Spouse Visa Application After Marriage Registration
Spouse visa application after marriage registration is a second filing at the Immigration Services Agency (ISA), not an automatic result of the ward-office marriage itself.1 The marriage makes the foreign spouse eligible; only an approved Certificate of Eligibility (COE) or change of status puts the spouse status on the residence card.
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 (行政書士, administrative scrivener), especially if your current status is expiring, you entered as a Temporary Visitor, or you have a prior denial or overstay history.
Overview
A 婚姻届 (konin todoke) filed at a municipal office creates the marriage under Japanese law. A spouse-visa filing at a regional immigration bureau creates the status of residence, and the bureau examines the marriage, the relationship history, and the household livelihood before granting it.1
The terms below recur throughout this article:
| Japanese term | Romaji | English gloss |
|---|---|---|
| 婚姻届 | konin todoke | Marriage registration form |
| 在留資格認定証明書 | zairyū shikaku nintei shōmeisho | Certificate of Eligibility (COE) |
| 在留資格変更許可申請 | zairyū shikaku henkō kyoka shinsei | Application for change of status of residence |
| 出入国在留管理庁 | shutsunyūkoku zairyū kanrichō | Immigration Services Agency (ISA) |
Which ISA path applies depends on one fact: where the foreign spouse currently is. A spouse abroad uses the COE-then-consulate-visa path; a spouse already in Japan on another status files a change of status.1
ISA states that an incomplete file may face major examination delay or disadvantageous disposition, and examiners may request documents beyond the published list.1 Treat completeness as part of the timeline, not as an afterthought.
Eligibility: Who the Spouse Status Covers
The status covers a foreign national who is the husband or wife of a Japanese national in a legally effective marriage.1 The marriage must be recorded, and the proof is the Japanese spouse's family register showing the entry.
The Japanese spouse's 戸籍謄本 (koseki tōhon, "full family register transcript") must show the marriage to the applicant. Where the register does not yet show it, add the 婚姻届出受理証明書 (konin todokede juri shōmeisho, "certificate of acceptance of marriage notification").1
Periods of stay are granted at 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, or 6 months, set case by case (as of 2023-03-17; confirm current figures with the Immigration Services Agency).2 The length reflects the bureau's overall assessment, not a rank the applicant selects.
Change-of-status permission is discretionary. The bureau confirms the planned activity genuinely falls in the requested status and that sufficient reason supports the change, weighing activities, residence situation, and necessity together.34
If the activity supporting your current status has already ended and the underlying relationship has changed, file promptly. A person who has stopped engaging in their current-status activity without moving to the next permission may face revocation of that status.13 When an expiring status, a prior denial, or an overstay history is involved, consult a licensed immigration lawyer or gyoseishoshi before timing the filing.
Required Documents and Relationship Evidence
The COE and change-of-status lists share the same core set for this status: the application form with an ISA-standard photo, the koseki transcript showing the marriage, the foreign-issued marriage certificate, livelihood evidence, the guarantee letter, the household residence record, the relationship questionnaire, and couple-exchange evidence.1 The change path additionally requires passport and residence card presentation, while the COE path requires a stamped return envelope.1
Japan-issued certificates in the file must all have been issued within 3 months.1 Any foreign-language document must carry a Japanese translation.1
| Document | COE path | Change path |
|---|---|---|
| Application form plus ISA-standard photo | Required | Required |
| Koseki transcript showing the marriage (plus acceptance certificate if not yet shown) | Required | Required |
| Foreign-issued marriage certificate | Required | Required |
| Taxation and tax-payment certificates or substitute livelihood evidence | Required | Required |
| Letter of guarantee (Japanese spouse as guarantor) | Required | Required |
| Residence record showing all household members | Required | Required |
| Relationship questionnaire | Required | Required |
| Couple photos plus SNS or call records | Required | Required |
