If you are a foreigner in Japan, getting married to a Japanese doesn’t automatically give you the right to stay in Japan. You are not eligible to reside in Japan until you are granted a residence permit based on your marriage to a Japanese citizen.
When you apply to this permit, you will be required to submit a written answer to many detailed questions such as when and where you met your Japanese spouse, who attended your wedding ceremony, where you and your spouse intend to live, which language you use between you and your spouse, etc. (One of the reasons why answering to these questions is mandatory is that the number of fake marriage is increasing in Japan.)
On the other day, one of our Japanese clients asked us how his Chinese wife should apply for a residence permit. (They had been living in China since they got married, but they decided to come back to Japan for the husband’s career change.)
The possible process we advised our client to take was as follows:
1. The Japanese husband coming back to Japan on his own.
2. The husband applying for a Certificate of Eligibility as his wife’s proxy.
3. Sending the Certificate of Eligibility to China, and the wife applying for a visa at Japanese Consulate in China.
4. The wife entering Japan with the visa.
When you apply for a Certificate of Eligibility, you are required to fill in a lot of complicated but very important documents. Please feel free to contact us if you need any help on your application!
