal exemption from paying taxes, do you get a statement to that extent at the end of the year? I list the certificate of residence tax as one of the required documents, but a certificate of exemption from paying residence tax is also listed as a possible document.
If you don’t have that, then you should be able to apply with a copy of your Gensenchoshuhyo and proof of employment (check with your local immigration bureau to make sure this is OK with them first, but this is the solution that worked for me and has worked for a lot of other readers here). A document from the JET program explaining the tax exemption would probably also help as a supporting item.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Follow up question, In this questionaire from osaka immigration, who will fill up this form? me (living here in japan) or my wife( in philippines)? and the last part who’s sign will it be? got confused co’z they gave me 15 days to submit and I thought it will be sent to my wife co’z of long due date..same 15 days they gave me when they request nbi/police clearance from philippines. Thanks again
Hi Ryan,
The questionnaire is meant to be filled in and signed by the spouse living in Japan (the haigusha). I try to make that clear – as well as pointing out who each section applies to – in the book!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank yous sir, I asked my japanese friend to read it for me and he also clarifies that the haigusha is the one who will fill up..Do you have an email address? Have some questions regarding the book..
Hi Ryan,
You can use the contact form on the site or reply to one of the emails if you’re on my mailing list, but to be perfectly honest, I get far more email every day than I can possibly reply to, so there’s a chance that it may take months to reply.
I respond to blog questions on a higher priority, so if you ask here, I’ll be able to get back to you much more quickly!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi, Thanks for the pointers and hints.. I am in the process of applying coe for my wife. To clarify things, I am the haigusha? (filipino male living in japan) and my wife is the shinseisha (living in philippines) There is also a return envelope where you enclose the completed questionaire which indicates applicants name? is it my name or my wife’s name to be written?Can I upload a copy of this questionaire in this site..gladly like to help others..
Hi Ryan,
Are you a permanent resident of Japan? If you aren’t then you need to be following a different application process for the dependent visa.
I break down the questionnaire in detail in my book about How to Get a Spouse Visa for Japan, but the “applicant” is the shinseisha is the person applying for the visa. The spouse/haigusha is the Japanese national or permanent resident.
Thank you for your offer. There is no way to upload the document directly. If you want to email it to me, I will double-check the contents and post it, but I’m afraid it will take me a little while to get to it as I have quite a backlog of articles and books I need to finish first.
Thank you again.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi,
Thanks so much for the great post. One thing I’m not 100% sure on is the need for a marriage certificate. My situation is as follows: My wife is Japanese and I am American. We have been married for 14 years. We lived in Japan for 2 years just after getting married (when the process for getting the spouse visa was a lot easier…) The marriage is on my wife’s Koseki Tohon. Is the translated marriage certificate still required?
Also, are original photos required when submitting photos of us as a couple? I have wedding photos but don’t have duplicates of those, and don’t want to lose them. I have plenty of photos over the years of us as a couple but most of them are digital and I’m wondering what type of photo would be acceptable (e.g. would printing a digital photo on paper be ok?).
Thanks so much!
Hi ET,
Thank you for your kind words and for purchasing the book!
Did you get married under Japanese law or American? If you were originally married in the US and then reported that marriage to the Japanese authorities, you would need to provide a translated copy of your US marriage certificate. If you were originally married in Japan, then there would be no US government-issued record of your marriage, so all you would need to provide would be a statement explaining that. (There is a sample in the book and bonus document pack).
You do not need to submit original photos for the pictures showing you as a couple. When I applied, we printed several digital photos ourselves on regular printer paper.
You do need an original photo for the ID photo that you attach to the application, but that’s about it.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
We were married under US law, so I guess I will need the marriage certificate.
Thanks a lot for the information, and the book is really helpful too!
Hi Travis,
Awesome article and very informative!
My name is Christian and I’m a Danish national, currently visiting my girlfriend in Osaka. We have just sent off for the notice of marriage ceritificate that I need to get married here in Japan.
I was looking at the Japanese embassy information on applying for the CoE, and I noticed that their information is quite outdated (updateded in 2010…). So my question is this:
Can I apply for the CoE while I’m here in Japan or do I have to “pretend” not to be here, and let my girlfriend submit the application on my behalf? She’s Japanese national, living and working here. I have a landing permit until the 18th of March 2018.
Thanks in advance.
Best regards
Christian
Hi Christian,
There is no problem with applying for a CoE while you are in Japan.
In fact, since you’re already in the country, I would suggest that you try to apply for a “Change of Status of Residence” instead. That would allow you to change from short-term stay status to spouse status without leaving the country.
The difference between the Change of Status application process and the CoE application process is just the application form, itself. All the supporting documents are the same. So, if you collect all of those documents, complete both application forms and turn in the Change of Status one first, then the worst case scenario is that they tell you that you have to apply for a CoE. In that case, you just switch application forms and lose no time.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you so much for answering and your advise about change of status application. I will do that 🙂
/Christian
Hi Travis,
Happy New Year to you. This forum is amazingly informative.
My Japanese wife and I (Canadian) are living in Canada currently.
We don’t plan on settling in Japan until 2020 however I wish to apply for spouse visa in order to get permanent residency sooner.
Correct me if I am wrong, my understanding of pre-requisite for PR is 3~5 years of Spouse Visa.
Is it possible for a foreigner living abroad to have Japan Spouse Visa (while NOT living in Japan)?
Please note, my wife doesnt have Juminze as she registered herself as non-resident of Japan awhile ago.
Thank you and have a great day
Hi Mark,
Thank you for your kind words.
Because Japan (frustratingly) uses different terminology from the rest of the world when it comes to visas, I want to make sure we’re on the same page with words. For Japan, a visa is just permission to enter the country. “Residence Status” is permission to stay there. A visa becomes a residence status when you arrive in Japan and the visa itself becomes invalid (used).
Once you apply for your Certificate of Eligibility and receive it, you’ll have to apply for your visa and arrive in Japan within 3 months of the Certificate of Eligibility being issued. So, essentially, a single-entry visa has a shelf life of about 3 months.
There are a few conflicting requirements for PR, but yes, you must hold a spouse residence status for a minimum of 3 or 5 years (depending on which set of requirements is accurate).
Once you hold a spouse residence status, you will need to return to Japan whenever you need to renew it and, unless you specifically apply for a re-entry permit, you can only leave for up to 1 year at a time without losing your residence status.
Technically, you can maintain your spouse residence status that way while living outside of Japan, but the Immigration Bureau may refuse to renew your status or may refuse to grant you permanent residency if it is clear to them that you are not residing in Japan.
My recommendation would be to wait until you actually plan to move to Japan to apply for the visa. There are a few extra rights and privileges you gain as a PR (such as more banks will give you loans, etc.), but for the most part, there is no real difference. As a Spouse, you have full working privileges, etc.
I hope that helps!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis ! Thanks for the information that you’ve shared, it really helps a lot. I’m Filipina and I got married to my husband last year August and we had processed everything. My husband had just claimed CoE for spouse that he had processed in Japan last year December and after that he came back here in Cebu, Philippines and we both processed my visa to go to Japan but in the Philippines, especially here in Cebu we need to go to an agency recommended by the Japanese Embassy. So we did, and submitted the papers same as you mentioned and they told us to come after 3 weeks or they’ll just send message, so probably they’ll send me message by January 19, 2018. Now I’m just getting anxious about my visa whether it’ll be approved or not ( I’ve read stories about visa denied, tourist visa though). My husband is very confident about it and said nothing to be worried about since I’m married to him. So just to put my mind at ease, do I really have to worry about it not getting approved? Please I need your comment on this.
Hi Kathleen,
I’ve never heard of a Spouse Visa being denied after the CoE was issued, so I agree with your husband that you should have nothing to worry about!
I have heard a lot of applicants from the Philippines complain about the agencies and how long they take, but like you said, I have only ever heard of tourist visas being denied.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much for the quick reply. It’s really reassuring to read your message. I guess I’m just overthinking things.
Thank you so much again!
Hi Kathleen,
I’m glad I could help reassure you 🙂
I hope you hear good news soon!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi trans
So my gf and I got married this Dec. in the philippines and it would take about 6 months to get a statistics office copy of our marriage certificate. Could we pass a copy of the original marriage certificate which is not certified by the office and tell the immigration that it would take longer to get a certificate from the statistics office.
Hi Kawashin,
I have heard from past readers that you do not need the official report from the Statistics Office for the Philippines. Proof that you have completed the marriage and reported it to the Statistics Office should be sufficient, as you suggested. You might want to contact the Immigration Office directly to check on the format of the document you will submit, though.
The last case I heard of was a couple that had been married in Japan and the Filipino spouse had provided proof of reporting the marriage to the Philippines Consulate in Osaka. That was enough for them.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis ..
I have a question
I’ve been to Japan 3 times for work For talent
Last October 9 ,2017 come to ph. my fiancé invite me to go in Japan for tourists. I apply my tourist visa oct 23,2017 in travel agency but I denied.
Then my fiancé asked a lawyer what a good thing to do.. I’m stay in ph now..
and last nov 2017 we get married to Japan even I’m still here In ph .. all my documents for marriage I passed him.. and he told me that we already married and got my certificate of marriage and kosekitohon.
Then my husband apply me again for my visa but is spouse visa .. I was thinking if I have chance again to denied? Then immigration said 1-3 months before we know the results.. now I’m very stress I’m thinking I’m I have chance to get denied again ??
My husband is japanese citizen and I’m pilipina
Thank you
Hi Ina,
1-3 months is the normal processing time for a Certificate of Eligibility, so there is nothing to be worried about there!
If your husband has submitted all of the required documents, you should be fine. (If not, the Immigration Bureau will contact him if they need something additional.)
Being denied a tourist visa in the past should not have any effect on this application.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Good morning Travis..😉
Thank’s for your quick reply..
I’m happy to hear your message
since my husband send my document last november 22, the immigration not contact him until now it’s mean I don’t have to chance to get denied again
I hope everything will be fine..
Hello Travis
I hope u can help me again
To day my husband get a letter in immigration
My documents tarinai datte .. I need to get a marriage report in PSA .. to get married certificate .. I don’t now if we have a married report in PSA ..
we have only a marriage certificate in Japan
And my husband said we need to get marriage report until February 8
What I need to do
I hope u can help me
God bless Travis
Hi Ina,
If you were married in Japan, you would have been required to report your marriage to the Philippine embassy or consulate as well. The Philippines requires that you report foreign marriages.
You’ll need to report it and submit proof of having submitted that report to the Japanese Immigration Bureau. Based on what past readers have told me, you should not need the final certificate from the statistics office, just proof that you have reported it.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello again Travis my problem is we are married under japanese law
I’m here in Philippine now
I don’t know if my country can issue a certificate of marriage conducted under foreign law ..
where I need to go ? And I’m very stressed because we need to submit in February 8 I hope u can’t help me again.. thank you
Hi Ina,
Even though you’re back in the Philippines now, I would recommend that you contact the Philippine Embassy or consulate in Japan to ask how you should report your marriage now. You may be able to do it from within the Philippines, but either way, the embassy/consulate should know.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you for your reply
God bless
Hi Travis!
I am currently filling out the certificate of eligibility application and Im stuck. I am hoping you can answer a few questions to help me out please. For the intended length of stay question, is it best to write down a longer length. I am planning to stay in Japan for a year but should I put down 2 or 3 years in case. Second, what is the difference between dependent and spouse of Japanese national? I think I am both so I’m not sure which one to check. My mother in law will be our supporter since my husband is not employed and living in Japan at this time. Hope to hear from you soon.
Thanks!
Hi Kelsey,
First, you can’t be both a spouse of Japanese national and a dependent. You are a “spouse” if your spouse is a citizen of Japan or a permanent resident of Japan. You are a “dependent” if your spouse is a foreign national living in Japan on any other residence status (student, working, long-term resident, etc.).
For the length of stay, unless you have a specific reason why you will leave Japan after 1 year, then I would recommend applying for the longest length of stay possible (5 years for spouse of Japanese national). If your spouse is Japanese, even if you leave the country after a year, you’d likely be coming back to visit from time to time, so having the status would help!
Of course, you might not get the length of time that you applied for, but there’s no harm in asking.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks for the quick and helpful reply! I have one more question. Does the application have to be printed on A4 paper? Are they picky about that?
Hi Kelsey,
It should be if you have the option, but I know (and Japanese embassies and universities know) that in some countries, A4 paper is hard to get a hold of.
I have never heard of an application being rejected because it was on letter-sized paper.
I once heard of an applicant ordering A4 paper online just so she could print her application on that size, but I think that might be taking things a little too far. Letter size should be fine!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis! 🙂
I am amazed how you are answering all the questions people are asking! 😀 I really appreciate it! Without your step by step quide I would be screwed!
I have few questions as well, since embassy is being very lazy to give me proper answers no matter how many times I ask them..
So, Dear Travis..
I am Finnish and my husband is Japanese. We got married 5 years ago and we’ve been living in Finland whole this time.
My husband got job from Tokyo. He is supposed to start working at the end of January already and now we are stuck with this sudden Visa & CoE application thing. It’s no way I can make it within 1 month :/
We are currently searching apartment from Tokyo, so we don’t have address in there yet, so what should I write on application form?
Also my husband has been university student this 5 years. He had no income during this time. Instead I’ve been the one working. So what can I write on application.. oh lord..
About proxy person. Can this be any person? Like a friend I know from Tokyo or it must be Japanese relative?
As I said we will move to Tokyo. Parents of my husband are living in Miyazaki. Can they be this proxy person and bring CeO to Miyazaki’s immigration bureau or the office must be within the area we are moving?
Thank you so much! 🙂
Hi Maria,
Thank you very much for your kind words!
You have to apply for the CoE from inside Japan, so either your husband’s parents would have to submit it, as you suggested, or your husband would have to do so after he arrives in Japan.
Assuming that your parents-in-law will submit the application on your behalf, you could fill in their address as the place you will be living. I assume that is still your husband’s registered honsekichi (legal domicile). I know that won’t be a problem because I did the same thing – I applied using my parents-in-law’s address as my intended place to live but ended up living on the other side of the country, instead. Not a problem.
For your husband’s salary situation: You may want to follow up with the Immigration Bureau office in Japan directly for specific guidance, but I have heard of both of the approaches below working in different situations:
1. One of your parents-in-law could as your guarantor, since they will be able to supply the necessary tax records. Your husband should still be able to serve as your financial supporter if he can provide proof of his salary for his new job. Additionally, if you provide a bank account statement with sufficient funds, you could be your own financial supporter, at least partially.
2. It may be possible for your husband to serve as your guarantor and financial supporter, even without the tax records, if he can provide proof of salary.
In either case, you want to follow up with the Immigration Bureau office in Japan, not the embassy. This is not the embassy’s jurisdiction, and they are not even part of the same government ministry, so they likely can’t answer you anyway.
Your proxy must be your husband, a family member (including your husband’s family), or a lawyer/legal scrivener with permission to serve as an agent for this process. A friend/acquaintance will not be able to serve as your proxy.
You must submit the application within the same jurisdiction as the proxy’s legal residence. So, if your parents in law are your proxy, they would have to submit it in Miyazaki. If your husband submits it as your proxy after coming to Japan, he would submit it in Tokyo.
I hope that help!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
I have a challenging question.
I’m a U.S. citizen by birth with a U.S. passport.
In 1962 I married a Japanese lady, and completed all the necessary U.S. and Japanese
paperwork. We had a marriage certificate issued by the American embassy in Tokyo
and also my name was placed on my wife’s family register in Yamagata ken as her
husband. Subsequently we lived in the U.S. for more than 50 years visiting Japan from
time to time.
About four years ago due to ill health she passed away, but she still has surviving relatives
in Japan who I know very well.
If I wanted to apply for a spousal visa, would it be possible even after my wife has passed
away? I never knew there was such a thing in the past. Not that it is too important, as I don’t
think that I would be moving to Japan permanently at this time, but I’m curious of what
my status is. It would be nice to be able to visit Japan for a while and not have to worry
about constantly getting a tourist visa. I’m retired from the U.S. Air Force and any other
positions, and I am 79 years old.
Thanks.
Hi Walter,
I am sorry for your loss. Unfortunately, you would not be able to apply for a spousal visa in that situation. You have to be actively engaged in the activities specified in the visa – living together as husband in wife, in this case.
Even if you had already been in Japan with a spouse visa before she passed away, you would have been required to leave the country or change your visa status to another valid type.
As a US citizen, though, you do not have to do anything to apply for a Tourist Visa. You get a 90-day stay automatically on arrival in the country each time.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello travis.i have this important question
I applied my husband’s paper last november 22 of this year.immediately after 2 days,they gave us a letter for the lacking papers need to be sumbitted.we sent it again last december 8 but they want a copy of my mother and 2 brothers shakai hoken.since they just applied it to their hakken kaisha they cannot yet provide the card or copy.by the way,since we live in one house together they also require their shakai and residence tax.
Since i am still new working,they only ask for my payslip and shakai hoken as well.
My question is,what if we cannot yet send the copy of their shakai?the immigration gave us until december 22.if we can provide it on january,will the requirements be change already?since it is 2018.or it will be still the same requirement?because we already applied it last november.the only lacking requirement they need is my family’s copy of hoken..
Thanks.waiting for your response
Hi Zel,
The requirements are not going to change for the new year, but if you miss their deadline, they may reject the application and tell you to submit it again from scratch.
If there’s any way that you can hurry up the processing, or get the information yourself from the city hall, that might be a good idea.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thankyou for answering.what do you mean if we cannot complete it on december 22 they will change the requirements next year?start from scratch?
Hi Zel,
The requirements will not change, but if you don’t meet their deadline, then they may judge your application based only on the documents that you have already submitted. In that case, there’s a chance the application would be rejected and you would have to start over.
If you think you’re only going to be a few days late, then I would recommend that you contact the Immigration Bureau and let them know. They may be willing to wait!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
HEllo traviz,i have a good news.We already completed and submitted m y husband’s Paper last dec.27.
How long will it take for the eligibility to come?thankyou
Hi Zel,
Officially, it takes anywhere from 1-3 months. It all depends on how busy the office is and whether or not your application was complete. In my experience, 2 months is about average, but I’ve had a lot of commenters on here say their application took closer to 3.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis! Thanks for this blog. I got a lot of ideas and facts here.
I just have a question in mind tho, I and my husband married last Feb 5 2017. And now we are on the process of acquiring my COE.
In the questionnaire phone numbers and addresses of 2 party is required. Problem is I dont know how to contact my father because we have broken family. What should we put in that section? thank you
Hi Kim,
I’m sorry to hear about your trouble.
If you don’t know your father’s location or contact information, you should be able to put “unknown (不明),” but I would recommend that you or your husband contact the Immigration Bureau to double-check. They may want more information or have a specific answer that you should fill in for that case.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much for you fast reply.
Will the embassy call each information listed ?
Hi Kim,
In my experience, no – especially not for anyone living outside of Japan. I know they didn’t contact any of the family members that I listed in that document.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Yay! Thank you soo much. I will update you once I have my COE. A lot of thanks to you for making this wonderf guide 🙂
Hi Kim,
Thank you for your kind words! I hope to hear soon that you have the CoE in hand.
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis! Great news because of this guide , I was able to get my COE! 🙂
Thankkk you soo much ❤️
Now for the Visa. Shall I apply it to Japan embassy here in the Philippines or in an accredited agency?
Also please correct me if Im wrong
but these are the things I need for visa application.
1.) VISA Application form
2.) Passport
3.) Photo 4.5 x 4.5 cm (can this be the same photo I used for the COE?)
4.) COE – original
5.) Birth certificate
6.) Marriage certificate
Thank you sooo much again 😬😬😁
Hi Kim,
Thank you very much for your kind words!
My understanding is that the Japanese Embassy in the Philippines does not accept visa applications directly so you would have to go through one of the accredited agencies.
The visa application requirements vary from country to country, so I would recommend that you double-check the list on the embassy’s website, just to be safe.
The list you wrote looks almost complete to me, but I think you need a photocopy of the CoE in addition to the original.
The photo can be the same, as long as it is less than 6 months old, but the size requirement is different from the CoE, so just make sure it matches the requirement and you should be fine.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you Travis! 🙂 You surely dont miss any comments 😬
Im done with the Visa Application.
Im now waiting for the result.
Kinda nervous of the outcome 😱
Cause last December 2017
I applied for tourist visa and got denied. So we just process the COE.
Will that affect my recent application which is Spouse Visa with COE? Im really thinking it over and over 😭
Hi Kim,
Getting denied on a tourist visa in the past should not affect your Spouse CoE application, so I wouldn’t worry too much!
In fact, I have heard of people getting denied a tourist visa specifically because they were going to visit a Japanese spouse and the conclusion was that they should apply for a spouse CoE/visa instead.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much. Got more confidence now. I’ll update you once I receive news from the Agency. 😉😉😉
Hi Travis! I just wanna share good news! Im now in Japan! ❤️❤️
Domo Arigatou for helping me out! So glad you’re there 💁🏻
Hi Kim,
Congratulations! I wish you the best of luck in your new life here.
I’m very happy to hear that I was able to help in some small way.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Kim. We have the same issue, what did you write to your father’s information? Did you right unknown in the entire row or you just wrote your father’s name but the address and contact number you leave it blank or something like that? Hope to hear from you soon. 😊
Hi Trans
I’m Filipino with permanent residency in Japan andme and my gf for 6 months, who is also Filipino, are gonna marry in the Philippines and apply for CoE immediately after the wedding. Do you think we have a low chance of getting our application approved?
Another question is the Questionnaire form in 7.2(proof of relationship) I can’t seem to open your link to the form and does it have to be written in Japanese? Can we pass about 200 pages of the detailed information? Should we hire a translator for the paper?
Thanks
Hi Kawashin,
I’m afraid I don’t have enough information to know whether you’d have a good chance of success or not. It all comes down to the strength of your relationship, as you prove in the Questionnaire form, and your financial resources.
I tested the link to the questionnaire in the article and it works for me. It should go directly to the pdf on the Immigration Bureau’s website. Are you looking at a different link?
Question 7.2 in the Questionnaire form asks about the number of times that the foreign spouse (your girlfriend in your case) has come to Japan in the past.
The questionnaire does have to be written in Japanese (the form itself is only available in Japanese). You don’t have to hire a translator for that. It is all your own input, so you can translate it yourself, if you can.
I think 200 pages would be a little bit too long. I would recommend starting with just the information they ask for in the Questionnaire and supporting materials if you have them, such as conversation records, photos of you together, records of traveling together, etc.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
The questionnaire is in japanese form which means the answers should be in Japanese also? I don’t think it’s possible for me to explain our proof of relationship if I needed to put in in japanese
Hi Kawashin,
Unfortunately, yes, the Questionnaire answers do have to be in Japanese, including the history of your relationship. If you can’t fill in the answers, then I would recommend trying to find a friend to help. If does not have to be an official translation, so anyone can do it on your behalf.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
hello
if it is okay i want to ask a question,i got married with japanese man,and we applied for COE about 2 months ago(and now,waiting is more and more stressful),but when we were applying with our documents,we didnt give an envelope that our adress is writting on it,so i wanted to ask that should we call office to ask about this,or will they call us to give them an envelope when COE is ready? thank you so much
Hi Emi,
I would suggest that you call the Immigration Bureau and ask them if they want you to submit an envelope. That could be a way for you to sneakily find out the status of your application, as well. In my experience, the Immigration Bureau won’t give you any information if you call to ask them about your application status, but if you have a valid reason, like saying that you need to submit the envelope, you might be able to find out how far along it is based on their response.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
thank you so much for your advice
Hi Sir
Im from PH and my wife is in JPY holding permanent residency. I already got the COEs with 1 yr status and my child got 3 yr long term resident status. So next would be applying for the visas here in PH. How long would it take usually for the release of visas? Does that automatically mean approval if all necessary requirements are complete upon application? THANK YOU SO MUCH
Hi Jabo,
Based on what I have seen from past commenters here, it seems to take 3-4 weeks in some cases to get your visa in the Philippines because you have to go through an agency to do it. I don’t have any direct experiences, so maybe someone else can comment with more detailed information.
Officially, approval is not guaranteed, but it should be practically certain as long as you submit all the requirements! I have never heard of someone getting the CoE but being denied a visa.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
HI Travis,
Thanks for the heads up. Ill share my experience soon as I get my visa. BR-Jabo
Hi. How do I acquire a Certificate of Acceptance of Application for Marriage? I just recently mailed all of the documents needed for a certificate of eligibility to my mother in law who lives in Japan. She was told the marriage certificate (US) we sent was not enough and that we needed more proof. Please help! Thanks!
Hi Kelsey,
It sounds like you were legally married in the US, but haven’t reported that to the Japanese government. Is that right?
You can’t apply for the CoE until your marriage is legally registered in Japan, as well. So, your Japanese spouse needs to contact the nearest Japanese Embassy/Consulate to report the marriage.
The process is a little bit different at different embassies and consulates, but if your spouse visits the Japanese version of the embassy/consulate website, the instructiosn should be there.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Can you tell me what is exact understanding of end date of COE ? My wife has COE – Issue date 26th Oct 2017. So she can enter Japan on 26th Jan 2018 ? OR she must enter on 25th Jan 2018. ? Please tell.
Hi Ankur,
Based on how I have seen the issue date and validity date used on other documents in Japan, she should be able to enter Japan on 26 Jan. However, if it was me, I wouldn’t risk waiting until the last minute. If her flight gets cancelled or delayed by a day, you don’t want to be in trouble, so earlier is better.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hey Travis, thanks for your help last time. Now, we’re having a bit of dilemma applying for her COE, she’s a Filipina and i am a Japanese citizen.
She’s currently here in japan so we don’t know how we’ll fill the data on number 12 and 14, about her intended date of entry and her intended length of stay, of course as a spouse, we’d like to stay together as much as possible, but i don’t know what we’re supposed to put in this section, Also regarding number 17, about her past entry times, and the latest entry, should we include her latest entry which is just last month (she’s currently here), or should we input her last entry date before this. On number 24, what’s the difference between “supporter in japan” and “guarantor”, because i’m confused how to categorize myself (husband) then there’s number 25 for supporter and number 26 for guarantor, am i supposed to fill in the details for both ? And lastly, are we supposed to write in alphabet or should i help her write it in kanji?
Hope to get in touch with you, thank you.
Hi Tatz,
If she’s in Japan, I’d recommend that you apply for a “Change of Status of Residence” instead. Or at least try. The Change of Status application is nearly identical (including all of the supporting documents), except that the first page is different and it assumes that she is already in Japan.
Sometimes, the immigration bureau won’t let her apply for a Change of Status of residence if she’s on a Temporary Visitor status, but it’s worth a try. (Worst case scenario: Bring both forms when you go to the Immigration Bureau. If they reject the Change form, turn in the CoE application instead)
The CoE application assumes that she would be leaving Japan, applying for a visa, and coming back, so when you fill in that form, pick a date about 2-3 months out. It doesn’t have to be a final commitment, just an estimate.
In the CoE form, you would include her current visit among the times visited Japan, and also enter the date she plans to return to the Philippines as the end date (the last day of her Temporary Visitor status).
If you are planning to support her with your income, then you would fill in both 25 and 26 with your information.
It’s OK to mix romaji and kanji, as appropriate. But you should use kanji as much as possible for Japanese words. It’s fine if you help her fill it in!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Aloha Travis,
This is some of the most helpful information I’ve come across. If once married to a Japanese national overseas (US), is it required that the Japanese national actually return from overseas to Japan with the applicant in order to be granted entry, a visa and legal residency ? Basically, she’s stays overseas and I immigrate to Japan. This is something that I’ve always wondered and no one seems to have the answer, but hopefully you do. Thank you !
Hi Prince,
In order to apply for the spouse certificate of eligibility – and to keep your spouse status of residence once you have it – you have to prove that you are in a legitimate married relationship, which means that you would need to be living together in Japan, unless there was some compelling reason why your spouse had to remain overseas and you had to be in Japan.
I’m not sure how effective the immigration bureau’s enforcement would be, but the plan you proposed would definitely be against their rules/policies.
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
Thank you so much for this helpful blog.
I just want to ask if do we fill out the application form in English or Japanese language?
Should the questionnaire be fill out by the Japanese spouse?
Your reply is really a great help.
Thank you.
Queen
Hi Queen,
You should complete the paperwork in Japanese, but don’t translate proper names like people and places. Those should stay in English.
Yes, the questionnaire should be completed by the Japanese spouse entirely in Japanese. I have a full translation and instructions in my book, if you want to examine it in English, but your spouse should be able to complete it with no difficulty!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you for your reply. Really a big help!
Hello Travis!
We really have tough and long waiting time to change our passports here in the Philippines. Do you think it’s okay to apply for CoE before changing wife’s surname? Do you think its okay to use husband’s surname in filling out the application form? (Even if changing of name is still in process)
Hi Queen,
The name you use on the CoE application forms has to match the name on the passport copy that you submit during the application process.
If you’re doing both procedures at the same time, you can include a note saying that the wife is in the process of changing her last name and may have a different name on her passport when she enters the country. As far as I know, that should not be a problem.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Travis, a question about the meaning of “official/professional/certified” translation of the marriage certificate from the home country (Italy for me). If I do the translation in Japan that would mean to use a professional translator (i.e. someone doing it as a profession), and he/she would sign and stamp the docs, and that would be it, right? In Italy on the other hand, a translator can do also a sworn translation. This is what we do when translating from a foreign language to Italian, where the “sworn part” is done at the local Italian embassy. Since the Japanese embassy in Italy does not offer this service (when translating docs from Italian to Japanese), the “sworn part” would be done in front of an Italian public official from the court of law, with all the stamps/written parts in Italian. So I am not sure how useful it would be. Any help in clarifying this? Thanks.
Hi Gab,
In my experience, the translation does not need to be “sworn” as you described. I used to operated TranSenz as a translation company and we worked with several CoE applicants translating their required forms. In those cases, it was always enough for me as the translator sign and seal a certification of competency and accuracy at the bottom.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks Travis, another couple of questions. On Line 9 I would put the address of my spouse (she lives with her parents), so on line 20 I should list my wife plus all people living there. But I notices you did not do that in the example (my understanding was you also specified your in-laws address on line 9). Second question, my wife is the guarantor (so her data will go on line 26) but I will be the one actually bringing the application to the immigration office, so my data will go on line 27. My question is what address I have to specify (line 27), since I will be there just as a tourist? Do I write again the same as line 9? By the way, is compulsory to write any address on line 9 or it can be left empty? (the immigration office would still have the guarantor address for any correspondence). Thanks again.
Hi Gab,
The example is not my personal form, so it doesn’t correspond exactly to my situation. In the example, I had assumed the Japanese spouse living alone, not with her family. So, don’t worry about that information being blank in the form.
For line 27, you would fill in the address where you are staying in Japan – I assume it is the same as line 9. That is where the Immigration Bureau will post the CoE when it is complete.
I would certainly recommend that you complete line 9. Never expect the Immigration Bureau to apply logic to understand that it would be he same as line 27 (or anything else, for that matter).
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello thanks for this great blog! It definitely helped me a lot, also all the answers in the comments were insightful.
My question: I am still in Japan on a tourist visa, but am able to extend it. However, I want to marry my Japanese girlfriend (of over 2 years now) and be here on a spouse visa. Did I correctly read it that the Immigration Office only stamps your passport for an extended stay until the decision is made when you apply for the change of residence AFTER you got the CoE? In other words, if we “only” apply for the CoE first, will my passport not get stamped, which means I have to leave the country if it doesn’t arrive on time?
Thank you in advance!
Hi Peter,
I think there are only a handful of nationalities that are eligible to extend a tourist visa. I know you’ve researched that, but I wanted to mention it here for the sake of other readers who might see that comment and build up hope.
You are correct that you only get the stamp in your passport when you apply for the Change of Status of Residence, not the CoE. If your period of stay expires while the CoE is processing, you would have to leave the country.
However, in some cases, the Immigration Bureau will let you apply directly for the Change of Status of Residence, even without the CoE, as long as you have an unavoidable reason for why you didn’t apply for the visa before coming to Japan in the first place. For Spouse status, “I couldn’t apply for the visa in advance because I couldn’t get married until I came here” is often accepted as a valid reason.
I would recommend you ask at the Immigration Bureau (and by ask, I mean show up with all of the completed application paperwork and turn it in). The worst thing that can happen is that they tell you to apply for the CoE instead. All of the paperwork is identical, except the application form itself, so even in that case you don’t lose much effort.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Transenzjapan! Your post is amazing and thank you for sharing this to everyone. I just recently got my Certificate of Eligibility 3 weeks after the application and made a post about it here https://binibiningcinnamon.wordpress.com/2017/10/03/how-to-visa-with-certificate-of-eligibility-filipino-with-japanese-spouse/. This was one of my guides for the preparation of the documents I needed. The immigration has granted me 3 years of stay. If you don’t mind me asking, how long did the immigration grant u. Is it true that the length is not always the same? Thanks
Hi Binibiningcinnamon,
Thank you for sharing your experience! I’m sure it will be especially helpful to future applicants from the Philippines.
My initial period of stay was 1 year. But at the time, neither my wife or I had a job in Japan, so our only source of financial support was my savings. When I applied for a renewal the next year, I had a full time job and was able to get a three-year stay (which was the maximum back then, before the law changed).
Based on what I’ve heard from other applicants, an initial 1-year period of stay seems common if neither spouse is working in Japan. Congrats to you for getting 3, though!
Good Luck in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi, thank you for the details. I have a question, which is much easier, to get married in the Phil. or in Japan? By the way I am a Filipina and my fiance is Japanese.
