CoE application for spouse visa

Hello,

I have a question concerning the CoE application for spouse visa.

My Japanese husband and me started dating nearly 3 years ago (03/2019) and got married last year in December. Now we started to prepare all the necessary documents for the CoE application.

But we are a lil bit afraid that the application might be rejected, because he was already married once to another foreign girl from EU in 2018 (but only for 3 months). In order to get married, I was handing in his case to the court in my home country and his divorce was officially acknowledged by them. The result is valid for all EU countries.

Just some information of our relationship: We started dating in 3/2019, from 8/2019 until 8/2020 we were living together in Japan, and since then we are having a long-distance relationship, because of the travel ban.

We prepared a long statement (around 14 pages) for the immigration, and with more than 10 pages of pictures (during traveling, New Year with his family, pictures with my family etc), we have a marriage certificate from my home country, his tax documents, and he also wrote a statement concerning his previous marriage.

Was someone of you in an equal situation and can give us maybe some advices, how we can explain his past relationship?
He was still a university student back then and it was definitely kind of a "childhood mistake".

Thank you in advance everyone!

I think you're overthinking this. I mean, if he's been married before, he should state that he's been married before and you provide the correct documentation, since you're already married with him, that has already happened. Being married twice to a foreign person doesn't mean immigration will think he has a European-woman importing business. Go for it, doubt they'll reject you. If you're really THAT scared, drop the stacks and just get a lawyer (they'll even write all needed statements for you), they only charge if you get your visa.

I agree that you are overthinking.

No matter what his previous marriage was, it was properly dissolved so that the two of you are now married, and so the marriage is legit, and from what you describe about your relationship, it sounds to me a genuine relationship.

In our case, um, my non-Japanese spouse was married before, which got dissolved properly, he got married to another Japanese woman (me :) ), but, well, nothing is wrong with that? :)