How to Get a Spouse Visa in Japan

How we get a spouse visa of Japanese national from the US? Here is a guide for what we did to apply and get approved while living in the States. What to file, attach as support the facts, etc.

DISCLAIMER : This is NOT legal advise but our personal experience. We do NOT take any responsibilities to anything. You should go check information by yourself, of course.

Some of you might know that my husband is American, and I am Japanese. We live in San Diego, California, but we are planning to move to Japan. For that, we applied a spouse visa to Japan.

Visas in Japan

Same as other countries, Japan has some kinds of visa for non-Japanese people to come visit or/and live in Japan.

Working Visa
Student Visa
Spouse Visa
etc

Verification To Apply

Married to a Japanese Citizen

You should be married to a Japanese citizen to apply spouse visa. It doesn’t have any rule like you need to be married over certain number of years/months.

Your Marriage is Approved in Japan

Either you got married in Japan or outside of Japan, you and your partner have to be married in Japan systemically which means your marriage needs to be on Koseki (family register) in Japan. Japanese citizen who live outside of Japan needs to file a paper of marriage within 3 months of their marriage.

Applying a Spouse Visa Outside of Japan

We applied from U.S. so these are what we did.

1. Check the Latest Information

You should check the latest information on official Website,

Ministry Foreign of Japan
Embassy of Japan
Consulate General of Japan in your area

I recommend you to go to the website of Japanese embassy or Consulate General of Japan in your area. We checked the website of Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles ( They are in charge of those who live in San Diego ).

For instance, we checked the websites below:

2. File the Application for COE

COE stands for “Certificate of Eligibility”, we need to get it first.

Financial Proof

You need to prove that you can live independently with your partner, which means you need to prove you & your partner’s abilities toward financial situation. It doesn’t mean that you need to have a job in Japan.

Actually my husband (American) and I (Japanese) didn’t have a job in Japan when applied. Although, we have enough saving to prove that we can build our life in Japan.

We sent these documents below to support our abilities.

Our bank statement in U.S + Translation (by myself)
Our bank statement in Japan
My (Japanese) work history to prove my ability to get a job in Japan
Copies of my (Japanese) certifications to help to get a job
My husband’s (American) work history in Japan to prove the ability to get a job in Japan
My parents’ agreement to support us ( i.e. let us stay for the first couple of months)

Questionnaire

It might be same as other countries, Japan is also strict for fraud marriage for getting a visa.

There is a paper named “質問書” that you need to fill out. It’s normal questions about you and your partner, at least not too many i’d say (especially compared to the application to the U.S ).

When & How you met your partner
When & Where your wedding was held
Who came to your wedding
Your family member’s information

and something like that.

Proof of Your Relationship

As evidence, we attached the pictures,

with my family
with his family
us at civil wedding
Our reception party (due to Covid, we couldn’t have a wedding with both family)

3. Apply For a Spouse Visa at Embassy / Consulate

Once you get a COE, you need to bring it to the embassy / consulate of Japan in your area with your passport.

In our case, we made an appointment first, and went to hand in. It’s different for each place, I’d assume. Please check it out.

What to Bring

Applicant’s valid passport
VISA APPLICATION FORM TO ENTER JAPAN
One photograph (2″x 2″) attached to application form
COE

In our case, we called and confirmed and brought everything we were told. But they asked us if we had a copy of our itinerary (flight ticket).

We decided to come to pick it up, not to ask them to send it to us.

Within a month, they contacted us to pick it up. We went there, and checked if every information is correct.

Receive the Zairyu Card = Resident card at Airport

I don’t know about other countries, however I needed to wait to get my Greencard in U.S. for long time after I got the US. However, In Japan, if you have already applied a spouse visa and get to Japan, you can get Zairyu card (在留カード) = resident card at immigration at airport.

Again, check if the all information on the card is correct!

Update a Spouse Visa in Japan

Usually, you will likely get a Zairyu card with 1 year expiration if your marriage is shorter than 3 years and/or no kids in school. Or 3 – 5 years if your marriage is longer and/or your kid(s) are in school.

Although, you need to update your spouse visa eventually before it gets expired. You can start applying 3 months prior to your Zairyu card’s expiration date.

You need to follow rules and laws and live well not to have any problems to keep your visa! Also, if you get divorced, you cannot keep your “spouse” visa.

We’d write when we update!

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Visas in Japan