Hi Ari,
I don’t know how easy or difficult it is to get married in the Philippines, so I can’t really answer your question. In either case, though, once you get married in one country, you’ll have to report that marriage to the other one.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Sakura! i am glad to encounter your blog.
I am Mary from Philippines and I need your help.
My husband and I applied for my residence card.
At the moment, im waiting for it to be mailed.
My questions are:
1. How long does it take to be mailed?
2. Is there any possibility for it to be rejected?
I hope you’ll read this and thank you so much again for this helpful blog.
Hi Mary Therese Fortuna,
I’m afraid I don’t understand what you’re referring to. You don’t “apply” for a residence card – everyone with a period of stay automatically receives one. In most cases, you receive it at the airport when you arrive in Japan. If you arrive at an airport that cannot issue residence cards on the spot, then it will be sent to you by mail shortly after you complete your residence registration at the city hall. But in any case, you would never get rejected for a Residence Card if you had a valid visa when you arrived!
If you were referring to something other than the residence card, please reply with more details and I will try to help!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Konnichiwa , I just read this article , and thank you for the meaningful explanations.
I’m a filipino but I am a permanent resident ,and my father is a Japanese citizen. I just started working this month and I am planning to apply my wife a certificate of eligibility , because we just married in the Philippines last August. So here are my questions :
Is it possible for me to apply a COE for my wife even though I just started working this month ? Since its written that I need a one year salary ? . Or can it be the proof of salary of my father ?
Do we need to submit BIRTH CERTIFICATE or just the MARRIAGE CONTRACT ? does it requires to be translated in Japanese ?
Thank you for your helpful article , Thank you in advance for your reply haha .
Hi Patrick,
Thank you for your kind words.
You should not need your birth certificate or hers to apply for the CoE, unless your wife does not yet have a passport (in that case, her birth certificate might be requested as an alternative to the passport to verify her legal name and date of birth).
Regarding the salary, you can still apply even though you do not have a year’s worth of salary, but you should consult with the Immigration Bureau about what to do for your proof of financial resources. You should be fine using your father’s residence tax records (showing the full year of salary) and/or a certificate of employment showing your status and salary.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis!
Im a japanese citizen and my husband is a filipino. Im going to file his coe next week and Im confused what to write in the application form “intended to stay”. Should I write 5 years already or just 1 or 3 years only? And also I dont have a resident tax for the entire year coz I stayed in the philippines for 2years and I just go back here last february. What should I do?
Hi Yums,
It’s OK to write 5 years as your desired period of stay, but you might end up getting a shorter period in the end. (In my case, I had originally applied for 3 years, which was the maximum at the time, but only got a 1 year stay).
I would recommend you double check with the Immigration Bureau about the alternative for the resident tax, but if you have a 源泉徴収票 and a certificate of employment that shows your period of employment and salary, that should usually be acceptable as an alternative.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi! I already submitted the ceo for my husband last sept 29. Today, i got a return mail from embassy. There’s a additonal requirements required, tax & payslips. Do you think it will take more time? Ive read some blogs said that they received it in 3 weeks.
Hi Yums,
They won’t continue looking at your application until after you submit those documents and it will certainly take more time. While they’re waiting for your additional documents, everyone else in the queue for evaluation will get moved ahead of you, so you should be sure to submit them as soon as possible!
I think that three weeks is very rare – usually it takes closer to two months (or more) based on my experience. The official timeframe is 1-3 months.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi!! I finally got my husband’s coe last Saturday. I want to ask about the date of arrival in the application form for visa, if i write dec 16, it should be the date of the flight or its just tentative? And once we receive the visa does it mean that he can flight asap? If he receive it on dec 8, he can flight dec.9?
Hi Yums,
Congratulations!
Your husband can fly any time after he has his visa, but he must arrive in Japan no later than 3 months from the day the CoE was issued.
You do not need to wait for the “Anticipated date of arrival” that you entered in the Certificate of Eligibility form. That is just tentative, as you said.
Good Luck and Safe Travels!
– Travis from TranSenz
Got my husband’s coe last saturday! Would like to ask if he receive the visa today does it mean he can flight tomorrow already?
Hi Yums,
Congratulations! Yes, as soon as he has the visa in his passport, he can fly to Japan.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hii. I heard from my cousin’s wife that there’s a seminar you should attend first before you flight. Is that true?
Hi Yums,
I’ve heard that in some countries they offer a seminar to help you adjust to Japanese life, but I’ve never heard of it being mandatory. If it’s going to delay the flight, then I wouldn’t worry about adjusting your schedule to attend. You have enough experience that you’ll be able to help your husband adjust, I think!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis! I’m glad reading your guidelines and thanks.
I just want to ask a question, since I am from the PH and got married to my Japanese boyfriend last May, we have completed the paperworks needed for CoE application, and we include my medical certificate since I am 20weeks pregnant now. Would it still take 1-3months for my CoE application to be approved? Thanks! 🙂
Hi Daenrose,
Unfortunately, there are several factors that go in to determining how long it takes to review your application – including how busy (and competent) the immigration bureau office is where you applied, so it’s hard to give you any certain answer.
I would still anticipate that it will take 1-2 months, at least, though.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Oh I see, thanks Travis! Will update you once I get the CoE. 🙂 God bless.
Hi I’m a child of Japanese citizen. I’m Thai-Japanese, Thai nationality. I want to apply the child of Japanese visa to live and work in Japan. Is the procedure similar to this article? If it’s not the same, could you give me some advice please?
Hi Suzuki Aki,
The process is similar, but a little simpler, since you won’t need to submit the Questionnaire proving your relationship background or marriage records from multiple countries.
Instead of those documents, you’d have to supply your birth certificate. The rest of the documentation should be the same.
The complete instructions in Japanese are available on the Immigration Bureau’s page. (Like most other pages on their site, the English version does not have as much detail).
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi. Good day ! I would like to ask any assistance about the abandoned wife here in the Philippines. Almost 8 years don’t have any contact my husband name is [redacted]. I am hoping that you will help me about this concern. Thank you and have a nice day. I will waiting your response as soon as possible.
Hi Joan Mercado Hayashi,
I’m sorry, that’s really not something I can help with. You probably need a private investigator and/or a lawyer.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi! This is the most helpful article I could ever find in the internet. But, is if okay if I ask some questions? I’m from the Philippines and I finally married my fiancé last aug 14,2017.
You’ve said that you went for your spouse’s last name for your 戸籍謄本 before applying for the COE. My question is, what if I want my husband’s name too in our 戸籍謄本、you think it’s fine if the name in my passport is still my maiden name? Just support it with 婚姻証明書？My husband said it would be a lot of work to change my name on my 戸籍謄本 after we applied for it. ご返事を、宜しくお願い申し上げます！ 🙏
Hi しーちゃん,
Thank you for your kind words!
Actually, I still haven’t changed my name in my wife’s 戸籍, mostly because we seem to visit her home town only on holidays when the city hall is closed. I changed it in my passport, though. As far as I know, you have to do that before you can try to change it in Japanese records, since the Japanese records will only change if you can prove that you’ve legally changed your name in your home country.
It has never been a problem that my name in my passport (and residence card, juminhyo, etc) is different from my name in her koseki.
At this point, there is no need to change your name in the koseki before applying for your CoE. If you were going to change it anywhere in advance, I would recommend your passport, first, since all your legal records in Japan will be based on that name.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi again, Travis!
Thank you so much for your helpful response! 🙂
Regarding the CoE application form, I’m a bit baffled by the Date Of Entry part since I am already in Japan right now. Also, the “Latest entry” portion too. My 90-day stay here would end this Nov 28,2017. Should I put that even if the date hasn’t occured yet?. What do you think would be the best fill to this? Best regards. 🙂
Hi しーちゃん,
Is there a particular reason you’re applying for the Certificate of Eligibility from inside Japan? Did you try for the Change of Status of Residence and get rejected?
If you haven’t tried, I would recommend you ask the Immigration Bureau about applying for the Change of Status of Residence, instead, to see if it’s possible in your case. It’s essentially the same application process, but it assumes that you won’t be leaving Japan to apply for a visa and return.
If you are going to stick with applying for the CoE, then my assumption would be that you will leave Japan to apply for your Spouse Visa and return. In that case, your date of entry would be the date that you plan to return. Your latest entry would be the dates of your current stay (including your expected day of leaving).
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi! Thanks for writing this, it has truly been a godsend in navigating this arduous process.
I receieved my CoE and filed an application to change my status to Spouse of a Japanese National. Once the postcard comes I can officially get my visa.
A question I have though is there anything I have to take care of after getting my visa? Such as reporting to city hall?? And if so, what do I report? Sorry I tried to read through all the comments but I’m mainly on mobile so it is quite hard to comb through so many..
Appreciate it and much thanks in advance!
Hi Alice,
Actually, once you receive the postcard, all you have to do is to go back to the Immigration Bureau to pick up your new Residence Card.
You don’t need a “visa” since that’s something you would only need if you were living outside of Japan and coming to the country. Since you’re already here, completing the Change of Residence is all that you need to do.
What you have to do next depends on your current residence status (forgive me if you’ve told me in the past). If you are in Japan as a Temporary Visitor (i.e. you have no residence card now), then you will need to register your residence at the city hall as soon as you get your residence card. However, if you’re on any other status with a residence card and have already registered, you do not need to do anything! The Immigration Bureau will update your records and inform the city hall that your status has changed.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi! Thank you for the information and your great blog. I need your advise also. I am non Japanese living with Japanese husband and 2 kids in another country (not in Japan). I want to keep my Spouse visa for visit Japan when we need and because my kids are Japanese so any time possible to go there. My last visa is for 3 years and will expiry after 2 years.
But from this year city hall started to call to my husbands parents in Japan and strictly ask we take off our residence (juminhyo). They knew it because our daughter did not strart go school in Japan which is duty for every Japanese.
In Japanese law I can not keep my visa without address of residence. But in immigration law I can stay with my visa outside Japan more than one year and can reentry. – Does city ppl hall has to right to remove my residence because currently I am not in Japan? How can I keep my visa in this case? Thank you in advance!
Hi Mamgo,
Unfortunately, that’s beyond my area of expertise, so I’m not sure I can give you any useful advice.
I have never heard of a city hall having the authority to revoke your residence status or a law that says that you need an address to keep your residence status.
As far as I know, you should be able to apply for a re-entry permit from the Immigration Bureau that would allow you to leave Japan for more than a year, so long as you return before your Period of Stay expires, like you referenced.
I would recommend that you contact the immigration bureau directly to ask their advice.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello,
I am a Mexican citizen currently living in Canada under a 3 year working permit. My husband is a permanent resident of Canada but Japanese citizen. We got married in Canada and currently living here. However we have been planning to move to Japan next year so I’m wondering how soon should I start all this visa and certificate of eligibility process? After reading your guide it made me a little bit nervous for all the paperwork that it has to be done. Plus the confusing thing of me being Mexican residing in Canada married to a Japanese and both living overseas.
Hope this comment is not too confusing!
Hi Elizabeth,
I’m sorry if I made the process sound more complicated than it is. There are a lot of little things that need to be done, but it’s all relatively straightforward. As for your situation, living outside your country of citizenship, don’t worry about that! I am an American citizen and did my entire CoE and visa application process from Thailand, so I know it’s possible!
The first thing you need to do is to make sure that you’ve registered your marriage with the Japanese embassy or consulate. Your husband will need to have done that to be able to start your Certificate of Eligibility processing. I’d also recommend that you check with the Mexican embassy/consulate to find out if you are required to register your marriage with them and whether or not they will issue a marriage certificate. (If not, that’s not a problem, you just need to know).
Finally, you’ll need to have someone in Japan help you with a lot of the paperwork, including submitting the application to the Immigration Bureau, unless your husband is planning to move back to Japan before you and do all of the application.
That’s really the most important things to get started. After you have that taken care of, you should start preparing the application paperwork approximately 4 months or so (a little more if you need to get documents from Japan sent to Canada) before you plan to move back. The CoE is only valid for 3 months from the date of issue, so you don’t want to start too early.
Of course, if you want more details, I’ve gone through every step in as fine detail as I could manage in my guidebook on the subject.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
This article was very helpful! However, I have a question about the Foreign Wedding Certificate. I am a citizen of the U.S. and I am marrying a Japanese Citizen. My question is what do I write in the note/letter about the U.S. not issuing this form. Is there an example online I can use?
Thanks for the help!
Jon
Hi Jon,
I had included a Japanese sample in my book, but really a single sentence will do. If your wife is Japanese, she can simply write something to the effect of “The US government accepts marriages conducted under Japanese law as valid and does not issue a separate certificate.”
The Immigration Bureau office should be familiar with this practice, so it’s not as if you’re explaining it for the first time. The letter is really there so that the poor clerk going through your papers doesn’t flag it as missing.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Hope you are doing well. I am a follower of your website and I even commented before in your article on Getting married in Japan. Now, I am in the process of getting informed on how to get a COE. That is why I am here again.
I saw that one of the requirements need to be submitted in applying for COE is the Marriage Certificate issued by my home country, which is the Philippines. My problem is, we are married under Japanese law and I don’t know if Philippines is a country that doesn’t issue any certification for marriages conducted under foreign law. Do you have an idea on this? I hope you could help me.
P.S I know you must be busy as this is a popular website but your kind reply will be a big help! Thanks much!
Hello again Sakura!
I have heard from past commenters that the Philippines does register foreign marriages. You would need to file a report at the Philippine embassy or consulate in Japan.
Fortunately, from what I understand, you do not need the NSO-issued marriage certificate to apply for your CoE. Proof of submitting your report at the embassy/consulate should be sufficient!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Much thanks for the revert, Travis. This is very encouraging news 🙂
Hi Travis, It’s me again. I would just like to ask if you have an idea of How many working days before we can get a Residence Tax? And where to request for it? Your reply will be a big help. Thank you!
Hi Sakura,
You can get it at the city hall (or ward office, etc.) where you reside. The same place you would go for a Juminhyo. It should take only a few minutes to issue once you submit the application form. I just got one last week and it took me longer to fill out the form and stand in line than it took them to give it to me.
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Mrs. Sakura, ask ko lang po sana kung nakakuha ka na po ng CoE and Visa? 😊
If ever nakakuha ka na po ng Visa, ask ko lang po sana kung kaylangan pa din po ng MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE from NSO/PSA as requirements? According po kasi sa nababasa kong articles it takes monthssss pa po bago makakuha ng copy from them. I’m worried po na baka dun pa po tumagal yung pagkuha namen ng Spouse of Jap Visa. Hoping for your reply. Thank you po in advance. 😊
Hello Travis! This article is such a big help for us. Thank you so so much for posting this! 😊
Hello, Travis! I can’t view the link of questionnaire. And do you have an english translation of that file?
We applied our CoE last May 11 and the immigration send us a letter and the first paper saying that we need to submit the questionnaire, translated Birth Certificate, tax last 2016 and 2017 and the pay slip for last 3months. Is there possibility that the immigration will denied our application? Can you give us some advices inorder to increase our chance to get approved? Thank you, Travis! I am always reading here in your forum. And it helps me alot! 😊
Hi Nix,
Thank you for letting me know that you couldn’t access the questionnaire! It looks like the Immigration Bureau changed the link on their site.
I’ve updated the link in the article above, but you can click here to get it, as well. Hopefully that will work.
I have included a translation of the Questionnaire and a detailed explanation of the entire form in my book on How to Apply for a Spouse Visa, but at the moment, at least, it is only available in there, sorry.
About the possibility of being turned down, if you do not turn in the materials they asked for (within the specified time, if they have given you one), then it is almost certain that your application would be declined and you’d have to start over. However, if you are able to turn those in and there are no problems (particularly with the tax/salary records and the relationship history in the Questionnaire), then you should be fine!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you, Travis! We submit the necessary documents that the immigration want us to submit. And we are waiting for the result. My husband wants to go in our home country. Is it okay? While we’re waiting for the result? Just a week only because our daughter is turning one.
Do you think there are possibilities that the immigration will call my husband while he is in our home country? How long it will take to get the result after we submit the necessary documents that they needed? We applied last May 11 and we recieve a notice last July 19. We submit the additional documents last Aug 4.
Hi Nix,
It’s possible, but I don’t know. It really depends on whether or not everything is complete. If you’ve submitted everything to their satisfaction, there should be no problem.
The whole process is only supposed to take three months, which would be August 11, for you. I hope you hear back soon!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Nix,
Let me just make sure I understand correctly – your husband is the Japanese national or permanent resident, right?
In that case, there should be no problem. When the CoE is ready, the Immigration Bureau will mail it to him, so he can pick it up when he gets back.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello, Travis! Its been 3mos and 2 weeks. But the result of our CoE is not yet arrived. I am so worried about our application. Is it normal?
Hi Nix,
That is longer than the “maximum time” they list on the Immigration Bureau’s website.
Normally, immigration does not reply if you call to ask about your status, but if you tell them that it’s been more than 3 months since you applied, they might be willing to give you some information. I’d recommend calling them to ask!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello, Travis! We got our CoE last August 24. And the result was Approved. We’re so happy. And my husband mail it to me. And applied for visa. We applied last September 4 and I got the result yesterday, September 8. I was surprised because my expected time processing is 1month because I saw a comment here that those who are in the philippines who submit there application it took 1month to get the result. I applied in Universal Holidays Inc. in Dusit Thani Hotel. Thank you for your advices it helps me alot! Now, we were booking our ticket! 😊
Hi Nix,
Congratulations! I’m appy to hear everything went well for you.
Good Luck with your move to Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, I am currently reading all those questions but I cannot find question similar in my case. So here it goes,.. I am Filipina and my husband is half japanese and half filipino since his Father is a Japanese National, he holds a long term resident visa because he still wants to live in Philippines soon. But as of now, we decided to live in Japan. He’s currently staying there for almost 3 years with yearly vacation of 1 month in Phils. He is not included in what they call as Koseki tohon because as he told me that he needs to take the exam but he refuse to take it for some reason. So my problem is, do we need to get it to their City Hall as part of my requirement in visa application since we are now processing my papers? (Anyway, I am here in Phils then I have a multiple tourist visa, visited Japan twice) But we are not register on their Koseki tohon? Another question would be, what kind of visa suit to my case? Is it dependent visa?
I am hoping for your reply, and that would be highly appreciated. 🙂
Hi Shaska,
Without knowing your husband’s residence status, I can’t give you an answer on what kind of visa you would need. “Long-term resident visa” is not a status, so that is not enough information. “Child of Japanese National” or “Permanent Resident” are statuses. If your husband is a Child of Japanese National (or almost anything other than a permanent resident), then you would need to apply for a dependent visa. If he is a Permanent Resident, you would apply for a spouse visa.
In any case, since your husband is not a Japanese citizen, he would not need to submit a copy of his koseki. Unfortunately, without knowing what kind of visa you will apply for, I can’t be any more specific, but if he was to go to the Immigration Bureau office, they would be able to help him pretty easily!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello,
I am french and planning to marry a foreign student in Japan but I need a visa to stay together in Japan (Dependant visa).
I would like to know if it is possible for me to apply for the visa while being in Japan?
Best regards,
Safia
Hi Safia,
I saw you had asked the same question on the article about the Dependent Visa. Since it was more appropriate to that article, I answered it there.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you for creating this great resource. My wife (Japanese National) and I (US National) are currently in SE Asia for her work and we got married in Japan November 2016. We are planning on moving back to Japan in a week for her job and her company has offered me a position as well. We are preparing to apply for my CoE and the subsequent Change of Status of Residence. Unfortunately, I will be on a tourist visa and to my understanding, they only accept extenuating circumstances as to why I am applying for the CoE and Change of Status of Residence in-country.
Our extenuating circumstances are: 1) We received short notice (two weeks) confirming our move back to Japan; and 2) health concerns with her father and grandmother.
Questions:
1) Are these acceptable circumstances for me applying in-country? If so, what evidence would we need to provide? How much detail is required?
2) How likely is it that they would reject my application citing that I should have applied for these from outside Japan?
Thank you for your consideration!
Hi Dan,
Based on my experience, you would need extenuating circumstances to apply directly for a Change of Residence Status in Japan from tourist (Temporary Visitor) to a working visa or spouse with no CoE. However, if you apply for a CoE first then you shouldn’t have a problem.
It is possible to apply for a CoE from inside Japan and you don’t need any extenuating circumstances to do so.
Provided that you get the CoE before your Temporary Visitor residence status ends (90 days, for a US national), then you can take that CoE to the Immigration Bureau and apply for a Change of Status of Residence then. Sometimes you can get that change approved on the same day. Again, there should be no complications or extenuating circumstances required.
I have done this several times with CoEs/Status of Residence Changes for students at my university when we can’t get their CoEs issued before they leave their home countries for one reason or another and have never had any trouble.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Hello it’s me again. Regarding the question of “When, where, and how you first met and a detailed explanation of your relationship up to the date of your marriage.”, I have the following questions.
1) I wonder how many pages should I write to answer that?
I am worrying about this because our situation has been a long-distance relationship since July 2016 and he registered our marriage in the Miyazaki city hall on behalf of me last month. We only met each other in person for 2-3 days each time every 2 months since Oct 2016, except in April this year we met for 3 times while I stayed in Japan for 17 days. Apart from that, we talked daily by a video chat in Facebook.
2) I have heard such a situation would make immigration bureau of Japan suspect if our marriage is genuine or not. And some even said our duration of relationship will be viewed as 16 days before marriage registration as dating by video chat is not considered as “dating” by the bureau. And my Japanese husband wrote 5 pages to describe our 6 dates before marriage registration. He said he had already included all details he could think of. Do you think it is an answer too short to prove our marriage is real? If so, will it help if we describe what happened during our days of “video chat dating” that is related to our decision to get married?
3) After our marriage registration last month, we met in Singapore for 2 days this month but my husband said the trip was after we got married so we couldn’t include it as part of the answer. Is it true?
4) How about supporting our answer by 40+ photos showing our serious relationship, e.g. our pics with my mother in Hong Kong, pics showing our flight to Okinawa from Hong Kong (me) / Miyazaki (him) for an on-site visit to a chapel for our ceremony 8 months in advance, dating pics, etc, plus some screen captures of our Facebook video chat log (we have had video calls almost everyday for nearly 1 year) ?
Any sharing of related experience or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much in advance!
Hi Chloe,
It’s taken me a while to catch up to your question, so I hope you’ve found some resolution in the meantime.
I have a more detailed description of this section (including a complete translation of the Questionnaire) in my book, if you’re still struggling.
1) 1 page of bullet statements should be sufficient (that’s how much space they give in the form), but you can go a little longer if that doesn’t cover everything. (However, if you’re at the point where you can fill more than a page with meaningful statements, you’re probably OK!)
2) If your only relationship was via vide chat, you might have a problem. But since you met regularly as well, they should see the video chats as a way to stay close between in person meetings, which gives them more value. I would recommend printing any records you can of the video chats from facebook messenger and attaching them. Showing the frequency and duration of the chats would be helpful.
3) The questionnaire specifically mentions that you should describe the circumstances up until you registered your marriage, but I don’t see how it would hurt to mention that you travelled to Singapore together afterwards. (Honeymoon?) The worst thing they can do is to ignore it. But even if they technically “ignore” it, as long as the read it, it should have an impact to show legitimacy.
4) That’s pretty extensive! I think the photos showing you with each others parents would be particularly powerful. It sounds almost like overkill. Just for a basis of comparison, my wife and I submitted only three photos and had no trouble. (On the other hand, we had been living together for 6 months overseas after getting married, by that point).
I wish you good luck – or rather, that you have already had a positive result!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi
I am trying to get a CEO for my mother in law I’m currently in the army, however they don’t allow me to take her. What do I need to do in order for her to stay with me for 3 years. Thank YOU.
Hi Bet,
Unfortunately, under Japanese Immigration law, you can only apply for a Dependent CoE for spouses or children. You cannot bring parents or parents in law with you.
If she wants to move to Japan, she is going to have to find another legitimate route, like getting a job here (teaching English?) or enrolling in a school in Japan.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi, traviz! It’s me again, i need to ask you something. My husband and i already submit the complete requirements in the immigration lawyer, our lawyer ask my husband to have at least one school where i can enroll because i need to learn japanese my husband already submit it. We already complete the requirements, tax certificate, Coe from work, his monthly salary, photocopy of his passport our family tree and etc. is there any reason for denied COE? My husband is a good payer to his tax yearly. I don’t know yet if our lawyer pass the application because he is the one who completed our requirements before submitting it to the immigration and one last question my father in law (japanese national) has a problem before, because he guarantor one person and that person overstayed? It happened 11 years ago. Is this cased will affect our application even my husband is my guarantor? Anyway i’m a filipina married to a half japanese and half filipino. Please answer me, it will be a big help to us. God bless, travis.
Hi MK,
Since your father-in-law is not directly involved in your application, I do not think that should be a concern in this case.
I hope you get good news soon!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis! I am a Japanese national and Im applying for my husband’s COE. While waiting for the COE, can he apply for tourist visa first and then when the COE is already issued, can he change his visa without leaving Japan. Can he change his visa right here in Japan when his tourist visa expired or before it expired? Thanks in advance.
Hi Erika,
I’m sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you!
It may be too late to help, but yes, he can do that.
Once he gets the CoE, he can take it to your local immigration bureau office along with a completed Application for Change of Status of Residence, the application fee, and a photo. I’ve seen cases where people in that situation were able to get their new status and Residence Cards issued on the same day, but it all depends on how busy the office is.
He would have to make the change before his tourist status expired. If he doesn’t get the CoE before then, he would end up having to leave the country again. But if you apply for the CoE before he arrives and he has a 90-day stay, then that should not be a problem.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi All ,
I am having issue in getting my COE my husband is a researcher in osaka and he has applied for visa in end of april for me and our baby.we still havenot received the COE .We are not sure why we havenot received our COE we dont have any source to contact them.
Please help me its urgent,Please help me from where i can get information about our COE.
Thanks
Hi Olivia,
It has been a while since your post, so hopefully, you’ve been able to sort out the situation by now.
Your husband should have or be able to look up the contact information for the Immigration Bureau office where he filed the application, as well as the reference number for your application. The best thing to do would be to call them and ask.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
After reading some of the comments more thoroughly, I have some better questions.
So here is my situation…I just recently got married to a Japanese national in Tokyo at the end of April. I am currently back in Texas (I am American).
My wife intends to submit my COE by the end of May. I’m not sure if this matters but my wife has a well established career in Tokyo…also my mom is a Japanese national (but now living in US) and I have many relatives residing in Tokyo.
I will be returning to Tokyo mid June on the typical tourist visa for two months to attend her brother’s wedding, visit family, and start job searching.
If I were to receive my COE while I am in Japan on a tourist visa…will I be eligible to apply for a change of residency status in order to legally live and work in Tokyo? Also will the timing be sufficient? I saw that with the COE , a change in residency shouldn’t take as long as the COE. Is that correct?
Thanks for the help.
Hi Josh,
Yes, if you have the CoE, you will be able to apply for a Change of Status of Residence from tourist to Spouse while in Japan.
I work with student visas in my day job and usually, if we have a student apply for a change of status of residence with a CoE, they can get it approved on the same day or within a few days, if the office is particularly busy. I hope it is a similarly quick turnaround for you!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis.
Here’s my situation.
I am a filipino and my husband is Japanese. We got married in Japan just this April 24th.
I went back to philippes on May since my tourist visa will expire soon. My husband applied for COE May 19th and now it is still on going.
Last week May29th I applied for a tourist visa for Japan here in philippines. We were planning that I will go back to Japan thidms month as tourist while we’re waiting for COE and not as spouse yet.
I applied for it under agency because we need to go agency. I prepared all documents as tourist and some legal dcuments that I am married to japanese national since my status already changed. After 3 days my visa got denied and dont know why.
Hi Ann,
Thank you for sharing your story.
Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about applying for a tourist visa through a agency. It’s possible that the embassy saw that you were married to a Japanese national and wanted you to wait until you got the CoE to apply for a spouse visa, since that would be the “proper” way to do it.
Hopefully by now you have the Spouse Visa and have successfully moved to Japan!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
So I am an American and just married my wife who is Japanese. She resides in Tokyo and I reside in Texas so I’m going to apply for the COE and Visa to he with her in Tokyo.
This may sound like a dumb question, but I wanted to confirm if the COE and Visa will make it eligible for me to work in Japan?
Thanks for the help and awesome site.
Hi Josh,
Yes, with a “Spouse of Japanese National” residence status, you have the same right to work as a Japanese citizen, with no restrictions!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello TranSenz,
Your website is wonderful and helps a lot! But sorry I have a question. Here is my situation :
I am from Hong Kong (HK) and my Japanese boyfriend is going to register our marriage in city hall soon. HK government automatically recognizes marriage registered in another country as long as it is registered legally accordingly to that country’s current law so it is written in HK government website that I “need not” to register again in HK. But it is not written whether they can register our marriage in HK afterwards on our request or at least issue any documents to prove they recognized our marriage registered in Japan. I can’t contact any government officers to ask as they are too busy to reply phone calls / email and when I finish work their office is closed already. I just read somewhere online that this is illegal in HK and impossible.
But a marriage certificate issued by the home country of the foreigner spouse is required for CoE applications, unless we are married under Japanese law and I am from a country that doesn’t issue any certification for marriages conducted under foreign law, right? My problem is I can’t make sure whether Hong Kong is one of these countries.
Then can I simply write a Japanese letter saying that we cannot get any marriage certificate issued by Hong Kong government? Or would you please advise how should I write the letter / what I should do to solve this problem?
I know you must be very busy as this is a popular website but your kind reply will be greatly appreciated! Millions of thanks!
Hi Chloe,
I am sorry that it has taken me so long to get back to you!
As far as I have been able to tell, the phrase saying that it is “not necessary” to register marriages conducted abroad again in Hong Kong really means that you cannot do so.
(I referred to Question 19 on the following site: http://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/faq/marriage-registration.html).
So, you should have no problem with writing and submitting a letter saying that Hong Kong recognizes marriages that are conducted under foreign law and does not issue duplicate certificates.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Never mind and I am really glad to read your reply! After I posted my question here, a HK lady told me that her application was approved by writing an explanatory letter as you described above. However, when my husband phoned the Immigration Bureau of Japan in Miyazaki, he was told that a certificate issued by HK government with my updated marital status and spouse name is required. Luckily although it took many days, I will be able to get it next week. Thank you so much and I am really impressed that you even helped by searching our government website.
Thank you again and wish you all the best!
Hi Chloe,
It was my pleasure. Thank you very much for sharing your results, too. I’m sure that will be helpful to future applicants – and I will add them in the next update of my book, as well.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
You’re welcome! And I guess it depends on different regional immigration bureaus / branch offices
/ officers, etc. as I have heard another lady from Hong Kong got her application approved in
Osaka by an explanation letter only without the above-said certificate. But I am not sure whether
it was related to the fact that before their marriage she had dated with her Japanese bf in Japan
for 4 months during her working holiday.
By the way, I am sorry that I have posted further questions on CoE application ( awaiting
moderation ). I look forward to your kind advice again. Thanks a million! p^v^q
Best Regards,
Chloe
Hey Travis, sorry got a couple more questions for you! I’m leaving for my home country early October and we are planning on getting married at the begining of July, this leaves us about 3 months to switch visas. So here are my questions;
1. would this give us enough time to process the visa change?
2. would they consider it strange if we were to apply for the visa shortly after we marry (thus questioning out acceptance)?
3. what should we write if we don’t know the official date that we began dating (it just sort of happened!)
Both of us are leaving in October so we would have to apply shortly after getting married in order to get the visa processed before we leave. Ideally I would want the visa before so I can go to my home country and officially move to Japan with my Husband!
Thank you so much all of this is ao helpful!
Hi Lil,
It’s good to hear from you again. I hope your marriage plans are proceeding well!
1. The estimated time to process a Change of Status of Residence is about 2-4 weeks, so if you get married in early July and start the paperwork right away, then you should be able to complete your Change of Status of Residence application before October. In part, this depends on your country, though. If your country requires you to register your marriage under their laws, that may take a little extra time to complete before you can apply for the Change of Status of Residence.
2. No. Spouse of Japanese National has many more benefits than almost any other residence status and accelerates your path to Permanent Residence. I would think that changing quickly is a mark of your commitment to the long-term relationship.
3. Without getting too personal, how about your first kiss? That may not be everyone’s standard of the transition from friends to dating, but I think it’s a decent marker.
If you apply for the Change of Status of Residence in July, you should be able to pick up your new Residence Card before you go. Then, you would already have a Spouse of Japanese National status and would leave the country on a “Special Reentry Permit.” You wouldn’t have to apply for a visa overseas.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
You are literally the best ever wow.
I can put a date on the first kiss thing however I met him in Japan and we ended up dating long distance after I was in my home country so there was a very large gap before that first kiss! haha, but actually thats a very good idea thank you sooo so much!
Hi, is there an expiry to claim your permanent visa if accepted? I am planning on going on vacation for around a month inHi, is there an expiry to claim your permanent visa if accepted? I am planning on going on vacation for around a month in july and that is the estimated time that if accepted my visa will be released and i might not be able to claim it if it is released on late july early august. july and that is the estimated time that if accepted my visa will be released and i might not be able to claim it if it is released on late july early august.
Hi Ric,
If I understand correctly, you’re living in Japan and applying for Permanent Residency, right?
If that’s the case, you’ll receive a postcard when your application is approved and you would be expected to visit the Immigration Bureau within 2 weeks to pay the fee and pick up your new Residence Card.
