Where/How do I renew my Spousal Visa?

I am a Canadian married to a Japanese national and my Spousal Visa will expire Feb. 2008. Please help. Thank you!

入国管理事務局ホームページ
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/index.html

..., why answer in Japanese?

Paul, on the off chance that you do not read Japanese, you need to go to your nearest Immigration office- if you are in the Tokyo area then the Shinagawa office.

You will need to bring some documents along- the Japan Immigration site given above may tell you, or you may need to make two trips to Immigration initially.
A good time to go is about a month to 3 weeks before your visa expires. It may then take a few weeks to process, but as long as you have the "Application" stamp in your passport you will be fine.

The earliest you can apply is 2 months before your visa expires. Note that while you are waiting for your visa to process you can't leave Japan- take this into account if planning any travel over winter.

If you travel outside Japan at all then it is a good idea to get your Re-entry permit at the same time- apply for it when you go to pick up your visa on the final visit, it takes about 20 minutes to process.

Incidentally, where did you get your visa originally? Not at the Immigration office?

i believe your visa is "Tokutei Sasho" visa and to renew (zairyukikan no koshin) it,you need following documents;
(ooo there are so many!)

*Application form (zairyukikan koshin shinseisho)
*Passport
*Alien Registration (not card but paper one)
*Abstract of your wife's family register (Koseki Tohon)
*Resident Card (Jyuuminhyo)
*yours or spouse's revenue report
*Guarantor's signature (this case Your wife:mimoto hosho jin)
*4000yen shunyu inshi (what is this? i dunno) you can buy it at convinient store

if you go Japan Ministry of Justice website you find FYIs and can download PDF of application forms and some how-to examples :)

so maybe you can start practicing now yes?

"Alien Registration (not card but paper one)"- I've never heard of any paper Alien Registration. All I have is the usual card and I've been renewing visas for year with it.

"4000 yen shunyu inshi"- this is a revenue stamp, and it is the fee for visa renewal. You buy it at the store on the 1st floor on the Immigration office (in the case of Shinagawa the 1st floor conbini, there will be a counter somewhere for other Immigration offices). You don't buy this until you receive the postcard telling you to come and get your visa stamp- you don't need it to apply.

it is obviously my mistake about alien registration and Sira's comment is the right answer. I thot you need to get a alien registrration proof from yakusho.

4000yen for handling fee is bit too much no? public service sucks here :( (personal opinion only)

*Alien Registration (not card but paper one)

I think he means the Certificate of Registered matters?

Hmm, it's possible he needs to get an extra paper from the ward/ city office then.

The really expensive one is the re-entry permit- 6000 yen every 3 years just for the right to leave and re-enter Japan on the same visa. At least I do have 3 years visas- people who have to pay the visa fee and the re-entry fee every year are much worse off.

Thank you to Sira, hohad and John. Your info is alot more than i had expected. Thank you, thank you, thank you. To answer your questions...

I got my visa (good for 3 years) in Canada in Calgary. And I do have the re-entry permit, the 3 year one from Shinagawa.

I have a another quick question though. Some people have mentioned about recieving a letter and/or post card from the immigration office on when to renew my visa. Is this true, or do I have to go to Shinagawa on my own account?

Thanks alot again all! (^_^)/

Sorry, I ment to say thank you hodad. Not hohad. ごめん　ね！

You will receive a postcard saying that your visa has been processed and that you can now come into the office and pick it up.

Some people have mentioned about recieving a letter and/or post card from the immigration office on when to renew my visa. Is this true, or do I have to go to Shinagawa on my own account?

As Sira mentioned, AFTER you've applied for the renewal, they will send you a postcard to you in order to (1) check that you actually do live at that address, and (2) to notify you that they have processed your application and that the visa is ready for you to come and pick up.

But they do not send a reminder postcard when your current visa's expiry approaches. You have to go to Immigration office on your own account.

nu problem Paul. いいだよー

Ak, thank you very much for making it clear that I do have to go on my own account.

on another note, may i ask which countries, are everyone from?

Paul,
I am Japanese, married to an EU national (currently on spouse visa), that's
why I've been to the Immigration Office many times with him :)