Check before applying – What documents are required to apply for a visa for a spouse living abroad?
It is possible to apply for a spouse visa to bring your spouse living abroad to Japan and live with them.
In order to apply for a spouse visa, you will need to present various documents such as your passport and family register in addition to the prescribed application form.
Applying for a spouse visa can be time-consuming, but if you know the required documents in advance, the visa process will be much easier.
In this article you will find a list of documents required for a visa application for a spouse living abroad.
Documents required to apply for a spouse visa
The following documents are generally required to apply for a spouse visa:
- Application for Certificate of Eligibility
This certificate is required to apply for a spouse visa, as it is used by foreigners currently living abroad to obtain a visa to stay in Japan.
- Questionnaire
A document containing questions from the Immigration Bureau that must be answered in order to apply for a spouse visa.
The questions relate to how the couple got married, whether they used a marriage broker (marriage agency), and what language the couple uses in their daily conversations.
Immigration officers may also ask for evidence of how the relationship has been maintained (such as communication records), especially in cases of long-distance marriages.
- Letter of Guarantee
This is a document in which the details of the person who will vouch for the foreign spouse are entered.
A guarantor is a person who helps a foreigner who has obtained a visa to comply with the laws of Japan and to pay for the cost of returning home in case of financial difficulties.
- Additional documents required of the foreign spouse
Documents required of a foreign spouse applying for a spouse visa generally include:
- Passport
- Residence card
- Resume
- Documents proving their educational background (certificate of graduation from a college, etc.)
- Documents proving their Japanese language proficiency (certificate of Japanese language proficiency, etc.)
- Marriage certificate and translation (to prove that the marriage is registered in their home country)
- Certificate of residence tax, Certificate of tax payment
Additional documents required of the foreign spouse
Documents relating to the husband or wife of a foreign spouse applying for a spouse visa generally include:
- Certificate of residence
- Certificate of the family register (indicating the marriage)
- Certificate of residence tax, certificate of tax payment
- Certificate of employment (if the Japanese spouse works)
- Documents describing the place of work (copy of the website of the place of work, etc.)
- Property rental agreement (if the couple lives in a rental property)
- Property registration certificate (if the couple owns a residential property)
- Photos of the property they live in (to prove that they actually live there)
- Photos of their parents, wedding, travel destinations, etc. (as proof that they are actually a couple)
While photos are useful, they should be varied and span over a period of time, as submitting only wedding photos may raise suspicion of a marriage of convenience.