If you’re not going to be around, then I would recommend contacting the Immigration Bureau to tell them your situation and ask if it would be alright if you come after you return from your trip (give them a specific date). In the past, I have had no problem when asking if they could hold on to a Residence Card a little longer because of extenuating circumstances, so long as you let them know in advance.
If I’ve misunderstood your question, please let me know!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi travis! Great work and thank you for a wonderful information you provided. I just want ask if ever i will be given a CoE and will be approved for a visa for residency for spouse. Can i still stay in my home country for a long period.of time? Or do i really need to stay in japan for good and can only stay for a short period of time in my home country?
By the way my husband is japanese and we have 1 child with a japanese passport..
Hi May,
Once you’ve finished the application process, moved to Japan, and received your residence card, you’ll be able to leave Japan and come back freely.
In general, you have to come back to Japan within 1 year of leaving and while your passport and residence card are still valid. There is no limit on how long you would need to stay in Japan between trips.
If you want to leave for longer than a year, you’d have to talk to the Immigration Bureau about applying for a re-entry permit.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, first of all thank you very much for all this comprehensive information here on your blog, I am sure you already helped lots of people on their struggle to come to japan. Maybe my situation is not much different, but may I ask for your advice? I am German national with Japanese wife and tho children (with japanese passport) living togehter in Germany. I want to get spouse visa as a basis to be able to apply for a job in japan. Just wonder if my basic understanding is correct: Even if I live in Germany and still have a job here, I could go through the whole process and get a spouse visa and keep it while staying in Germany, right? So what do I need to keep in mind for this plan? Is it just two steps? 1. Apply for CoE remotely from Germany (1-3 Month). 2. In Germany go to Japanese Embassy and apply for spouse Visa (~1 week).
After the two steps, once I got the visa issued can I just stay in Germany and come to japan later, whenever I find a job? Or do I have to come to Japan first and kind of “initiate” the Visa? In that case, would it be ok to just come for a weekend roundtrip to get some “stamps” in the passport and then immediately return to germany? What about your comment about the multiple entry vs. single entry? Sorry I dont get it. Actually I am not planning to register my residence in Japan, since I dont need the residence card yet and and also dont want to get forced by japanese city hall people to send my children to japanese school (since they currently go to school in germany alright), and dont want to pay any japanese taxes while staying in germany. So would it be fine to just get the “stamps” and forget about the residence card application? Sorry for all the questions, hope you understand what I mean. Kind Regards Andreas
Hi Andreas,
Someone in Japan needs to apply for the CoE for you – it can’t be done remotely. If your wife goes back to Germany for a visit, she could do it. Or her parents could file it on your behalf. The Immigration Bureau will also only send the CoE to a Japanese address, so you’ll need someone there to transship it.
From the day the CoE is issued, you have 90 days to arrive in Japan or if becomes invalid. You have to apply for your visa and travel to Japan within those 90 days. You can’t just get the documentation and stay in Germany, because then it will expire.
When you arrive in Japan with the Spouse Visa, you’ll receive a Residence Card at the airport and will have to register your place of residence within two weeks. Once you’ve registered your residence, you could leave the country again, though you have to return within one year or you lose your residence status and have to start all over again.
You do need the Residence Card as that, not your visa, is your proof of legal residence (and coninuing permission to enter and exit the country). Incidentally, that’s why you don’t need multiple entry.
If your plan is to stay in Germany anyway, it seems to me like it’s a better idea to put off applying for your visa until you want to move to Japan permanently (or semi-permanently, at least). As a German citizen, you are exempt from having to apply for a tourist visa to come to Japan. You can come here any time, stay for up to 90 days, and not have to worry about residence registration, schools, taxes, etc. That would seem to be closer to your goals.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi travis! Your post helped me a lot throughout the entire process. I applied last October and they sent a letter for an additional requirements. I really hope I get approve because I miss my husband so much.
Hi Anna,
Thank you for your kind words!
What kind of additional requirements did they ask from you? Was there something I missed in the article that I should add?
Either way, I hope they weren’t too difficult to prepare and that your application is under review once again.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi im not a japanese but i had a long term residence visa(1year) i renew every year, i have work here in japan and pay taxes is these the process to give my spouse a visa back in my country is it possible? or this is for japanese national only? im here in japan and planning to live with my spouse here.. im sorry im a bit confused hope youd help me
Hi Puloy,
This article is only relevant for spouses of Japanese citizens, but the good news is that there’s another type of visa you can apply for your spouse: a Dependent Visa. It’s actually a much simpler application process and I’ve written an article about how to apply that you can find here!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello, Good day!
I’m 34yrs of age from Philippines. My father is Japanese. Recently I was in the process of child recognition in Cityhall where my fathers domicile. It was a success I can say. I was registered already in so called “kosekitohon”
Now i was wondering how to acquire “Child of japanese visa” as I am over 20years old so my father cannot apply Certificate of Eligibility on behalf of me. What is the best way to do this?
Regards and many thanks,
Gochi
Hi Gochi,
I saw that you left a similar question on another post and answered it here.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi I married a Japanese National but I was abandoned long time ago (7years). The marriage was conducted here in the PH. He called me recently and he was asking for another chance so we could start all over again. He is so sick and always confines at the hospital. What will I do to get an souse visa? Please advise. Thank you.
-Maria Theresa Kobayashi
Hi Maria,
I’m sorry to hear about your situation.
He would have to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility for you so that you can get started. If he cannot physically go himself, then he should be able to appoint a power of attorney to do it for him, such as a family member. Or if you go to Japan on a tourist visa, you can help with the application paperwork, yourself.
With a 7-year lapse in your relationship, it might be difficult to get it approved. If it is possible to visit him a few times on a tourist visa, etc., while you are in the process of applying, I think that would help.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
He already work at japan for 6 years since he left philippines becasue his mather was a filipina to and his father i a japanese. He always pay his tax yearly.
Hi MK,
More than his working records and tax paying records (of course, it is assumed he would be paying his taxes regularly), the amount of salary and relationship context is more important, as far as I have seen.
Good Luck
– Travis from TranSenz
We don’t want that the application denied we wanted to get approved please help us, What we need to do? God bless you website. Please answer me. 🙂
Hi MK,
If you do run into any challenges or further questions, please let me know and I will follow up as best I can. (Though, if you’re paying a lawyer to help you with this, already, the lawyer’s answers may be faster!)
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
I’m a filipina married to a japanese national, were planning to apply for coe with a help of a lawyer, We completed the requirements that the lawyer needed, my husband already gets certification of tax and certificate of employment is there any reason that the coe get denied?
Hi MK,
Without knowing your situation, I can’t say for sure whether there is a reason why your CoE would be rejected.
In general, I have heard of CoE applications being rejected for only two reasons: Insufficient finances or insufficient proof or relationship.
If your husband has a sufficient income to provide you with 80,000 yen of support per month, then finances should not be a problem.
For the proof of relationship, time living together and records of correspondence (if you weren’t living together) are the most significant factors, as far as I’ve seen. As long as you have those records in order and explained in your Questionnaire, I cannot think of any reason your application would be rejected!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi, Good day thank you for your reply. My husband already have tax certificate issued for one year (Last year) The tax certificate been payed with the amount of 90000 yen last year, he still working and he already gets his certificate of employment the thing that bothered me the most is his tax. Is the amount is to small? I’ve heard that the financial stability is most important. my husband and i known each other for the longest time, He’s my childhood neighbor because he is a half filipino. But my husband and i been in a relationship for 2 years before getting married last year. My husband and i married for 6 months now. But we know each other because my family and his family are very closed. On monday my husband will go to immigration to pass the requirements we wanted to be together i wanted to know if his tax certificate will be a issue because of the said amount. I know that it depends to the salary. Thanks in advance.
His monthly salary now is 190.000 yen. Sometimes 150, 000 it depends sometime if there is overtime. Is this enough? The tax really bothered me. Because before he is just working at construction now he is working in factory.
Hi MK,
The number I have typically heard is that the Immigration Bureau wants to see proof that he can provide you with about 80,000 yen/month in support (while also providing for himself, of course). Since you will be living together, some of your monthly expenses (like rent and utilities) will be combined, so I would hope they would be more forgiving with that number.
Based on my past experience, I would think that your application will be OK with the amounts you listed, but I cannot be 100% certain. If he has any savings, that should help significantly, as well! Maybe someone else can comment here on whether or not they were successful at the same salary level.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello, transenz,
Thanks for the helpful information! Me and my husband are both gaijin, and I am applying for CoE to get my husband in Japan, im a PR here,
I just want to ask about the minimum income for one year to apply for CoE,
Is It possible to apply if the one year income is only ¥1,500,000??
And in the “method of support and amount of support per month”, how much should I put? Is there a minimum amount?
Hoping for your response, Thank you
Hi Joan,
There is no official minimum amount. Typically, the Immigration Bureau considers about 80,000 yen/month to be a minimum for a single person, but of course save money by living together, so you wouldn’t need that much for just your husband. You might be able to get by with 60,000 yen/month in the “amount of support per month” section. (Since you are his guarantor, you would put that number in the guarantor line). Unfortunately, I don’t have any direct examples to prove that would be enough.
If you have other sources of income and can put a higher number, that is always a good thing. (Even if you will try to save as much as possible and get by on a lower amount, it’s good to show more resources than you need).
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi TranSenz,
I have gone through of all message of your blog. It’s really helpful for people who are facing related problems. Currently, I am living in Japan as a Doctoral Student. Recently, my wife and applied for visa (Dependent) at Embassy of Japan, Bangladesh. Unfortunately, they denied to issue visa because of early marriage under the law of Bangladesh. However, we have 3 yeras old kid. They suggested to change the marriage date and again apply for COE in Japan. Is it possible? Can I apply for COE again before the expiration of last COE (still have the validity of 47 days)? or is there any way to change/correction of my wife’s present COE?
Thanks
Hi Mofiz,
As far as I know, the CoE itself does not show the date for your marriage, so I’m not sure how the embassy would know what it was. Did she also have to submit your marriage certificate when she applied for the visa? If so, it would seem that just changing the date on the Marriage Certificate would be fine. But if the embassy is telling you that you need a new CoE, here’s what you’d have to do:
To apply again for a CoE for your wife, you would have to return the first one to the Immigration Bureau. If your wife has it in Bangladesh, have her mail it back to you and take it back to the Immigration Bureau when you go to apply for a new one.
You’ll also need to include a letter explaining why you are returning it. Saying something like “There was an error in the marriage certificate submitted with the original application, so I am returning this and applying again with the corrected document.”
在留資格認定証明書を申請した際に提出した結婚証明書は結婚日が間違っていたため、返却し、修正された証明書を基づいて改めて申請します。
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi, I just have a couple simple questions since you answered all the hard ones already! I am currently in Japan now on a Working Holiday Visa, and have plans to marry my fiancé and then go back to my home country with him for about a month and come back to Japan.
Would I be able to change my status of residence to Spouse of Japanese National before leaving and then enter back with him with that same status?
Also, he has never been to my home country during our 3 years of being together due to work etc and I’m a little concerned they might find that weird! Honestly the timing just never really worked out for him to get a long enough period of time to come visit…
thank you so much!!
Hi Lil,
Yes, you can change your Status of Residence to spouse in Japan before you leave, you’ll just need to make sure you leave enough time to do it. That application review can take 2 weeks to 1 month, according to the Immigration Bureau’s website, but I’d leave a little more time, just to be safe.
Once you have your Spouse Status (or even on your Working Holiday status, if you have a residence card), you’ll be able to leave the country and return as often as you like, so long as you come back within 1 year of your departure and your residence card is still valid when you re-enter the country.
If the two of you have been together in Japan the whole time, or decided deliberately that you would meet there each time you got together, then I don’t think it’s necessarily weird that he hasn’t been to your home country. It sounds like you have a perfectly good reason for it.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Ahh thank you so much for your reply!!
We just moved to a new place together and I’m so worried little details like that on my application will affect the visa acceptance and I’ll have to go back to long distance!
Thank youfor the reassurance!
Hey TranSenz,
Your website is great and wonderful.
I have few question to ask if u don’t mind answering.
I’m a Singaporean currently holding a inter transfee company visa which I think is useless for me and I can’t change the visa status to spouse visa.Which my contract with the company is done.
1.i will be getting married to my Japanese fiancé and can I apply for COE in Japan.We will get married on the 28 April 2017.
2.what kind of documents do I really need to have.
Can you kindly advise me on this please.
Thank you,
Aby
Hi Aby,
Thank you very much for your kind comments!
I’m not sure why you wouldn’t be allowed to change your residence status to spouse. I’ve never heard of that restriction for intra-company transfers before. Who is telling you that?
1. Yes, you can apply for your CoE in Japan. (You should also be able to apply for a Change of Status of Residence, which is a nearly identical application process).
2. You need everything I have listed in this article/the downloadable checklist. If you have questions about any of the specific requirements, please let me know!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi TranSenz!
Your blog is by far the most helpful one I`ve ever found in the internet. Thank you so much for extending such help to many of us who are in confusion. By the way I am a Filipino and my Fiance is a Japanese National. We plan on getting married hopefully this August 2017. I am quite curious about some of the CoE requirements specifically the Japanese translation of my documents (e.g. Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate). On your part, how did you achieve them? Is there a specific format on how to translate them? Or should me and my fiance rely on our own in translating the contents? Hoping for your helpful response. Thank you.
Hi Shire,
Thank you very much for your kind comments!
The only thing we had to have translated into Japanese during the whole process was the Certificate of Eligibility to Marry, if I remember correctly. I never needed to submit my birth certificate. I am a US citizen and the US does not issue marriage certificates for marriages officiated under foreign law, so I didn’t have to worry about that, but you will probably need to get that translated during your application.
When we did have to submit translations, they had to be professional, certified translations. Even though my wife and I are both fluent in both languages (and later opened a translation business), we couldn’t use translations that we had done ourselves.
You would only need professional translations for documents issued by the government, though, so there shouldn’t be that many!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi, I am a Filipino married to a Japanese national and is currently undergoing the COE process. I got my birth certificate and marriage certificate translated in an agency named Providence, it is located right next to Japanese embassy.
Hi all! I just read all the messages. But still have a question.
Little background info:
-I’ve been married to a Japanese National wife for 6 years.
– I had my Spouse Visa status for 3 years while living in Japan (3 years ago)
-Then we went to live my home country for 2 years (wife working for Japanese company abroad)
-We came back to Japan, because wife is pregnant (8months and taking her maternity leave)
-my Spouse Visa expired while in Chile (Nov 2016) so I applied again to get my COE and get my Spouse Visa again while in Japan.
-I’ve been twice to Japan in a period of less than 1 year (2 months each time, June 2016 and then January 2017)
-I’m in Hong Kong now for one week.
-COE not issued yet.
So, I’m coming back to Japan next week, should I get over screened about coming back to Japan after only one week? I just want to care of my wife and baby for the next 90 days while I get my COE (documents and applications already sent) I’ve brought copy of marriage certificate and medical records of pregnancy to present at immigration if being asked.
Thank you!
Hi Jorge,
I’m assuming you entered Japan on single-entry tourist (tanki taizai) visas each time you visited recently, and plan to use the same status this time as well?
You should not be subject to any additional screening that I am aware of. If they do ask you any questions at Immigration, just explain your situation – that your wife returned to Japan to give birth and your Residence had expired, so you entered on a tourist visa to be with her – they should let you through with no difficulty.
It sounds like you are well prepared, as well!
Once you receive your CoE, then you should be able to apply to change your status of residence at the local immigration bureau office without leaving Japan again.
Good luck to both of you!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi. I just want to ask if would you know if I can get a dependent or any type of visa for me as a legal guardian for my son. My son is an illegitemate child of a long term resident in Japan. Thank you
Hi Kai,
If your son does not have Japanese citizenship, then I’m afraid it is not possible to get a visa for that situation. You would have to obtain a visa/residence status for other activities, such as a working visa, to be able to continue living in Japan.
The only way a non-Japanese parent (typically mother) can stay in Japan to care for a Japanese child is if the mother had a “Spouse of Japanese National” residence status, but her husband passed away or they got divorced. Under those circumstances, the mother can apply for a “Teijusha” residence status to care for the child, but it is not guaranteed that the application will be successful.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello, First of all, thank you so much for this website. and your time, if you reply.
I am looking for advice/opinion.
I married a japanese national in Osaka in 2014. The marriage is registered there. For personal reasons we are living separately, I am living and working in Argentina and she is living and working in Osaka. We decided to apply for a Spouse Visa and we hired a lawyer in Osaka so he could help us with the process. He said we need the marriage certificate issued in Argentina as well. The problem is that my country does not recognize marriages celebrated in a foreign country UNLESS you file a lawsuit which implies hiring a lawyer to represent your case and a judge has to order the recognition and the registration of the marriage. This process could take months or even years to resolve. Nevertheless, I hired a lawyer in Argentina to get this certificate but I am not sure when I am going to get it. I have been waiting since May/June 2016 for a resolution but no one can guarantee when the marriage will be finally register in Argentina. Is this paper totally needed as my lawyer in Osaka said? I cant apply for the CoE because I don’t know how long it is going to take for me to get the marriage certificate in my country and there is not another paper to replace it like a family register where the marriage is shown. Should I wait until the end or I can apply anyway without that paper? My lawyer in Osaka told us that we could turn in a proof or paper that the marriage is in process of registration in Argentina BUT just to start the CoE process and later on handle the real certificate but not only cant I get any official proof of the process (maybe a written letter of my lawyer in Argentina stating that the process is taking place but not an official paper issued by my country’s government) but also I know that the CoE process could take up to 3 months which could be less than it could take to finish the marriage registration process in my country, so probably I wont have the paper before the CoE process finishes. Any advice? At this point I am not sure what to do.
Thank you.
Hi Fernando,
I am not a lawyer, so I think you should probably listen to the lawyer’s advice over mine.
When you say that the Argentine government does not recognize marriages celebrated in another country, does that mean that you are legally considered to be unmarried under Argentine law? Or that the Argentine government considers your marriage valid, but won’t issue a certificate for it?
In the latter case, your situation would be the same as an American’s: you would just need to submit a document (you can write it yourself), saying that the Argentine government does not issue any certificates for marriages conducted under another country’s law.
Otherwise, if the Argentine government really does consider you to be unmarried right now, I would suggest contacting the Argentine Embassy to find out what paperwork you would need to prove your marriage in order to get a spouse visa for your wife to come to Argentina. Whatever form of proof is required for that process should be good enough for the Japanese CoE application, as well.
Sorry I don’t have any better suggestions for you. Although it doesn’t help you, I guess I would recommend to any other Argentina-Japan couples to get married in Argentina first, then register that marriage in Japan, since that is a much simpler process.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis! Thank you for your helpful information!
I am American and am engaged to a Japanese national. I am currently in Japan on an Instructor Visa and my contract ends August 1st. I know I am allowed 90 additional days in Japan after my contract ends, however I am planning to return to the US on holiday around August 15th for about ten days. My question is surrounding the order in which I should do things in order to secure a Spouse Visa before returning to Japan after the holiday in the US. After reading your article and comments, I am thinking this is the best way:
– Get legally married in Japan
– Apply for a new passport with a new last name
– Apply for Change of Status of Residence (instead of COE) while still in Japan from Instructor Visa to Spouse Visa
1.Do you think this would all be possible in about 4 months?
2. If I am not approved for the Change of Status of Residence before leaving to the US, is it possible to return on a Tourist Visa and have the application be approved?
3. Does changing my visa from Instructor to Spouse affect my job in any way? (That may be a question for my employer).
If you have other suggestions (such as waiting to change my name on my passport) I am open to them! Thank you so much for your help!
Hi Jocelyn,
The order you suggested sounds right to me.
1. As a US citizen, that time frame sounds like it would work. (It would not, however, for readers from other countries who have a little more paperwork involved). I would recommend getting started as quickly as possible, though, to leave nothing to chance.
2. I would double-check with the Immigration Bureau to be sure, but you should be able to leave Japan and return using your instructor visa, if your residence card is still valid. Even though you’d no longer be an instructor when you left, you should be permitted to return to the country under that status to complete your Change of Status procedures. When you submit your Change of Status of Residence application, you will get a stamp in your passport saying that your application is under consideration. That stamp will allow you to stay in Japan up to 2 months after your current residence status expires in order to await the results of the screening.
You may have to apply for a re-entry permit if your trip back to the US is after your residence card expires.
3. No. As a spouse, you have all the working rights of a Japanese national, so there would be no change in your working status. You should report the change of status to your employer, however, as they do have to give an annual report to the Immigration Bureau on all the foreign nationals they employ, including your residence status and residence card number.
If you are running out of time to file your Change of Status of Residence application, you could wait to change the name on your passport to save yourself some delay. I think it took me about 3 weeks to get a new passport when I applied to do that. But if you start everything now and don’t delay, you should still have plenty of time.
(However, if you have a US driver’s license, etc., and want to change your name on that, then changing your name on your passport and with social security would make changing your license easier when you go back to the US on holiday).
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Great stuff man! I just had a question I just applied for the spouse visa for my wife with the certificate of eligibility, the lady just said okay you will get the passport back in three working days. my question would be after we get this back what else do we have to do? is she giving us the card or did they put something in her passport? im just a little confused but i know that we have gotten all of the hard stuff out of the way.
Hi Connor,
It’s taken me a while to get to your question, so I suspect 3 working days have passed and you may have the passport back by now.
Just in case you don’t: The Visa is going to be pasted to one of the pages in the passport, so look for it when you get it to check that all the details are correct. You should also receive the CoE back, and they’ll want you to have that with you when you pass through Immigration when you arrive in Japan (they will collect it there).
That should be all the paperwork finished!
Congratulations and good luck with your new life in Japan.
– Travis from TranSenz
hello travis!!
i just want to inform you that i got my COE approved after 5weeks from my application.
thankyou sooooo much!
your article is a such a huge help not only for me but for loads of people!
next up, is visa application!
i am as of the moment,filling up my application form. however,i came to this
* purpose of visit to Japan
* intended length of stay
and I’m quite confused on what should be written there.
any suggestions?
Thanks a lot!!
Hi Mary,
Congratulations on getting your CoE! I’m very happy to hear that your application was successful, and pretty fast, too, as far as these things go.
If the article was helpful in some small way, I am very happy to hear that!
My recommendation for your purpose of stay would be “Live with spouse (spouse of Japanese National).” Replace “Japanese National” with “Permanent Resident,” if appropriate,
Your intended length of stay should match the length of stay printed on your CoE. It’s about halfway down, on the right. (Don’t worry, you can renew your period of stay once you’re in Japan).
Congratulations again, and good luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
yeah!! huge thanks to you travis!
more power~ Godbless!
hello, thank you for this article, but i have a question about the application form, from question 12-16.
1. date of entry ( is this when i’m going to Japan? )
2. port of entry is where i will arrive right?
3. intended length of stay ( is this how long i want to stay in Japan. 1 year etc.. ? )
4. intended place to apply for visa ( is this applying for spouse visa here in Japan? because right now, i have a multiple entry visa to Japan and it is valid for 1year.
5. for question 23, if i have no work place in Japan yet, should i leave this part blank?
6. for question 25,26 & 27. do i have to write in all the question since my Japanese wife will pass the application for me.
thank you for helping a lot of people here.
looking forward to your reply.
and by the way, for example. my CoE gets approved and like i said, i still have a multiple entry Visa valid until December 2017. i should fo to Japan Embassy/Consulate to chnage my status right? what should i apply next when i’m in Japan? Change my Multiple Entry Visa to
1. Spouse of Japanese National Visa?
or
2.Change of Residence status?
thank you for anwerings many of the questions.
Hi Cyrill,
If you apply for a CoE and it gets approved, you should apply for a Spouse of Japanese National Visa at the Japanese Embassy or Consulate where you are living.
When you enter Japan with that visa and CoE, your old multiple entry visa would become invalid and you would automatically have a spouse residence status and would get a Residence Card at the airport when you arrived. You wouldn’t have to apply for anything else after entering Japan (you’d just have to do the regular resident registration paperwork).
Good Luck
– Travis from TranSenz
hi Travis,
thank you so much for your answers, it helps us a lot. everything makes it clearer.
my wife will be sending my application by this week to the consulate. goodluck to my application.
thank you again.
Godbless.
Hi Cyrill,
I cover how to answer each the questions in detail in my book, but here is the short version:
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes – 5 years is the maximum length for a Spouse of Japanese National, but unless you or your spouse has a consistent source of income in Japan already, you’re likely to only get one year, even if you ask for five.
4. If you are in Japan now, then you wouldn’t fill out this form, you would fill out the application for Change of Status of Residence. If you are filling out this form, it is so that you can apply for a visa outside of Japan, so you would fill in the location of the Japanese Embassy where you will apply for the visa.
5. Fill in “none”
6. It depends on your financial support in Japan. Your wife should be your guarantor in most cases, so you will certainly have to fill in #26. If someone else in Japan will be providing you with financial support on a permanent basis (i.e. you have no intention to work, that person will support you with their income), then you would fill in #25, but otherwise you can leave it blank. Your wife should fill in #27 with her own information.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
my wife has already filled in everything for me, and now we are working on our questionaire form. needs to be detailed as possible and a lot of pictures and others stuffs.
thanks a lot again for helping not only us but many other people around the globe applying for a CoE.
🙂
Hi, im from Philippines. My husband is indian national. We get married here in Philippines. We have one child that six months old already now. My husband is a japan residence and also he is working there. We are planning to live in japan for good. But my question is, how can i get spouse visa so that me and my child can live with my husband in japan permanently?. Hope you can help me. Thank you
Hi Ver Joanna,
It depends on what your husband’s status is in Japan. If he is a Permanent resident, you can use this application process for both you and your child (you’ll have to apply separately for each of you.)
If he is a mid- to long-term resident (e.g. Specialist, professor, other working status), then you would need to follow the instructions for the Dependent status.
In either case, your husband will have to get the paperwork started by applying for Certificates of Eligibility for each of you in Japan. The instructions above or on the dependent page should help him get going!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello again Travis! I’d like to ask a couple of questions ! 1.)Should my foreign permanent resident fiance writedown our plans of marriages to the reason for invitation? 2.) Is 15 days tourist visa enough for marriages in japan including paperworks and applying for change of Status from tourist to spouse visa? 3.) Which visa should i applied for is it spouse visa of permanent resident or dependent visa? 4.)My fiance is asking me Which one is needed to do first, applying for COE before marriage While im in philippines before going to japan or is it better be done after we got married? Thanks, for always helping us with our inquiries god bless your family!
Hi Vanezza,
1. I think it’s fine to write down that you plan to get married during your trip while applying for your tourist visa. I would not recommend writing down that you plan to change your status while in Japan, since that might result in more questions and wouldn’t necessarily help your application.
2. No. Even 90 days is cutting it a little short. You’ll have to get married (including getting the required eligibility documents from your home countries and getting them translated), register the marriage with your home countries, then apply for the Change of Status. If you’re able to apply for the Change of Status of Residence, then you should be fine, since you can stay in Japan a little longer to wait for the processing to finish. However, some commenters on here have told me that they weren’t allowed to apply for a Change of Status and were told that they had to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility, instead. That can take up to 3 months and you would not be able to extend your stay in Japan in the mean time. Try for 90 days to have the best possible chance of getting all of your paperwork done in time.
3. Spouse of Permanent Resident. You cannot apply for a Dependent visa if your spouse is a permanent resident. (Dependent is only for spouses of mid-to-long term status holders)
4. You would have to get married first. You cannot apply for the COE until after you are married. Submitting your proof of marriage (from Japan and your home countries) is one of the requirements to apply for the COE.
I hope that helps. Good luck to you and your fiance!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks for all the advice and great website!
I would like to ask for advice about my situation?
I have been in Japan the last few months on a tourist visa and my partner and I will marry this April and then in May we will both leave to go backpacking a few months before returning back to Japan.
Is it possible to apply for the C.O.E during April before we actually leave Japan and then we will both leave together while the application is being processed as we will be travelling for a few months anyway?
If the C.O.E gets approved should I go back to Japan to apply for spouse visa or should I fly back to my home country to apply for Spouse visa?
I am a British National and she is a Japanese National.
We both plan on living and working in Japan and would like to avoid going back to UK if possible.
Thank You
Hi Ryan,
Congratulations on your upcoming marriage!
It’s possible to apply for the CoE together then leave, yes. But you’ll want to have someone looking after your wife’s mail while you’re gone. There’s a chance the Immigration Bureau could ask her to submit additional documentation. If that happens, you’ll have a limited amount of time to submit whatever they ask for.
If there is someone watching your wife’s mail, you could have that person forward the CoE to you by post wherever you are backpacking at the time so that you can apply for the visa before returning to Japan. However, that could be risky since you’ll be moving around and might have to deal with delays from the local postal service.
My recommendation would be to return to Japan, collect your CoE and apply for a “Change of Status of Residence” at the Immigration Bureau in Japan. If you have your CoE already when you apply for this, then it should be a quick and simple approval.
(Note about terminology: You would not/can not apply for a visa inside Japan. A visa is just permission to enter the country, and you’ve already done so at that point. You would need to change your Residence Status from Tourist to Spouse).
The Change of Status of Residence application form is almost identical to the CoE application form, but you wouldn’t have to submit any of the other supporting documentation again. You should be fine with the application form, CoE, your passport, a photo, and the processing fee.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
This is such a helpful site is decided to buy your book.
Hi David,
Thank you very much! I sincerely appreciate your support.
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
First of all, thank you so much for this detail and useful article.
I am Anh from Vietnam. My husband is Japanese and we are currently working in Malaysia. We are planning to go back Japan in this June or July (as soon as I get visa).
I am in the midst of this process and there are few questions I would like to ask you. Please help me to clarify:
1. #12 & 13: We are staying in Malaysia and we do not know the exact day will go back. Should we leave it blank?
2. #20: Can I write my parents-in-law in this table because my husband is with me in Malaysia?
3. #22: We got married officially under Malaysia law. After that, we registered both Japan & Vietnam Embassy in Malaysia. For (2) “Foreign authorities”, should I write down the certificate which is issued by Malaysia officer or Vietnam Embassy? Because the registration in Japan and Vietnam Embassy were based on Marriage Certificate by Malaysia Officer.
4. #24: Because my husband is working overseas, will it be better to put my father-in-law as my supporter & guarantor even though he is retired? As the above comments, I understood that the minimum monthly allowance fee is 80,000 JPY. Can I select 3 options: Self, Supporter in Japan, and Guarantor? I have savings in Malaysia and the Employment Confirmation letter from my company which is shown my working length & salary. If my supporter & guarantor are same, should I split the amount of money into 2 options?
For example, I will separate into 3: Self – 30,000 + Supporter in Japan – 30,000 + Guarantor – 30,000. Is it fine?
5. My father-in-law is my guarantor, so he will be the person submit Juminhyo and Juminzei, wont he?
6. The 1st spouse visa is valid 1-year period. Is it compulsory how many days/ months I have to stay in Japan because we plan to celebrate wedding in Vietnam in this July?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance :).
Hi Anh,
Thank you for your compliments. These kinds of questions are exactly why I wrote my detailed book on the certificate of eligibility and spouse visa application process.
1. These don’t have to be exact, final answers. Estimates are fine, but they do need to be filled in.
2. You only need to write your parents-in-law if you will be living with them on arrival.
3. The English says “Foreign Authorities” but the Japanese question is really asking for your home country. Provided that you can get proof of your marriage from the Vietnamese government, I would write the date and location you registered with the Vietnamese Embassy.
4. Your Guarantor needs to be living in Japan (I have a flow chart to help sort this out in the book), but a supporter can be in any country. Your father-in-law, assuming he has a pension or other financial means, should be your guarantor. He doesn’t necessarily need to be your supporter. If he is both a supporter and guarantor, then you would fill in his financial contribution in the Guarantor line, only, do not split the lines.
Your salary certificate in Malaysia is not going to be acceptable as proof of resources, since that job will not continue paying you after you arrive in Japan.
5. Juminzei, yes. Your husband, not your father-in-law will need to submit his Juminhyo.
6. There is no compulsory number of days to stay in Japan. (I left Japan during my first year to celebrate my wedding in my home country, too, plus a few more trips for work). By the time you apply to renew your status of residence in Japan, you’ll want to establish your own consistent job and income (or your husband’s) so that you can get a longer period of stay, but that’s about it.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you this information was very helpful. However, I have a question.
My wife and baby (both Japanese) and I’m visiting them on tourist visa (Multiple entry 180 days) and my first 90 days has come to an end, I will be leaving japan soon.
However, I have got my Certificate of Eligibility now.
My question is, can I use the remaining visa (Multiple entry 90 days) or must I apply for a new visa to get my resident card?
Hi Frank,
If you take your Certificate of Eligibility to the Immigration Bureau now, you should be able to use that to apply for a Change of Status of Residence.
Once you have submitted that application, you will be allowed to stay in Japan for up to an additional 2 months while they process your application. So, there is a good chance you could change your status without having to leave Japan at all.
If you choose to leave, then you can either apply for a spouse visa before you return to Japan (at the Japanese Embassy in your home country), or you can return on your tourist visa then apply for the Change of Status of Residence after you return.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
hi transenz!
im really nice to see your comments here
Hi Travis,
Great blog and very helpful piece of article. I am married to a Japanese Permanent Resident. My wife wants to live in Japan therefore planning to apply for Spouse of Permanent Resident Visa. We got married outside Japan and got our Marriage registered with Local authorities. And she is back in Japan now to resume her job. Since she is on full time job, I want to make it easy for her to go through the process. I read and understood most of it but your scenario is a bit different from mine so I want to be sure we do everything right to avoid delays. I am writing down the process how I understood it and just need your thoughts on the questions I have in mind.
