Do foreigners living in Japan always have to change their visa status to “Spouse or Child of Japanese National日本人の配偶者等”, “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident永住者の配偶者等”, or “Dependent家族滞在” when they get married internationally? If there is no impact on your stay in Japan without changing your visa status, you are not required to change your visa status. Although it is often thought that a family visa has no work restrictions and has many advantages, it also has some unexpected disadvantages. In this part, we will explain when it is necessary to change to a family visa and the advantages and disadvantages of the family visa.
Do I have to change to a family visa after an international marriage?
The answer is “No”. If your residency will not be affected without changing your visa, you can leave your visa as it is.
If you are already a resident of Japan and are residing in Japan under a different status (for example, a work visa such as “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services技術・人文知識・国際業務”), you are not required to immediately change your status of residence to “Spouse or Child of Japanese National” upon marrying a Japanese national.
This is also stated in the Immigration Service Agency’s Q&A
Ｑ．I have a status of residence of “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services” and I still have about one year left in my period of stay. I am planning to marry a Japanese woman soon, but do I need to go through the procedures to change my status of residence?
Immigration Service Agency「Immigration inspection/Residency inspection Q&A」Ｑ33
Ａ．If there is no change in your job in Japan and you continue to engage in the same job, it is possible to stay in Japan with your current status of “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services”. After getting married to a Japanese person, it is also possible to apply for permission to change the status of residence to “Spouse of Japanese National, etc.”. In addition, if permission to change the status of residence to “Spouse of Japanese National, etc.” is granted, there will be no restrictions on work activities (occupations).
As stated above, if there is no change in your activity (work), you are not required to change your status to “Spouse or Child of Japanese National”. You may change your status of residence at the time of the next extension of your period of stay, or you may change it immediately, or you may renew your “current” status of residence at the time of the next renewal of your period of stay.
(However, some Immigration Service Agency counseling offices may “recommend” that you change your status.)
Cases in which the visa must be changed to a family visa
When you quit the activity of your current status of residence (for example, when you quit your job or graduate from school), you must promptly change your status of residence, even if you still have the period of stay. This section describes the “cases in which you must change your status of residence”.
The basic premise is that in order to change to a family visa, one must meet the requirements for a family visa.
The basic premise is that the applicant must meet the conditions necessary to change to a family visa (“Spouse or Child of Japanese National,” “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident,” “Family Dependent,” etc.).
The requirements for these residency statuses vary in terms of the content, severity, and standards by which they are examined, but they all have one thing in common. In addition, what status of residence will be applied as a result of the international marriage (“Spouse or Child of Japanese National,” “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident,” “Dependent,” etc.) will depend on the nationality and status of residence of the married partner.
*Please note that the requirements for the three statuses of residence (visa)
( “Spouse or Child of Japanese National,” “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident,” and “Dependent”) cannot be explained together, so please understand them as a general framework.
First, you must be married and basically living together and sharing your life together. If you are engaged or about to get married, you cannot apply for these visas. Therefore, even in the case of a “case where you must change to a family visa” as explained in the next section, if you are not married, depending on the situation, you may have to return to your home country, get married, and then apply for a new status of residence and come back to Japan.
Also, of course, please be aware that sham marriages for visa purposes are illegal.
Cases where you must change to a family visa
If you wish to stop activities determined by your current status of residence and spend your married life in Japan, you will need to change your status of residence. The following are some common cases.
Quit your job upon marriage (during the marriage)
If you are already working in Japan with a work visa (e.g., “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services”) and you are leaving the workforce upon marriage and not seeking new employment (i.e., becoming a full-time housewife), you will need to change to a family visa such as “Spouse or Child of Japanese National,” “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident,” or “Dependent” since a work visa is granted on condition that you work.
At the beginning, we explain “upon marriage,” but this can be changed at any time during the marriage period. There is no rule that says that the change can only be made within 〇days after the marriage is registered. However, changes cannot be made in the event of divorce or the death of a spouse.
Getting married upon graduation from school.
If you graduate from school and get married without finding a job, you need to change your visa status to a family visa. However, if the student graduates from school and finds a job, and the work involves activities permitted under a work visa, the visa may be changed to a work visa such as “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services” or “Education” visa.
