Spouse Visa After Divorce
Spouse visa after divorce in Japan does not cancel your residence card on the spot, but it starts two clocks you must act on.12 If you hold a spouse-based status, you must notify immigration within 14 days and move to a new status before revocation risk or card expiry catches you.
Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the Immigration Services Agency site. This article is general information, not legal, tax, or immigration advice; for your specific case, consult a licensed immigration lawyer or gyoseishoshi for the status change, or a family-law specialist for custody or a contested divorce.
Overview
Divorce ends the marital basis of a spouse-based status of residence, not the card in your pocket. Your residence card stays valid until its printed expiry date, but you cannot renew it on the spouse basis once the marriage has legally ended.12
The reverse move is covered in Spouse Visa Application After Marriage Registration, which describes how a new spouse status is granted. This article starts where the marriage ends: what the divorce changes, which clocks start, and which status you move to next.
Immigration rules in this article apply nationwide through the Immigration Services Agency (ISA). The civil divorce registration itself is a separate municipal filing with office-by-office details; confirm those directly with the office where you file.3
| Japanese term | Romaji | English gloss |
|---|---|---|
| 在留資格 | zairyū shikaku | Status of residence |
| 日本人の配偶者等 | Nihonjin no haigūsha tō | Spouse or Child of Japanese National |
| 永住者の配偶者等 | eijūsha no haigūsha tō | Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident |
| 定住者 | teijūsha | Long-Term Resident |
| 特定活動 | tokutei katsudō | Designated Activities |
Which statuses are affected
Only statuses based on the marriage are affected, so check the status printed on your residence card first. The table below uses the ISA's own scope for the notification duty and the revocation provision.31
| Your status | Effect of divorce | 14-day notification |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse or Child of Japanese National, residing as the spouse | Marital basis lost; cannot renew as spouse; revocation possible after 6 months without spousal activities | Yes31 |
| Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident, residing as the spouse | Same as above | Yes31 |
| Dependent, residing as the spouse | Basis lost; change status promptly | Yes3 |
| Permanent Resident, or a work or study status in your own right | Not affected | No45 |
The "child" position is unaffected: a child of a Japanese national keeps that status when the parents divorce.2 Spouse statuses run 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, or 6 months per grant (as of 2026-09-08; confirm current figures with the Immigration Services Agency), and the Spouse of Permanent Resident bands match (as of 2026-09-08).45
The 14-Day Notification and the 6-Month Rule
Readers conflate these two duties because both start at divorce. They are separate obligations with separate consequences, so treat them as two clocks running side by side.
How to file the spouse notification
Article 19-16(iii) requires mid- to long-term residents in the spouse position under Dependent, Spouse or Child of Japanese National, or Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident to notify the ISA Commissioner within 14 days of divorcing or being bereaved.3
Three filing channels exist, and the online route runs around the clock. File through the e-Notification system (24 hours, 365 days, no supporting documents), in person with your residence card at the competent regional bureau, or by post with the reference form plus a residence-card copy sent trackably to the Tokyo bureau report desk.3
ISA sends no receipt confirmation for postal notifications, so a mailed notice can vanish without a trace. Send it by a trackable method and keep the tracking record with your copy of the form.3
The municipal divorce registration and this immigration notification are separate filings. One never substitutes for the other, and ISA's change guideline counts notification-duty performance as a criterion in later change examinations.36
What the 6-month revocation risk actually measures
Article 22-4(1)(vii) lets the Minister of Justice revoke the status of a person residing as a spouse who continuously fails to engage in activities as a spouse for 6 months or more while in Japan, unless just cause exists. The provision expressly excludes the child and special-adoptee positions.1
The clock measures a continuous period without spousal activities, not mechanically six months from the registration stamp. Where the marriage had already ended in substance, practitioner guides read the period as capable of starting before the divorce is final (limitation: practitioner interpretation of the statutory wording, not a separate ISA sentence).172
Revocation is discretionary, never automatic, and requires a prior hearing where you may state opinions, submit evidence, and inspect materials. For this ground the outcome is a departure period of up to 30 days for voluntary departure, not same-day deportation; missing that window leads to deportation and criminal-penalty exposure.1
ISA publishes examples of cases where revocation is not carried out for this ground. Practitioner summaries describe pending divorce mediation or litigation, refuge from spousal violence, expense-sharing separation, and long absence for a relative's illness as listed cases, with the list expressly non-exhaustive (as of 2026-08-28; practitioner summary of ISA PDF examples whose line items await text re-fetch).89
A renewal filed on the spouse basis after the marriage has ended will be refused, because the relationship justifying the status no longer exists. Concealing the divorce is misrepresentation, itself a revocation ground with possible criminal consequences; apply for a change to a status you genuinely qualify for instead.12