1. Obtain Koseki from Town Hall of her Residence
2. Prepare and Apply for COE
– She should get her Juminhyo & Juminzei with Financial Proofs and all
– Our wedding certificate, photos and questionnaire
3. if all goes well and COE arrives, I take it with other documents to embassy to apply for visa.
Questions:
1. Is it advisable to get a lawyer for COE process?
2. Will they require my bank statement anywhere throughout process?
3. Do I have to prepare any document except Passport, photograph & visa form?
4. Any points of caution while my wife is a Permanent Resident instead of Japanese National?
Thanking in Advance
Hi Muazzam,
Thank you for your kind comments!
The application process for a Spouse of Permanent Resident Certificate of Eligibility (or Change or Status of Residence) is mostly similar to the Spouse of Japanese National process, but there are a few minor differences. I cover these in detail in the book I just finished on the application process, but I’ll summarize them in my answers below:
Your Process
1. Your wife will not have a koseki. This is one of the biggest differences. You do not need any other document in place of the koseki.
2. Yes on the Juminhyo/Juminzei documents. She will also need to complete the Letter of Guarantee in addition to the documents you listed.
– If you and she have different nationalities, you will need one copy of your marriage records from each of your home countries (or a statement that your home country does not issue records for marriages conducted abroad).
3. Yes, that sounds good.
Questions
1. I really do not think a lawyer is necessary. You can complete this entire process yourself without too much difficulty.
2. Your bank statement is not required. If you plan to use your own savings to support yourself upon arrival and fill in “self” for the financial supporter question in the application form, submitting it will make it easier for your application to pass. More evidence of resources is never a bad thing.
3. You will also need your marriage records issued by your home country (with a professional translation). You may have other requirements for your visa application, since that can vary from country to country. Check with the Japanese embassy in your country to be sure.
4. Assuming that your wife is fluent in Japanese, only the two points I listed in my comments on steps 1 and 2 of your process. (If she’s not fluent, she may need a friend to help translate her Questionnaire answers).
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
hello transenz
i am married to a japanese for almost 6 yrs..and i have been here in japan for almost 12yrs. last june 2016 i applied for permanent visa. but they denied it. the reason is my husband is not paying his taxes. for me since then i all my taxes are payed.. my husband told me that he will not pay taxes and he is planning to annul me this year and my 3 yr visa will expire this coming november..what can i do? please help me..thanks
Hi Ann,
I’m sorry to hear that you’re in such a tough situation.
This is out of my area of expertise, so you might want to consult with a lawyer or one of the international resident assistance organizations, if there is one in your area.
I don’t know if paying your husband’s taxes for him is an option (to remove the reason for denial), but if not then it looks like you may have to find a way to change your residence status if you want to stay in Japan past November. The options depend on your situation.
I’m sorry I couldn’t offer more help.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
if he divorced me.can i apply for a long term visa?maybe 3 yrs or 5?for me i have no problem with my taxes..
Hi Ann,
You can apply to Change your Status of Residence, but you would need to qualify for the new status. For example, you’d have to be working to get one of the working statuses.
If you meet those criteria, you can change quite easily, but then you would lose the ability to apply for Permanent Residency for several years.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
do i need a lawyer when i file a change of status?when he divorced me. Or me by myself i can file on my own? thanks for the response
Hi Ann,
You don’t need a lawyer to file a Change of Status of Residence (or any other form at the Immigration Bureau, for that matter). All you need is the supporting documentation for your new status.
You may need one for the divorce proceedings, but I’m afraid that isn’t my area of expertise.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks for the extremely informative post! I am married to a Japanese national and we both live outside Japan at the moment. Can my wife’s father or mother act as my representative (the person who ultimately signs form 1)? In that case this relative would have the role of representative (section 27), guarantor (section 26), and supporter (section 25). Is it fine if all those roles are filled by the same person?
Hi Patrick,
I’m glad you found it helpful! That’s my goal.
It is not a problem if the same person is your Financial Supporter, Guarantor, and Representative. Your Guarantor will also fill out the Letter of Guarantee
Your Guarantor has to have income, so unless both of your parents-in-law have income and tax records, that limits who can fill in that section.
For Financial Supporter, I think your mother- or father-in-law should complete Question 24 (1) & (3), not Question 25. Question 25 is if you are to be permanently supported by that person’s income and not seek your own income (think housewife or househusband). Question 24 is for persons who will provide you with support until you are able to support yourself. If they fill in 24, it is fine to leave 25 blank.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi. Can you advise me as well please? I will go to Japan in February to get married there with my Japanese fiance.
I have 3 questions regarding the visa:
– I would like to take his surname, do I apply for all paperwork after I had done this at my embassy? Or is it better to wait until my first visa expires? How long will I have before my 180 days of tourist visa is up?
– Is it ok to apply for the visa from within Japan? e.g. change my tourist visa?
– He is a Phd student so does not work, what will be the best for that income document?
Thank you for your help.
Hi Sal,
It sounds like you plan to go to Japan on a tourist/short-term stay visa, get married there, then change to a Spouse Visa. Is that right?
Before you go, your tourist visa is only for 90 days, not 180, so be careful with the dates!
1. If you’re going to get married after you arrive in Japan, you will be on a very tight schedule to get your change of status of residence processed. In your situation, I would recommend that you finish the legal marriage as soon as possible after you arrive (within the first few days) then get your application together and apply for your Change of Status of Residence immediately. There’s a chance that the Immigration Bureau will not allow you to apply for a Change of Status of Residence – there seems to be some inconsistency on this point – and will tell you to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility, instead. In that case, you’ll need to apply early so that you get the Certificate before you have to leave Japan.
I mention all that to emphasize that you really won’t have much time. Changing your name at your embassy could take several weeks and that is time you do not have. I would recommend that you wait until after your application is complete and accepted before you change your name.
2. I sort of answered this in the paragraph above. You can apply for a “Change of Status of Residence” to change from tourist to spouse. However, you’ll have to prove that there is some unavoidable reason for you to make the change in Japan. Sometimes the Immigration Bureau will accept that you could not get married before arriving in Japan and accept your application, but sometimes they will not, according to other commenters. If they do not let you apply for a Change of Status of Residence, you can still apply for a Certificate of Eligibility from inside Japan. If you get that CoE issued before your 90 days are up, then you can apply to change your residence status to “spouse” within Japan.
(I explain this process in more detail in my ebook on Spouse Visas, which is coming out later this month).
3. You’ll probably need his parents to serve as your Guarantor, but ask him to double-check with the Immigration Bureau, too. Even if he does not have an income, he may have the right tax records and be able to serve as your guarantor (you will still need financial supporters, though).
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis! Just wanted to thank you for being so patient in explaining and answering not just my questions but to everyone here as well. My husband’s COE finally came today. Your article was of great help. Hope everything goes well with the visa application too. Thank you so much!
Can I just ask something on answering the visa application form? What do people applying for a spouse visa usually write on the ‘purpose of visit to japan’ section? Thanks again!
Hi Y,
I wrote “Live with spouse (Spouse of Japanese National)” and didn’t have any trouble with my application. That’s what I’d recommend, but some of the other readers might have suggestions, too.
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Goodday transzenz am my wife is using (permanent permit and I want to visit her in Japan what must I do ?
Hi chibuezbarthez,
You posted the same question in multiple places, so I just answered it here.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
I have a question on the visa processing in japan. I already get my coe and had applied visa in japan. It’s already near 3 weeks but i dont get any reply yet from the embassy on visa application?Is it normal? because from what i read some of people only wait for 2 weeks to get their visa done.
I hope you can shed some light.
Thanks
Hi Aifa,
Where did you apply for your visa?
Other commenters have told me that processing time can vary wildly by country. In the Philippines, for example, I’ve heard of the process taking more than 3 weeks for a lot of people. I’d recommend that you check on the Japanese embassy’s website in the country where you applied to see what their average time is.
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
hi travis, thanks for the reply
i finally received the resident card 2 days ago. :). basically im applying coe and visa in japan.
Thanks again travis
Hi aifa
Did you get ur visa already !!! How many weeks it takes
My husband also applying spouse visa with COE its more than 2 weeks now!!!
Hi travis,
I received my COE last November 29 and I went directly to the accredited agency to apply for visa.The staff told me that usually the processing time is 7-14 working days but unfortunately it’s almost a month now, still don’t have my visa.I keep on calling the agency for follow up but they’re always telling me that it’s still “for verification”. I don’t know what to do for now. I’m so confused of the processing ?. Hope that somebody could help me… tnx ??
Hi Mae Shiel,
Based on similar comments I’ve heard in the past, can I assume you’re applying for your visa in the Philippines?
I’ve heard that the agencies there are really slow and not helpful about giving progress updates, but I don’t know anything specific. I hope one of the other readers here can share their experience and help you!
Are there multiple agencies than can handle the application? If so, maybe I should ask everyone in your situation to share the name of the agency they use so we know which ones are fast and slow in the future!
I hope you get your visa soon!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi evangeline,
When did you apply for visa? Did you get it for now?
hi.im tin..im married to a japanese national.he already applied for my coe together with my child.he applied last dec.i called the immigration to check our application.the staff there told me that they finished checking our document but still they are not yet mailing our coe.i asked him if i passed,he said MAYbe..what do u think of this.and how long it takes to mail as for the result..tnx
Hi Tin,
I’m afraid that’s really not enough information for me to figure out whether or not your CoE would be approved or not. I have never heard of anyone being told “maybe” before, so I’m not sure what they mean.
It should take a maximum of 3 months from when your husband submitted it to get the result, so you should be hearing soon!
Good Luck
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
I wanted to know if you had any information on renewal of spouse visa? I followed your guide and was able to get my spouse visa earlier this year and now its time to look into renewing my spouse visa and hopefully get a 3 year extension of the 1 year 🙂
Did you have trouble renewing your spouse visa in the past?
Thanks
Harry
Hi Harry,
I’m glad to hear that you were successful in getting your spouse visa! I only got a 1-year stay when I first applied, too.
The good news is that when I renewed, I was able to get a 3-year stay with no problem. At that time, 3 years was the maximum stay, but now you can get up to 5 years. I recommend going for 5, because one of the conditions for applying for permanent residency is having the maximum length of stay possible for your status.
The renewal process should be easier than applying in the first place. The only complicated part is getting the proof of financial resources. If you’re supporting yourself and your family with your income, you won’t have the required tax records yet. Double-check with the immigration bureau to be sure, but in my case I was able to submit proof of employment with my salary mentioned and my record of tax withholding (源泉徴収票 gensenchoshuhyo) that I got shortly after the new year.
In my case, I submitted my application in March, which was bad timing. It ended up taking over a month to get the response and my period of stay expired in the meantime. If that happens to you, you’re allowed to stay in Japan for up to 2 months after your period of stay expires or until the Immigration Bureau finishes your screening, whichever comes first.
I plan to release a full guide on this in the future, but for now, I how that helps!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you for the information and as always very helpful 🙂
OK, I currently have my certificate of employment which shows my salary on it, and will also have my (源泉徴収票 gensenchoshuhyo) for this end of year and the one I received last year. I also have paid my resident tax in full but I am not sure if I will need that?
I will be sticking with what I did last time and self support. Show them my japanese bank statement that proves monthly income coming. My wife also works full time but she also will not have the records since she moved back to Japan the same time as me. I guess it wont hurt to include her certificate of employment and gensenchoshuhyo?
Thanks again
Harry
Hi Harry,
If you have residence tax payment records that cover a full year, that’s the preferred form of proof of financial resources (rather than your salary certificate and 源泉徴収票). Since you mentioned that you’d only had a 1-year status before, I just assumed you wouldn’t have that yet.
If your residence tax documents don’t show a full year, then I’d recommend contacting the local immigration bureau to see if they still want those in addition to your other records.
It doesn’t to show additional proof of financial resources, but as long as you are making a liveable salary, then just the employment/salary certificate and the 源泉徴収票 should be sufficient for your application to pass with no trouble.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
My resident tax I think only covers 3/4 of the year as I have not been here long enough. Keeping in mind I went from working holiday visa to spouse visa in which I think I did not have to pay resident tax on my first year.
I think I will just bring a copy of that incase they need it, but I definately have my letter of employment and my end of year tax slip.
Will keep you posted.
Thanks
Hey transzenz my wife is a Phillips and I for Nigeria we got married in Nigeria last year now I want to visit my wife in Japan she is using permanent resident she have leave in Japan for 30 years what must I do to visit her??? thanks
Hi chibuezebarthez,
If you just want to visit her, then you can apply for a tourist visa for up to 90 days.
If you want to move to Japan, then you would need to apply for a Spouse of Permanent Resident Visa. The application process is almost identical to the Spouse of Japanese National application process I described in the article above.
The first step would be for her to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility for you, following the instructions above.
If you’re interested, I just finished an ebook that breaks down the application process into step-by-step instructions. You can find more about that book here.
Either way, good luck with your application!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks tranSenz but we are planning on a visiting visa. So please does she have to send me all the documents the embassy many need or does she have to sumit our document to home airfares in Japan so Dat how airfares can send it to Nigeria embassy here thanks
Hi chibuezebarthez,
For a tourist visa, the requirements are different based on your country. I’m afraid I don’t have any expertise in that are for Nigeria.
You will not need a Certificate of Eligibility, but your wife will have to send you some documents for your application. She should be able to get them all from her city hall:
You can find instructions and a list of documents on the Japanese Embassy in Nigeria’s website: http://www.ng.emb-japan.go.jp/visa.html
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hello, thank you for the great information! I was just wondering about a small technicality. Do we receive the marriage certificate on the same day we register the marriage? (Assuming we do not mail it and register it in person at the city hall) I am just wondering since I will be there on a tourist visa and we want to get it all done (city hall and immigration) in one day to be quick.
Hi Marty,
You can get a Certificate of Acceptance of Marriage Registration (婚姻届重利証明書 kon’in todoke juri shomeisho) on the same day, which is proof that your marriage registration was accepted. That, plus a copy of your spouse’s koseki tohon, should be enough for you to move forward with your application.
Remember, you might also need proof of marriage registration from your home country, depending on your nationality.
However, if you need your spouse’s Family Register (戸籍謄本 koseki tohon) with your name in it for some reason, it could take up to a few weeks. There are several factors that go into the time: whether or not you’re registering your marriage at the city hall at your spouse’s legal domicile (本籍地 honseki-chi), whether you’re changing your spouse’s legal domicile, how busy that city is, etc.
In my case, we were able to get our new Family Register issued the same day, but that was at my wife’s previous legal domicile, we did not move her legal domicile, and it was a rural town that was not busy.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
I see, thank you! My fiancé has moved around quite a bit throughout his life, but he was living in the same place for about 10 years until 7 months ago, when he had to move to a new city (for his full-time job). He gave the new city hall his koseki, so the new city is considered his legal domicile, correct?? Thank you so much for answering!
Hi Marty,
Whenever a Japanese citizen (or foreign resident of Japan) moves, they are required to go through a change in “Residence Registration,” but this is not the same thing as changing their “Legal Domicile.” There is a different form and procedure for each change, so without knowing which city hall form he filled in and submitted, I can’t say for sure.
The most certain way to check is for him to go to the city hall and get a copy of his Residence Registration Certificate (住民票 juminhyo) with the Legal Domicile (本籍地 honseki-chi) listed.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Transenz,
Thanks for this wonderful blog site. keep up the good work. Congratulations for your book.
Hey Marty,
Best wishes to you for your wedding.
I think, it is case by case. I am from India and got married to a Japanese national last year. We went to the city hall on 11th October to register our marriage but it wasn’t registered on the same day. The city hall officials asked us to submit our application and wait to get a reply from them wether our marriage could be registered or not. After three weeks we got a call from city hall to appear for an interview. Both of us faced a lengthy interview which lasted for two hours or so. My husband asked the officials about the result of our marriage registration after the interview but the officials asked us to wait for their reply. It took one and a half month to register our marriage. Surprisingly, the date of registration of marriage as per the Konin todoke juri shomeisho is 11th October. I cannot figure out why we were intensely interviewed.
Hi P,
Thank you for sharing your story! I’d never heard of anyone having a delay like that for their marriage paperwork. It is very helpful to know that it may happen.
Thank you again!
– Travis from TranSenz
sir can i ask a queston if i got certificate of eligibility , my visa is automatically release?
Hi Koko,
No, it is not automatic, but it is pretty close.
You still have to complete the prescribed visa application. If you don’t submit all the required items for that application, or if your situation changes and you become ineligible for your visa (for example, you apply for a Spouse CoE but then get divorced before applying for your visa), then your visa could be denied.
As long as you’re doing everything right, though, there is no reason the visa would be denied!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
I have a very quick question about translation of marriage certificates to Japanese.
I am American and my wife is a Japanese national. We were married in Hawaii and have a American marriage certificate. We are in the process of filling out paperwork to move to Japan. As you may know we have to translate our English marriage certificate into Japanese.
My questions is; is there a official form or a format to translate the marriage certificate? Can it be handwritten on a copy of the certificate?
Your best advice on the proper procedure to translate a American marriage certificate to Japanese to submit for a visa application would be very helpful!
Thank you!
Hi Daniel,
Congratulations on your marriage!
Yes, there is an official form you are required to use as well as several other items you need to submit. You can get the Report of Marriage and official translation form form the Consulate General of Japan in Hawaii.
Your wife can find the instructions in Japanese on the Consulate’s website, but they do not appear to have the forms for download there.
You will need:
2-3 copies of the Report of Marriage (official form)
The State of Hawaii marriage certificate (show only, no need to submit)
Japanese translation of the Hawaii marriage certificate (official form)
Your wife’s koseki tohon or shohon (show only, no need to submit)
Your birth certificate or passport valid on the date of your marriage (show only, no need to submit)
A translation of your birth certificate of passport (official form)
Your wife’s passport (show only, no need to submit)
Good Luck
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi! I’d like to ask how long should I work here in Japan before I can apply for a dependent visa for my husband. I arrived here last October 5 and I am working as an English teacher. I was given Engineering / specialization in human services visa which is good for 5 years. I tried to contact some Japanese immigration lawyer with regards to my concern and I might meet him before the end of the month. I just want to know your idea before consulting a lawyer since I think I have to pay for the consultation. By the way I am Filipina and my husband is also a Filipino. Thank you! 🙂
Hi Joanne,
I saw you asked this in two places, so I answered your question in the comments of the Dependent Visa article.
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
I came across this blog while digging information for spouse visa and it has been a great aid to my understanding of the application process. I am a singaporean planning to marry my japanese fiance in japan. But i’m already planning to go japan on a tourist visa – (short term stay up to 90 stays) next january. After reading most of the comments, i still have doubts to the necessity of COE, i’m sorry if you may have answered this many times >.< .
My question is, the requirements for application of spouse visa stated that COE is required beforehand however i saw from some answers here stated that transition may be possible from tourist visa? Is that possible?
If i'm already in japan with the tourist visa- (short term stay up to 90 stays), can i still be eligible to apply for spouse visa bypassing the COE application process?
My fiance was surprised too as he was not informed about the COE application when he went to ask about foreigner marriage.
Many thanks
Annie
Hi Annie,
I’m not surprised you have doubts about the CoE – I’ve gotten new information several times by way of the comments, and my understanding of it has changed since I wrote the article. I’m working on a revision, to accompany an ebook on the subject, so I will make all of this clear in the near future!
It is possible to make the transition from Tourist to Spouse of Japanese National after arriving in Japan. The Immigration Bureau says it is permitted in extenuating circumstances and I have read from several immigration lawyers that it is not so difficult for Spouses of Japanese Nationals. In your case, the fact that you won’t get married until after you arrive in Japan is a perfect example of an “extenuating circumstance,” so it should certainly be possible.
Unfortunately, while you are “bypassing” the CoE process, applying for a Change in Status of Residence is almost an identical process to applying for the CoE. You will have to submit all the same requirements, just a slightly different application form, which you can get from the Immigration Bureau website.
This will also be covered in detail in my upcoming ebook.
By the way, if your fiance went to the city hall to ask about foreigner marriage, it would not be surprising if they didn’t mention the CoE. That’s an Immigration matter, and city halls, in my experience, are not very proacive about volunteering information that concerns other agencies.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi travis! I received a letter from the immigration that we need to submit a proof of our communication (copy of mail,LINE,etc.). We usually send messages using line and facebook messenger. Is it okay if I just do a screenshot of certain conversations and print it as photos? Also, I don’t have an idea on how much is needed. Do I need to submit lots of conversations? Thank you in advance.
Hi Y,
I don’t think there’s a specific rule about how much is needed. If either of those programs have an option to export your conversation history, that would be the best option. There is a tip for how to do this on facebook on their forums. Otherwise, screenshots of specific conversation would be your only other option as far as I can tell.
In that case, it would be a lot of screenshots to make up your whole conversation history, so excerpts from your history that show that you have been in communication on a regular basis for a long time should work!
I hope someone else on here has similar experience and can add some comments!
Good Luck
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Y,
I was asked to submit the same. I took screenshots of all the important messages and emails between me and my husband before marriage. We mailed the printouts of those screenshots to the immigration bureau.
We were asked twice to submit our photographs. As of now I am in my country and my husband is in Japan. We are waiting to hear from the immigration bureau about the result of my COE. It has already been three months.
hi i just wanna ask why the result for my visa takes too long,untill now i didnt recieve any result been 2 weeks,i apply japanese spouse visa with coe,i thought it would be easy if i have coe already,i pass all the requirements and i dont have any bad or past record in japan coz its my first time,😭 any reason why it takes too long for them to release my visa?thank u
Hi Nic,
Hopefully, you’ve heard back by now.
I don’t even know what country you’re applying from, so I’m afraid I can’t help with your question. I’d recommend calling the embassy where you applied!
(If you applied through an agency, sometimes those places take a little longer).
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
I would like to thanks for ur article.Im Sri Lankan and nw I’m studying in Japan.nw I’m in Semmon(vocational training school).My graduation is next March.i have already married and hv a 4 years old daughter.once I applied for my family depending visa in 2015 setember.but it was rejected.the reason was I’m in student visa and I don’t have an ability to handle their living expenses .so that time everybody adviced me applying for depending after I get my working visa.i hope to apply my working visa next February .i have planned to take my husband and my daughter in visiting visa for 3 months for my graduation and that time I want to apply again for depending visa when they stay in Japan in that 3months period.so my question is once I apply for depending visa next year in that period ,,,do they can stay in Japan in visiting visa till the Result comes??or if that result late to come until finish their visiting three months do they have back to Sri Lanka?? This year they came to Japan 2 times in 1month visiting visa and 3months visiting visa.nw also they stayed with me and they back to Sri Lanka on 3rd of December .Also I have a question after getting the COE I have planned to my daughter back to Sri Lanka with my mother for her education.I would like to know what are the immigration rules about it?I would like to ur kindly attention for my questions .thanks
Hi Ann,
This article is about the Spouse of Japanese National/Spouse of Permanent Resident. I do have another article about the Dependent Visa application process, too.
Unfortunately, according to the information I’ve found, you cannot bring your family to Japan on a visiting/short-term stay visa then apply directly for a Change of Status of Residence to “Dependent.” So, you would have to apply for a CoE. Once you get the CoE, then they may be able to use that to apply for a Change of Status of Residence in Japan, but I am not certain that will work. I would recommend that you contact the Immigration Bureau to find out.
If you are applying for a CoE for your family members and their 3 months short-term stay status expires, they would have to leave Japan.
Once your husband and daughter have their Dependent Residence Status & Residence Card, they will be able to leave and return to Japan freely as long as they return to Japan within one year of departing or before their Residence Card expires, whichever comes first.
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Thank you very much for your helpful article about the entire process of dependent visa and that’s why thought to pen down regarding a serious matter. As i mentioned in the previous question my wife is a lawyer working in Sri Lanka who is willing to apply for her masters in the Japan University but this problem all around because we need to make sure its worth to apply.
I entered for a Japanese language course during 2003 and couldn’t continue due to my personal problems and overstayed 3years without visa got banned for 05 years. its been 10 years from the date since the deportation.
Will they grant me the dependent visa or tourist visa?
Is there any possibility that they wont issue the visa due to my previous immigration history?
Can they refuse my visa after even granting student visa to my wife?
Please help me to overcome these problems through your guidance
Thanking You,
Regards,
Kasun
Hi Kasun,
If it has been over 5 years since you were deported from Japan, that should not affect your ability to acquire a visa now. Your application may be scrutinized more carefully, but a 10+ year-old deportation by itself is not sufficient grounds to refuse your application.
If you apply for a dependent visa (and have the Certificate of Eligibility that your wife will acquire for you in Japan), then you should be able to get a dependent visa. The Embassy is not going to look at your application and “downgrade” you from dependent to tourist. It would be all or nothing.
They absolutely can refuse you a dependent visa after granting a student visa to your wife. For example, if you don’t have sufficient proof of financial resources to support your life in Japan or you don’t submit all of the requirements correctly, your Certificate of Eligibility or visa application could be denied. But as long as you do everything correctly, there should be no problem!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
hi travis.
i need your advice i know you can help me.
im planning to get my husband (we get married last may 2016) as a tourist here in japan. we want to spend christmas together and planning to apply for a “change status for his visa” do i have to apply COE before he go here or change status? i dont want him to go home again as much as possible. what do i do? 🙁
Hi Ai,
The safest way is to apply for a CoE and send it to him in advance so that he can come to Japan on a Spouse of Japanese National visa to begin with. I would recommend starting that process immediately.
Even if you do not get the CoE in time for him to apply for a visa before coming to Japan, having it will make it easier (and almost guaranteed to succeed) to apply for the Change of Status of Residence after he arrives.
Having a CoE is the best way and I recommend it if at all possible.
There is also the possibility of having him come to Japan as a tourist then apply for a Change of Status of Residence while he is here, but that is not guaranteed to work. You have to prove that there were unavoidable reasons why he couldn’t apply for a Spouse visa before coming.
Unfortunately, I did recently hear from another commenter that he tried this method and his application was rejected.
So, if you want to be sure, apply for the CoE!
Good Luck
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis! im paolo, im Filipino, my wife is japanese-filipino who grew up here in the ph. but recently she has renounced her philippine nationality. she doesn’t speak and write japanese that good. i just have a question regarding the questionnaire form. like how do we answer the When, where, and how we first met and a detailed explanation of your relationship question. can we answer it in english? or do we have to translate it to japanese? thank you!!
Hi Paolo,
Unfortunately, you are going to have to submit your answers in Japanese. It doesn’t have to be an official translation, since it’s not an official document, so if your wife is living in Japan and has a friend she can ask to translate it for you, that would be fine.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, thank you so much for publishing this. I came across your blog whilst trying to obtain information on the spouse visa. Your guide has been so thorough and helpful! I actually read all the comments and questions shared above, and followed your tips (black ball pen, no staples! lol). Would like to share my process, I received my COE in 2 months- at the one month mark they sent us a letter requesting more details (past messages and call history, as well as bank balance) and a month later, I received the COE. I started my application in Japan but before it was approved my tourist visa was expiring so I had to leave and my spouse couriered the letter over to me. The Japanese embassy was so efficient, I actually went yesterday to submit my documents and I received my visa today! Sending you warm wishes and a big thank you from the bottom of our hearts! ありがとうございます！
Hi Xen,
Thank you for sharing your success story, and for your kind words!
You’re the first person I’ve heard of who was asked to submit communication records. It’s good to have confirmation that that does happen!
If you don’t mind my asking, what country/city were you in when you applied for your visa? It’s really helpful to know which embassies/consulates have faster visa processing times and which ones are slower.
Good luck with your life together in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
Happy to contribute to the pool of information! I am Malaysian so I applied for my visa at the Japan embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Was pleasantly surprised when told I could pick it up the next day. Thank you for your well wishes and all the best to you too!
Hi Travis
Love your work with helping us all !
My situ is I’m living in Japan on a working visa and have alien resident card. I will marry my Japanese fiance in a couple of weeks here and then apply for a Japanese Spouse Visa. Would you happen to know whether I need to apply for another CoE before I apply ?
I’ve heard that all I need is my resident card with the application. Also if I didn’t need another CoE would that mean that the processing of my application will be a relatively short waiting period ?
Thanks again.
Craig
Hi Craig,
Thank you for your kind words 🙂
You do not need to apply for another CoE. You’ll apply for a “Change in Status of Residence” instead. The process is almost identical. You’ll need all the same supporting documents, but the application form itself is (very) slightly different.
Unfortunately, the waiting time is about the same as for a CoE.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hello! Just wanna knowHow many days or weeks process of visa with eligibilty at yhe philippines today? We filed it last oct 10 but until now it has no result yet. Thank you.
Hi Kish,
A lot of people have written to ask why visa processing takes so long in the Philippines. Unfortunately, I have no direct knowledge, and very few people write back to tell me how long it ends up taking before they finally receive their visas.
Based on past comments, it sounds like 3 weeks or so is not unusual. Hopefully someone else can comment with better information!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Trvis
I am from Sri Lanka and my wife is planning to do her masters in Japan but we have no idea about the procedure of applying for the dependent visa as we are planing to travel together.
Could you kindly explain the procedure and the level of education that meet to apply for dependent visa.
Moreover i really appreciate your endeavor to help people who really seek it.
Your urgent attention in this regard is highly appreciated
Thanks
regards
Kasun
Hi Kasun,
I’ve been getting questions about the Dependent Visa for a while, so I finally published a guide on How to Apply for a Dependent Visa.
I think it went live after you wrote your question, so maybe you’ve already seen it by now.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi!!
Your article was very helpful! However I have a quick question.
My partner and I plan to get married next year. However, I will be going to Japan on a working holiday visa, during that time can I apply for the spouse visa (after marriage) or will I need to go back to my home country first? Can I even apply for marriage on a working visa?
My partner is Japanese.
Thank you! Hopefully you can shine some light on this situation 🙂
Hi Krissyy,
I’m glad you’ve found the article helpful!
Yes, you will be able to get married in Japan while on a Working Holiday visa by filing the paperwork at the city hall where your partner lives.
Once that’s done (and you have registered your marriage with your home country, if necessary), you can apply for a “Change of Status of Residence” to Spouse of Japanese National. The application process for “Change of Status of Residence” is almost identical to applying for a Certificate of Eligibility as described above. The biggest difference is the application form itself has a few different questions. The supporting documents should be the same.
You can get the form at:
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/kanri/shyorui/02.html
By the time you come to Japan next year, I plan to have a much more detailed explanation of the process available in ebook form. If you’re interested, keep an eye on this site (or join the mailing list) for updates. 🙂
Good Luck
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello!
This is by far the most informative place i’ve ever read about Spouse Visa!
But I’m in a pinch right now as I don’t seem to have similar situations like others have.
My soon to be wife is a Japanese national working in a small restaurant not required to pay tax and insurance.
I have a technical intern trainee visa which will end this Dec5, 2016.
My problem is how am i going to get a COE or even a VISA now? My wife’s about to give birth with no one else to support her as her parents are gone. 🙁
I plan to get back here as soon as I can and work here to support her and my soon to be born child. But the biggest problem is the COE. I know you can’t answer my question but I just have to let this out, I dont know what to do anymore, if you have any idea or contacts or friends or know someone who got a spouse visa with a situation like mine, tell me! I only have 2mos to go omg!
Hi Masayuki,
That is a unique situation.
If your fiance is supporting herself off her own income, with no family members, etc., that she can rely on, and is about to go on maternity leave, then I don’t think she would be able to be your guarantor even if she did have the right tax records. I would recommend that you or she contact the Immigration Bureau directly to see if they have any advice as to what to do in your situation.
I don’t know much about the Technical Intern Trainee status. Is there any way for you to find a job in Japan to begin after your traineeship ends? In that case, you could be your own financial sponsor. You would still need to ask the Immigration Bureau what to do about a guarantor, though.
Sorry I can’t be more helpful. Maybe someone else with similar experience can comment on this!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis!
Thank you so much for this helpful article!
I was wondering if you could help me with my situation. My boyfriend is Japanese and I am here on tourist visa. We are planning to get marriend next month and then apply for spouse visa (along with CoE). Since we will get married here in Japan, is it necessary to get some form proving, that the marriage was acknowledged also by my home country (Czech) as well, to apply for CoE? I´ve heard that it is enough that the information about our marriage will be written in his Koseki tohon, but I just want to get as many information as possible.
If it is written in the article above, I am sorry for missing it!
Also, do you know whether there is some lower limit regarding the income when applying for CoE? He is a full-time employee, but just to be sure.
Thank you so much for you time!
– Pavla
Edit:
Found out, that we actually probably don´t need CoE since I will be applying here from Japan. It seems I will just have to fill out “Change of Resident Status” form changing status from “tourist” to “spouse”, and that´s it. I thought that the CoE is always necessary but apparently not.
Hi Pavla,
You’ll have to check with the Czech Embassy in Japan to find out if you have to register your marriage with them. The requirement differs for each country.
If the Czech Republic does not confirm foreign marriages, then it will be enough if your marriage is recorded in his Koseki and you submit a simple letter stating that your country does not provide documentation for marriages conducted in other countries.
As you mentioned in your other comment, yes, you’ll be applying for a Change of Status of Residence, not a CoE. However, the application process is almost identical. Only the application form itself is different.
For income, 80,000 yen per month is usually the minimum for one person, but for a married couple living together, you wouldn’t necessarily have to double it. I don’t have any formal confirmation, but 120,000 – 140,000 per month should be acceptable.