Even if you quit your job or graduated from school and your current period of stay is still valid, you must change your status of residence as soon as possible, because if you do not do so within 3 months from the date you quit your activity, it will be grounds for revocation of your status of residence.
Changing to a family visa may have disadvantages.
Changing status of residence (visa) to a family visa (especially “spouse or child of Japanese national” or “spouse or child of permanent resident”) has both advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages of changing to a family visa
Let me first explain the advantages of changing to a family visa.
As stated in the Immigration Service Agency’s Q&A, there are no restrictions on work activities (job types) for “Spouse or Child of Japanese National”.
In other words, you are free to work part-time, work in an occupation that is not permitted with a work visa (e.g., line work at a factory in “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services”), or start your own business. You can work as freely as a Japanese national.
When changing jobs, there is no need to worry about whether the next job fits your visa, and there is no problem even if you have been unemployed for a long period of time after leaving your previous company until you find your next company. You do not have to work as long as you maintain your visa status as long as your marriage continues.
With a work visa, there are restrictions on the period of unemployment and the activities (work) required for each visa status, so it is difficult to freely choose a job even if you want to change jobs, and the company needs to consider the nature of the work. On the other hand, if you change your visa status to a family visa (“Spouse or Child of Japanese National”, “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident”, “Dependent”, etc.), you do not have to worry about these issues.
“Dependent” can engage in part-time work up to 28 hours per week within the scope of their dependent status if they obtain a Permission to engage in activities other than those permitted under the status of residence. However, the job cannot be any type of work, and the applicant may not engage in any type of business that is regulated by Act on Control and Improvement of Amusement Business.
If you have been working on a work visa since before your marriage, you should not change your visa status to “Dependent” if you do not quit your full-time job.
Disadvantages of changing to a family visa
During the marriage, you may be unemployed and you are free to work, except for “Dependent” status. Since this is a very easy way to live, many people change their status to “spouse or child of Japanese national” or “spouse or child of permanent resident”. However, there is the biggest disadvantage to changing to “Spouse or Child of Japanese National” or “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident”. When changing to a family visa for the first time, the period of stay is likely to be “one year”.
This is not uncommon, even if you have been in Japan for a long time and have previously received the longest “5-year” period of stay on a work visa, as soon as you change your status to “spouse or child of Japanese national” or “spouse or child of permanent resident,” you may receive “1-year” period of stay. Many people can receive a “3-year” or “5-year” period of stay by repeating appropriate stays.
For those who are married to a Japanese national or a permanent resident, the requirement for “years of residence in Japan”, which is necessary when applying for permanent residence permit to become a “permanent resident” or for naturalization permit to become a “Japanese citizen”, is relaxed compared to the general public. However, you must have “3 years” or “5 years” of residence in Japan to apply for these (application for naturalization permit is on a case-by-case basis). In many cases, the period of stay immediately after changing the status to “spouse or child of Japanese national” or “spouse or child of permanent resident” is “one year”, and this can lead to a situation where an application to become a “permanent resident” or “Japanese national” cannot be filed immediately.
This means that if you already have a “3-year” or “5-year” visa, you may not be able to apply for an application that you would have been able to if you had not changed to a family visa.
Therefore, it may be advisable to carefully consider various factors before deciding whether or not you should change your status of residence (visa) upon marriage.
Above all, the one-year period of stay may cause you some anxiety and inconvenience. The status of residence of “spouse or child of Japanese national” or “spouse or child of permanent resident” has its merits, but it also has its demerits.
For those on a “Dependent” visa, the period of stay is set to be the same as that of the spouse (wife/husband) working on a work visa.
Conclusion
The above is an explanation of the topic of whether you should change your status to “Spouse or Child of Japanese National”, “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident”, or “Dependent” when you get married.
In conclusion, if you can stay in Japan without changing your status, you do not need to change it.
Especially, “Spouse or Child of Japanese National” and “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident” seem to be very advantageous in life because there is no limitation of employment and no problem of being unemployed.
However, there is a disadvantage that in many cases, the first time you change your status, it will be for one year, and it will take time before you receive the “3 years” or “5 years” status. These are necessary requirements to become a “permanent resident” or “Japanese citizen” and may cause you to not be able to apply for a while.
