Three types of review periods for spouse visa applications
A spouse visa is a visa for a spouse who has married a Japanese national (a person with Japanese citizenship) to reside in Japan.
It takes a while to find out if your visa has been approved or denied since the day you applied for it.
There are three methods for applying for a spouse visa. Please note that the estimated processing time varies depending on the method.
In this article you will find an overview of the approximate duration of the review process when applying for a spouse visa for each method.
Review period for certificate of eligibility application
If you are applying for a certificate of eligibility for status of residence, the review period for a spouse visa is approximately 1 to 3 months.
An application for a certificate of eligibility is an application procedure for inviting a foreign spouse living abroad to Japan.
This is the case, for example, when a Japanese citizen is married to a foreign spouse living in country A and applies to bring her husband to Japan to live with him.
When applying for a certificate of eligibility, the review time is usually longer than for the other two procedures.
The examination may take about a month longer than the other procedures. So be prepared to wait a while for the results.
Review period for application for permission to change residence status
If you are applying for permission to change your residency status, it will take approximately 2 weeks to 2 months to process your spouse visa.
The application for permission to change residence status is an application procedure for changing to a spouse visa when you are in Japan on a visa other than a spouse visa, such as a work or student visa.
For example, if a foreigner who is in Japan on a work visa marries a Japanese who works in the same company, they can change to a spouse visa.
If you apply for approval to change your residency status, you need to obtain it before the current visa expires, so the review period is usually short.
Review period for the application for extension of stay
If you are applying for an extension of stay, the review period for a spouse visa is approximately 2 weeks to 2 months.
The application for change of status of residence is an application process to extend the spouse visa you currently have.
If you are applying for a permit to change your residency status, the review period is usually short, as you need to obtain it before the current visa expires.
This method cannot be used if you are applying for a spouse visa for the first time, as you must already have a spouse visa to apply for this procedure.