| Passport and residence card presentation | Not applicable (applicant abroad) | Required |
| Stamped return envelope | Required | Not applicable |
The table above reflects the standing ISA document list; confirm the current checklist at the bureau before filing (as of 2026-09-08; confirm current figures with the Immigration Services Agency).1 Where the applicant's nationality issues its own family register (such as Korean nationality), a foreign-issued register showing both spouses' marriage may substitute for the marriage certificate.1
A non-applicant submitter, such as a proxy or approved filing agent, must present identity documentation proving eligibility to submit, for example a family register extract.1
The Questionnaire Carries the Genuineness Case
ISA requires one copy of the 質問書 (shitsumonsho, "relationship questionnaire") in either path, and asks filers to use the form revised on 2017-06-06.1 The form is published in Japanese plus English, simplified and traditional Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Thai, and Indonesian.1
Answer the questionnaire as a case file, not as a sentiment statement. The bureau examines whether the stated activity is genuine and falls in the status, and the change guideline adds prior-status compliance, conduct, livelihood, employment conditions, tax payment, and notification duties to that assessment.34
Couple-exchange evidence means 2 to 3 snapshot photos showing both spouses with clearly recognizable faces; app-edited photos are not accepted.1 Add submittable extras such as SNS records and call records where they exist.1
Financial and Guarantor Documents
The financial test runs at household level. Daily life must not be a public burden, and a stable future livelihood must be foreseeable from assets or skills; humanitarian reasons are weighed where public support is involved.4
The center of the livelihood file is the supporter's most recent one year of 課税証明書 (kazei shōmeisho, "taxation certificate") and 納税証明書 (nōzei shōmeisho, "tax-payment certificate") showing gross income and payment status, issued by the municipality of residence as of January 1.1 Where tax documents cannot prove support after a recent entry or move, substitute savings passbook copies, employment or offer letters, or equivalents.1
High-value or long-term arrears of tax or social-insurance premiums, including national health insurance premiums, count as a negative factor, and ISA may use payment-status information received from the relevant agencies.4
The 身元保証書 (mimoto hōshosho, "letter of guarantee") must name the Japanese spouse residing in Japan as guarantor.1 ISA publishes the form, including an English version.1
Two Application Paths
File the COE application with the regional bureau covering the intended residence, or the receiving organization's location for proxy filings; file the change application with the bureau covering the applicant's current residence.53 Counter hours are weekdays 9:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 16:00, with procedure-specific variations worth confirming with the bureau or the Foreign Residents Information Center (0570-013904).53
Both applications can also be filed online through the ISA online system.53 Neither path accepts submission by postal mail.53
The two paths after marriage registration look like this:
Path A: Certificate of Eligibility Then Consulate Visa (Spouse Abroad)
The sponsor in Japan files the COE application, forwards the issued COE to the spouse abroad, and the spouse applies for the visa at the embassy or consulate before entering (as of 2026-09-08; confirm current figures with the Immigration Services Agency).526 Since March 17, 2023, the COE can arrive by email, and the visa and landing steps accept the presented email or a printed copy.5
Consulate documents for this status are the passport, one application form, one photo, and the COE original or copy; Russian, CIS, and Georgian nationals submit two forms and two photos (as of 2023-03-17).2 Chinese nationals add a family-register copy, a residence permit or certificate, and a questionnaire, and some second-generation Filipino and Brazilian applicants add ancestry and no-criminal-record evidence; other nationalities should check the local mission for extras (as of 2023-03-17).2
Where the Japanese spouse cannot file the COE in Japan, for example because both spouses already cohabit overseas, consult the receiving embassy or consulate in advance.2 Do not assume the standard sponsor-in-Japan sequence applies unchanged.
