Spouse visa question

Hello! I recently married a Japanese citizen, and I suppose our next step is to apply for my visa, but the thing is, I only have about a week left until I leave Japan. So I was thinking I'd go back to America then come back to Japan again so we would have a full 3 months for me to apply, but then my friend told me that immigration might not let me back in Japan because it would "look suspicious" that I'm on a tourist visa despite being married to a Japanese citizen. I called the embassy here in Osaka and they didn't know anything about it, and I emailed the Japanese embassy in my home state and they gave me a generic useless reply that seemed as if they didn't even read my question so I'm very worried and confused..... Will I not be able to live with my husband? This seems very weird and kind of cruel that they'd have laws that make it so married people can't be together.... And it would be even harder to have him come live in America since the visa laws are far more difficult in America.... So I'm scared me and my husband won't be able to be together..... I seriously hope my friend is mistaken. Surely it's ok to re-enter Japan on a tourist visa while married to a Japanese citizen..... If they do question it surely if I just tell them the truth that we got married at the end of my trip and I didn't know it would cause trouble if I left and came back they'd understand, wouldn't they...?

Any help is appreciated! We're very worried!

You can apply for your spouse visa at your local Japanese consulate in America.

I am not from the US, so I can't really give you a helpful reply on how your marriage works. However, I would like to respond to the following:

Will I not be able to live with my husband?

The immigration officers, indeed, have no intentions to separate you and your husband. They have thousands of international marriages applications everyday. So, they need to verify if the marriage is genuine. You are from the US, you already visited Japan, also you spent enough time with your husband...So, apparently your marriage doesn't sound as a sham marriage.I don't think you should worry that much.

They won't cause issues unless they have solid reasons to make them think your marriage is not genuine. I will give you an example:

-Someone met a Japanese person on the internet, invited Japanese person to his country, and got married in the same month=this could be a problem. Japanese person has to visit the other person in his country and stay with him longer than a month or two/the marriage should be in the same met you met.... Also, for the marriage to appear somehow genuine. The couple has to have met each at least twice and stayed in touch longer than 12 months to 2 years.
When asking for visa, it is necessary to provide them with pictures of the marriage party, family pictures, honey moon pictures in the different country would be awesome...All should be submitted as supporting documents.

I think all you should do is to ask the immigration on what you need to do next. Just follow their guidance. Provide all the documents they ask for. You will certainly be with your husband. You are not coming from a third world country, they will not make the process very complicated for you. Stay positive!

Going outside of, then coming back into, the country within a very short period of time in order to get 3 more months permission to stay in Japan is commonly called a "visa run," and many people do it to/from Korea in order to stay in Japan longer. That's probably what your friend was referring to. Immigration will sometimes allow that once, but it looks suspicious because its a common way to "extend" the 3 month tourist visa to 6 or longer without actually overstaying, and can be (and is) abused. So immigration is on the lookout for people who do that.

For you, I think you've got three options.

The first is to go to immigration before you leave Japan and apply for the spouse visa. If you've got all the documents correct, they will probably extend the time you're allowed to stay in the country to something like 2 months, and during that time you will be able to stay with your new husband while immigration reviews your application. You will probably receive a reply and a 1 year spouse visa if your marriage is legitimate before those 2 months are up; however, if it goes past the 2 months extra, you will have to leave.

The second option is to go ahead and leave, and apply for a COE from the US. This is the safest option, but it also means probably the longest time spent away from your husband. The Japanese embassy closest to you will process the paperwork, and give you a spouse visa that you use to enter Japan legitimately. It can take a few months though (I've heard).

The third option is the "visa run" style, where you leave the country and come back for another 3 month tourist visa. If its your first time ever to do it you may be fine, but its the riskiest option because immigration does get onto people doing that and could deny you entry. But then, that gives you 3 months to stay in Japan with your husband and apply for the spouse visa. It isn't too different from the first option though.

Anyway, I'd go to immigration right away with your husband and talk with them directly, and confirm that when you apply for the spouse status you'll get those 2 months extra to stay. If that's the case, that's probably the best answer for you. Good luck!

See my problem even if I try to apply for the visa before I leave is that I only have a week left before I leave... I don't feel like that's enough time and I assumed since I'm married it would be ok if I went back home then came back to apply for the visa. What exactly is a COE and how would I go about getting one? If it takes a long time my husband can come visit me so we won't have to be separated for too long.

Sorry but one week is not enough for visa. And Just to be clear you cant get a visa in Japan, only embassies in foreign countries issue it. It means you have to go back to US to and apply at the Japan embassy in your state.

