Provided the various requirements have been met, foreign national spouses of Japanese nationals (or permanent residents of Japan) are eligible to reside in Japan through a spouse visa, which upon expiration will require extension.
In addition to the Standard Documentation, documentation required to extend a spouse visa typically includes:
- The Japanese spouse’s certificate of family register (戸籍謄本 or "koseki tohon"), which in general can only be obtained by the spouse, their immediate family, or a legal representative in the city hall (市役所 or "shiyakusho") in the ward/city/town where the spouse’s family is registered (not necessarily where the married couple currently lives) and marriage certificate to prove marriage to the applicant
- The applicant’s certificate of residence (住民票 or "juminhyo") from the city hall in the ward/city/town in which the applicant resides
- The Japanese spouse’s income tax certificate (納税証明書 or "nozei shomeisho") and resident tax certificate (課税証明書 or "kazei shomeisho") from the city hall in the ward/city/town in which the Japanese spouse resides, in addition to certification evidencing the employment of the Japanese spouse. The applicant is recommended to also obtain these certificates for their own tax payments, if applicable
- A letter of guarantee (身元保証書 or "mimoto hoshosho"), to be filled out by the Japanese spouse
The above information is applicable to the extension of foreign national and Japanese spouse marriage visas.
Please contact us for further details about what is required for extension of foreign national and permanent resident marriage visas.
It should be noted that the application form for extension of spouse visas allows the applicant to specify their "desired length of extension" for the visa (6 months, 1 year, 3 years, or 5 years), however there is no guarantee the ISA will grant the period requested.
Children of Japanese nationals (who themselves are not Japanese nationals) and permanent residents are also eligible to obtain status of residence in Japan under the family related visa category.
Please contact us for further details about the documentation required and procedures involved in extension of these visa categories.
We will also explain our services and how we can assist.
Foreign nationals who have become stranded in Japan and unable to return to their home country due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic may be eligible for an extension to their period of stay.
Please refer to current ISA information and contact us for further details and assistance.