The two clocks look like this when placed side by side:
Conversion Paths After Divorce
After divorce you change to whichever status you genuinely qualify for, examined under Article 20's reasonable-grounds standard against the ISA change guideline. Marriage to a Japanese National describes the ward-office filing that begins a marriage; the paths below are where a marriage's immigration ending is resolved.106
The realistic routes compare as follows, from strongest to residual. Long-Term Resident after divorce is a discretionary permission, never an automatic conversion; length of marriage, established life in Japan, and care of children are weighed case by case.1167
Long-Term Resident when raising a Japanese child in custody
This is the documented strongest post-divorce route, because ISA gives great weight to a Japanese child's stable upbringing. Practitioner sources describe grants regardless of marriage length where custody plus actual daily care is proven (as of 2026-01-29; confirm current practice with the Immigration Services Agency; practitioner pattern drawn alongside ISA's published approval and denial examples).11127
The examination focuses on the reality of childcare, not the custody paper alone. Evidence centers on the family register showing the parent-child link, proof of cohabitation and daily care, school or daycare records, and household finances showing you support the child (as of 2026-06-21).2
Long-Term Resident periods run 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, 6 months, or an individually designated period within 5 years (as of 2026-09-08).11
Long-Term Resident on established ties without a child in custody
Without a child in custody the grant is fully discretionary, weighed against settlement factors such as genuine married life in Japan, financial independence, tax and social-insurance compliance, and conduct. The guideline adds good conduct, independent livelihood at household level, and fulfilled tax and notification duties to the same test.116
Practitioner casework describes roughly 3 or more years of genuine marital cohabitation as a spouse-status holder as the common approval pattern, with shorter marriages facing stricter scrutiny of the overall settlement record (as of 2026-06-21; practitioner rule of thumb, not an ISA-published threshold).2
Work status when employment is lined up
A divorced spouse who meets a work status's own requirements may change to that status, with the examination testing the new status's eligibility rather than the marriage history. Keep this path generic: qualifying education or experience plus a matching job offer from a legitimate employer, with no invented degree, salary, or tenure thresholds.1062
Designated Activities in humanitarian cases
Designated Activities covers activities the Minister designates individually per foreign national, with periods including 5 years down to 3 months or an individually set period within 5 years (as of 2026-09-08).13 Practitioner sources describe it as the residual humanitarian route for longer-tenure residents with established ties who fit neither the child-custody path nor a work status (as of 2026-06-21).2
Treat this route as a consult-a-professional path rather than a checklist. No ISA notice for post-divorce humanitarian grants was verified in this pass, so frame any application around documented ties and professional advice.132
Documents and Evidence for the Change Application
Assemble the core set first, then layer the evidence for your chosen path. ISA may request materials beyond the published lists during examination, and incomplete filings risk major delay or disadvantageous disposition.510
Core application set
File from the time the reason for change arises until your current period of stay expires, at the regional bureau with jurisdiction over your residence. The applicant, a legal representative, or an authorized representative such as a registered lawyer or gyoseishoshi may file.10
The core set for any change comprises the target status's application form, a compliant photograph, passport and residence-card presentation, and a reason statement walking through facts, legal reading, reasonable grounds, and future plan. Certificates issued in Japan should generally be within 3 months of issuance, and foreign-language documents need Japanese translations (statement structure per practitioner guidance).5107
| Item | Amount | As of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Change permission, applications accepted on/before 2026-09-30, counter or paper filing | ¥6,000 | 2026-09-08 | Revenue stamp, due on permission10 |
| Change permission, applications accepted on/before 2026-09-30, online filing | ¥5,500 | 2026-09-08 | Revenue stamp, due on permission10 |
| Change permission, applications accepted on/after 2026-10-01, granted period 3 months or less | ¥10,000 counter / ¥10,000 online base (online total ¥10,330 with settlement fee) | 2026-09-08 | Due on permission1415 |
| Change permission, applications accepted on/after 2026-10-01, granted period over 3 months to 6 months | ¥18,000 counter / ¥15,000 online base (online total ¥15,330) | 2026-09-08 | Due on permission1415 |
| Change permission, applications accepted on/after 2026-10-01, granted period over 6 months to under 1 year | ¥25,000 counter / ¥21,000 online base (online total ¥21,330) | 2026-09-08 | Due on permission1415 |
| Change permission, applications accepted on/after 2026-10-01, granted period 1 year | ¥33,000 counter / ¥27,000 online base (online total ¥27,330) | 2026-09-08 | Due on permission1415 |
| Change permission, applications accepted on/after 2026-10-01, granted period over 1 year to under 3 years | ¥48,000 counter / ¥42,000 online base (online total ¥42,330) | 2026-09-08 | Due on permission1415 |
