Why

I found if you want to stay in Japan for more than 3yrs you have to get married. is that true?

that is incorrect. It is theoretically easier to stay in Japan longer (and even indefinitely) if you are married to a Japanese national, but that doesn't mean that it is difficult if you are not.

There are other ways to do it, such as be a university student under a student visa.

Wherever or whoever told you that is wrong.

You can stay in Japan for as long as you want and not be married, assuming you had the appropriate visas, status, and extensions etc.

Is it true that you are not always granted the extention on your visa?

MrsValen,

Is it true that you are not always granted the extention on your visa?

Yes, it's true.

Is it true that you are not always granted the extention on your visa?

It depends on many factors.
First if your visa allows extensions. Some visas do not allow extensions, and some visas have extension limits.

Other factors include your current situation in Japan. If you are a good member of the community (for example no run ins with the police). If you have a good job and income.

There are many many factors that apply, so for each person it is different.

If your visa allows it to be extended, you have a job and income, then *most cases it will get extended without problems.

That has to be sad if i couldnt get a extention. But I read some where that i would have to keep an open mind to find someone to marry in case i couldnt get a extension. they were saying in this article that some foreigners wanted to get a extention, couldnt get the extention the same day they applied and ended up waiting for the approval in japan. they ended up getted arrested and got locked up for 5yrs, just for staying in Japan for that extra day. I would like to know if thats true, because i dont want a sugerdaddy just to stay in Japan for a few years.

http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+45013

I assume you're the one who also asked this question - I wonder what you really want to do in Japan? :) In any case, marrying for visa is not the right thing to do...

I don't know what article you are referring to.

But I think you're making a big deal out of nothing.

You are not required to marry anyone to stay in Japan longer then 3 years as long as your visa allows you to.

The person in the article you described overstayed his visa, overstaying your visa is not good no matter which way you try to justify it. If you ever need an extension apply with plenty of time to spare.
Because I don't know what you read, I don't know what visa they had to begin with. I don't think it was jail for 5 years, but usually a ban from reentering Japan for five years if you overstay your visa. Two different things.

Getting married has nothing to do with getting a Visa extensions depending on what type of visa you had to begin with, and it certainly is not required to stay in Japan that long.

I was in Japan for 7 years before I got married, on working visas the whole time. It is possible to keep renewing your working visa indefinitely as long as you still meet all the requirements and have not given them a reason to decline your application.

I didnt mean to be rude or offend anyone... i read this article a couple of days ago, the person that post it did say that this guy has a chip on his shoulder. http://www.debito.org/ i guess he moved to japan in the 80s, got a citizenship and changed his name, and got married to a japanese woman.At the bottom of his page he tells how to become a citizen and how long you can actully stay in Japan, and that story, about the travelers that got prisoned for staying one extra day over the visa limit... I understand not to go over the limits. But this is the story where I got my question from,and the reason why i asked my question... I see in my furture to become one of Japans citizens but i will not marry to be one. and i glad i dont have 2

Yes many of us are aware of Debito. Some of us agree with him, some of us disagree with him, some agree and disagree with him.

Take your pick.

Does Debito actually say you you have to be married to stay more than 3 years in Japan? You must have misunderstood something he wrote.

Also, if you have never been to Japan, or stayed here more than a few weeks, it is very premature to be thinking of becoming a citizen. The vast majority of people who stay here long term don't ever become citizens or even want to. Permanent residency is much easier to obtain and takes 5 to 10 years without a lot of the hassle of becoming a citizen.

Even thinking about permanent residency is premature if you don't have a job here and have never lived here- so many people find that the reality of Japan is very, very different from what they imagined.

If you are serious about coming here, you need to think more about what kind of job you could get and what kind of visa you could stay on- don't worry about permanent residence or citizenship at this point, see if you like the place first.