I would recommend that you move forward with the paperwork as soon as possible – especially if you learn that you need proof from the Czech government! You don’t want your tourist stay to expire before you can file your application.
Good Luck,
-Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
(We have the same first name, which I found interesting while reading all this information)
I am currently staying in Japan with my recently married wife with a tourist visa (not really a visa, just the 90-day able to stay in Japan thing). While this will make applying for the CoE to get my spouse visa a lot simpler, it makes going back to America just so they can put that visa sticker on my passport pretty expensive. Is there anyway that you know of to get my spouse visa to live in Japan without actually having to go back to America? Spending $1,000+ on a round-trip plane ticket for something so trivial is a little annoying. Me and my wife were married in Japan, if that helps.
Hi Travis,
In your situation, you may be able to apply for a Change of Status of Residence from Tourist to Spouse while in Japan. You wouldn’t need to leave the country to do it.
According to the Immigration Bureau, “In general” it is not possible to change status from Tourist to something else unless there are unavoidable circumstances.
I know of two situations where people have been successful in changing statuses from tourist on a fairly regular basis:
1) If you have a CoE, you can apply for a change of status of residence at the immigration office in Japan. Sometimes, this can even be approved on the same day. (I’ve personally seen it happen with Student Status).
2) I have heard from past commenters on here that they were able to apply for change of status of residence from Tourist to Spouse of Japanese National. This seems to be a consistent exception to the rule. (Nobody yet had told me that they were turned down).
The documents you need for the application for Change of Status of Residence is almost identical to the application for a CoE. Only the application form is a little different.
I would recommend that you contact the Immigration Bureau and ask about applying for a Change of Status of Residence. If they insist that you need to go for the CoE route, then once you have the CoE in hand, you can try again to change your status without leaving the country.
Good Luck!
– (The other) Travis from TranSenz
“I have heard from past commenters on here that they were able to apply for change of status of residence from Tourist to Spouse of Japanese National. This seems to be a consistent exception to the rule. (Nobody yet had told me that they were turned down).”
Then let me be the first one 🙂
I got turned down today at the Tachikawa Office, saying that I would need the CoE instead of the Change of Status of Residence application form.
Is there any official statement saying that this is indeed an exception to the rule? Because the “But I read on the internet that other people did it this way.” argument didn’t seem to have any effect on the guy.
(The supporting documents seemed to be alright. Also, my situation is the same as Travis’ above: tourist visa, Japanese spouse, got married in Japan, etc.)
Should I just suck it up and file the CoE and hope that it gets accepted before my tourist visa expires?
Thanks for your help in advance!
Hi Zoli,
Thank you for sharing your story. Unfortunately, you do have the distinction of being the first person I am aware of who was turned down for a Change of Status of Residence from Tourist to Spouse.
There is no official statement from the Immigration Bureau that it is possible to change status. I had found the statement that changes to Spouse of Japanese National were generally accepted by reviewing immigration lawyers’ blogs, as well as input from other commenters here.
Officially, if you are applying for a Change of Status of Residence from Tourist to Spouse, you need to show prove of “unavoidable circumstances” why you could not apply for the CoE before coming to Japan. My theory, though I haven’t been able to validate it yet, is that getting married in Japan after arriving on a tourist visa or having to come to Japan in order to obtain the paperwork necessary for the CoE/Change application would both count as “unavoidable reasons.”
You mentioned that you got married in Japan, but was that during your current stay? If so, that should count. If you can prove to the Immigration Bureau that you could not apply for he CoE because you were not legally married before your arrival, that ought to be enough. (It could also depend on who you talk to, unfortunately. Not all Immigration Bureau officials are equally competent.)
If, on the other hand, you were married in Japan then left the country for a while and came back, it might be harder to justify the application.
The documentation you need for the Change of Status of Residence Application is identical to the paperwork you need for the CoE application in all respects besides the application form, itself. I would suggest that you go back in there with all your paperwork and both application forms complete. Plead your case with justification as to why you couldn’t apply for the CoE before arrival, but be prepared to submit either set of paperwork on the spot.
Please let us know how it goes!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you for your reply.
My previous comment had been “awaiting moderation” for so long that I decided to act on my own and filed the CoE.
Yes, I got married during my current stay, so I couldn’t have applied for CoE before I came here.
What baffles me further is that the application forms for Change of Status of Residence and the CoE are almost identical. The only difference is that the CoE contains questions that only make sense if the applicant is NOT currently in Japan (intended date of entry, etc.).
Anyway, I filed the application and they said it would take at least a month before I hear from them, so now I’m waiting.
I will keep you guys updated hoping that my example helps future immigrants. 🙂
Hi Zoli,
I try to get to at least one comment per day. How much time that takes depends on how many are waiting.
That is strange, indeed. I would have thought for sure that “couldn’t get married before arriving in Japan” would have been a basis for an exception to the rule. But, in the end, it is up to the judgement of the immigration staff you talk to, since there is nothing official written about exceptions. I’m sorry to hear that you got the short end of the stick.
The biggest difference between applying for the Change of Status of Residence and applying for a CoE when you’re already in Japan is whether or not you’re allowed to stay in the country to wait for the result. If you apply for a CoSoR, then you are allowed to stay in Japan until the result of that application is determined or up to 2 months after your previous status’ expiration date, whichever comes sooner. (Reference in Japanese).
If you apply for a CoE and it isn’t issued before your current status expires, you would have to leave Japan.
Once you have your CoE, you should be able to take that to the Immigration Bureau office along with an application for Change of Status of Residence and a photo and get your Change approved the same day (or +1-2 days, depending on how busy the office is).
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi!
Just wanted to say what a great resource this page has been. My in-laws in Japan just received my CoE today and will be sending it to me soon to submit to our local consulate. We went through the Niigata Immigration Office and it took 1.5 months from the time we submitted our documents to receiving our CoE. There were no delays or requests for additional paperwork (most likely because your advice led us to avoid such delays!).
Thank you again so much for making this page. You really make the process very easy.
Dan
Hi Dan,
Thank you for your kind words. I’m happy to hear the process went so smoothly for you!
Good luck with your move to Japan!
-Travis from TranSenz
hi are you in the philippines? Did you already apply your visa? How long before you get your visa?..
Hi Ann. I am from the philippines and currently living in Japan. I had my spouse visa approved in just one week. 🙂
Hi Travis,
Thank you for putting the time into building a great site!
I am using the CoE to apply for a ‘Spouse of a Japanese National’, as my wife and I got married last year and I am currently applying for jobs, with my College Student Visa still having 3 months left.
Today I am filling out the application for the CoE and am unsure what to put for a few of the questions.
#11: Should I put ‘Spouse or Child of Japanese National’ or the job category I plan to work in after I get hired?
#12: I am currently in Japan… so should I put my latest entry?
#14: I intend to stay for around 15 years minimum I think. So put 15 years, or is it stronger/better to put ‘forever’?
#17: Again, I live here, so just put latest entry and leave date left blank?
#23: Not hired yet, so just leave it all blank?
#24: Again, not hired yet, so fill in with my wife’s income? is she characterized as ‘Guarantor’ or ‘Supporter in Japan’?
#25: Should I fill in any information about my balance in my home country’s bank account, or leave blank?
Sorry for all the questions.
Thank you very much for any answers you can provide!!
Hi Kyle,
If you’re living in Japan with a Student Residence status, you can apply for a Change of Status of Residence without leaving the country. You do not need a CoE for that application.
Almost all of the document submission requirements are the same (one exception: you will need a copy of your own Juminhyo in addition to your wife’s (unless you are already living together). However, the application form is slightly different – some questions are numbered differently and others do not exist.
In answer to your questions below, I will use the number that you did, but will also note in parentheses the correct number for the Change of Status of Residence Application form.
#11 (#13) – Enter Spouse of Japanese National – that is the Residence Status you are applying for. Your job type does not matter.
#12 (n/a) – This question doesn’t exist in the Change application
#14 (#13) – I recommend putting “5 years” – that is the maximum length of stay that can be granted at one time (after 5 years, you can renew or apply for permanent residency).
#17 (n/a) – This question doesn’t exist in the Change application
#23 (#19) – In the Change application, it asks the name of the organization you currently belong to, which would be your school. Enter your school’s information with “0” for the annual salary.
#24 (#20) – If you plan you live off your wife’s income until you secure a job, then yes, put her information in #24 (20) and #26 (22). Your wife will be your guarantor, provided that she has sufficient income to support both of you and has the required tax records. If not, she would be a “Supporter in Japan” for Question #24/20, only. You would need one of her parents to be your guarantor. You would only fill out #25 (21) if you do not plan to find work in Japan and will rely permanently on your wife’s income.
#25 (21) – If you plan to use your own savings, then you would enter that in #24(20), indicating the amount of money you will use from your savings each month in the “Self” line.
By the way, if you’ve already graduated from your university, you’re not allowed to stay in Japan with a Student status for job hunting purposes, even if you have time remaining on your Period of Stay. Your Student status is technically only valid while you’re enrolled at the school, so you should apply for your Change of Status of Residence to Spouse of Japanese National as soon as possible!
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis! Just wanted to ask if credit card debts or loans affect the credibility of a financial supporter even if she have a stable job and sufficient yearly income. Thanks!
Hi Y,
As long as your sponsor is able to pay down her loan or credit card payments, cover her own living expenses, and provide you with the amount of support listed in the application form, that shouldn’t be a problem.
Practically speaking, the Immigration Bureau probably isn’t going to check on your sponsor’s credit or detailed financial situation, so they won’t know about the loans/card debt. As long as your sponsor can show proof of her ability to support you, you should be fine!
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
If I will be the guarantor and supporter in my husband’s application, do I write the name of the additional financial supporter in that part where it says,”…where different person other than that given in 25″? And if both of us will be supporting him,is it okay to put a check on both supporter in japan and guarantor on the method of support part? Is there a particular amount that has to be met and does the other financial supporter need to submit a document on her part (tax or income related)? Kinda confused on this. Thanks again.
Hi Y,
That’s probably the most confusing part of the whole application process.
In general, 80,000 yen per month seems to be the minimum amount of support per person per month that the Immigration Bureau wants to see, so the various contributions should add up to that number.
It is OK to check multiple boxes in 24 (1). It sounds like you would check both “Guarantor” for your contribution and Supporter in Japan for the other person. You would also fill in the other supporter’s information in 24(3).
There is no specific requirement for the other supporter to submit proof of income or taxes, but I would recommend it, if possible. Having the supporter’s bank statement or proof of employment will only make your application stronger.
Thank you for the input about the stamps! The Immigration Bureau website still says 392 yen, but they might be behind on updating it. I will call them to check 🙂
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
By the way,I’m not sure if it has something to do with the location but when I asked for the coe requirements,they asked for an envelope with ¥415 worth of stamps. I think the amount increased again.
Hello! This article is very helpful. I have few questions. I was wondering if you can help me with the same.
1. My fiance (Indian nationality) has recently moved to Japan and has started working there. We are planning to get married by December 2016. So I wanted to know, after our marriage what are the chances of me ( Indian nationality as well) getting a COE?
2. As per the various articles available on the net, I guess I have to go on a dependent visa and COE(in case i get it) which will allow me to work for 28hours / week. Is there a way to get a working visa same as my Fiance which doesn’t limit the number of working hours? I will most probably be searching job once I reach Japan next December.
Hi Payal,
I’m glad to hear that you found the article helpful! It sounds like you will be looking at a “Dependent” status in the future, though, so your processes will be a lot simpler.
1) After your marriage, your spouse should have no difficulty acquiring a Dependent CoE for you, provided that your fiance has enough income to support both of you.
2) You need the CoE (acquired in Japan) before you get the visa (acquired at the Japanese embassy outside Japan). Then you’ll need to apply for “Permission to Engage in Activities Other than that Permitted Under the Status of Residence Previously Granted,” which is the overly complex name for a work permit. As you said, that will allow you to work up to 28 hours per week.
While you are in Japan with a Dependent Residence Status, you can look for full-time employment. However, before you start working, you would have to apply for a Change of Status of Residence to a working visa category (the specific type depends on your employment). It is possible to apply to make that change without leaving Japan.
Your prospective employer should help you get the documents you need for that application process, so you need to have the job lined up before you make the change.
Good Luck!
-Travis
Greetings
First, thanks for this amazing and comprehensive article.
I was just wondering if you could help me with my specific situation. My wife and I are both South African, currently residing in our country. My wife just got a job in Japan that is sponsoring her visa, they are starting the process next month, I believe. Now, I would like to accompany my wife, but I can’t get my own visa that allows me to stay and work in japan as long as her contract, as I don’t have a 4 year degree. After extensive research, we have established that I would need to apply for a dependant visa. Which I could then apply for a work permit to work for no more than 28 hours a week. My question, what is the best way to approach this. Would it be better to have her go ahead of me and apply for my CoE while I’m still in South Africa. Or should I go with her on a tourist visa and hope that it does not get rejected? And, if we apply for my dependant visa, she will be newly employed, with no tax records. How do we combat that scenarios?
Thanks in advance
Hi Henry,
You’ve reached the right conclusion about the dependent visa. The good news is that the dependent visa is much simpler to acquire than the “Spouse of Japanese National” visa.
Depending on your wife’s prospective employer, you might be able to apply for your dependent visa concurrently with your wife’s working visa. There are companies called “Category 1 or 2” companies in Japan that are typically large companies that have a simplified working visa application process approved by the Ministry of Justice. Incoming workers for those companies (only) may apply for their worker’s visa and any dependents at the same time. The best way to find out if that applied in your case would be for your wife to ask the person who is working on her Certificate of Eligibility application.
If simultaneous application is not possible, the surest way would be for her to go ahead of you and apply for your Certificate of Eligibility as soon as she arrives. The review can take 2-3 months.
It is possible to go to Japan with her on a tourist visa and apply for a Change of Status of Residence to Dependent, but the Immigration Bureau states that you must have “exceptional and unavoidable circumstances” for that application to be approved. Your inability to apply for a CoE before your wife arrived in Japan should meet that standard, but I have not been able to find any concrete proof one way or another, so it is a risk.
I’m hoping someone else with similar experience can add a comment here.
For the tax records, the immigration bureau says that if your wife has not been in Japan long enough to receive tax records, she should consult with the nearest immigration bureau to determine what to submit instead. It is likely that it will be proof of salary from her employer as well as possibly a bank account statement.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Thanks for your speedy reply!
We are trying to find out today if we can apply for my dependent visa in conjuncture with my wife’s visa, thanks to your
suggestion. If this is not possible, I fear I am still stuck at the same cross-road, i.e whether to travel with my wife or have her apply ahead of me in my stead. I will keep an eye on this comment post and update with any information I discover/experience to help keep others informed as I can not seem to find much information on this specific scenarios.
Thanks again.
Hi Henry,
I’ve been looking for concrete examples, but haven’t found anything so far. The closest thing I’ve found has been comments on visa lawyers’ blogs. Unfortunately, they seem negative about the possibility. In general, it looks like there’s a high possibility of rejecting for spouses trying to change from Short-Term Stay (Tourism) to Dependent. (Although, for what it’s worth, I’ve seen more positive comments regarding the same change for children).
One visa lawyer said that it’s possible to change from Short-Term Stay to a Spouse of Japanese National status (as some readers here have done successfully already), but not from STS to Dependent. I don’t know if that’s absolute or just that the lawyer in question doesn’t want to handle those applications because they’re too difficult. Either way, it’s not very encouraging.
Another possibility: If your wife’s employer comes back to you and says simultaneous application is not possible, you might be able to ask them to check with the local immigration bureau directly about whether your application would be considered.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Just an update for your own knowledge and for whom ever discovers this blog in the future. My wife spoke to her sponsor over in Japan, who was extremely helpful in the matter (thanks again for the suggestion) Fortunately, they are able to apply for my own Certificate of Eligibility as a dependent. Which i should receive around the same time as that of my wife. Now, we also spoke to them about the possibility of changing the status of a short-term stay visa to that of dependent visa while in Japan. This they highly discouraged, as, according to them, the embassy will see it as a scheme to extend the stay inside of Japan. My suggestion for anyone in the same situation would be to rather wait in your own country and have your spouse apply for your CoE before entering. The process is length, 1-3 months, although the alternative of entering the country on a StS visa before applying for the CoE could hurt your chances of actually receiving one.
Hope this helps anyone in the future.
Cheers
Hi Henry,
Thank you for sharing your experience! I’m really happy to hear that your wife’s employer was able to apply for your Certificate of Eligibility at the same time.
I’m sure this is going to be helpful for a lot of readers. To make sure it gets the attention it deserves, I will build it into a separate post about the Dependent visa in the near future.
Thanks again and Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi.im a permanent resident in japan.im a nikijin.I just want to clear things up.
Me and my boyfriend are planning to get married next year(april).In the philippines.I am also planning to go back in japan this october to work so that i can get my gensen.(I studied here in the ph and just graduated last may).My mom said that the giving of jensen from the employer is yearly.like january.If i start to work this oct.and i had my jensen for 3mos.will that be possible to process it already?after our wedding on april,iam planning to process the CEO and his visa.if ever that they will not allow it to be process yet because my proof of income is not yet enough,is there any other option?.I am hoping that i can already get him in japan by next year.please help.I am confused on how to do it.thankyou and hoping for your response.
Hi Zel,
Congratulations on your pending marriage!
When you apply for the “Spouse of Permanent Resident” Certificate of Eligibility for your husband, you’d need to submit your Juminzei Nozeishomeisho (Proof of residence tax and payment). This is different from your Gensen Choshuhyo (income tax statement). The immigration bureau specifies that they want to see your Juminzei documentation with a full year of earnings represented.
The Juminzei is calculated in January based on your previous year’s earnings and you get the tax invoice approximately in June. So, if you return to Japan in October 2016, the earliest you would have Juminzei documents showing a full year’s income would be June 2018.
There are ways to get around this, though. For example, you could have someone else serve as your husband’s “Guarantor” for the application. The immigration bureau might also be willing to accept your Gensen Choshuhyo along with a certificate of employment showing your salary, but I highly recommend that you contact them in advance to make sure!
I’m working on an e-book now that will cover this process in more detail and I’ll be sure to announce it on here when it’s ready!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis.Thanlyou for your reply.I still have a question,My family are also in japan already.Permanent resident.Can I use my father to be my husband’s guarantor?..or my mother or siblings?
Hi Zel,
Yes. One of your parents would be the best option. (By the way, that’s what we did for my Certificate of Eligibility, too, so I know it works!)
Good Luck,
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
I do apologize if you’ve answered this already (seeing the numerous responses from above), but I’m hoping you have the answer to what I’m looking for.
I got married in Japan to a Japanese citizen (guy), but on his koseki they kept my American name as on my passport. We assumed they would’ve changed it to his last name, but they didn’t. So now they’re asking for legal docs from California if I want to change it. Do you know how I would go about getting my name changed in California due to a foreign marriage? And the hubby will not be with me when I take a short trip back to Cali next month. Thanks!
Hi Missko,
That’s the first time I’ve seen this question 🙂
Your husband’s koseki will not get updated unless you go there in person to ask them to do it. I’m in the same boat and haven’t made the change yet, either. On the other hand, I’ve had no negative effects from having a different last name in her koseki and on my passport/residence card, so it hasn’t been a high priority for me.
The procedure for changing your name in the US varies from state to state. In some states, all you have to show is your proof of marriage to change your name on your passport. That was the case for me, and my proof of marriage was my Japanese marriage certificate. I didn’t have any legal documents from my home state because they weren’t necessary.
I went to the US embassy with my passport, Japanese wedding certificate, translation, and passport/social security application forms and that was all I needed. They actually looked up the state law for me there. Here’s what I could find for CA: http://www.courts.ca.gov/1051.htm
It looks like you might need a CA court order, but I recommend checking with consular services first to see if you can save yourself the headache!
Since I haven’t applied to change my name in my wife’s koseki yet, I don’t know how that process will go. But I intend to write a letter explaining that no official documentation is necessary and that I changed my name legally by showing my Japanese marriage certificate. Next time we visit her hometown. . .
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks so much for replying, Travis! I do appreciate it!
One last question: Do you know where to go to apply for the spouse visa if I’m already IN Japan? My CoE just came in the mail yesterday and though there are wonderful information pieces about going to the embassy if applying outside of Japan, I can’t seem to find anything re: if I’m already here. Thanks so much!
Hi MissKo,
You need to go to the Immigration Bureau office nearest where you live to apply for a “Change of Status of Residence.”
Japan doesn’t use the term “visa” anymore once you’re inside the country, so that’s probably why you’re having trouble.
If you have your CoE, then your Change of Status of Residence process should be very simple. I’ve known people who were approved the same day.
All you should need is the Application for Change or Residence, your CoE, your Residence Card (if applicable), passport, and the processing fee (4,000 yen).
You can get the application form from: http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/kanri/shyorui/02.html
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi – the 380 yen stamp for one’s self addressed envelope is now 392 yen. Also after having family in Japan submit my application with 1 3x4cm photo stuck onto the application form as mentioned above (and on DOJ website), they’ve demanded another… so apparently you actually need to submit 2 photos! (Wish I had better psychic/ESP powers…)
Hi guren,
Thanks for pointing out the price change in the stamps! I had overlooked that when the taxes were hiked a few years back.
As for the photo – I file hundreds of CoE applications per year and have never been asked for a second one, so I can’t explain that one. Was there a problem with the original one?
I suppose an extra photo never hurts!
Thanks again for the updates.
-Travis from TranSenz
Turns out it was a case of local office (Himeji) not being up-to-date with procedures – once my application got to Kobe office for processing, they confirmed that Himeji didn’t know what they were talking about and no 2nd photo was needed, although by then I’d sent a 2nd one anyway.
Thanks for all the really useful info provided here – I got the CoE last week giving me 3 years after less than a month’s wait!
Hi Guren,
Thank you for following up on the second photo!
It’s been my experience that the local offices often make mistakes about what is and isn’t required. That must be where all the new employees start their careers. . .
The best takeaway, in my opinion, is that if they ask for something extra, provide it. If they tell you something isn’t necessary, insist they take it, anyway, just in case.
Very glad to hear that you got your certificate so quickly!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
HI! I am currently working in Japan and have applied for permanent status. My 19 year old daughter came for a visit and I applied for her eligibility so I can sponsor her and she can stay in Japan. However, my request was rejected. Is there any other way I can apply for her so she can stay with me? Please advise.
Hi Marvs,
I’m afraid I can’t even point you in the right direction without more information-
What is your current residence status? What status Certificate of Eligibility did you apply for for your daughter? Did the Immigration Bureau give you any information why it was rejected?
I look forward to hearing back from you.
-Travis from TranSenz
Thanks for your reply. I am currently on long term visa here. I tried sponsoring my daughter so she can stay with me on a residence visa through an immigration lawyer. He advised me to bring her in Japan on a 3mos visit visa first. Now that she’s here, we then applied for her residence which got refused. There was no clear explanation given why it was rejected, however, I would like to appeal to immigration so she can stay here as there is no one back in Philippines who will take care of her. She is dependent on me though already 19 years old. Because of safety reasons, I want her to be with me. What would be the best way so I can convince the immigration to let her stay here with me? Thanks in advance.
Hi Marvs,
“Long term visa” and “residence visa” are not specific visas. Can you be specific please? The reason I ask is that depending on your status, you may not be able to sponsor a dependent.
The most common reason I hear of for Certificate of Eligibility/changes in status of residence are insufficient financial support (e.g. you don’t have the required tax documents to prove support) or lack of required documentation or translations.
There is no appeal process for a rejected application, but you can submit a new application if you have additional documentation that will make it pass (such as an extra financial supporter). Humanitarian reasons/safety reasons are not going to get immigration to approve your request. You’ll need some way to make sure you’re meeting their requirements. Hopefully your lawyer can help!
Good Luck,
Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
What a great article. Thank you.
I’m a permanent resident and my wife is a Filipina. We were married in the Philippines.
I am planning to translate the marriage contract myself. Do you think that is ok, or should I try to get an official translation of some sort?
Thanks again.
Hi Pat,
When we went through the application process, I remember that we contacted the Immigration Bureau office and they told us that it had to be a professional translation. (We had already translated it ourselves at that point, but we had to find a professional to sign and verify the translation as accurate).
But that was 6 years ago, they may have changed the guidelines now.
It is not clear on the Immigration Bureau’s website. However, the assumption in Japan is generally that the translation will be performed by a professional translator. Since it doesn’t specifically say that self-translated documents are acceptable, I would recommend either double checking with the office where you plan to turn in the documents or getting a professional translation to be safe.
If you do submit a self-translated document and it isn’t accepted, that would delay your application processing until you turn in one that meets their requirements.
Good Luck,
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi good day! i have a simple question, my wife is a half filipina and half japanese and is currently working in japan for about 3 months, is it possible for my wife to submit a COE application for me and my son? or my wife can only submit 1 COE at a time? hope I can get an answer. My wife is anxious about this. Thank you!
Hi Gerald,
As long as your wife is the legal mother of your son, she should be able to submit both Certificate of Eligibility applications simultaneously. As far as I know, she will have to submit two complete, separate applications.
If she is in Japan as a Japanese citizen, then she would apply for the “Spouse of Japanese National” status for you and “Child of Japanese National” status for your son. Otherwise, if she is there on a working visa, she would apply for the “Dependent” status for both of you.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Good day travis! Thank you for answering my question, this should clear things up for my wife, and 1 last question. Does working in japan for about 3 months would affect the approval of our coe and visas? btw, she’s with her aunt(living in japan and working for 20years) right now in anjo-shi, aichi-ken.can she provide additional documents just to secure and inform that financial support is not a problem for both of my son? More power to this website and Godbless. Im sure this info that you provided can help a lot of confused applicants. Thank you travis.
Hi Gerald,
It depends on her situation. Her limited amount of time in Japan so far is less important than the stability of the job.
If she has been working only 3 months but has a stable, long-term contract and if, between her and her aunt, they have enough income to support two additional people, then it shouldn’t be a problem. If she was working freelance or part-time, then that could be a problem.
Her aunt can certainly act as an additional financial sponsor on your certificate of eligibility application. That should make it easier to clear the financial requirements!
Good Luck,
Travis from TranSenz
Thank you again travis! i’ll let you know when everything is on the right track now.
hi travis,
i have a question. please help me understand, My japanese fiancee and I are planning to get marriend in philippines. after the marriage, Do I need to change my status in Passport from single to Married before he apply the CoE in Japan? Thanks!
Hi Meymey,
As far as I know, that is not a requirement for the Japanese visa, but hopefully someone with direct experience can comment as well.
Your passport shows the date of issue and the Immigration Bureau will see that it was issued before you got married, so they should not view it as a conflict if your passport still says single.
Of course, if you are planning to change your name, then you can update them both at the same time, but neither one should be required.
I know a lot of other readers here have gone through this process in the Philippines. Hopefully they can add their experience!
God Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you Travis. I was worried about my situation but now Its clear.
Hi,
I am from Nepal and my wife is in Japan as student visa. We applied for dependent visa but rejected. Now, Is it possible for me apply as student. How much possibility is there to get visa. Thank you
Hi Nemay,
If you get accepted to a school or language in Japan that can get you a CoE and have the finances to support yourself (approx. 80,000 yen/month at a minimum), then there’s no reason why you wouldn’t be able to get a CoE and visa.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis, my husband and I are both Filipino I just would like to know how to make a correction on our relationship status in the Juminhyo because I think there had been a mistake declaring my daughter and I don’t live together with my husband, when we’re really not. It’s very important for me to have this corrected since the company where I am working requires me to submit it. Please help 🙁
Hi Anne,
I’m a little confused about exactly what you want to do, but it sounds like you have to change your address and head of household.
If your address will stay in the same city, you’ll have to go to the city hall or ward office where you are currently registered and file a “Jumin Ido Todoke.” That form will allow you to change your registered address for you and your daughter as well as your head of household.
If you’re moving from one city to another, you’d have to submit a “Tenshutsu Todoke” to move out of the first city then a “Ten’nyu Todoke” to register your address and head of household in the city where you’re actually living.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Ohayo gozaimasu…
Oh I’m sorry if I got you confused. This is what’s actually written 続柄 : 縁故者. My senpai told me I should have this corrected for them to get tax payment from my husband’s salary instead of mine.
Thanks for your prompt reply.
* By the way my husband and I work in the same company. We also live together in one roof with our daughter. So we think there might be some mistake. 🙂
Hi Anne,
You should still be able to use the Jumin Ido Todoke to fix that, but you should double check with your city hall.
In the Jumin Ido Todoke, even if you’re not changing your address, you should be able to specify the Head of Household (your husband) and the other family members’ relationship to him, so that is how you would change the 続柄 to 妻 for you and 長女 or 子 for your daughter.
You’ll have to go to the city hall or branch office to get the form, anyway, so when you’re there, you can ask them if there’s an easier way to correct it, as well!
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi my husband apply coe its about 1.2wiks ive heared my father in law has an issue on taxes he live near tokyo and my husband in nagoya would that affect the application of my coe to be rejected?
Hi Ann,
The CoE application review takes a long time. That doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a problem.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a spouse CoE being issued in less than a month.
As long as your husband’s father isn’t on your application as your guarantor of financial sponsor, there should be no affect on your application, as far as I know!
Good Luck,
Travis from TranSenz
Hi i got my coe 1.3 weeks i apply visa here in the phil. How long it will take? The agency told me 1week but sadly its been 18days now including weekends do you think what is the problem,? I worried i cant sleep well:(
Hi Ann,
I’ve heard from past commenters on here that visa applications in the Philippines always seem to take longer than expected. Everyone I’ve heard from got the visa, though, even if it was a little late.
Hopefully someone else can comment here and tell us exactly how long it took them!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
I cal the agency but they said still verification the embassy did not asking for any additional rdquirements just wondering why ut takes to long its been 22days since i apply for my visa :(:(
Hi Ann,
I’m sorry, I have no idea about Philippine visa processing agents. I know there are a lot of readers on here who are from the Philippines and have gone through something similar, so I hope they can answer.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello!!
I just got married last August and I’m just wondering if traveling using my existing visa and passport (both of which still reflect my maiden name) would be okay , considering our marriage has been recently registered in Japan.
hope you could help me with my concern~ thanks!!
Hi Suji,
That won’t be a problem. Registering your marriage does not automatically change your name by Japanese law.
Once you legally change your name in your home country and have your new name on your passport, you can go to the Immigration Bureau in Japan and have it changed on your Residence Card as well. You should visit the Immigration Bureau within 14 days of getting your new passport to make the change:
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/newimmiact_1/en/office.html
Congratulations and Good Luck for your Travel to Japan!
-Travis from TranSenz
Thank you very much for answering my inquiry.
So, it means that it is totally fine to travel (I mean go back to Japan for vacation) using documents bearing my maiden name while japan city hall is processing the marriage registration?
I’m a bit worried about the immigration section when I arrive there.
I’m sorry as don’t understand much about the koseki tohon update.
Thank you very much again !
Hi Suji,
Yes, you’re totally fine to travel. As long as you have a valid passport and visa with that name, there is no problem. They are not going to check with the city hall when you pass through immigration.
You’ll have to formally change your name in your home country, renew your passport to show the new name, then go to the Japanese City Hall to submit a paper to “correct” your name in their records before they even take notice that your name has changed.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Thank you very much Travis!
Regarding the changing of surname in my passport, I’ll be working on that in my home country. By the time that I got my new passport, would that mean I should go back to Japan and hand over my passport to the Immigration Bureau in Japan within 14 days of the passport’s release? or could I have it shipped via ems? Is it a MUST that the change be done within 14days of the passport’s release?
I’m sorry I’ve got tons of inquiries.
Hi Suji,
It seems like I misunderstood your situation. I thought you were going to move to Japan then change your name in your passport while you are there.
If you are in Japan when you change your name, you would have to report that within 14 days. You don’t need to go to Japan just to change your name if you’re outside the country. You will have to change your name on your residence card within 14 days of when you next go back to Japan.
In your case, I recommend that you check with the immigration bureau about what you will need when you return to Japan next. Since your passport and residence card will have different names then, they might ask you to bring proof of your change of name (such as your wedding certificate or official name change paperwork) and/or your old passport.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
I have been to Japan last year in July as a tourist from July 1 to sept 23/2015.
This year I applied at Japanese language school and I have been granted the certificate of eligibility but the Japanese Embassy in my country (Ethiopia) Said my Japanese language skill is not up to the required level and that they can not decided about the issuance of my visa unless they consult the the head office. My documents sent back to the immigration in Japan after waiting for over one month my result came out and my students visa refused. They also put a stamp on the back of my passport as well. I have changed my passport now because I did want to have the stamp on my passport and also my birth year was not correct so I had to correct it.
I am marrying my Japanese girlfriend this month (she lives in my country and she is leaving end of September to Japan). she is going to apply for the COE in japan and we are planning to request spouse visa.
My question is:
—Could the previous denial of student visa by the immigration makes my spouse visa request rejected or COE rejected? I am very worried about these. And if I am Granted the COE, Is the embassy in my country issue the spouse visa right away or send it back to the head office in Japan again? What are our chances?
Thank you very much in advance
Hi Tadashi,
If the embassy rejected your student visa application over your Japanese language ability, then that would not affect your application for a spouse CoE in any way. Language ability is not even a consideration for the spouse visa application.
(They will ask what language you use to communicate with one another during the CoE application process, but if your answer is “English” that is not a problem!)
If you have a Certificate of Eligibility, then typically the embassy should be able to complete your visa application very quickly without referring back to Japan. It depends on the country, but it can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to get your answer.
You should have no problem with the application!
