Working Holiday married to Japanese national

Hi, I'm married to a Japanese national. However, we married outside Japan. We were wondering if it's easier for me to just move to Japan on a WHV visa which I would still be able to apply for. We would then hand in all the documents and apply for a spouse visa from within Japan.

1) Is this a good idea or should we just apply straight for the spouse visa?
2) Would there be any issues applying for a WHV visa while being married to a Japanese person?
3) I would work remotely for a company outside Japan. Would there be any issues doing so on a WHV. As far as I read there is no clear answer to this. I would also inquire about this with the local Japanese embassy.

Thanks for your help :)

I am not a lawyer, but as far as I know:

Usually when someone considers a path like this (meaning, going for a �gchange of resident status�h from a rather short-term status to �gspouse�h while in Japan, instead of applying for spouse visa from outside Japan), the potential benefit would be that you don�ft have to wait for the CoE (certificate of eligibility) then the visa to be processed and issued, while living outside Japan, away from your Japanese spouse.

Is that the case here too, meaning, she is in Japan right now and you are in your home country?

If not, meaning if both of you are living outside Japan together, then if I were you, I would apply for the spouse visa. The waiting time might not make a big difference.


I have heard of people meeting someone and �ggetting married�h while being on a Working Holiday Visa (WHV), either to a Japanese or to another national, then changing the resident status from WH to �gspouse,�h which seems to be allowed (according to a few immigration lawyers�f websites).

But in your case, since you are already married, there is a chance that immigration might say apply for spouse visa directly, because your purpose is obviously not �gto travel extensively in Japan�h but �gto live in Japan with your Japanese spouse.�h Best wishes.

the application of COE can be performed by a proxy person, like Japanese parents. (of course, your Japanese partner can do it.)
so that, you just waste your time by overthinking and hesitating.
there is no advantage such as that the change of status is easier than COE, because they request you almost the same official documents.
when you can't provide the documents which they request, in both cases, your application will not be granted.