spouse visa rejection?

I'm a Canadian currently on a tourist visa and my spouse and I are concerned that they might reject our spouse visa application because we have quite a few factors they may not like:

- there's a 20 year difference in our ages
- I've been married twice before to other Japanese (previous divorce is 15 years ago)
- we don't have any money and are living with her family
- my wife is just out of college and doesn't yet have a job so we essentially have no income

Is it likely immigration will reject a spouse visa under these circumstances?

By reading your circumstances, if I was an immigration officer I would turn that application down in a heartbeat, for all 4 reasons.

So would I but none of us is an immigration official...

I would like to say immigration does not really deny spouse visa as long as they can see that the marriage is genuine, but I would also reject your case on all four reasons too if I were an immigration officer, or ask you a whole bunch of questions at least. How long have you been married?

in my country it is not up to decide for immigration officers about the age difference or how often someone was married before. there is a clear checklist of requirements for this visa which can / can not be fullfilled. if you fullfill them, you get the visa. the only reason here would be the money point.

But Japan is not Austria, so that statement is pointless.

Yeah, just was surprised that those officers got so much power in japan. (compared to other countries). it seems more like a "person can decide other peoples fate by will" instead of some rational checklist, which was made by law

Glimpigumpi

It is not uncommon for immigration officers in any country to have to make a judgement call over whether a relationship is real or not. There are multiple factors here which would be indicators of a suspicious relationship (not defaming the OP - he seems to understand this himself, but just saying), and since most officers in Japan are risk averse.....

hmm, but shouldnt be those official the people who approve the marriage instead of those who approve the visa?

in austria married couples between an austrian and a foreigner are controlled by immigration police (e.g. to check if marriage is real). but visa is given on the fly without any question (if you fulfil the criteria like having enough money and so on) and it is not to decide if the couple has married out of love or not or if an age difference is quite high...

but: other countries other rules. :-)

How long have you been married? And how long this relationship have been ongoing? And can you prove that in some way?

but shouldnt be those official the people who approve the marriage instead of those who approve the visa?

No. Because even in western countries like the U.S., marriage is family law, not immigration law.

Glimpigumpi,

My continental European spouse and I (Japanese national, on a student visa back then) got married in the UK; getting married was no problem, all they had to see was that I had never been married and that my spouse's previous marriage had been dissolved. But when it came to attempting to obtaining UK spouse visa for me, things got complicated. In the case of UK it was clear: the European/UK spouse had to have a sufficiently-paying job to sustain the couple, so that the non-UK/European spouse would not rely on UK welfare.

Back then I was on a student visa and doing a part-time job, and my European spouse was working in a kitchen (you know how low kitchen jobs might pay), and together we were able to make a living. But his job not enough to get me a visa there.

In the case of Japan, the Japanese immigration authorities check to see if the marriage is genuine (the marriage procedure in Japan is just based on reporting, so it is quite simple), and that the non-Japanese spouse's true intention is not to work in Japan.

- there's a 20 year difference in our ages

That shouldn't be an issue provided the marriage is genuine.

I've been married twice before to other Japanese (previous divorce is 15 years ago)

Also shouldn't be an issue provided the previous marriages were properly dissolved and reported.

- we don't have any money and are living with her family

Most likely not an issue provided your inlaws are willing to be your guarantor.

- my wife is just out of college and doesn't yet have a job so we essentially have no income

Essentially the same as above.

I'm a Canadian currently on a tourist visa and my spouse

Also shouldn't be a problem. It is very usual for people to convert from tourist to spouse.

The biggest question I am wondering about is how long you have been married for. It could be an issue if it is for a very short time, and/or your overall relationship has been short.