Good Luck
-Travis from TranSenz
my girlfriend living in japan and i am living in my home country
1 how we will register our marriage
2 i left japan on departure order and i can not go back during one year time does
3 can my spouse go the court if the embassy does not allow me the visa
Hi Ali,
1. I answered your marriage paperwork question in my previous comment.
2. If you left on a departure order and it was your first offense, then yes, you cannot return to Japan within one year, even if you marry a Japanese national.
3. No. There is no appeal process for a rejected Certificate of Eligibility or visa. You can try to find out why it was rejected and apply again by correcting the problems from the previous time.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
My girl friend is an Japan /Japanese notional and I am in my home country, how can we proceed our marriage and how can i get visa to go to japan
Hi Ali,
I wrote another article on how to file your Japanese marriage registration by mail. Between that article and this one, that should be all the information necessary for the marriage and visa application!
Good Luck
-Travis from TranSenz
To whom it may concern:
Hi! I am a Filipina and currently working in Japan and has a working Visa for one year. I entered Japan last May 24, 2016. My question is, Is it possible to extend my stay in Japan? My employer wanted me to stay longer in his company. If it is possible, what are the things we should do for the extension and UP to how long can I stay here for the renewal? Another question is, this coming November, our company is having a company trip outside Japan. It will be in Hawaii. Can I join the company trip with my working Visa?
Please tell me what to do with these problems. Thank you and God bless you.
Jinky
Hi Jinky,
If you have a working residence status (visa), then yes, you can extend easily. You need to apply for an “Extension of Period of Stay,” and you can extend for a period of up to 5 years. (Ultimately, the Immigration Bureau will decide how long to approve you for).
You can start your application up to 3 months before your current period of stay ends (so, any time after Feb 24, 2017). You’ll need to submit the application form from the immigration page below, plus some supporting documents.
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/kanri/shyorui/03.html
For supporting documents, you’ll need:
1) Proof of your employment, including position and duration
2) Proof of your annual income and tax payment
For leaving the country, as long as you have a valid residence card and passport and you will return within one year (or before your period of stay ends, whichever comes first), then you can leave and return to Japan freely. Just tell the immigration official that you will be returning (“Sai-nyukoku shimasu).
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hello. I’m a filipina currently here at japan and my husband is also a filipino. Mu husband’s application of certificate of eligibilty was already filed at the immigration and no result yet. I going to give birth this coming sept 11 already. My question is can my husband apply for a tourist visa for the mean time? Hope you cld help me on this. Thank you?
Hi Anne,
Yes, it is possible to come to Japan as a tourist while waiting for the Certificate of Eligibility.
As long as you’re sure the CoE will be issued before your husband has to leave the country, it should be OK. He cannot extend a tourist visa.
Once you receive his CoE, he will take that CoE, the application form for change in status of residence, a photo, and 4000 yen in revenue stamps to the Immigration Bureau office nearest you to apply to change his status. Since he will have the CoE, it should be processed very quickly – maybe even the same day if the office is not too busy.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much. His ApPlication is more than 2 months now…hope It will be issued this coming week.
Hi, Thanks for this article.
I’m actually in a situation pretty similar to Jake: already living in japan for a couple of years with a work residence card/visa, and already married.
So I do understand I must apply for a “change of status of residence”.
However my wife and I are both unemployed for the moment and it is not clear to me if I just need to submit the “change of status residence” form and a couple of pictures, residence card copie, etc.. or if I also need to submit the questionnaire form about how we met, a guarantor letter (father in law?), pictures of us,…..
Will a bank account receipt of mine showing a few millions savings do the trick?
Thanks
Hi Jem,
Applying for the “Change of Status of Residence” requires almost the exact same set of application documents as I have listed in this article for applying for a CoE. Your application form itself will be very slightly different, but that is the only significant change.
(I am working on an e-book about the application process that will cover the detailed differences between CoEs and Change of Status of Residence, etc. If you’re interested, you can sign up for the mailing list on this page to get notified when it’s ready).
I’m assuming for now that you’re referring to a few million dollars or pounds in savings? The answer would be different if you mean a few million yen.
I’m not exactly sure how the paperwork would go of both spouses are effectively “retired” and living off sufficient savings. I’d recommend checking with the Immigration Bureau about that. If they’re willing to consider your bank account sufficient to support both of you, then your spouse could still be your guarantor. If they demand someone with an income (even if it’s pension) be your guarantor, then you would need to ask your father-in-law.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi and thanks for all the useful info. The “7. Questionnaire Form” link is broken… do you know where I can find it or is it no longer required (wishful thinking)!?
Hi Guren,
Sorry to say it’s still required, the link just changed on me. I’ve fixed it in the post and table above.
Thanks for catching that!
Good Luck,
Travis from TranSenz
Sorry to post my inquiry as a reply here. I can’t seem to find another way on how to leave a comment. I also sent a message on your fb page a while ago.
My husband and I just got married last June here in Japan but he is currently staying in the Philippines. We are planning to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility but DFA said our report of marriage hasn’t arrive yet. But when I asked the embassy on Osaka,they said that they have sent the documents already. I’m currently waiting for their reply regarding the dispatch number of our report of marriage. Do you have an idea on how long it usually takes to get the marriage certificate from nso if we got married here in japan?
I would also like to know if I should be the guarantor and supporter of my husband when we apply for coe. I’m just worried that you got to have a big annual salary and money in the bank to be the guarantor and supporter at the same time.
I’m really worried on the coe thing and looking for someone I can ask about related matters. Thank you in advance. Will really aporeciate your help 🙂
Hi Y,
I think you might have to scroll all the way to the bottom of the comments to leave a new one.
I don’t have any personal experience but a previous commenter told her story about how long it took to get the paperwork from NSO. She filed her paperwork with DFA-Osaka on Mar 15 and got the copy of the marriage certificate from them on April 2. However, it took another two months before she was able to get the paperwork from NSO and apply for her Certificate of Eligibility. (Use Control-F to search this page for “Jenny O” to read her comments).
The guarantor is someone who takes responsibility for the person and 1) ensures they follow Japanese laws and 2) makes sure they leave the country (or renew their status) when their period of stay is over. It is not an extra financial commitment, so it doesn’t require a larger salary, etc., than being just a suporter. In almost all cases, you should be your husband’s guarantor and financial supporter. You can also have extra financial supporters, such as your parents, etc.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Great article, but I’m still a little confused – I am actually already residing in Japan (for 8 years) and already married (2 years) to a Japanese national, but I am currently on a full work visa. I wish to switch to a spousal visa – in this case, do I still need to apply for a COE since I am already here and married, or do all I have to do is simply apply for the spousal visa?
Hi Jake,
In your case, you need to apply for a Change of Status of Residence to “Spouse of Japanese National” status. The document requirements are almost identical to the Spouse Certificate of Eligibility requirement, but the application form is a little different. You can find it at: http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/kanri/shyorui/02.html
I’m working on clarifying this guide to make the difference between applying for a visa and changing the status of residence more clear, but the new version isn’t quite ready yet. I’ll be announcing it on the mailing list as soon as it’s ready!
Good Luck,
Travis from TranSenz
Great article, anyway can i ask which application i needed for my wife. we got married in phillipines and i want to bring her here in japan, i am long term resident here in japan. i checked the immigration website i dont know which kind of form i needed to print. can u help me?
Hi Loreous,
If you’re a “Permanent Resident,” then you would need to use the form and documents for the Spouse Certificate of Eligibility, which is almost identical to the process I described above. If you’re a “Mid-to-Long-Term Resident” (e.g. Working, Student, etc.), then you would follow the directions for the “Dependent” Certificate of Eligibility.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Good Day Travis!
Thanks for this incredibly informative blog post. It has cleared up a few questions. I would like to ask for your advice regarding my situation.
My Japanese fiancee and I are planning on getting married this December in Japan. I will be following your guide for marriage as well as some other tidbits I’ve found from the American Embassy and Japanese Embassy websites. I will be arriving on a tourist visa in order to get married over there in Saga Prefecture.
Once I am married, I will be using the remaining winter vacation time to start some job hunting before returning back to the US the first week of January 2017. I am currently employed as a teacher in the US and make over $50,000 a year and have some savings, although nowhere near as much as I’d like due to student loans.
While the best case scenario will be having a job before going to Japan, there is also the possibility of no job in Japan for the time being. That being the case, I think I can muster up nearly $1,000 a month for a year from savings and then be flat broke.
That being said, here are my questions (in no particular order):
1. Once married in Japan, and I do find a Job in Japan say sometime next year (April or summer), when would you recommend applying for the CoE?
2. Once married in Japan, and I do NOT find a job in Japan but will still move to Japan either in April or summer, when would you recommend applying for the CoE?
3. Will getting married on a tourist visa affect anything? Once married in Japan, will I be able to return back to the US without penalty?
4. For the past few years my fiancee has been taking care of her grandmother, who sadly died a few months ago. During that time, she had no formal employment. After that, my fiancee came to the US this summer for two weeks where I proposed to her. She will begin formal employment come August although currently not a very high paying position (I believe she mentioned 85,000 yen a month for starters). Will this income negatively affect the visa process? If we add my roughly $1000 to the pot we’d be making somewhere near 180,000 a month until I get permission to work through the spouse visa. In case this figure is much too low, we are planning on having her parents and mine added to the financial guarantors/supporters, although my parents will not be able to make sizable or monthly contributions (more like random payments). Will we need to add their exact contributions or a rough estimate?
5. Regarding the name change, we are still holding off on that until after we have kids. How will changing/not changing of surname affect the visa process? Will this be more problematic down the road?
6. For any further information, should I contact the nearest Japanese Consulate here in the US for more information or would I have to contact the Japanese Immigration Bureau directly via long distance call? Or do they have an email system? Who would you recommend for further follow up information?
Thanks again so much and bless you both!
Hi Humberto,
Congratulations on your upcoming marriage! I’m glad you’ve found this page to be a helpful reference so far. I’ll try my best to answer your questions. I’m assuming that after your marriage, your wife will be remaining in Japan to keep working and apply for the CoE on your behalf.
1. and 2. Regardless of your job situation, your future wife should start the CoE application process 3-4 months before you plan to arrive in Japan. Once the CoE is issued, you only have 3 months to enter the country. The application process can take up to three months, but is generally shorter if you have all of your documents in order.
3. Getting married on a tourist visa will not hurt you in any way.
4. You only need to put a rough estimate for the amount of support to be received per month, and averaging it out is fine. Keep in mind, though, that you may need to be able to provide documentary evidence of those funds (e.g. bank account statements or proof of salary) later. Typically, 80,000 yen/month of financial support (per person) is the baseline threshold for CoE applications, based on my experience.
You may need to get your future in-laws involved as your “guarantor” since your future wife will not have the necessary tax records by the time of your application. The best thing to do would be to have her check with the immigration bureau in Japan.
5. Waiting on the name change will not affect the visa process. If you choose to change your name after arriving in Japan, keep in mind that you’d have to update it on your immigration records, too. Not problematic, just one more piece of paperwork to do. Waiting to change after you have kids could affect the kids’ last names, but I don’t have enough expertise in that area of Japanese law to say for sure.
6. For the CoE application, you’d have to contact the Immigration Bureau in Japan (it would seem to make the most sense to have your future wife do that on your behalf, as she will be submitting the application for you). The consulate doesn’t get involved until you get to the visa stage, and even then, their interaction/involvement is minimal.
Good luck to you both!
-Travis from TranSenz
Good Evening! I would like to tell you that my husband had already received my son’s and my eligibility this afternoon. We are so happy. We’ve been through a lot just to get this eligibility. My husband (in japan) will send the eligibility tomorrow then by next week, around Friday I can receive it here (Philippines). By 1st week of August we can apply for our Visa. Thank you Lord, for all the blessings! and Thanks to you too Travis!
Hi Jenny,
I’m very happy to hear that everything has worked out well for you and your application!
Good luck with your upcoming move to Japan!
-Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much! We’re very excited to see my husband again. It has already been 8 months since we last seen him in person. I will post again about the Visa matter, maybe by next week. 🙂
Hi there. We received our report of marriage from the consulate in Osaka last August and until now,whenever we call DFA,our papers aren’t still there yet. We are really waiting for it so that we can do an advance endorsement as soon as possible for our marriage certificate. The waiting is just too long.
Just wanted to ask if you/your husband had any diificulties in answering and submitting the coe and were you already given a visa? Thanks in advance.
Y,
Sorry for delayed reply. I also thought that the Original Report of Marriage and/or the NSO Marriage Certificate is needed for an application for Eligibility. You can apply for the COE now just by giving them a copy of your Report of Marriage. The Immigration in Japan accept it, then while waiting for the COE, you can get your Report of Marriage in DFA in the Philippines maybe around 2-3 months, then after you get the ROM in DFA they will give you a reference number and go to NSO to ask for a copy of your marriage. That is my experience and waiting is also tiring but at least it’s all worth it..I have waited for almost 9 months because of that ROM process..Urggh!
Hi Travis.
This website has been a great help.
I have just married my fiance in Japan. I am now in the process of applying for a Visa. We have been to the regional immigration buerau to gather forms. The forms we were for a application for change of residents. I am still learning japanese but im not sure this is the rite form. Would you have any advice for me? It asks for all the same relative documents you have losted in the blog but im a little dubious bout it. Also. I am currently here on a tourists visa which expires at the end of the month. Is there any extention on this that i am eligible for while this process takes place? We tried asking the office person at the bureau but we had an inclear response.
Thank you
Josh
Hi Josh,
I’m glad this guide has been helpful! It sounds like you’re on the right track: “Change in Status of Residence” is what you apply for if you’re already in Japan.
If you have a Certificate of Eligibility already, then it’s an easy change, but if you don’t have one, then the application to Change Your Status of Residence is almost identical to the Certificate of Eligibility process.
You cannot extend a tourist residence status, but if you submit your application for Change of Status of Residence before your period of stay in Japan expires (refer to the “Landing Permission” stamp in your passport, not your visa), you can stay in Japan for up to 60 days after the day your period of stay expires or the day the Immigration Bureau’s review ends, whichever comes first.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Thanks for the reply. Did you also wait for your marriage certificate from nso before applying? How long did it take for you to get it after giving nso the reference number?
This blog is very helpful! I followed all the steps and got my certificate of eligibility in a month. And my visa in around 11 working days. I just want to share this information to everyone who wishes to be with their husband in japan and build a family there. God bless you all!
Thank you for giving us a relative timeframe as to when you received your materials! This helps!
Hi, I have a question about the following, my brother is actually married to a Japanese woman, and I also have a Japanese girlfriend, however, the fiancee of my brother told me that you cant get married and get a visa unless my girlfriend shows proof of enough income (money) or else the immigration won’t provide me wit the visa..? is that true? as I never have heard or come across such rule.
thanks for the information.
Hi Jay,
You can certainly get married – there are not financial support questions in the Marriage Registration Documents.
For the Certificate of Eligibility/Visa, though, you will have to show sufficient financial support. Not having enough money to cover your living expenses could be a reason for your application to be rejected or for you to get a shorter period of stay than you want. The bare minimum figure I’ve heard is 80,000 yen per month.
However, your source of financial support does not necessarily have to be your spouse. If you have savings that you can rely on for 80,000 yen/month for a year, or another financial supporter such as your parents or your spouse’s parents, that would work!
Good Luck,
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi! And thank you for this great article!
I have a few questions if you could help.
My spouse is Japanese, we got married in my country in Europe and I’m moving to Japan in couple months.
Plan is to get a job as soon as possible, so just sitting around and wait for 3 months to get a CoE doesn’t sound too good for me. I guess I’m not permitted to get a any kind of job while they are prosessing my application?
Also, we haven’t registered our marriage in Japan yet, and if just getting a CoE can take 90 days, can I even stay in the country if it doesn’t come thru while In that time, or do I have to leave after 90 days of my arrival?
Finally, could my wife start this process with CoE and registering our marriage before I get there?
Thank you!
Hi Simon,
I’m glad you’ve found the article helpful!
Your wife can certainly start the process of registering the marriage and applying for the CoE before you get there. That would be the “standard” way of doing it.
Whether she is in Japan or not, she should register the marriage right away. The CoE can application can only be completed in Japan.
If you were to go to Japan first and your CoE was not issued within the 90 days of your tourist stay, you would have to leave the country. It is not possible to extend a tourist status. You also wouldn’t be allowed to start working (collecting pay) until after you had the Spouse Residence Status (which you apply for after getting the CoE). However, you could certainly start looking for a job in the mean time. If you tell the companies you visit that you have a Spouse status under application, that would make you a much more desirable candidate than someone who needs a working visa.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi, My husband is currently having a visa of “child of a japanese national with a 1-yr validity”, can I and my child apply for dependent visa? thank you so much
Hi Cherrie,
Your husband should be able to apply for a dependent CoE for you, at least. Once you have that CoE, then you can apply for a dependent visa.
Is your child his child as well? If your child is from another marriage and your husband has not formally adopted him/her, then you might need to file for a different category in that case.
Good Luck
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi thank you for this blog this is a big help. I just wanted to ask if some of the papers that need to be filled up is fine to answer in english. I’m a half japanese half filipino and my husband is filipino. I grew up in Philippines that’s why I can’t write kanji and is it fine if we won’t change our surname?hoping for your answer thanks in advance. Have a good day!
Hi Joanne,
For the forms you need to fill in, it should be fine to write in English (especially your name, etc). However, if you have other official documents, like a marriage certificate, that would need to be translated into Japanese.
Also, it is not necessary to change your surname. As long as the surname on your marriage documents matches the surname on your passport, you should be fine!
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi just wanted to ask some question again. Is it necessary for me to get my own apartment before applying for my husband’s CoE? I’m living with my co-worker now and the mansion we are living is her own house. Thank you for your response.
Hi Joanne,
You do not need to have your own place when you apply for the CoE. I’ve known students who applied for their spouse’s CoEs while living in the dorm and didn’t move out until the spouse arrived.
Unless your co-worker’s mansion is a multi-family dwelling, you will probably need to have your own living arrangements before your husband arrives, for his residence registration purposes.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi just wanted to ask again if it is necessary for me to get my own apartment before applying my husband for coe. I’m living now with my friend/co-worker in her owned apartment and is it fine if I will I will give them my jyuminzei last year?because the city hall told me that I don’t need to shinkoku this year since last yr july1-jan.25 this yr I’m in Philippines because I gave birth to my baby there. So I think my jyuminzei this year will be 0 I’m just wondering if it is fine to give them my jyuminzei last yr. Thanks in advance for your reply it really helps me since I don’t have much idea in this.
Hi Joanne,
Sorry if my last answer was confusing. I meant “apartment” when I said “place.” You should not need your own apartment when you apply for the CoE, but you will most likely need one before your husband arrives.
About the Juminzei, I’ve never heard of anyone submitting a “zero” Juminzei report or a two-year-old report before. I’d recommend that you contact the immigration bureau to ask directly, since I don’t have experience and don’t want to give you the wrong information.
As for obtaining a CoE for your husband without a high salary, I can’t make any promises, but you should be able to get one for him. It might be a shorter period of stay (e.g. one year), but if he gets a job during that time and you both have income, then when he applies for renewal, it should be easier.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Thank you for your reply. Hoping that I can have his coe even if my yearly income is only 200+man. If I get denied should I get another guarantor?
Hi Joanne,
If you get denied, and you think the low salary has something to do with it, you would want to find additional Financial Supporter(s). You would still be the guarantor.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Thank you for useful information,
I nepalese citizen, I had entered Japan in feb 5, 2015 as a student and changed my status of residency in march 2016 as working visa. I have got 1 year work visa and working in that company. My monthly salary is just ¥169000 but I got about ¥150000 in my account. I have applied for COE from sendai immigration office for my wife and 17 months daughter on 2nd May 2016 but It is still waiting. The office suggest to submit monthly salary sleep of last month and I have submitted it on 12 june 2016. I had not shown bank balance. What is the chances to get coe. In case coe is rejected when and how can re-apply? Can it be re-apply immediately?
Hi Jay Lal Bhatt,
There is no appeal process for the application, so if it is rejected, you have to start over. As far as I know, you do not need to wait for a specific amount of time to reapply. But reapplying with the exact same information probably wouldn’t be useful, so you would have to have another source of finances or new information to have a better chance the second time.
I don’t know what your chances are for getting the CoE. To be quite honest, that is not a very high salary or account amount to support three people. If your application is rejected, then you may want to find an extra financial supporter next time – either in Japan or Nepal.
Other things that matter include your job status. For instance, if you are in a full-time, permanent position, that is better for your chances. In that case, showing proof of not just your salary but your employment status would be helpful. Also, if you have a longer visa in Japan yourself, that would be helpful.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
This article is incredibly excellent. Thank you so much!
I’ve been living in Japan for about 5 years (quite close to you actually – I’m in Iwate) and got married to my Japanese lady last month. We’re preparing for the visa application now. Although my situation is different from yours it looks like I’ll just be filling out certain sections differently on the CoE form. Thanks for all the advice and tips.
Take it easy, best wishes,
Leigh
Hi Travis,
I appreciate the concise info. My Japanese wife and I were married in the US over 5 years ago. We now wish to move to Japan together. Since neither of us is currently residing in Japan, it appears we must rely on her parents to submit the Juminzei. While they are upper middle class and have a substantial savings, they are retired and therefor have no income. Is a fat bank account sufficient to convince the immigration bureau that we are financially covered, or do we need to seek an additional sponsor? Thank you so much for your time and expertise!!
Josh and Suiho
Hi Josh and Suiho,
In my experience, a fat bank account is sufficient to be your Financial Supporter – but you may get a shorter “Period of Stay” than you would with recurring income of your own. In that case, the only downside would be that you would have to renew your status earlier. (That’s what happened to me).
I’m not completely certain that it works the same way if your Guarantor is also living off a bank account, but I can’t see why it would be a problem.
If they are retired, they should also be collecting Japanese national pension, no? That’s probably not as substantial as their accounts, but it would be something.
The surest thing to do would be to phone the immigration bureau and ask them directly. Whenever I’ve called them with similar questions, they’ve been able to give me straightforward answers.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hello Sir.
I am a Filipina and already married to a Japanese National. He already started the application of COE and it’s been 1 and half month already. I am quite worried about the process. He complied with all the requirements given to him. What are the chances that the application will be denied? Will the immigration inform him beforehand if there are problems with the application? Or do we have to wait 3 months to know if there are problems or lacking documents? I cannot find specific answers over the internet. I hope you can help me with this. Thank you!
and by the way, is being a mother of a japanese national increase the chances of being approved in the application of COE? I heard that my husband had issues on his taxes. will this greatly affect the result?
Hi again 🙂
I think your chances of being approved would be high in any case, but yes. When I applied to renew my Spouse status, I told the Immigration Bureau that I was soon to be the father of a Japanese national, and they asked me to submit records of that because it would strengthen my case for a longer period of stay.
Being the mother of a Japanese national might influence how long of a period of stay you receive initially. But your husband’s financial situation could also affect that.
In either case, even if you get a shorter stay at first, you can always renew later.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi Meg,
I’ve never heard of a CoE application for a spouse being declined before, but they do take time and 1.5 months or more is not unusual.
If there are any missing documents or extra submissions required, the Immigration Bureau will contact the applicant. I had that happen to me during my initial application, and I’ve seen it for other people, as well.
They will usually let you know right away if there are problems. They won’t just reject it and tell you to try again.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
I just wanted to thank you so much for providing such wonderful and detailed information. I’m truly grateful and in your debt for all of this!
Hi 🙂 i just want to ask if how long is the processing days of applying my CoE for visa. Im from DAVAO CITY PHILLIPINES, and i apply my CoE last saturday May 14 in one of the agency here in davao that is accredited to japan embassy. I just want to ask if how long it take that i can get a visa or my CoE is attached to my paasport. Thanks 🙂
Hi Saldy,
I’ve never heard of applying for a CoE through an agency in another country, so I can’t speak to that timeline. In general, when you submit the application to the Immigration Bureau in Japan, it takes 1-3 months. It all depends on your paperwork being in order and how busy the Immigration Bureau is at that time of year.
Maybe someone else can add a comment about using one of those agencies.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi! Travis!
Thank you for your helpful blog. I’m Naina from Nepal and my question is a little different than others. My sister has been residing in Japan since a long time and now she owns a restaurant business. she is 5 months pregnant and wants to invite my brother in a cook visa who is a cook by profession and has 3 – 4 years of experience in the same field in Nepal. She talked with a lawyer regarding the paperwork but in reply he said there is a least chance of getting a visa by a family member. he said he’s seen visa refusals in the cases like ours. I don’t know how true is that and why? Her restaurant serves Nepali and Indian cuisines and previously she has invited a highly experienced cook from Nepal (neither our family nor relatives) and he did not encounter any problem. He got his visa within a month and now he’s still working in her restaurant. She’s pregnant, her restaurant is big and needed more cook so she wanted my brother to assist her. I know my problem is different but I hope you can help me.
Many thanks,
Hi Naina,
I don’t know if it’s true or not that it would be harder to invite a qualified cook that was a relative rather than a qualified cook that wasn’t. I have never worked with working visas, sorry.
It would make sense to me, though, that the Immigration Bureau is going to give a more thorough investigation for a family member. I’m sure that many people in the past have used similar applications to invite family to Japan even if they couldn’t cook or had no other job prospects, so it sounds suspicious, even if it is legitimate in your sister’s case!
I am also sorry to say that as of the last time I heard, Nepalese in Japan had one of the highest rates of illegally overstaying their visas, so that may also result in a more strict screening.
But in your case, the invitation is legitimate and your brother is qualified to help her, so if they can provide documentation of his working experience, then you should be able to make it work in the end! Make sure you have paperwork (employment certificates, etc) to back up everything you say. Japan is all about the documentation.
Good Luck,
Travis from TranSenz
I got married last january 2016 and now i get marriagecontract on the 2nd page my surname had one letter clerical error that would affect when i apply for eligibilty for my husband? My visa is long term resident in japan i work her for 2yrs.
Hi Aiko,
I think you would be applying for a Dependent, or “Kazoku Taizai” Certificate of Eligibility, not a Spouse Certificate, unless you’re a Permanent Resident.
If possible, I would suggest getting your marriage contract corrected, especially if it was issued in Japan.
Otherwise, consult with the Immigration Bureau and ask for their advice. They may just ask you to submit some form of proof saying that your name was misspelled.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
I got my coe what arethe requirements when applying for visa ..? My husband is nikeei jin 3rd gen. Had a long term visa
Hi Aisa,
It depends on your country, so check the Japanese Embassy website for your country.
Usually, you’re going to need the visa application form, a photo to go on it (5 cm x 5 cm), your passport, and the CoE. You might need to pay an application fee or submit more documents, depending on where you are, so make sure to check with the Embassy!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
hi. we already applied for COE last March 31 its a month and a half now since the application starts. then my husband from japan recieves a letter from immigration to go to post office is the post from immigration says an approval or deny application. coz we have no idea yet about the letter he will go for pick up on Saturday bcoz he have work. the letter says for PICK UP. is this letter have chances that it is denied or it is a sure approval. our daughter and i are waiting for this for a long time.
Hi Psuguihara,
For Certificates of Eligibility, usually the Immigration Bureau mails the CoE directly to the applicant, so I don’t know why he would have to go to the post office.
Sometimes, the Immigration Bureau may ask applicants to submit additional documentation by post, but that should be specified in the letter he received. I would recommend that he show it to a Japanese colleague to ask what it means.
If you applied for a “Change in Status of Residence,” then when the decision is approved, you will receive a postcard telling you to go to the Immigration Bureau to pick up the new Residence Card. In that case, you will have to first go to the Post Office to purchase a revenue stamp for the cost of the card issuance fee.
I have never heard of someone having the Certificate of Eligibility denied, so I don’t know what would happen in that situation.
I hope the letter was good news!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi i am Ragavendiran and have valid visa for one year.I applied dependent visa for my spouse and its valid upto 2 Aug 2016. But COE expired (validity is 2 May 2016 ).i like to bring her in june month
I like to know whether she can travel to Japan or again i have to apply for COE.
please suggest
Hi Ragavendiran,
To the best of my knowledge you will have to return the old Certificate of Eligibility to the immigration bureau and apply for a new one.
You might want to double-check with the Immigration Bureau first, though, to see if there is any possibility of an exception. I think you would need a good reason why your spouse was not able to come while the CoE was valid, though.
Good Luck,
-Travis from TranSenz
Hello,
I am living in Japan for almost 2 years on student visa and I want to invite my younger brother to stay with me in Japan for a 1 month,
so could anyone tell me that what is the procedure for getting the visa for him,
thanks,
Hi Alex,
It depends on your nationality. For many countries, your brother could come without any special paperwork. For some others, your brother would need a “Tourist” or “Visiting Relatives” visa.
The best place to find information is to search google for “Embassy of Japan” and your home country name. The Embassy of Japan for that country will have all the visa application paperwork you need!
Good Luck,
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi Alex
All You need is the documents:
1,Your Residence card copy
2, Letter of Guarantee
3, Schedule of stay( where your sibling will visit in japan and the arrival and departure must be same with those of flight ticket)
4, Bank statement
5, certificate of relation ship like birth certificate
6, certificate of enrollment from your department an evidence of a student
7. from the ward office you need three certificates a, residence certificate b, tax c, and income certificate
8, proof of ability to support if you have scholarship or Job
9, for the guarantee it depends you can be or you have to find a Japanese guarantor it depends on the embassy that your apply
This are the documents you need.
Hope it will help you. God bless you.
Travis,
Thank you for the great info. My wife and I will be submitting our spousal visa application in Kanazawa. Do they send out off to the Nagoya main office or is it reviewed in Kanazawa?
Thank you.
Hi Kris,
As far as I understand, the initial review would occur in Kanazawa and final approval in Nagoya. But the Kanazawa office would be your first point of contact for any questions or concerns.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi.. My fiance and I will get married in August this year in the Philippines. After a month, we shall be able to get the marriage certificate. Would it be all right if we just got married for one month? We’ve been engaged for 7 years now. I currently work as a teacher in Japan for 10 months now. Also my passport will still bear my last name and not his should we apply for the CoE in September. Would that be okay?
Hi Liz88,
Congratulations!
There is no minimum marriage duration to be able to be eligible to apply for a spouse visa, so you can apply as soon as you can get proof of your marriage. I think a 7-year engagement is more than enough to prove that you are committed and that it is a genuine marriage!
Will you be changing your name eventually? I recommend changing it in your passport before applying for the CoE, if possible. It won’t be a problem for the CoE, but if you change your name before applying, it’s just one less bit of paperwork you have to do later.
By the way, if you’re living in Japan now, you should be able to get married in Japan and apply for a “Change in Status of Residence” without leaving the country. You don’t have to do it that way, but I just wanted to mention that it could be easier.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hello, thank you for this, it’s very helpful. I’m wondering if you can shed any light on how to proceed with my particular case. I had been living in Japan for 9 years, the last of those on a spouse visa/residence permit (I changed my resident status after getting married). However, I relocated to my home country with my Japanese wife last year, and allowed the residence permit to expire as I was not planning on returning to Japan for a while. Then, we found out my wife was pregnant, and she is now back in Japan living with her mother in preparation for the birth. As it’s possible that this new development may mean relocation to Japan, I would have to reapply for a spouse visa.
My question is this: As my wife has no current income, and probably won’t for the rest of this year (hence no tax returns etc.) and I myself was in the process of starting up a business living off my savings and therefore have no income for this year either, how do we fill out the parts of the form regarding work, income, guarantor etc? Can my wife act as a guarantor even when she has no income of her own or not living in Japan? The only alternative we have is her mother, who is retired and living off a (fairly generous) pension. Can a retiree be an acceptable guarantor?
Also, I am slightly worried about the fact that for the majority of this year, my wife will be officially living away from me (because of the restrictions in international travel during and after a pregnancy). Perhaps we can explain that in a cover letter? Are such things accepted?
The rest of the application (koseki, juminhyo, wedding certificate, questionnaire, photographs etc) are no problem – and keep in mind that we were already approved for a spouse visa once. It’s still the same marriage, if anything we have even more compelling reasons to be together.
If anyone has been in a similar situation or can help with this, any advice will be much appreciated! Thank you in advance.
Hi JJ,
Congratulations on the new addition to your family! I don’t have any direct familiarity with a case similar to yours, so I would recommend asking your wife to follow up with the Immigration Bureau by phone directly to be sure, but here is what I can suggest:
1) It seems that your mother in law would be your guarantor (Question 25 in the form). It should not be a problem that she is on a pension- income is income! Getting her tax statements or pension statements would be helpful for your application. Submitting those documents does not, of course, obligate her to support you, it just proves to the immigration bureau that she can, if necessary.
2) You can also fill in that your method of support to pay for expenses is “self” in question 24(1). I did this when I applied and attached a bank account statement. I had no income, but I did have enough savings at the time to support my family for a year. I don’t know whether it helped my application or not, but you can never show too much financial support!
3) Being away from your wife for the reasons you gave should not be a problem. There are many practical, legal reasons why a husband and wife would be separated during the visa application process and I have never heard of a visa being rejected on those grounds. You will have the opportunity to detail the timeline of your relationship in the “Questionnaire” form that you submit for the application, so that would be the best place to explain the reason you are currently living separately.
Perhaps one of the other readers has a similar experience to yours and can comment further.
In any case, congratulations again and good luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Thank you for your kind reply, Travis. My wife did call Immigration in Tokyo and their suggestions match yours. Apparently since my wife worked for most of last year, and is currently back living in Japan, she can still use her last year’s returns to act as guarantor, provided we apply within this calendar year. I could try to change a tourist visa to the spouse permit, but the “official” way to do it would be for my wife (or someone else in Japan) to apply for the CoE there, send it to me once issued, and then for me to complete the procedure in my home country before landing with the official permission already obtained. However, as many others have also noted, the latter process is simply adding additional steps so in case the change of status is approved I think it may be easier.
