Japanese visas are categorized into those based on activities and those based on status of an individual. Here, we will attempt to explain each of the visa categories based on status. Unlike visas based on activites, visas based on status have no restrictions on work. This is because, as the word "status" suggests, the reason for being in Japan is based on a legal status and not an activity such as employment or management. Corollary, if for some reason you lose your "status", then you would lose the legal basis for this visa. Say, for example, if you have a status visa based on "spouse of a Japanese national" and your spouse passed away, then you would lose that visa because you are no longer a "spouse of a Japanese national." Required documents are used to prove the veracity of a claimed "status" and any evidence found lateron that proves otherwise would lead to a revocation of a status visa. The key idea is that your relationship of a claimed "status" has to be genuine and sufficiently proved in the eyes of the ISA. Because each individual circumstance is unique, we suggest you contact us for your individual specific inquiry. Of course, you can always check out the Ministry of Justice, Immigration Services Agency website for more info (https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/index.html) .
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If you are "a spouse of a Japanese national or a child of a Japanese national either by birth or special adoption", then you may qualify for this visa. Now a "Japanese national" in this context is the legal term defined in the Japanese Nationality Law. Hence, it has nothing to do with an individual's idea or understanding regarding Japanese citizenship. If a child is born to a Japanese national, that child would also be a "Japanese national" according to the Japanese Nationality Law even if, for some reason, that child has not been registered of birth with the Japanese government and has no record in the family registration database. Naturally, the question arises why would a child of a Japanese national need this visa in the first place. The answer boils down to the fact that because Japan does not recognize dual citizenship it is possible to lose the Japanese citizenship in certain circumstances. As an example, a child may have been a Japanese national by birth but if a child has been a dual citizen of another country and selects that country's citizenship when grown up, then a child would be considered to have renounced the Japanese citizenship. In this example, the timing when a child has lost the Japanese citizenhip is when a child selects another country's citizenship.
A "spouse" in the bold statement above means having a legally effective marriage relationship. Therefore, if your marriage with a Japanese spouse has been terminated for some reason such as death or divorce, then you would no longer qualify for this visa. For your marriage to be legally effective, not only would your marriage need be formal but also be based on reality. That is, both you and your spouse are presumed to be living together and assisting each other in daily life. Any evidence that points otherwise could be a reason for further scrutinization. In addition, both you and your spouse must be at or above the legal age of marriage in accordance to both the Japanese law and your country's law. That is, underage marriage will not be accepted.
A "child of a Japanese national through special adoption" means a child who has had gone through a special adoption process through a Japanese Family Court in accordance to the Japanese law. Unlike a normal adoption process, a special adoption process would terminate a child's legal relationshps with both biological parents and other family members. In light of this fact, a child of a Japanese national through special adoption status has been recognized under this visa category.
A "child of a Japanese national by birth" means that at the time of a child's birth, one of the parents has been a Japanese national. Now, it may sound simple enough but depending on an individual's circumstances it could get complicated in practice. If you are in doubt, I would suggest you seek a professional advice. According to the Japanese law, a "child born to a Japanese national" would qualify for a Japanese citizenship. Yet this legal status has been recognized under the visa category of "Spouse or Child of Japanese National" is because a Japanese national could lose his/her Japanese citizenship by acquiring a foreign citizenship. That is, dual citizenship is not recognized under the Japanese law, in theory.
Required Documents For Application
What documents are required would be different for those who apply as spouse of a Japanese national and those who apply as child of a Japanese national (whether by birth or through special adoption). For those applying as spouse, the required documents are used to verify the veracity of your marriage among other things. For those applying as child, the required documents are to verify your lineage, among other things. In either case, the latest municipality tax record of the person who financially support the applicant while in Japan would be required. For those applying as spouse, that person has to be your spouse. For those applying as child who do not have anyone supporting, your own tax record would be required. The most important point is that there should not be any unpaid taxes owed by you or your financial supporter and the level of you or your financial supporter's income is not the key point.
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This visa category is for "spouse of permanent resident or child of permanent resident who was born in Japan and domiciled in Japan continuously afterwards." The "permanent resident" includes those with "special permanent resdient" status. Since only a limited group of people would fall under the "special permanent resident" status, it would not be discussed here.
The statement "spouse of permanent resident" means having a legally effective marriage relationship with a person of permanent resident status. Therefore if a marriage is terminated for some reason such as death or divorce, then this visa would no longer hold. Also, in order to be recognized as a legally effective marriage, a genuine marriage relationship is required besides having a formality according to the documents such as having a marriage certificate. That is, a permanent resident and his/her spouse are expected to reside together and support each other in daily life. Additionally, legal age of marriage for any governing laws surrounding both a spouse and a permanent resident should be respected. That includes the Japanese Law. That is, underage marriage would not be recognized as legitimate.
The statement "child of permanent resident who was born in Japan" means that at the time of child's birth in Japan, at least one of the child's parents was a permanent resident. That means, if for some reason, a child's parent(s) loses a permanent resident status after a child's birth, it would not disqualify a child from applying to this visa. Besides that, if the father of a child passed away before a child's birth and he was a permanent resident at the time of his death, a born child would still be considered a "child of permanent resident." Unlike the visa category "Spouse or Child of Japanese National," child from adoption (including special adoption) would not be qualified under this visa category.
The statement "born in Japan and domiciled in Japan continuously afterwards" means born in Japan and continuously living in Japan right after birth. Therefore, a child of permanent resident born outside of Japan would not qualify under this visa category.
Required Documents For Application
Required documents are different between spouse and child of permanent resident. For spouse, focus is placed on the veracity of marriage and for child, focuses are placed on lneage, place of birth and domicile location. As explained previously, child born outside of Japan or domiciled outside of Japan would not qualify under this visa category.
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This visa category is for those who are granted residence by the Minister of Justice for a certain period, taking into consideration of special circumstances. The scope of "those who are granted residence by the Minister of Justice" is published through public notification regarding LTR. It is possible to fall out of this scope after being granted however, due to changes in circumstances and other reasons. Good news is, there's still possibility of being able to renew LTR status depending on an individual's case and circumstances. Now, the scope is as follows.
Required Documents For Application
What documents are required would depend on the background of an individual. For example, if you apply as a Japanese lineage of third generation, then you would be required to prove your lineage with documents such as family records (i.e., "koseki") of your grandparents, marriage certificates of your grandparents and parents, your birth certificate, etc. If you apply as a spouse of a Japanese lineage of third generation, then your marrital status has to be proven with documents such as marriage certificate, snap photos and communication records with your spouse, etc.
In all cases, how your living expenses in Japan would be covered has to be shown. Documents such as you or your financial supporter's employment contract, banking statements, etc., may be required. You or your financial supporter's most recent residential tax record may be required. Although not a requirement, you may submit a document proving certain level of your Japanese language proficiency such as educational record, a certificate of Japanese language proficiency exam, etc. By doing so, you may qualify to obtain a residence term of five years. For details regarding Japanese language proficiency, you may check the details at the Immigration Service Agency website here.
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