Another Marriage & Living in Japan Query

First of all, I want to thank you for even opening up this thread & taking the time out to read it and hopefully reply to it with some useful information.

So here is my situation.

- Have lived in Japan on a spouse visa from 2014-2017. Left early 2017 to go back to Australia as I knew divorce was on the way. Divorced around October the same year.

- Came back Dec 2017 to get the rest of my possessions and to do what needed to be done to get closure. During that time, I met my future gf and we have been together since.

- I have been in and out of Japan for the past year on a tourist visa just visiting her and next month on her bday I will propose to her. She has one child (3 yrs old) from a previous marriage so we are both divorced.

- I've done my research and am all set to do what is needed to be done for our marriage at city hall end of this year/early next year. (Taking the rest of this year to save more money)


So now to my queries:

Which would be easier. To get married there and come back to Australia and apply for a spouse visa from the Japan embassy (financially speaking - expensive way) OR To get married there and after that, apply for a Change of Status of Residence (CSR) whilst being on a tourist visa (cheaper way)?

I have been married once and have gone through the spouse visa route from Australia but I'm curious about the latter route. Should I go choose the latter this time? If you know the pros and cons of it, please let me know.

All I know is that there was a lot of documents that I needed, the first time I got married. My wife at the time didn't have a job as she was in Australia with me on a WHV and her father passed away so she had to use her older brother as a guarantor for me (lucky he was working at a good company on a full-time basis). The embassy also asked for photos of me and her and our family together.

This time however, my current gf isn't making a lot a month (she does internet sales from her own place) and she's got a 3 year old to look after half the time. She does receive around 130,000Yen a month from her ex husband's parents but who knows how long that will last (most likely end of this year). She can use her father but he probably earns about the same amount a month as what she's getting from her ex's family. Her mother has been MIA since she was 3 so no good there either.

So either way, Spouse visa or CSR way, I'm still worried about the guarantor bit when it comes to documentation as income certificate and tax payment showing annual income. Her father and her aren't making enough to be a guarantor for me. Can she use her grandmother? although she's on her pension but getting a fair bit a month.

I do have savings of around 2 million yen (AUD27,000 approx.). If I show this to immigration, can this be an alternative way to guarantee that I can get by in Japan even without a job for awhile?

I will of course be getting a job as I will be the breadwinner of my new family but before that, the guarantor part needs to be addressed.

Please let me know your thoughts and experiences if any.

Thanks so much again for reading and looking forward to any replies. I will be regularly checking and replying to any relevant posts.

Regards,

E.

If you apply for visa there has to be a guarantor which will be your gf since you will marry her.
If your gf is not earning a lot this can effect the outcome of your application.
All you can find back on the website of the immigration (English available)

Your saving has no impact on the decision of the immigration.
The most important is your gf financial and stable status for supporting you and herself including child.

For guarantor, you can use your future father-in-law or your soon to be wife.

Personal experience,
used FIL as guarantor, he's a pensioner, wife not working. Went the COE+Visa route, took almost 3 months. Didn't require me to show my financial record. I'm from SE Asia.

So whether it's COE or CSR route, all application are treated differently. As long as you have all the relevant documents submitted, don't raise any doubt then hopefully should be no problem.

Thanks for both for the replies.

The think is, she�fs not making enough to be able to support me and her kid so the opposite will happen. I will be the one making the money to support them when I live there. I�fm guessing immigration won�ft see it that way. Even with my ample savings. Knowing Japanese bureaucracy.

Either way I still need a guarantor and I�fm guessing using my future wife will not be a good one.

�\-

So I can use a pensioner in this situation? Like her grandmother? She receives more in a month sitting at home than her father does workIng.

I guess I�fll have to try it to find out eh. I�fm definitely leaning more on the CSR way since I�fll be in Japan and we have direct face to face contact with immigration.

As far as I know: What the immigration authorities tend to want to see is stability/continuing financial viability in your household – that is why they don�ft value savings much. So maybe if you write out a letter (get your wife to type it up nicely in Japanese) outlining what you have been doing as a career, your prospects for finding a job in Japan soon (if possible in a similar field) etc., that might help.

I am saying this because when we (me = Japanese, my husband = non-Japanese, back then just got his contract in Japan terminated) applied for a change from his employer-sponsored work resident status to �gspouse of Japanese�h resident status while in Japan, we went with a similar letter, no additional guarantor (just me as the spouse being the guarantor, back then only on very limited freelance revenue). I am aware that the rules have changed that they specifically ask for a �gfinancial�h guarantor, and tax certificates too, but in my understanding something to show future prospects rather than savings might work. Best wishes.