Anyway, now we have to decide which steps to follow and when! And also for me to find funds to put into my bank account so that the financial statement looks passable. 🙂
Thanks again for your help.
Hi,
Thank you for the clear explanation of the immigration procedure.
I need a clarification on getting dependent visa for my mother. I am residing in Japan with a Engineer Visa which is valid for 3 years and my spouse is having dependent visa. Now I would like to bring my mother to Japan as she is staying alone in India. Please note that my father had expired 4 years ago. Can I get COE for my mother as she is actually depends on me? but heard that only spouse and children are dependents as per the guideline. How can I leave my mother alone in India. Please suggest the possibilities to get her dependent visa.
Thanks!!!
Hi Suresh,
A dependent visa is limited to spouse and children under Japanese immigration law, so you could not bring your mother to Japan under that visa category.
Almost everything I write on this blog is based on my own personal experience, and I have no experience with bringing a family member to Japan. However, I did some research on Japanese immigration lawyer websites and found that there might be a way you can do this. Please understand that everything from here on out is based on other sources, so I cannot verify it.
It seems that there is a chance that she can come to Japan on a short-term stay visa and then change to what is called a “Designated Activities” visa, “for the purpose of living with family.” There are no precise qualifications for this and it is not defined by law, so everything is up to the immigration bureau’s discretion. However, according to the sites I read through, the following requirements seem to be true:
1) Your mother would have to be age 70 or older
2) There would have to be nobody in your home country that could support her
3) You would have to have sufficient financial resources to support her in addition to your own expenses.
Again, I have no experience with this, personally.
If your mother is younger and still active, then you might consider trying to find an employer in Japan that would hire her so that she could get a working visa.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you for the feedback and clarifications.
Condition 2 and 3 are fine. But my mother’s age is 55 only. I am planning to bring her on tourist visa for 90 days. Getting working visa from Japan might be diffucult as she is aged. But it would be good if MOJ can provide dependent visa for mother as well in future.
-Suresh
Hi Suresh,
Age isn’t necessarily a problem, depending on the job. I would suggest looking in areas where being non-Japanese would be an advantage, such as a restaurant or language teaching, if she has any experience in those areas.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you for your suggestion. I brought her on tourist visa to Japan for 90 days.
I am trying to extend her stay for another 90 days. Is it possible to extend tourist visa for another 90 days?
Regards,
Suresh
Dear Suresh,
No, you cannot extend a tourist visa. She would have to leave the country, apply again, and come back.
If she overstays the tourist visa, she may get rejected for later tourist visa or visa change applications, so it’s best not to risk it.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hello. I’m goin to apply for a CoE for my husband, I was wondering even if my guarantor is at UK, will that be allowed? Last year i do have work here at japan but this year i don’t have one..what will i do about Certificate of Receipt of Juminzei (Residence Tax) and how will i fill up #23 and #24 on the application?please help. thank you so much
Hi Wilma,
Are you a Japanese Citizen or Permanent Resident? If you’re on any other kind of visa, then you need to apply for a “Dependent” CoE for your husband, rather than “Spouse.”
If you are a Japanese Citizen or Permanent Resident, then read on.
– You would be the guarantor for your husband. The Guarantor is typically the spouse themselves and is the person who will guarantee that the person follows Japanese law and will support them in case of an emergency. That is difficult from a financial supporter. As you can see in question 24, the financial supporter can be another person in Japan or outside of the country.
– I don’t have enough information about your financial situation to make any recommendation about the Juminzei certificate, so I would recommend that you talk to the immigration bureau directly and explain your situation.
– For Question 23, if your husband has no prospective place of work decided yet, then you should be able to fill in “undetermined,” but please confirm with the immigration bureau, first. I did not have a place of work decided when I applied for my CoE and that is how I completed it, but they may have changed the procedures since then.
Good luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi.
I’m Joy. I’ve been married to a Japanese man since September 2003. Since then, my visa application did not pursue for some reasons. I still have the document from Fukushima Shi, stating that our marriage here in the Philippines was reported. Now, I have no information of the whereabouts of my husband. Here is my question: Is there any way for me to get a visa? Is the marriage still valid? Please advise.
Thank you.
Hi Joy,
Legally, your marriage is still valid in Japan, at least. But to apply for a spouse visa, you would need to show that not only are you legally married but that you are living together as husband and wife. The Questionnaire that is part of the application process is designed to determine the closeness of your relationship. So, I don’t think you would be able to get a spouse visa on those grounds.
I would recommend that you go to the Japanese embassy there, explain your situation, and see what you may be able to do.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Thank you very much Travis.
Hi Mate,
Are you sure that anyone have to enter Japan within 3 months from CoE issue date? There is something interesting information published on Ministry of foreign affairs (MOFA) in Japan site. Please check it out. It clearly mentioned that someone with a valid visa need to enter in Japan within three months of Visa issue date but not from CoE issue date.
http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/process/long.html
What do you say about this?
Cheers
Hi Amitava,
If Japanese government websites provided clear, complete information, there’d be no need for my blog 🙂
MOFA is in charge of visas, so they’re only telling you that the visa has a 3 month validity period.
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is responsible for Certificates of Eligibility, which also have a 3 month validity period. They clearly say on the CoE itself and on their website that the CoE has a 3 month validity and you need to enter Japan within those three month. See question 7 on the page below:
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/kanri/qa.html
(It’s even clearer in Japanese).
Cheers,
-Travis from TranSenz
Hello Sir/Ma
My name is Paul am a Nigerian, I have a Japan tourist visa, i have girlfriend in Japan,that we have agreed to marry each other.
Kindly Advice me, Can i change my tourist visa to spouse visa, what are the steps needed for me to follow when i enter Japan with my tourist visa, or if i was employed, can i find a company that can change my tourist visa to work visa.
Regards
Hi Paul,
In general, you cannot change your visa status from tourist to spouse or work after arriving in Japan.
In order to change from tourist to another status, you would need a Certificate of Eligibility (like the instructions above say for the Spouse Visa) and the Certificate of Eligibility application takes up to three months, which is the longest a tourist visa lasts. You cannot renew a tourist visa.
So, even if you arrived in Japan, got married (or hired by a company) and filed your complete, mistake-free Certificate of Eligibility application on the same day, it might not be issued in time for you to apply to change your status.
You do not need to be in Japan to get married to your girlfriend under Japanese law. You can do it by mail – That is what I did. (You can find that guide at: http://www.transenzjapan.com/blog/international-marriage-in-japan/). I would recommend that you do that first, then have your girlfriend apply for your CoE and come to Japan with a Spouse Visa not a Tourist Visa. That is the surest way to make sure you can complete all the paperwork in time.
Good Luck
-Travis from TranSenz
Travis,
Great website, lot’s of great resources here. I wanted to address your response to Paul as much anecdotal evidence and my own experience (tourist to humanities and then later to instructor) illustrates that people change their visa status quite regularly and that it is a fairly common procedure. I am actually contemplating which route to take, doing it “by the book” or going first and then doing an adjustment of status once on the ground (currently married to a Japanese national and living in the US). Regarding the 90 day time frame and the concern of having the tourist visa expire, once the the application is submitted and the process started it seems that they stamp your passport and this absolves that issue. Perhaps the CoE was applied for along with the visa application… Its been a while since I did it, so my memory is a bit hazy regarding the timeline and order in which things were handed in. In any case, I am genuinely curious to hear your answer as it will help me make a decision.
Hi Neelz,
I know that people do change their status regularly – in fact I help students do just that in my day job. (Many arrive as tourists then change to student after arrival). However, we always provide a Certificate of Eligibility to those students – and we generally apply for it well before the student arrives in Japan.
When I checked with the local immigration bureau, they said a CoE was required to change from tourist to something else. Of course, the immigration officials are not always consistent. You do not need a CoE to change from a non-tourist visa to another type (e.g. from humanities to instructor).
When you changed from tourist to humanities, did you have a Certificate of Eligibility from your employer?
You are right that once you submit the change of status application they will stamp your passport and you can stay in the country for up to 2 months from that date, even if your other status expires. However, that is for the Change of Status of Residence application, which assumes you already have the CoE.
My advice to Paul was based on timing. He said that his girlfriend had agreed to marry him. He was already in Japan with less than 90 days left (might be less – I don’t know the tourist visa duration for Nigeria) and still had to do the marriage paperwork plus the CoE paperwork within those 90 days. If he could do that, then he could apply for the Change of Status and stay up to an extra 2 months. Similarly, finding an employer and getting a CoE within that time frame seemed unlikely.
Many of the folks who ask about timing here plan to come to Japan as tourists, then get married, get a CoE, and apply to change statuses. That’s a very risky timeframe. In your case, being already married, if you had your CoE application ready to drop off a day or two after you arrive in Japan as a tourist, and you have a 90-day tourist stay, you should probably be OK, but it’s still a small risk. I always advise going “by the book” since that’s guaranteed to work.
Good Luck
-Travis from TranSenz
Hello! I’m actually 3months pregnant and have no work…I have long term visa. I’m planning to go back to Japan to apply for CoE for my husband who is a filipino also but my problem is I don’t have work. Is it possible or is there any way I could still have CoE? Coz in the application for CoE employment is needed. please help. thank you
Dear Anne,
Congratulations on your pregnancy!
When you say “long term visa,” what type of visa do you have? If it is “permanent resident,” then you can use this guide, but if you have another visa type, then you would have to apply for a “Dependent” CoE for your husband.
As for your work, if you are not working, then you should fill in the information of whoever is financially supporting you and their work/finance information in the appropriate field.
It sounds like your situation is outside the normal circumstances, so I would recommend that you go to the Immigration Bureau and try to get some advice for your specific case.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Thank you? I’m a 3rd generation with 3yrs visa. anyway, how about applying CoE for my husband…is it okay if I will not update my civil status on my passport and alien card from single to married and change my family name? will it not affect my husband’s application for visa in the philippines?And,..(sorry so many question?) does he really need to have a CoE in applying spouse visa? I’m actually looking for a faster way to get my husband in japan ang live together as a family. Thank you
Hi Anne,
If you’re on a 3-year visa, then your husband isn’t eligible for a “Spouse” visa. “Spouse” is short for “Spouse of Japanese National” or “Spouse of Permanent Resident.”
In your case, you need to get him a CoE for a “Dependent” Visa. The good news is that is much easier to apply for!
It should not be a problem if you do not change your name. Actually, it may be better if your name and his name are both the same as it is on your marriage certificate. I think it should be OK if you don’t change your civil status either, as long as you have the marriage certificate to prove you are married. But you should probably double-check with the immigration bureau, just to be safe!
Good luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
what if my husband’s name on his birth cert and passport differs? the difference is on his birth cert 1 name only but in his passport 2 names. Will they accept affidavit stating they are the same person in applying his CoE and visa?
Hi Wilma,
I’m not sure why you would be submitting your husband’s birth certificate. It isn’t one of the required documents (I know I never submitted it). If you don’t have to submit it, then that wouldn’t be a problem.
If the immigration bureau asked you to submit it as an additional document or something, please let me know.
Good Luck,
-Travis from TranSenz
hi guys , I married to a filipina resident in japan we apply for my COE 3 and half month ago and still waiting its been a long time
to be honest i am worried my wife call immigration and they said wait , so waiting but i am worried , any advice pls ??? because its too long.
Hi Sohail,
I’ve never heard of it taking that long unless there were missing documents or a problem with the application.
The Immigration Bureau website says that the standard processing time is one month to three months, so I would recommend having your wife call back (or visit) and say that more than three months have passed, so she is “concerned that there might have been a problem or something she needed to fix.” Sometimes you will have more success if you sound like you’re worried that you made a mistake.
I hope you hear back soon!
-Travis from TranSenz
Thank you! Big Help! 🙂
Hello, I’m so sorry to comment my question on someone else’s comment, I can’t find the comment button for whatever reason. I was wondering if you might be able to help me with an issue I have 🙂
Basically, I’m British, I’m a student at a language school learning Japanese and I have so far been in Japan one year, and by the time I would like to marry my boyfriend, I will have been in Japan for 2 years. However, around next April, he will graduate university and start working (he’s job hunting right now). He asked me if he needs to have been working for some amount of time before we are able to apply for the spouse visa. Is this true? He thinks that he has to have worked for either a number of years, or be earning an amount so high that would take a couple of years to get to that kind of salary. I understand this as I read that the Japanese national will be marked down legally as the sole supporter, thus having to prove income etc. However, my current guarantor is my mother, who lives in England. Will she continue to be able to be my guarantor? Thus making it less pressure for my partner to have to support the both of us? I will likely be receiving funds from her for a while first anyway until I start working, but I’m wondering if this can be legally put down as her being a guarantor and thus be applicable to the CoE application? I’m planning on doing an open university degree while I am in Japan (university itself in Japan is too expensive for me at the moment) and after I have obtained my degree I’ll be aiming to work in the translation / interpretation side of business, or teaching. However of course I will look to work while I am doing my degree and living in Japan, as I know you can get any job when on a spouse visa.
So simplified, the questions I’m asking are as follows:
– Does my boyfriend have to be earning over a certain amount of money/working for a certain amount of time before being eligible?
– Can my mother, who lives in England, be my guarantor?
– Can the spouse visa be applicable to someone who is 23 years of age, and has graduated and started work in the same year that the visa is applied for?
Hi Megan,
Your “Guarantor” and “Financial Sponsor” can be two different people. Your guarantor is a Japanese national who will take responsibility for ensuring you follow Japanese laws and that you leave the country when your Period of Stay is over (if you don’t renew it, that is). Financially, they’d be an emergency backup.
If your boyfriend doesn’t have a job/salary by the time you apply, then one of his parents would be best to serve as your Guarantor.
There is another section where you list your financial sponsor – which can be your own savings, a sponsor in Japan, or a sponsor in another country. That is where you would list your mother and the amount of funding you receive from her on a monthly basis.
Your boyfriend wouldn’t need a minimum income amount, but a lower income might result in a shorter “period of stay” so you’d have to renew your period of stay earlier.
Your mother can be your financial sponsor, but not your Guarantor.
There are no age restrictions for the spouse visa, so long as you’re old enough to legally marry (you are, based on your comment).
By the way, national and public universities in Japan are quite cheap in terms of tuition and many have tuition reduction or exemption plans, too. Don’t count yourself out too soon! A university degree will put you in a lot better position in Japanese society.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Dear Sir / Madam,
I wish you are fine and doing well.I am going to marry from my girlfriend ( marriage will be done in her country Indonesia ), I hold an Egyptian nationality and I am currently live in Cairo,Egypt and she lives in Japan from 2011 until now doing her PHD study, she holding indonesian nationality and on her passport contain student visa.
so, what we need to do to go and live with her in Japan , we need the right steps to finish this process successfully.
Best Regards,
Ahmed
Hi Ahmed,
You need to get a “Dependent” Certificate of Eligibility, which is actually a lot easier than the “Spouse” Certificate, above. All you need for supporting documents is proof of your marriage and proof of your wife’s financial support.
Your wife can go to the nearest immigration bureau and get some more advice for exactly what kind of financial documentation she needs. If she is on a scholarship, then proof of the scholarship should be good enough.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi , Guys i need some help , I already applied my COE and its already over 3 months and still waiting for my COE when my wife call the immigration they are saying wait we will let you know by mail , so my question is why they are taking so long and 2nd question is there any COE Rejection chances or No ??? please advice thanks.
Hi Sohail,
I’ve never heard of the application taking that long unless there were problems like missing documents, etc.
I think it is possible for your CoE to be rejected if, for example, you were deported from Japan in the past or have a criminal record or something like that, but I have never heard of it actually happening.
Maybe someone else here has some better information for you?
Good Luck,
-Travis from TranSenz
I’m a Filipna with permanent residence and I’m planning to get married under Japanese law in city hall near us my boyfriend is Turkish and his visa right now is refugee , what are the requirements to change his visa become permanent in Japan ?
Hi Maria,
After you get married, he should be able to change his status to “Spouse of Permanent Resident.” I don’t know if there are special considerations that apply to “Refugee” status holders, though, so you should double-check that with the immigration bureau.
You can get the application form for “Change of Status of Residence” on the immigration bureau website at: http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/kanri/shyorui/02.html
The supporting documents should be the same as the ones I listed in this post.
He won’t be able to apply for permanent residency himself until he meets the requirements for that application, which includes having the “Spouse” status for the longest Period of Stay possible (5 years) and being at the end of that period of stay.
Good Luck,
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi there. Thanks for all the information. It seems like it’s tailored towards those applying from outside Japan. I currently have a ryugaku visa for a PhD program and have been living in Japan since 2011. I would like to switch to a spouse visa (been married for over a year and a half, with a son).What would be different for me when applying in Japan? Would it be easier or more difficult? I’d like to get the process started as I may have to leave my PhD program and I don’t want to be caught without a visa. Thanks.
Hi Shawn,
You’re right, I wrote this primarily for applicants outside of Japan, but the procedure and documentation required for changing to a spouse residence status is almost identical to the visa process. The application form is very slightly different in form, but other than that, all the information and documentation should be the same.
You can find the instructions to change your status at:
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/kanri/shyorui/02.html
And a (more or less useless) table of required documents for spouse status at:
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/kanri/shyorui/Table3-1.html
(match the table on that site to the one in the article above, and that should help clarify it some!) If you are comfortable with Japanese, the detailed list is at:
http://www.moj.go.jp/ONLINE/IMMIGRATION/ZAIRYU_HENKO/zairyu_henko1.html
It’s practically identical to the list above (though you’ll need your passport and residence card, too.)
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi. In number 26 Guarantor, do I stillneed to fill this up if my method of support is myself and my Japanese spouse which already elucidated in 25?
Also in number 23, should I fill this up? I do have work waiting for me there but I’m worried indicating that here will slow things down because they will have to check. Is this number even appropriate for Japanese spouse condition or does this apply only to the other forms of application?
Hi Crew,
I’m sorry it took me so long to reply. I completely missed your comment in the queue.
Yes, you do need to fill in Question 26 (your spouse, most likely). The guarantor is not just your financial backer, but the person who claims overall responsibility for you in Japan. That person is also the person who will write the Letter of Guarantee that you have to submit.
Filling in #23 won’t hurt you, especially if you have documentation of the job waiting for you. As far as I know, Immigration isn’t going to call to confirm every last detail. As long as you have plenty of support coming in from all your sources and a guarantor, you should be fine. Filling it in shows that you’re proactive and seeking additional ways to support yourself, and that looks good.
Good luck with your application!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi, can you pls advise me what I should do?!? I am a Singaporean, spouse of a Japanese, married for about 7 years and have 2 kids. We moved back to Japan for good since 2012 Nov. I gotten my spouse visa renewed twice already, and now my spouse visa is 3years period. For my case, can I apply for Japan PR?!? I need to be a PR in order to get a higher house loan from the bank~ ;(
Dear Vivian,
I really have to get around to writing my Permanent Residency guide for this site.
It sounds to me like you should be eligible, but I would check with the Immigration Bureau, first.
As a Spouse of Japanese National, the requirements for Permanent Residency are lower. You only need to have been living in Japan for three years (as opposed to 10 for other statuses), but you have to have the longest possible Period of Stay for a Spouse and be about 6 months away from the end of that stay to be eligible.
Depending on when you last renewed your Spouse Residence Status, your maximum stay might have been 3 years (in which case you’re eligible) or 5 years. If you got a 3 year period of stay when 5 was the maximum, I would go talk to the nearest immigration bureau office and ask them if you are eligible. It’s a little unclear how this condition applies after the change in maximum period of stay, so their advice is going to be the best information.
If you can, please let us know what they tell you!
Good luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hello Good day.
I am a filipino, also a spouse of a japanese. We had our marriage last November 2015 in tokyo, and we haven’t file COE yet and the certificate of marriage in my home country is not yet available. We’re planning to get another visa for me so i can go there this coming March. Is it possible for me to apply a tourist/relative visa? coz’ I cannot have a spouse visa concerning that I dont have a coe yet. Hoping for a helpful advice. Thank you
Hi Anne,
Anyone can apply for a tourist visa, but once you’re in Japan you may not be able to change that to a spouse visa, even if you get the CoE in the mean time. In most cases that I have heard of, people have been able to change from tourist status to Spouse Residence Status inside Japan if they had a CoE, but it depends on the Immigration Bureau’s decision.
You cannot extend a tourist/relative visit visa, either, so if you don’t get your CoE issued while you’re in Japan, you would have to leave and try again.
If you can, I recommend waiting until you can at least start the CoE application process before you come to Japan.
A previous poster, Niferam, had some advice for Filipinos who want to get their marriage certificate from the PSA faster, so I’d recommend reading that comment!
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
I’ve the certificate of eligibility and all other documents. i’m applying for Working visa as my company of japan employed me…but the embassy wants Bank statement and certificate of employment… but i am fresh graduate and i don’t have any bank account or certificate of employment.
now the embassy wants Explanation letters for these two. i have submitted the Explanation letter. but the embassy told me to give details and proper .Explanation letter.
how to write proper Explanation letter for not having the documents? please help me…can anyone give me sample please..
Hi Khandakar,
If you have a company employing you in Japan, why aren’t they able to give you a Certificate of Employment or salary statement?
I would suggest saying that the company has agreed to employ you and sponsored your Certificate of Eligibility, but they cannot give you any formal documentation of your employment until you arrive in Japan and sign the employment contract.
If you have zero money of your own and no certificate of employment or salary, then I would suggest that you find a family member in your home country who is willing to say that they are your financial sponsor and submit their bank account statement for you.
I’ve never dealt with a working visa before, but I hope someone else out there can give you some good advice.
Good luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi
Would you know if the process is different if it is re-application?
I once lived in Japan on a spouse visa. So I did all these requirements before (get a COE, get a visa etc.). Since then we moved out of Japan. Now I am moving back to Japan, wife is already there. Do I need to go through the process all over again? Or are their requirements I no longer need to do, or documents I no longer need to submit? Was hoping maybe I no longer need the COE.
Hi Estevan,
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but if your previous Status of Residence expired, you’re going to need to start from scratch.
If your status is still valid, you can renew. If you’re only a month or so expired, you might be able to appeal to the Immigration Bureau to renew instead applying from the start. But if your status expired (or you cancelled it) and you’ve been living out of the country, you’re going to have to start from scratch.
Good luck!
-Travis
I am glad to found your blog very helpful to everyone. More thanks to you!
I am a Filipina, married to a Japanese National last May, 2015 under the Japanese Law, we were married even if we’re in the Philippines. We did not file/report our marriage here in the Philippines because my husband told me that it is not needed when filing the COE. So eventually, when my husband already gone to Japan last November 2015, and applying for COE,the Immigration officer in Japan ask him about our Report of Marriage here in the Philippines and it has to be reported also in the Philippines. After calling the DFA(Department of Foreign Affairs) and the Phil.Embassy in Tokyo they have given me a lot of documents to be submitted to them,the said documents is like the documents they have ask my husband when we got married in Japan also. I have already completed all of them and already submitted it last Dec29,2015. We are now waiting for the copy of Report of Marriage from the Phil.Embassy in Tokyo. My husband is in Japan and me and our son is here in the Philippines. It takes us a lot of time to process all of these. I just hope that we can receive the Report of Marriage soon so that I can change my Surname and Passport before applying it to Immigration in Japan for me & my son’s COE.
I just hope if someone read this, it would be helpful to file also your marriage in your home country sooner so that the processing would not be delayed. I am very grateful to share my experience with you.
Thank You & God bless.
Hi Jenny O.,
Thank you for sharing your story! I know we have a lot of readers from the Philippines, so I’m sure they will find this comment very helpful.
As an American, I did not have to register my marriage with my home country, but this is an important caution to everyone to check with your embassy for the rules that apply to you!
Thank you again!
-Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Jenny O,
Thank you so much for a detailed explanation! I’ve been searching for this kind of reference, and this blog plus all the comments are really helpful– I find it admirable that you take the time to reply to almost everyone!
I find this comment by Jenny quite useful though. Does it mean, that if I get married in Japan and not in the Philippines, I would still need to get married/registered in the Philippines to apply CoE? (I’m currently working outside of the Philippines and not residing there) My boyfriend hasn’t proposed (haha) but we’ve been discussing marriage in the past few months. Hope I could get this clarified.
Thank you again to you guys, such kind souls you are! <3
Hi France,
The requirement to register your marriage with your home country differs for each country. If you are conducting your marriage abroad, then please be sure to check with your embassy there to see the requirements.
While the US has no such requirement, my understanding is that the Philippines does require its citizens to register their marriages conducted in other countries at the embassy, as well. When TranSenz was a translation business, I once translated the paperwork for a Filipino couple who needed to register their Japanese marriage.
In your case, if you got married in Japan, then my understanding is that you would have to register that marriage with the Philippines Embassy or consulate before you could apply for the Spouse COE. There may be a way to speed up the process of getting proof of registration, but I’m not sure.
If you are working in Japan and on a working visa, you could stay on that Residence Status until you get all the documents you need to apply to change to spouse.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you so much, I appreciate your quick reply! I’ve bookmarked your page and will be using it as reference from hereon. Thank you and may you be blessed thousand-folds.
Hi France,
Hi Travis,
Good evening! For clarification, we have been married in Japan even if we’re both living here in the Philippines,my japanese husband just got back in japan after 6months of marriage. Our process is getting longer due to the fact that we have filed our marriage to DFA-Tokyo which is not a Jurisdiction of my husband’s home city which is in Gifu, so unfortunately all our documents have been returned to us then re-apply again for another forms then submitting it again to DFA-Osaka. We have filed it in DFA-Osaka last March 15,2016 then we have received our Report of Marriage copy in April 6, 2016. The problem now is as per DFA-Manila, they need to receive the copy of that ROM(Report of Marriage) coming from DFA-Osaka itself, so up until now whenever I call the DFA-Manila our papers are still not yet there. It really takes us a lot of time and i am very sad on how it take us so long just to wait for them to send it to DFA-Manila then afterwards to NSO..URGHH! I am getting tired of waiting and i hate to say this that I hate how our Government here on why does it taking so long??!! But after i receive that copy,whatever it was from DFA-Manila, i can easily get the NSO copy of our marriage/marriage cert.on SECPA(Security Paper) as per DFA-Manila’s staff told me. I am still hoping that i can finally get that document soon for me to apply the COE. I just hope my experience will be a lesson to everyone to check and be cautious on everything you are going to do before filing on you COE. Thank you 🙁
Dear Jenny,
Thank you for sharing your experience! I feel sorry for you for having to go through that, but I hope it is a useful example for others in the future!
I hope you get your CoE soon,
-Travis from TranSenz
France,
If you are married in Japan, you don’t need to get married in the Philippines. We have been married in Japan by submitting all the documents by mail only.
Thank you.
Hi Travis, Good evening. I would like to update my post. My husband in Japan already applied me & my son’s COE at last, after all of this long waiting time. First he submitted our applications to Gifu Regional Immigration Branch last June 2,2016. And after submitting all additional & possible documents,the immigration officer finally sent it to Nagoya Immigration Office where is the main office of Gifu’s jurisdiction on July 1,2016 only. It takes us a month to wait for my husbands payslip, he does not have a tax cert.yet that’s why. My question is how long to wait for our COE? Do i need to count the date when it reviewed in Gifu Regional Immigration Branch or is it on July 1? I believe you have mentioned that July-August are one of the busiest month in Japan. I just hope it will come out soon, because it is almost 8 months since my husband gone home to japan.We missed him so much especially our son. I would like to add that we have been living together since Dec.2007 before we got married last May 11,2015. And our son is paternity recognized last Nov.13,2013.Thank you very much.
Hi Jenny O.,
The three months of screening time should include the time that it was being reviewed in Gifu.
The Immigration Bureau typically says that screening will take 1-3 months. In my experience, it’s 1 month when there are no problems, and 3 months when they have to include time to ask you to send in extra documents, etc. It can also take longer if there are other irregularities or exceptions.
I hope you will be hearing good news within the next few weeks!
Good Luck,
Travis from TranSenz
Hi,
I am a filipino and I just got married to my japanese husband last december. We just got our marriage contract from the local civil registrar yesterday. I will fly to osaka this saturday so that we can already register our marriage in Japan and so that my husband can apply for a coe for me.
The copy of the marriage contract from the philippine government NSO will be available after 3 months. Would the copy from the local civil registrar enough for us to register our marriage in Japan and apply for COe in japan? Thank you
Hi Anne!
You can ask from your Local Civil Registrar for advance endorsement. They will endorse it electronically to Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), former National Statistics Office (NSO). In one monthh time, you can have your Certificate of Marriage from the PSA. But a CERTIFIED TRUE COPY of your Certificate of Marriage from the Local Civil Registrar is acceptable for the Report of Marriage.
Hope I can help.
Dear Niferam,
Thank you very much for chiming in! I did not have the answer to that question, but I’m really glad that someone else from the community was able to help Anne.
Thanks Again,
-Travis
Hello Travis,
My Pleasure! I have been visiting to your blog a month ago. Through personal and work experiences, wish I could help them too.
Hi, I’m sorry to barge in, but I really wanna know if will it be okay to present the Local Civil Registrar’s authenticated copy of marriage contract in applying for a COE? since I live in the province, the advance endorsement for NSO still takes 2-3 months as per LCR’s statement. I have prepared a “CERTIFICATE OF NO RECORD” or Negative Marriage Record from the NSO with a red ribbon seal from DFA just to make sure it would be acceptable in applying for a COE. But I just needed a second opinion about it.. (┳Д┳) Also, my name on my passport is still my maiden name and what if I’d want to use my husband’s(Japanese National) surname in applying for my COE and kosekitohon? Do I have to change my passport first before starting the process? Hoping for a helpful reply from you guys! Thanks
Hi Anne! we have a same case regarding NSO Marriage Cert.
Since my NSO MC will be available after 3-6 months I request an advanced endorsement for the application of my COE.
But my Marriage Certificate from LCR was accaepted in Japan City Hall for the registration of our marriage in Japan.
hi, thanks for the useful guide, it’s really helpful.
Can i apply visa in any country ( i am resident of that country or not) after getting the COE?
I am from Pakistan and we have done our marriage paper work in South Korea because i was doing my business in South Korea. But before receiving the COE i am planing to close my business and i will visit Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand with my Japanese wife.
So is it ok if i will apply visa there (Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand) after receiving COE from Japanese wife?
thank you
Hi Shahzad,
It depends on the rules in each country. I know you can apply if you are a national of that country (e.g. Pakistan) or if you are a long-term resident there (South Korea). But in some cases, you won’t be able to apply if you are just a tourist in that country.
For example, when I applied for my Spouse Visa in Thailand, I had to prove that I had been living there for more than 6 months or the Embassy would not accept my application.
I recommend that you call each embassy first, before your trip, to confirm whether or not they will accept your application.
Good luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hello,
Thanks for this great article. My girlfriend is Japanese living in Japan and I’m English living in the United Kingdom. I’m going back to Japan again in March and we will get married. But I’ll only be there for a 3 weeks as I have to come back to the United Kingdom for work.
Am I right in saying, once married and registered I can apply for the COE but would most likely have to reply for a spouse visa in the UK (England) as I would be in England working again?
OR could my Spouse living in Japan do this for me?
Thank you very much.
Hi Richard,
You can either apply for the CoE yourself while you’re in Japan (and have it mailed to your spouse when it’s complete – the Immigration Bureau will not mail internationally) or your Spouse in Japan can file the application for you.
In either case, yes, you’d have to apply for the visa back in the UK. Also, you’ll have to arrive in Japan within 3 months of the CoE issuance date, so I would recommend waiting to apply until you’re ready to move to Japan full time.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi travis,Good day! this article is really helpful for me and to others… But I just need some clarification regarding abt CoE, my CoE was issued on October 29,2015… I wasn’t able to apply for my visa immediately coz I waited so long for me to receive it from post office. When I received CoE and applied through accredited agency here in Philippines, they again asked me additional documents aside from CoE that mades my visa application more delayed. I need again to ask my husband additional documents from Japan like koseki etc.. So finally, after gathering all documents, the agency filled my application only last year Dec.02. Since its December, too many holidays here, so processing of my spouse visa took long time . Till I received my visa only this year January 06 and will expire on April 06.. My question is if it’s really necessary that the certificate of eligibility is still valid when u enter Japan even if u already have the visa with u? I got my CoE last October 29 2015, so means expiration is January 29, 2016… And I have a problem, I wont be able to go Japan this month as I’m pregnant and Airline won’t allow me to travel anymore. My plan is to go after delivery before my visa expires but I’m worried abt my CoE. Japan immigration might deny my landing permission.. I hope u can help me… Thanks in advance ?
Hi MG,
Congratulations on your upcoming delivery!
Unfortunately, in my experience, you have to enter Japan within 3 months of the CoE issuance date. I would recommend calling the visa section of the Japanese embassy in the Philippines and explaining your situation. I don’t know if they will be able to make an exception in your case, but they should be able to give you the best advice for what to do to be able to enter Japan.
By the way, you’re also going to need a passport (or two – one for the Philippines and one for Japan – if the baby will have both nationalities) for the baby after giving birth, so make sure you allow time for that process, too.
Good luck and best wishes!