COE ( certificate of eligibility) is what the immigration bureau issues in Japan. Your spouse or the one who will support you will be able to apply for this while you are in the US. The length of the CoE processing time varies from 2-3 months (special cases maybe more). Once the CoE is completed it is sent you so you can finish applying at embassy.

You can opt for the no CoE, but this will take even longer.

Also
The success rate of coming as tourist visa to spouse is 0%. Airport immigration will only give residence cards to visa holders, not short-term visitors. Change of status of residence only works if you have a visa with residence status (work visa).

When you apply for a spouse resident status, you should automatically get a 2 MONTH EXTENSION on your permission to stay in Japan. So no, 1 week isn't enough time to apply, but it won't be 1 week, it SHOULD be 2 months once you turn in the paperwork. As I said, you should confirm that point with immigration, but that's how its been every time I've applied regardless of how much time I had left on my current status. Now if you mean it'll take you longer than 1 week to get the paperwork and get to immigration, then yes, that is a problem.

A COE is a Certificate of Eligibility to enter Japan (http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/kanri/shyorui/01.html).

Basically, there are 2 ways to get a legitimate resident status to stay in Japan longer than a 3 month tourist status. The first is to apply outside of Japan through your closest embassy, which is what the COE is. Once you've turned in the paperwork, you wait outside of Japan, and then from the embassy you're granted permission to enter Japan with a visa, which is exchanged for a resident card at the airport. You don't come back to Japan until you get that permission.

The second way is if you are already IN Japan, to change your status from tourist status to Spouse of Japanese National. As I said above, you'd go to immigration with all the paperwork, and upon acceptance of your application, you should be granted a 2 month extension from the time of application that you're allowed to stay in Japan. This is true whether you apply within the week, or you leave the country, come back to Japan, and apply with 3 months left on your tourist status. It doesn't matter which you do, as the end result is the same; within the 2 months (if your marriage is legitimate and all the paperwork correct), you should receive a 1 year permission to stay in Japan resident status. That's why I recommend getting the paperwork in NOW, as it removes the need to leave and reenter Japan, which could raise the suspicions of immigration.

Also, @Guestastic

The success rate of coming as tourist visa to spouse is 0%

Frankly this is completely wrong. Immigration WANTS people to go the COE route as it gets them out of the country until they've got a legitimate status, but changing your resident status from tourist to spouse, or tourist to work, happens all the time.

Yes, its impossible to get a VISA from inside Japan, because a VISA is the document that allows entry into a country. What OP wants isn't a VISA, it is a Resident Status, which you CAN change within Japan. The problem is the terminology is used interchangeably, so its confusing.


tl;dr: OP, go to immigration immediately with all your paperwork to apply for the Change of Status: http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/kanri/shyorui/02.html

You'll need to have your husband collect a number of documents and fill out some forms in Japanese, so I recommend you go over the necessary documents with him, or have him check in Japanese to make sure you've got everything. If you absolutely can't get the paperwork together before your status expires, then you'll have to make a decision of what to do. Just note, you'll STILL need all that paperwork no matter what, so do your best to collect it all ASAP.

@scarreddragon
Frankly this is completely wrong. Immigration WANTS people to go the COE route as it gets them out of the country until they've got a legitimate status, but changing your resident status from tourist to spouse, or tourist to work, happens all the time.

It happens all the time but that does not make it legal. In the end those who do that get caught.

I know an immigration lawyer who has stated the same. You need to be a resident in already in japan to change your status.

About the two-month extension...

Its purpose is to allow you to stay in Japan while your application is being processed even if your current status expires, since normally you cannot legally stay in Japan with an expired status. In particular, it starts on the expiration date of your current status, and not on the day you submit your application, so for example if you have one month left on your current status when you submit your application, you can stay for three months, not two.

Another thing worth noting for future reference is that during this two-month "grace period", you are still under your old status, so all its conditions still apply (especially regarding permission to work). And yet another is that if you have obtained a separate permission to work (engage in an activity other than blah blah blah), the extension does not automatically apply to it, and you may have to apply for a new permission to allow you to work during this period.

It happens all the time but that does not make it legal. In the end those who do that get caught.

Utter nonsense. In order to obtain a change of status, you have to go to immigration and apply for it. If immigration grants it, as it often does, it's because they consider it legal. And they are the one calling the shots, not you or the immigration lawyer you claim to know.

if you got marriage during your stay in Japan and your spouse (a Japanese) has a firm job in a famous company, it will be easy.
most official documents can be collected within a day or a few days.
http://shortstay-visa.com/service/marriage.html

I had my husband call immigration office and they said I should be fine so that answers my questions. And they said I can and should apply for the visa in Japan.