AK - thanks for that. So what you�fre saying is that I write out a heartfelt letter to immigration? If possible, could you give me more details on what you wrote? The template and format of the letter as well would be very helpful.

I might do this letter and use my future father in law as guarantor if he still has a job that time. Do you think it�fs better to have two documentations just in case FIL�fs income isn�ft enough?

If I use my future FIL as guarantor that probably won�ft do since he lives by himself and doesn�ft make much a month either.

I thought guarantor means someone who can guarantee someone�fs livelihood in case something happens to him/her. In my case I don�ft have confidence in my future FIL. The opposite might happened and he might end up living with us in the near future considering how old he is (over 60).

OR

I have my future wife as guarantor and a heatfelt letter with a section of it explain why she has such low income per month. Also about her being a single mother and how I will find a job and become the main breadwinner of the household. Also maybe touching on how family is important and the boy needs a father figure in his life. Etc etc.

Haven�ft even started and I�fm already stressing out about this part of the process. :/

I doubt that heartfelt means much - but rather data supplied, and in this case beyond the facts of your wife's income - showing the basis for your expectation that you can/will become financially successful. Do you already have job offers? Will you work for a firm you previously worked for? Is the work you do in high demand? Was your previous income sufficient? Did you previously pay your taxes, including NHI in full? etc.

Express,

I agree with Paul that rather than �gheartfelt,�h putting in more realistic, matter-of-fact prospects into the letter might help. In our case, it was really simply a letter outlining the situation – that my husband HAD a job based on his ample experience in such and such a field, but that the current contract was unfortunately terminated due to company reorganization, but because of his experience we hope that he will find another job soon (which in reality took some time though lol – what happened later had no part in this). No format or whatever, just wrote out prospects for the future, sounding as if we were sure.

About the �gguarantor,�h I thought that the standard format, first and foremost, required the sponsor to sign – meaning in the case of �gspouse of Japanese national,�h the Japanese spouse. All she guarantees is that she makes sure you abide by the Japanese laws, and that she will be responsible for your travel back to your home country just IN CASE, isn�ft it? Whether she gets that money out of her savings or asks her family, that�fs another matter. DO they now require a financial guarantor separately??

So far I thought that guarantor is the Spouse.
The Spouse is the one who needs to make sure you are financial supported if needed.
Maybe it is changed, I have no idea. At the time I had to apply (10 years) ago it was Spouse no other party possible.

Well when I did the spouse visa way first time I got married the docs required were guarantor letter, income certificate and tax document showing annual income. Since my ex wife at the time wasn�ft working she used her older brother as guarantor and his financial docs. Her father passed away so and her mother is a pensioner so yea...

I guess this time if I go the CSR way I�fll probably need the same docs right?

From the immigration site:
Documents certifying that the profession and the income of the person concerned or his or her spouse.

And this form I will need to fill out, please confirm:
http://www.moj.go.jp/content/000103508.pdf

In the form it does have a section where it states �gmethod of support to pay for expenses while in Japan�h which will be self & I can just write down an estimate of how much I need at the moment to live (I�fll be on a tourist visa w. No job but with ample savings & staying at my future wife�fs residence) OR should I put self and the amount of my future salary. I dont want to put guarantor because they aren�ft giving me money at all.

Also the section �gremittance from abroad or carrying cash�h I�fm confused which I would choose - carrying from abroad or remittance from abroad. In simple words are they asking about cash I�fm carrying or if I can access savings from my home country bank account? I�fm abit lost here. Is this where I put the amount of my savings?

Also for �gDesired status of residence�h what should I put? Spouse visa? Or Spouse or child of Japanese national?

And last, for section 21 it says supporter which would be spouse and 22 it says guarantor. Can this be the same person? Or I should put my FIL for this?

Apologies for the many questions but just making sure I get it right.

I�fm not even sure if this is the right form or not lol. Anyway any other info or websites that I need please let me know.

Once again thanks all.

E

Sorry I forgot this important question

So when I arrive in Japan on a tourist visa next year to marry my j-girl, on the immigration form I would tick "OTHER"on the Purpose of visit section. Then write a sentence to elaborate on this.

Should I write "Visit my fiancé and child and to get married" OR just "Visit my fiancé and child" (he will technically be my child once we marry) and leave out the marriage part???

Would immigration question you on the marriage part and stop you from entering because they want you to not go through the CRS way but the COE way? I"m kinda worried about this actually.

Let me know thy thoughts people.

Thanks

E