-Travis from TranSenz
hi my husband is a brazilian japanese we got married last year september 2015 we have a daughter who is 4months old now and his longing for us he wants us to go to japan and live with him asap cause he missed a lot of impotant milestones of our only child. im a filipina, is it possible to have a tourist visa and extend it till 6 months he will be applying our COE a month before or 2months before we land to japan so we still have additional 4 months to change status of residence he has work and because of work he just visit here minimally he just go video calls and intenational calls and sending money too. can we do this process. cause in the philippines we just have a 90 visa stay can he extend it while waiting if ever process get longer he is a permanent resident and have a job. he already get a house for us there and also have our baby things
or have you read about the dependent visa. is it possible that i could help him in finances and work too if we undergo to dependent visa and how long will it take to be release im a nurse and a chef too
Hi Psugui14,
Since your husband is a Permanent Resident, I recommend going for the Spouse visa, not dependent. The Spouse visa will be more initial paperwork for your husband, but the processing time is similar and the Spouse visa has more benefits:
– If you are on a dependent visa, you need to apply for permission to work part time and your hours will be limited. If you are on a Spouse visa, then you can work freely, just like any Japanese citizen.
– It is much faster to get your own permanent residency if you are on a spouse visa.
Good luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi Psugui14,
You cannot extend a tourist visa in Japan – 90 days is the maximum, and it may not be possible to change from a tourist status to spouse status in Japan.
The best solution would be for your husband to start the CoE application earlier so that you can be sure to have it before you arrive. It should take 1-3 months to get the CoE and then once you have it, I have heard that it takes anywhere from 1-3 weeks to get your spouse visa in the Philippines.
Good Luck,
-Travis from TranSenz
Thanks for sharing and it was very informative..I need more tips from your side..I am working in ERP In Chennai.
Hello Travis and thank you very much fro your precious guide.
I’m in the process of filling in the application form for CoE. I am a spouse of a japanese national and I’ve lived in Japan in the past (we did the same procedure back then, to change my visa).
As we both are now resident in Europe, there are few voices to fill to wich I have no answer: place where I intend to work, income, and other things related to money. Do they apply for my parents in law as guarantors?
In the “hometown” space, as in japanese it states “japanese hometown”, should I write my parents in law hometown. The same actually applies with port of entry and date of arrival… as I still donìt know exactly when I’ll be there and for how long. I have general ideas but not precise information.
In those cases, would be better left in blank or give an incorrect answer?
Thank You,
Federico
Hi Frederico,
I left the “place I intend to work” section blank in my form when I applied. I only ended up getting a 1-year residence status, but I was able to renew for a longer stay after I found a job.
For question 24, you need to fill in how you intend to pay your living expenses in Japan. If you have savings, you can enter a month figure under “self.” Otherwise, if your parents-in-law will be paying for your living expenses, that would fall under “Supporter in Japan” or “Guarantor”, in which case, you’d have to fill out section 24(3), as well.
Question 25 is to be filled out if your spouse will be working and supporting you on a permanent basis.
The hometown question in Japanese states 本国, which means “your home country”, not Japan, so write your own hometown.
The date and port of entry (and place where you will apply for your visa) are estimates, only, so it doesn’t matter if that ends up changing. Fill it in with your best guess as of this time, and you should be fine. I recently confirmed with the Immigration Bureau that it’s OK to do so.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Thank You very much Travis. Appreciate!
Thanks to your guide, my COE processed quick and without a hitch. Filling out the VISA application now and have an issue. I run out of space indicating my previous visits. Do you know if I could include those visits on a different piece of paper or write on the back of it? I would call the consulate, but closed with Christmas upon us.
Hi Phil,
I would recommend listing all your visits on a separate sheet of paper (you could even type them up in a table) and writing “see attachment” on the actual visa form.
That solution works for most other Japanese forms! In the worst case, they might ask you to rewrite the list on the back of the form, but in either case, you should have everything you need!
Good Luck
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi , How are you . I am from Pakistan and married with filipina currently living in Philippine right my wife is filipina Japanese permit residence and we already apply for COE and waiting for it , I wanna know what documents do i have to show you in Japanese embassy in Philippines for applying my visa ? And is that okay if i can apply my visa in Philippines
Hi Sohail,
The Japanese Embassy in the Philippines’ website isn’t very clear on the exact documents necessary, so I’d recommend giving them a call or stopping by to ask them directly!
Good Luck,
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis! me and my wife are both Filipinos, she has a (permanent residency) and already got my COE and applied here in the Philippines through an agency as it is required by the Japanese Embassy for a visa. It is already a couple of weeks and both of us are worried why it is taking so long.. If i tried to call for follow up on the agency they could not give me a direct answer. I’m planning to leave this December 27 to be with my wife but until now i am waiting for my visa. I don’t know what could be the reasons for such a delay. I know you are not a consulate to answer this but i just want to share. 😀
Hi Rjbijasa,
Thank you for sharing your timeline with us. I hope you’ve gotten your visa by now and have a safe flight to Japan!
Good Luck,
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi! I’m from the Philippines and I just applied for a spouse visa to Japan. I just want to ask if you have heard of any case where the spouse visa was not granted eventhough a COE is provided? I’m just kinda tense of what the result of my visa will be. Thanks for the reply. 🙂
Hi Jewel,
I’ve never heard of someone being denied a Visa if they had already secured a CoE. Usually, the visa application takes only a couple of weeks, so I hope you’ll be hearing good news soon!
Good Luck,
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much for the reply. 🙂
Thanks also for the comprehensive information on this website.
Hi Travis,
I just got my visa. 🙂
Anyway, do you know what else should I secure to enter Japan? Aside from the visa and COE, do I still have to present other documents at the immigration? I wpuld appreciate your reply on this. Thank you! 🙂
Hi Jewel,
Congratulations!
Would you mind sharing how long it took the visa application to process at the Embassy? I think that would be helpful information for many of the other applicants coming from the Philippines!
You won’t need any other documents at immigration. I think you’ll need to know the address where you’ll be staying to fill in a form that you get at that desk, but that’s it.
I hope you have a safe trip!
-Travis from TranSenz
Thank you, Travis!
And sure, I’d be happy to share it with you. It only took 9 days(including the weekends) to get my visa from the agency. (Here in the Philippines,we are not allowed to personally process the visa at the embassy. We need the accredited agencies to process it for us. So that’s it! From the day I submitted my documents at the agency, I only waited for 9 days to have my visa.
Hi i’m from philippines. I’m planning to go to japan on january 2016 tourist visa for 90days. And apply for COE. If my COE approved is it possible that i don’t need to go back to philippines for my visa? Where can i apply for it at japan? Hope you can help me. Your blogs are really helpful. Thanks for this
By the way my husband is from fukushima. Were planning to apply at sendai regional office. Can you give me the address there? Thanks a lot sir
Hi Joyce,
You can find all the Immigration Offices addresses and phone numbers at: http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/soshiki/index.html You probably want the Koriyama Branch Office for Fukushima.
I highly recommend that you get your CoE and Spouse Visa before coming to Japan. The CoE can take up to 90 days to process, so if you come on a tourist visa, you run the risk that your visa will expire before you get your CoE. There’s also no guarantee that you’ll be able to change from Tourist to Spouse within Japan. (You’ll want to follow up with the Immigration Bureau office for more details).
Applying for a CoE and a Spouse Visa before you come to Japan is the safest bet.
Good Luck
-Travis from TranSenz
Thank you for the reply and advice sir. Godbless you 🙂
Hello ! i have a question please.
Me(filipina) and my japanese boyfriend just got married a week ago. And im planning to get a spouse visa, we are currently
living in Japan, wanna make sure if i still need to acquire a COE or can just apply for a spouse visa right away ?
thank you so much !!
BTW we are living in japan right now, got married under japanese law but im using tourist visa. my visa will expire
on the 2ndweek of jan. 2016.. thank you so much !!
Hi Pearl,
Congratulations on your marriage!
I’m afraid, though, that you’re probably going to have to go back to the Philippines to apply for your spouse visa – and yes, you will need a CoE.
I know you need a CoE to have a chance of changing from Tourist Visa to any other status, but the CoE can take up to 3 months to acquire after you submit all of the regular paperwork.
I’d recommend that you contact your nearest Immigration Bureau office as soon as possible and ask them if it would be possible to get the CoE in time and apply to change your status. They’re probably going to tell you that they “can’t guarantee it” (but at least that isn’t an outright “no”!). Then get all your paperwork together to apply and when you submit it, mention that your current residence status expires in January so you need it before then if at all possible. There might be a chance that you can get it in time.
By the way, the Immigration Bureau (and other government offices) will close for a about a week around the end of December and beginning of January, so you want to get started as soon as possible!
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi,
thank you for providing this information. I went through visa hell already , because I got rejected twice for working visa.
Now my Japanese bf and me are thinking to go the “easier” way, which it is obviously not… XD
I got a question about the last point in your list, which says “Wedding Certificate issued by the foreign spouse’s country”.
Sorry, but I am a little bit confused. I am from Germany. We are planning to get married in Japan and I apply for COE and visa at the Japanese embassy in my country. I know from some friends, who got married in Japan, that they had to register the marriage in Germany before they were able to apply for visa at the immigration office in Toyko. Do I have to register the marriage in Germany even if I apply for COE and visa from abroad? In other words, do we need marriage certificates from both counties for the COE?
Do you think it does make any difference in terms of time where to get married/ apply, either Germany or Japan?
Hi Tsukimi,
You’ll need to check whether or not Germany registers weddings performed in other countries. In my case, the US does not, so I had to submit a document saying “The United States does not separately register marriages that are formalized in another country. It accepts a translation of the marriage certificate issued by the foreign government as the only form of proof of marriage required.”
I recommend checking the German Embassy in Japan’s website to see what information they have for German nationals who get married here – that should tell you whether you need a separate certificate from Germany or not.
Congratulations on your upcoming marriage!
-Travis from TranSenz
First of all Thank you for this information, I have been searching everywhere and you seemed to have the most up to date information and detailed information. Thank you so much.
I have one silly question and I am hoping you might be able to help me.
I am on a Working Holiday visa valid for one year which expires June 2016. It was the easiest way for me to get a mid-long term visa when my girlfriend moved back to Japan this year and I wanted to join her. We recently got married and I was advised to change my visa status from Working Holiday to Spouse Visa.
I guess I am asking if I still need to apply for a CoE? or can I follow your guide without the CoE involved?
I am working full time and my company is able to change my visa status when it expires to a working visa BUT I prefer the spouse visa so that I am not bound to any company shall I choose to look for other jobs etc….
Thank you for any advice you might be able to give me.
Harry
I forgot to mention that we got married uner Japanese Law.
Hi Harry,
First of all, congratulations on your marriage! A spouse visa is definitely preferable to a working visa, not only for the freedom it gives you in changing jobs in the future, but also because a spouse visa is a faster path toward Permanent Residency!
You don’t need to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility. Instead, you’ll need to apply for a “Change of Status of Residence.” Almost all of the items listed in this article are still required with two exceptions:
1. The application form is going to be different. You can download the form at: http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/kanri/shyorui/02-format.html
2. You won’t need the return envelope.
Also, for the income and tax-related documents, if you’re working and your wife is not, then you should be able to submit your documents (she will still need to write the Letter of Guarantee, though.)
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Thanks for the reply Travis.
I agree with the spouse visa.
One final question does it matter when I apply to change my status? We have been married under the Japanese Law for a month or so now but my visa does not expire until July 2016.
Is it better to wait until May next year to proceed?
My wife also works full time so we are good on the guarantor side of things.
Thanks again
Harry
Hi Harry,
The earlier you change your visa to Spouse, the earlier you can get the clock ticking towards eligibility to apply for Permanent Residency, but that’s really the only difference (unless you have to change because your former status is not going to be valid anymore, but you said that wasn’t a problem for you).
To apply for permanent residency as a Spouse, you have to hold the longest possible period of stay (5 years) and then you will be eligible to apply at the end of those 5 years.
Aside from the Permanent Residency timing, there’s no real reason to change early (except to stop having to think about it!)
Good Luck,
-Travis from TranSenz
Travis,
I forgot one more. You mentioned Wedding Certificate from Foreign Country and mentioned writing a self document and translated and signed.
I found this for my country attach is the link and it had the pdf. In your opinion is this sufficient enough in regards to the pdf and translated or will I need to do the document and include this?
http://www.nzembassy.com/japan/new-zealanders-overseas/living-in-japan/getting-married-in-japan
http://home.e07.itscom.net/mfat/pdf/RecognitionOfOverseasMarriages.pdf
Thanks for the advice.
Harry
Hi Harry,
That’s awesome that the New Zealand Embassy provides that document, especially with the translation included. That should be everything you need- it’s even got the Embassy contact info in case they want to follow up. Can’t get much better than that.
Thank you for sharing that resource here. I hope it will prove useful to others, as well!
Good Luck,
Travis from TranSenz
Travis,
Happy New Year!
I am preparing all my paper work now as per your guide.
Thanks again, I wanted to clarify as its the same in COE and Change of Residence.
Q#25 and 26
Supporter and Guarantor is that just filled with wife’s name and details on both questions?
And since she is a national I am guessing that I can leave the residence card number, status of residence etc?
Thanks again!
Harry
Travis,
Sorry one last thing.
Documents I submit, will I get them back? Like My employment contract and my end of year Tax.
Thanks
Harry
Hi Harry,
For Q25 and Q26, that would be your wife if she is working full time and her salary is going to cover your living expenses. And yes, if you fill in her nationality as Japanese, you can leave out the Residence Card information.
If your wife is not working in Japan then 25 and 26 would be the person who is working and will be paying your living expenses. When I applied, by wife did not have a job in Japan (we were both overseas), so I filled in her father’s information for 25 and 26.
And in response to your other question, no, you won’t get any of your documents back!
I hope that helps!
Good Luck,
Travis
Thanks a lot Travis!!
I will be using the self method support even though my wife is also working full time. Due to my income significantly higher than hers. If thats the case I am ok leaving question 25 blank I assume? And just get her to be my guarantor on 26?
Would I still need to provide her income and tax? If I used self method support? I have bank statements, certificate of employment, tax witholding slip, but no resident tax as I am exempt since its my first year in Japan. I can also get the same paper work from my wife but no tax resident slip.
Hence why I am asking if I have go submit her paper work if Im doing self support.
Thanks again
Harry
Hi Harry,
You would only need to fill in section 25 if your wife’s income will be supporting you on a permanent basis after you move to Japan, so in this case, you would not need to do so.
I would recommend that you follow up with the immigration bureau to see what you should submit in place of the Residence Tax slip. Typically, if an item is required, you would at least need to submit a freeform explanation saying why you do not have it. In this case, it could be as simple as saying you are both working overseas and, while you have a guaranteed job waiting for you, you do not yet have a residence tax slip, but again, the Immigration Bureau would be the best place to double-check.
Good luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi transenz,
I would like to thanks for this article, all details is true and helpful I get my spouse visa here in Philippines , but I have a question for my son I have a residence card and my Japanese husband want my son to bring in Japan as soon as possible My son is 2 months old on December 1,2015 I would like to ask if want documents required for my son to enter in Japan my son have a Japanese passport already thanks
Hi Mikaela,
If your son has dual nationality, you’ll probably also need a Philippine passport for him to leave the country. As long as he has his Japanese passport, there’s nothing else you need to enter the country. Your husband will just have to complete his residence registration at the city hall after you arrive, which is pretty simple to do!
Have a safe trip to Japan!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hey was wondering if you could help me with my situation….I’m married to a Japanese wife and also have a son in Japan, my question is I had to go back to my country (Australia) for a family emergency and in that time my citizen card had expired.Is it possible I can go back to Japan an re new my citizen card in Japan or here in Australia?
Hi Michael,
I know it isn’t possible to renew your residence status/residence card while you’re in Japan. Technically it’s not possible to renew it within Japan once it’s expired.
If your wife is still in Japan, I would recommend asking her to go to the local immigration bureau to ask them about your situation. Have her explain that you had to leave suddenly for an emergency and didn’t have time to renew your card before you left, then got stuck there longer than you expected. They might make an exception and allow you to renew once you return to Japan.
She’ll probably need the date you left Japan, the date you planned to return initially, and the date your card expired, at least.
I hope it works out for you! Please let me know if they’re able to make an exception for your case.
-Travis from TranSenz
hi! thank u so much for this information! i have one question which i couldnt find in your writing.
im not sure if you are aware but, you know how before a spouse can can come live in the staes they have to go through a one on one interview at the US embassy in their country and whether they pass or fails the interview determines if they are granted a spouse visa or not…i will be applying for a spouse visa for japan and i was wondering if i would have to do the same thing in order to get a spouse visa? or as long as i got a CoE..it is like a pre approved permission for the visa?… im sorry,i hope im not comfusing.
Hi Sunny,
You’re not confusing at all.
There is no interview for the Japanese Spouse Visa application. The CoE is your “pre-approval” process (and there’s no interview for that, either, but there is a long, detailed questionnaire).
In my case, after I had the CoE, I went to the Visa Application center, turned in my paperwork, and got the visa two weeks later with no problems.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
oh my goodness! thank u so much for the information!! u have no idea how helpful u are to everyone. merry christmas and happy new year!
This is so helpful!
I’d like to ask if this is also applicable to a spouse of a permanent resident in Japan. (I’m Filipino and my husband is Korean.) And would it be better if the application for CoE will be done by a lawyer or just by my husband? Which way has the greater possibility of CoE issuance?
Thanks a lot!
More power!
Hi Sheryl,
I’m happy to hear the article was helpful!
The requirements should be very similar for “Spouse of Permanent Resident.” The only difference I am aware of is that, if he doesn’t have a Japanese koseki, he will need to check with the immigration bureau to see what he should submit instead to prove his permanent residency and your marriage.
If your husband is in Japan, then I would recommend that he apply himself. Having a lawyer do it doesn’t give you any better chance of success. (The only reason to hire a lawyer would be if neither of you were in Japan so you couldn’t apply on your own).
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi from Philippines. I am married with a japanese man. And planning to go back to japan on january. And having a 90days tourist visa. I am researching and go to forums reading a story about there visas. I am confused about spouse visa and COE. Is it possible to change status from tourist visa to spouse visa? Where can i apply it? No need for COE?
Hi Mine,
You (or your husband) should apply for a CoE for a Spouse Visa at the Immigration Bureau in Japan, then you will take that CoE to the Japanese Embassy in the Philippines to apply for a Spouse Visa. Basically, the CoE is a “pre-approval” process for the visa.
In Japan, the visa is just permission to pass through immigration. Once you are in Japan, you no longer have a “visa”, you have a “residence status”, which is what allows you to stay in Japan. It’s important to understand the difference between these words when you are talking to the immigration officials in Japan. They will tell you that it is impossible to change your visa, but you can change your residence status.
Typically, it is not possible to change from a tourist residence status to a spouse residence status in Japan (this is what the Embassy will tell you). However, if you have a CoE you may be able to apply to change (yes, the CoE is necessary). You apply to change your residence status at the same place that you apply for the CoE itself: the Immigration Bureau office. The problem is that the CoE application process can take up to 3 months, so if you only have a 90-day tourist stay in Japan, that might not be enough time to get the CoE, even if you apply on the day you arrive. So, if possible, your husband should start your CoE application even before you get to Japan.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi,
first of all, thank you for all those informations and details,, we really appreciate your help.
i have some questions, but before asking my questions i would like to explain to you the situation,
i’m a moroccan girl preparing to get married in japan with a japanese citizen,
i’m still in morocco and i would like to apply for visa short time, (one month)
should i apply for visa “private visit” or “tourist” ? i have heard that i can’t renew the tourist visa even after marriage!
for the private visa i have heard that i have to stay in his family while the period of the visa, but we are planing to stay at hotel during a month, is it ok?
also we are planning to get married once i arrive there, should i mention this in my “application of schedules of stay”? or not? because they may ask us for proofs of our relationship or the engagement photos..
is it easy to renew my visa after marriage?
do i need the certificate of eligibility to renew my visa?
Hi Houda,
I’m glad I could be of some help!
I’m not really familiar with the short-term visa types, but in your case, I would suggest getting legally married before you come to Japan. You don’t have to be in Japan to do it (in fact, neither your or your fiance have to be in Japan – my wife and I got legally married “in Japan” by mailing an application form while we were both living in Thailand). Then you can enter Japan on a spouse visa and hold the ceremony then.
It may be less romantic, but it’s less paperwork!
I wrote an article about that process, too: http://www.transenzjapan.com/blog/international-marriage-in-japan/
It’s true that you can’t renew short-term stay visas (tourist, etc). In some cases, you can change to another residence status, but I’ve only ever seen that work if you have a Certificate of Eligibility. But even if you get married the day that you arrive in Japan and apply for the CoE right away, 30 days would not be enough time to get it.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi good afternoon im thea from philippines, thanks for the details i just have a question? We applied our coe in japan last sept 2015 that time i used my maiden name not my husband’s name is it okay??? Or we should change it???
Hi Thea,
I’m glad I could help!
The name on your CoE should match the name on your passport. So, if your passport is still in your maiden name, you’re OK. If you’ve changed your name in your passport to your husband’s, you’re probably going to want to contact the Immigration Bureau office where you applied and ask for their instructions.
They may want you to change it now, or they may just tell you to provide a copy of your proof of name change when you apply for your visa so they know you’re the same person.
Good Luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Thank you very much travis
hi! its been a year that i requested my husband to process my Certificate of Eligibility but until now he hasn’t processed it yet because he told me he doesn’t know how to process it. he’s already 67 yrs old and he’s not knowledgeable enough with regards to that kind of matter. can you help my husband process my COE? where can he contact you? i’m 57 yrs old and just like my husband, i am not young anymore and i really wanted to be with him for the rest of my life. i’m so desperate to be with him and take care of him because he has a lot of ailments already.please help us
Hi Ben,
Sorry, but I’m not an immigration lawyer, professional, or anything of the sort- I’m just a guy who went through the process myself and wanted to share my experience to help folks if I can.
Only a relative or an attorney is legally allowed to apply for your Certificate of Eligibility. Here are a few suggestions, though:
You could also try contacting your embassy in Japan or the Japanese Embassy in your country for more advice.
I hope that helps a little!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi!
Thank you for the detailed and useful write-up!
I’m in the process of applying for CoE and spousal visa (wife is Japanese). However I do have a question and I’m not sure if you can answer it however due to time-difference it is hard for me to call for example 阿佐ヶ谷区役所.
Is it possible to be in Japan while waiting for the CoE? One plan we have is that I apply for the CoE and then go to Japan on a tourist visa (I’m a Swedish citizen, granting me 90 days). Reason I’m asking is that we have waited for her visa in Sweden for more than a year now, and she is not allowed to be here while it’s in process or it will be maculated.
Either if you happen to know or can point me in the direction of where to look would be much appreciated.
Thank you for all the time you continue to put into this site and comment field.
Regards
クリス
Hi クリス,
There is no rule against being in Japan while applying for the CoE. However, once the CoE is issued, you would then be expected to return to Sweden to apply for the Visa. If you’re willing to do that, then there’s no problem.
It may be possible to apply for a “Change in Status of Residence” from Tourist (a.k.a. Short-Term Stay) to Spouse once you have the CoE. However, you face two challenges- one is that the CoE might not be issued in time for you to apply, as the application process can take up to 3 months. You cannot extend a Tourist Visa.
The second is that, according to the Immigration Bureau, “in general” it is not permissible to change your Status of Residence from Short-Term Stay to another status while in Japan. I have seen exceptions when the person has a Certificate of Eligibility, but you would need to submit an additional explanation as to why you need to change status in Japan.
If you plan to try to change your residence status in Japan, then I recommend that you apply for a Short-Term Stay Visa (Tourist Visa) rather than entering Japan on a “no visa entry,” even if that is possible for your nationality. Having properly applied for that visa may help your case when you apply to change.
I wish you the best of luck in your application. Please let me know how it goes!
Travis from TranSenz
This is by far the most thorough explanation for getting married within Japan or outside Japan. Thank you so much for taking the time to write this. I was personally baffled by the fact that Japanese immigration did not provide a through explanation on their website. The English explanation was completely different from the Japanese explanation. Very confusing and inconsistent. Fortunately I discovered this site and we had an immigration officer who was very helpful and knowledgable. You saved my wife and I from a lot of unwanted stress. It is much appreciated.
Hi XY,
Thank you for your kind comments! We went through quite a bit of hassle to get my visa processed, so I wanted to help make it easier on anyone else if I could. I’m glad to hear that you found the guide helpful!
Best,
Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much for the guidelines. It really helps a lot. Anyway, I do have a question. After I’ve obtained single/multiple entry from Japan Embassy in Malaysia, can I just book one way ticket to Japan? Scared that I’ll be reject at immigration without return ticket. I’m thinking of applying for spouse visa when I reach there. Ready to move there next year and no point of buying return ticket.
Hi Yuki,
If you’re applying for a tourist single/multiple entry visa, then, in general, you won’t be allowed to change your visa status after arriving in Japan. You would have to prove a good reason as to why you should be allowed (for example, if you’re not married yet but you’re going to Japan for your wedding). You’re also going to need to start applying for your spouse visa or CoE as soon as possible after you arrive in Japan, because it can take a few months.
If you’re married to a Japanese national or permanent resident, then I would recommend applying for the spouse visa now, before you leave Malaysia.
As for the return ticket, I think that depends on the airline more than immigration. I’ve been stopped at the check-in counter for not having a return flight, but immigration has never checked for me. They just ask why I’m visiting and how long I plan on staying.
It also might depend on how long your visa is for. If you only have 30 days, there’s a good chance the airline will want to see your return ticket. If you have longer, then you can probably tell them that your return date is not yet decided so you will buy your ticket later.
Good luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Just found it, http://www.moj.go.jp/content/000007420.pdf
Interesting, I found it at another address, as well. The link below is from the current Japanese instructions page:
http://www.moj.go.jp/content/000007383.pdf
I haven’t found any differences yet between the two versions.
Thanks for all the great tips, this has been very useful completing the COE. Only question, I cannot find the questionnaire. The link provided seems to not work?
Hi Philip,
Thanks for finding that!
I double-checked and it looks like all of the documents on the moj domain had changed addresses, so I fixed the links in the article. Everything should work now!
Thanks Again,
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi transez,
Why until now don’t have a result for my visa? I apply my visa last august 26,2015 with my Coe but until now don’t have a result
Hi Mika,
I haven’t heard of the Visa application taking that long if you have a CoE before, so there may be some kind of problem with your application or they have a mistake in their contact information for you, or something like that.
I’d suggest calling the Embassy and asking them if there was any “missing documentation” or other information they needed. That’s a roundabout way of asking them for a status update, as well. If you ask directly, sometimes you won’t get an answer, but if you make it sound like you made a mistake (even if you didn’t) then the person may look it up for you!
I hope you get your visa sorted soon!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi transenZ,
My husband Japanese called the japan embassy here in Manila but the embassy said my documents is complete but they not already finish to check my documents,the embassy said they wait for the answer of the agency who check to all my documents, ,
Hi Mika,
Hmm, I didn’t realize visa applications were handled by an agency in the Philippines. Sorry, I don’t have any specific information about the system there, but I hope someone else reading this might have a better idea! If anyone else knows about Japanese visa processing times in the Philippines, please share your experience with us!
I hope you get your results soon!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi good afternoon
I get my Coe from japan last August 20,2015 and I apply my visa to agency that accreditted of japan embassy here in Manila they process my visa august 27,2015 when is the possible date to grant my visa ? Thanks in advance
Mika
Hey Travis, this article is proving really helpful in organising my application for the CofE. I’ve taken lots of notes and together we’re working through getting all the paperwork together. I’m British, my wife is Japanese. Was there any requirement for you to go to your embassy after your marriage to inform them of a change in marital status? My wife was advised at the town hall that i would need to travel to the British Embassy in Tokyo, i’m just very confused about why. Do you know what that could be referring to? Could the people at the town hall be confused about it i ask myself. She says it is something about telling them that i am married now.
I’ve been here near Miyazaki, Kyushu, for a couple of weeks on a Temporary Visitor stamp, so fingers crossed that 2 months or so is enough time to get it all straight! I don’t see many foreigners here at all, so hoping your comments about busyness of offices apply to us and we sail through (relatively).
Thanks again for a wonderful write up, i’m extremely grateful,
All the best, Chris
Hi Chris,
I’m glad to hear that you found the article helpful.
Regarding reporting your marriage to your embassy, I’d recommend giving the embassy a call and asking if it’s required. My guess is that it is not required, but I don’t have direct experience so I don’t want to lead you the wrong way.
Japanese nationals who get married under another country’s laws are required to report that marriage to the Japanese embassy and my assumption here is that the city hall clerk just assumed that every country has the same requirement. I’m a US national and the US embassy website says clearly that reporting a foreign marriage is not required (or even accepted, for that matter).
Good luck getting the paperwork in time! The time of year should work out in your favor, too, as late Sept should not be a busy time for student or worker CoE applications. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you, too.
-Travis from TranSenz
Thanks for the comments Travis. I’ll double-check with the town hall i think, and do a bit more ferreting around.
Chris
Cheers Alex for all your work putting the info together in a logical and useful format.
Just to add through my partner’s investigations (she is a Japanese National) that Japan Immigration Bureau website states they prefer anyone who is issued a visa to enter Japan before it is 3 months old (this information not found in english). In other words you must enter Japan using your newly issued visa within 3 months of it being issued or it may not be valid?
So perhaps as you say, once you have your CoE you better book a flight.
Regards Vernon
Hi Vernon,
Excellent point. You actually have to arrive in Japan within three months from the date the CoE is issued, not the visa. It’s written in the fine print on the CoE, itself, but that’s definitely something people would want to know in advance! Added it to the guide above- with credit to you for pointing it out.
Thanks!
-Travis from TranSenz
I read everything but I am a bit concerned. I did not see an asset requirement. If I bring my girlfriend to the USA, there is an asset requirement to make sure we are above poverty. What about Japan? I live in the USA, she is a Japanese national and we have been long distance for a coupe years and would like to get married and live in Japan. That being said my question is:
1. Is there a asset requirement like in the USA?
2. When could I be eligible to work
3. Can I become a citizen there or permanent resident?
Thanks
Hi Alex,
I just want to be clear- you can only apply for this visa after your are married. If you want to come to Japan before being legally married, you’re going to need to get a working visa (through an employer), student visa (through a school), etc. Then you can change to a Spouse residence status later after you legalize the marriage.
1. The asset requirement is covered by the “4. Japanese Spouse’s Certificate of Juminzei (Residence Tax) Payment” section above. The immigration bureau does not specify a minimum amount. If your girlfriend isn’t working, she won’t have this, so her parent would have to be your sponsor instead. Submitting your own bank balance statement as supplemental information probably wouldn’t hurt either.
2. With a “Spouse of Japanese National” residence status, you are free to work with no restrictions, just like a Japanese national.
3. Yes and yes, but Japan does not allow dual nationality, so if you become a Japanese citizen, you would have to give up your US citizenship, which comes with some pretty severe penalties. Permanent Resident is a much simpler way to go (That’s what I have and I’m working on a guide for that, as well.)
Best,
Travis from TranSenz
Continuation:
My daughter is now 7 yrs.old and I’m her guardian.
This is my first time that I will apply the COE.
I have’nt no idea before.Thank you for the informations.
Hi Zel!
Thought it has been almost 5 months ago since your last post, I would like to know if you were able to process your visa and in Japan already? Just in case you weren’t able to do it. I know some organizations in Phils, particularly in Cebu who process visa for a mother of a Japanese citizen or a child of a Japanese citizen who is registered in the family registry of the Japanese father.
Hello! This article is very helpful. I will be able to get COE on october.
Thank you bfor the datailed posts.
But I have a question, I should get COE because my japanese daughter will have to go to school next yea in japan.
I am not married with her father and we have no contact for 5 years.
My japanese child born in japan & she has a japanese passport already,
I am the one who will apply COE and my sponsor will be my japanese friend.
In this case,what documents do I have to submit and also my sponsor’s documents?
I hope you can help me.
Thank you very much in advance!
Hi Zel,
Are you Filipino by any chance?
There is a special visa application process for Filipino parents of Japanese children who want to go to Japan with their child to raise them there, but I don’t know if it applies to other nationalities. It looks like you do not need to apply for a CoE for that visa. Here’s a link to the application information page on the Japanese Embassy in the Philippines website:
(English) http://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/visiting/new%20visa/jfc.htm
(Japanese) http://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/visiting/consular_j/new%20visa/jfc.htm
They might not give you a very long period of stay in Japan, but you can renew your stay once you get to Japan (if you find a job there, that should make it easier, too).
If you are not Filipino, then I would recommend talking to the embassy or consulate of Japan in your country to see if they have a similar application process.
Good luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Hi!ask for help,im in philippines and 2nd time visa denied,can i apply my eligibilty to other country?like if im going to malaysia for a trip and straight apply there in japan embassy in kl?it is possible?thank you,
Hi Irene,
Generally, no. You have to apply for your visa from a country where you are a resident. I am American and applied for my visa in Thailand, but I had to prove that I was a resident of Thailand (I was) before they would let me apply.
What kind of visa are you applying for that you’re getting rejected? If it’s anything other than tourist, you’re going to need an appropriate sponsor in Japan to get a Certificate of Eligibility for you. For example, an employer for any of the working visa types, university for student, etc.
Good luck!
-Travis from TranSenz
Oh my god, this is so helpful. Someone told me I wasn’t able to change my name, and I was trying to figure out how to get the legal verification from my home country, since I can’t afford to go home any time soon and the US Embassy doesn’t do that. Thank you thank you thank you for this write up!
Kris, I’m glad it was helpful! Good luck with the rest of your paperwork.
-Travis from TranSenz