| Change permission, applications accepted on/after 2026-10-01, granted period 3 years to under 5 years | ¥64,000 counter / ¥56,000 online base (online total ¥56,550) | 2026-09-08 | Due on permission1415 |
| Change permission, applications accepted on/after 2026-10-01, granted period 5 years or more | ¥75,000 counter / ¥65,000 online base (online total ¥65,550) | 2026-09-08 | Due on permission1415 |
| Transitional cases accepted on or before 2025-03-31 | Old fee ¥4,000 | 2026-09-08 | Applies even if permission falls after 2025-04-0110 |
Fee figures above are current as shown; the table's As of column carries the currency signal for every row (as of 2026-09-08; confirm current figures with the Immigration Services Agency).101415 Which schedule applies turns on the acceptance date: applications accepted on or before September 30, 2026 pay the old flat fees even if permission comes on or after October 1, 2026, while applications accepted on or after October 1, 2026 pay the tiered fee for the granted period (as of 2026-09-08).1415
The tier follows the period actually granted, not the period requested, so the exact amount is fixed at examination and shown on the result notice. Counter filings pay by revenue stamp, while online filings pay by convenience-store or bank transfer plus a ¥330 settlement fee for granted periods under 3 years or ¥550 for 3 years or more (as of 2026-09-08).1415 Applicants facing hardship with humanitarian need may qualify for a reduction to ¥10,000 on a change permission, filed at the counter since online filing does not support reductions (as of 2026-09-08).16
Evidence by path
Match your paper to the route you are actually claiming, since examiners weigh explanation quality alongside bare facts. Each row below reflects practitioner-reported evidence lists consistent with ISA's published-examples framing rather than an ISA checklist sentence.1272
| Path | Key evidence | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Child-custody Long-Term Resident | Custody papers, cohabitation and daily-care proof, school records, household finances | 2026-06-212 |
| Settlement Long-Term Resident | Employment contract, tax assessment and payment certificates, insurance compliance, bank-balance evidence | 2026-01-297 |
| Work status | Job offer matching education or experience, employer legitimacy materials | 2026-06-212 |
Evidence dates above reflect the practitioner guides they come from (as of 2026-06-21 for two rows and 2026-01-29 for one; confirm current practice with the Immigration Services Agency or your representative).72
Process, Fees, and Timeline
File at the regional bureau with jurisdiction over your residence on weekdays, mornings 9 to 12 and afternoons 1 to 4, subject to office-specific scheduling, or through the online channel (hours as of 2026-09-08; confirm current reception times with your regional bureau).10
| Step | Timing | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse notification | Within 14 days of divorce | Online, in person, or by post3 |
| Evidence preparation | First weeks after divorce | Financial and ties documents per path7 |
| Change application | Well before card expiry | Before the 6-month risk point, not at it7 |
| Examination | 1 to 2 months standard | Monthly ISA averages exclude denials1017 |
The standard change examination runs 1 to 2 months (as of 2026-09-08; confirm current figures with the Immigration Services Agency), and ISA publishes average processing times monthly for reference (as of 2026-09-08).1017 Practitioner sequencing advises completing notification, then evidence, then the change filing to finish within 6 months of divorce (as of 2026-01-29).7
Good to know
Renewing as a spouse after divorce counts as misrepresentation
Some divorced spouses assume a cooperative ex-partner makes a spouse renewal possible. It does not, because the status exists only through the marriage and there is nothing left to renew once it ends.12
Filing anyway and concealing the divorce is misrepresentation, a separate revocation ground that can carry criminal consequences and poisons later applications including permanent residence. Change to a status you genuinely qualify for instead.12
File early; month five is not a plan
A change application assembled at the deadline reads very differently from the same facts presented in month one. Late notification plus a thin explanation plus weak settlement proof is the classic refusal pattern practitioner sources warn against.72
Treat card expiry as the hard deadline and the 6-month point as the risk boundary, whichever comes first. File months before either, with the notification already on record.107
Short marriages face stricter settlement scrutiny
Where the substantive marriage was brief, examiners weigh income stability, tax and insurance compliance, and conduct more strictly. Two or more weak points together, such as a short marriage plus unstable income or unpaid taxes, commonly produce refusals in practitioner casework (as of 2026-06-21).2
If that describes your situation, get professional advice before filing rather than after a refusal. The same evidence presented early with a coherent reason statement usually reads very differently.72
Divorce mediation or DV refuge can count as just cause
Separation before the divorce is final does not automatically doom your status. Where divorce mediation or litigation is pending, or where you left home to escape spousal violence, practitioner summaries of ISA's published examples treat the period as just cause outside revocation (as of 2026-08-28).89
Keep the proof: proceeding records showing the case is underway, or protection and consultation records for violence cases. Safety comes first; status rebuilding runs in parallel with support services.9
See also
- The Four Divorce Paths
- International Divorce and the Hague Convention
- Child Custody (Shinken) and the Sole-Custody Reality
- Child Support (Yoiku-Hi)
- Jūminhyō: Japan's Residence Record Explained
- Engineer/Humanities/International Services Visa