The foreign spouse must enter Japan within 3 months of the designated day on the COE, regardless of time limits shown on the visa itself.6 A COE does not guarantee visa issuance, and a long-stay application filed without any COE needs a large volume of verification documents and takes several months (as of 2022-12-05).27
Path B: Change of Status (Spouse Already in Japan)
A resident who will stop the current-status activity and engage exclusively in spouse-status life must obtain change permission, filing between the reason arising and the current period-of-stay expiry date.3 The procedure serves every status holder except those seeking Permanent Resident through this route.3
Change from 短期滞在 (tanki taizai, "Temporary Visitor status") is not granted unless based on やむを得ない特別の事情 (yamu wo enai tokubetsu no jijou, "special unavoidable circumstances").8 The rationale in professional guidance is that Temporary Visitor entry assumes departure after the short stay, so a from-the-start plan to remain contradicts the entry premise; reported exceptions turn on post-entry changes and the unreasonableness of demanding re-entry (as of 2026-09-08; confirm current handling with the regional bureau or a licensed professional).8
Tourist entry followed by an in-Japan spouse change is the exception, not the routine. If this is your situation, consult a licensed immigration lawyer or gyoseishoshi before entry, and keep the COE-from-abroad route as the default plan. Stricter genuineness review and entry-purpose questions attach to this route.8
Pre-marriage conduct under the current status matters. The guideline treats genuine engagement in the held status (real study, real work consistent with the status) as a positive factor, and unexplained non-engagement as a negative one.4
Costs and Timelines
Fees depend on the permission and the filing method. The COE application itself carries no fee (as of 2026-09-08; confirm current figures with the Immigration Services Agency).5 Change-of-status permission, when granted, costs ¥6,000 at the counter by revenue stamp or ¥5,500 online (as of 2026-09-08).3
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| COE application | No fee | ISA procedure page |
| Change of status, counter | ¥6,000 | Revenue stamp, paid on grant |
| Change of status, online | ¥5,500 | Revenue stamp, paid on grant |
| Consulate visa issuance with COE | Varies | Reciprocity by nationality |
The table reflects the payable schedule on the current ISA procedure pages; applications received on or before March 31, 2025 pay the pre-revision ¥4,000 even where permission issues later (as of 2026-09-08).3 A widely reported ¥100,000 figure is the amended statutory ceiling for change and extension permissions, not the counter fee (as of 2026-06-18).9 The government has published the confirmed tiered schedule for applications filed on or after October 1, 2026, with the change-of-status fee set by granted period: ¥10,000 for stays up to 3 months, ¥33,000 at the counter or ¥27,000 online for a 1-year stay, and up to ¥75,000 at the counter or ¥65,000 online for stays of 5 years or longer (as of 2026-09-08; confirm current figures with the Immigration Services Agency).101112; applications filed by September 30, 2026 pay the pre-revision fee even where permission issues on or after October 1 (as of 2026-09-08).11
ISA standard processing periods are 1 month to 3 months for the COE and 1 month to 2 months for change of status (as of 2026-09-08).53 These are planning baselines, not guarantees, and ISA publishes monthly average examination statistics for calibrating expectations (as of 2026-09-08).13
Consulate visa issuance after a COE standardly takes 5 working days from the day after acceptance absent problems, while referred cases can exceed a month (as of 2022-12-05).7 A long-stay application without a COE typically takes 1 to 3 months regardless of application quality (as of 2022-12-05).7 Embassy-route guidance also describes COE acquisition itself as a 1 to 3 month step (as of 2026-09-08).6
Good to know
Do not quit a work-visa job before the spouse visa is granted
Resigning the job that supports the current work status before the spouse grant creates two gaps at once. The change file loses the clean prior-status record ISA weighs, and the household loses the income the livelihood test assesses.34
The pending-decision cushion does not authorize the new activity early. It preserves the prior status and the prior activity only, so quitting early exchanges a valid work record for weeks of neither-status income.14
A pending change-of-status decision has a limited cushion, not an open extension
Where a filed change or extension awaits decision past the period-of-stay expiry, the applicant may remain under the prior status and continue the prior activity until the earlier of the decision or 2 months after expiry.14 This 特例期間 (tokurei kikan, "special grace period preserving prior status while a filed change or extension awaits decision") is a fixed cap, not a renewable bridge.14
File early enough that the standard 1 to 2 month change processing (as of 2026-09-08; confirm current figures with the Immigration Services Agency) fits inside the current stay plus the cushion, rather than relying on the cushion as the plan.3 Once lawfully accepted, even a Temporary Visitor origin change is preserved during screening, but the same no-new-activity rule applies until grant.148
The COE expires fast and the supporting certificates age faster
Entry must occur within 3 months of the COE designated day, so travel sits inside a fixed window once the COE issues.6 Pull the koseki transcript, tax certificates, and residence record late in the collection sequence, since every Japan-issued certificate must have been issued within 3 months of filing.1
Collect documents in reverse expiry order: gather the slow items first (foreign marriage certificate, translations, questionnaire narrative, photo and communication evidence), then pull the koseki, tax, and residence-record certificates last. That order keeps the 3-month certificates fresh on filing day.1
On budgeting, the payable change fee for applications filed before October 1 is the ¥6,000 counter or ¥5,500 online schedule (as of 2026-09-08).3 The confirmed tiered schedule applies to applications filed on or after October 1, so the filing date decides which schedule covers the case (as of 2026-09-08).1112
See also
- Marriage to a Japanese National
- Marriage Between Two Foreigners in Japan
- Choosing Surnames in International Marriages
- Spouse Visa After Divorce
- Notifying Immigration of the Employer Change
- Residence Card: Japan's Foreign-Resident ID