Contents
Who apply for a spouse visa?
An applicant shall appear in person to go through procedure of a resident of status
Principally, the Immigration Control Act requires an applicant to visit an immigration office to go through a procedure without being represented by someone.
If you get married to a Japanese partner, you need to go to an immigration office for a procedure. But you can also apply for a spouse visa through an agent.
Your Japanese partner can legally become your agent for visa application
The Immigration Control Act regulates authorized agent and agency system. This is a system to reduce the burden of foreign applicants’ language barrier and reduce congestion of application windows by increasing the number of applicants. There are the following two types of legal agents that can substitute for the applicant’s visa procedure
- Authorized Agent
- Authorized Agency
The difference between “agent” and “agency” in English is, in the broad sense, wheather it is a person or an organization. An “agency” is an organization, whereas “agent” is a person.
However, in this case, the difference of both words indicates permitted procedure range. Please keep it in your mind this way. In Japanse, “Toritsugi-sha” and “Dairinin” is the words to indicate a person or an organization that substitutes for the applicant’s visa procedure.
However, I can’t find appropriate words that correspond perfectly to “Toritsugi-sha” and “Dairinin” except for “agent” and “agency”, which are even a bit different in terms of a nuance of Japanese words. So I use “agent” and “agency” on behalf of “Toritsugi-sha” and “Dairinin” here.
Authorized Agent
An authorized agent is a person who literally substitutes for applicant’s visa procedure. Therefore, an agent creates a visa application and sign on it. An agent can also fix the description as needed.
A Japanese partner is approved to be an authorized agent.
Authorized Agency
An authorized agency is an organization that smoothly supports the applicant’s visa procedure.
It can’t fill a visa application form independently and go through a procedure without cooperation with an applicant. Agency’s position is only a supporter to help the applicant to apply easier.
An agency is a kind of visa consultant company for foreigner’s visa procedure in Japan.
What you need to prepare
The followings are in need of a spouse visa procedure. If you collect these certificates and documents just aimlessly without knowing what these are, you enhance the probability of failing to pass the screening.
You should know why you collect these documents and make an application form.
Application forms you need to fill in
- Application for Certificate of Eligibility, Application for change the status of residence (在留資格認定証明書交付申請書・在留資格変更許可申請書)
- Statement for reasons for applying for the status of spouse (申請理由書)
- Questionnaire (designated format)(質問書)
- Letter of guarantee(身元保証書)
Application for Certificate of Eligibility, Application for change the status of residence
Application for Certificate of Eligibility is for those who newly apply for the visa status in Japan
Application for change the status of residence is for those who change the status of visa which you have already been granted.
Statement of reasons of application for the status of spouse
This is a document that an applicant in person need to prepare. What you need to wirte in this statement is
- Origin of country
- Schools that you have ever graduated from and when you graduated from each school
- Working history
- The reasons why you applied for companies you’ve ever worked for
- Your occupational field
- Your job achievements
You need to appeal how much you can contribute to Japanese society proactively.
Questionnaire
You are required to answer the questions about where you met your Japanese partner and how long you kept a relationship with a Japanese partner before getting married to each other and how many times you entered Japan before
If describing false information to pass the screening advantageously and the falsification is detected, an applicant will be under arrest in the worst case. You should write the truth about yourself.
Here is a link to “questionnaire”
Letter of guarantee
This is a document to guarantee applicant’s expenses during stay, expenses to return back to the applicant’s country, and compliance with laws.
A Japanese partner must become a guarantor of an applicant and the authorized person who can become a guarantor of an applicant is only a Japanese partner. You can’t ask someone else to become your guarantor except for your Japanese partner.
Certificates that an applicant prepares
- Passport
- the resident of status
- Your picture
- Marriage certificate
- Employment certificate
- A copay of resident certificate
- Certificates that prove your income
- A material that tells the fact of a relationship between applicant and a Japanese partner
Passport
Submit a copy of your passport when applying
The resident of status
If you don’t have one, you don’t need to produce.
Your picture
This is for attachment on “Application for Certificate of Eligibility” or “Application for change the status of residence”
You need one picture with designated size, width is 3cm and height is 4 cm, with plain background, without wearing a hut or a cap.
Your picture need to be taken within 3 months before the procedure.
If applicant is under 16 years old, a picture for precedure is no need.
Marriage certificate
Marriage certificate issued by applicant’s country’s marriage authority through the embassy. An applicant needs Japanese translation of this certificate.
Employment certificate
If you work for a company, you need to submit. You should ask a company to issue it beforehand
A copy of resident certificate
If you newly apply for a spouse visa in Japan you don’t need this.
You need a resident certificate that describes all household member’s information
Certificates that prove your income
If you newly apply for a spouse visa in Japan, you need to prepare your country’s taxation certificate.
If you change the present visa status to a spouse visa, you need to prepare taxation certificate of resident tax and tax payment certificate。
Materials that tells the fact of a relationship between applicant and a Japanese partner
You are required to submit call logs (skype or phone), pictures (cloud image data), letters, etc…
Certificates a Japanese partner prepares
- Passport
- Employment certificate
- The cirtificate of family register
- A copay of resident certificate
- Taxiation certificate of resident tax
- Payment certificate of resident tax
- A material that tells the fact of a relationship between applicant and a Japanese partner
Passport
Submit a copy of passport
Employment certificate
If a Japanese partner works for a company, the certificate need to be obtained from a company
The certificate of family register
A Japanese partner prepares the certificate of family register. If an applicant get married to a Japanese partner, Certificate of Acceptance of Marriage Report is needed to be prepared
The certificate needs to be within 3 months from the day of issuance
A copay of resident certificate
You need a resident certificate that describes all household member’s information. If an applicant has this certificate, a Japanese partner doesn’t need to get this.
Taxiation certificate of resident tax
The annual volume
Payment certificate of resident tax
The annual volume
A material that tells the fact of a relationship between applicant and a Japanese partner
A Japanese partner is also required to submit call logs (skype or phone), pictures (cloud image data), letters, etc…
Where to get the application forms and certificates
Where to call to make an inqury to
You should make an inqury to a regional district immigration office, which is close to where you live.
Here is a link to the page of the map of district immigration offices
Conclusion
After you prepare all the required certificates and application forms, you take those to an immigration office near where you live.
The most important thing for applicants is how perfect application forms they can complete. These documents’ perfectness is no-exaggeratedly to part ways between success and failure of the visa screening.
It is often the case that changing the way of writing creates a different impression on the visa examination officer. If you can afford to hire a visa consultant, you should ask a consultant to support your visa acquisition as an agency.
One more thing to be noted is that no matter how perfect your application forms are if you don’t satisfy the basic conditions of a spouse visa acquisition, your desire doesn’t come true.
If you still have concerns about the satisfaction of conditions, you should check the following article first.
The points to be noted to get a spouse visa in Japan after getting married to a Japanese partner.