FAQ

September 2, 2016

What happens if a spouse won’t support his or her spouse’s visa renewal?

Certain visas to legally stay in Japan are based upon being married to a resident of Japan.  This can include foreign nationals who are married to Japanese citizens and receive a spouse visa, or for foreign national couples where one spouse who has legal status in Japan is supporting the other through a family based visa.  As these visas depend on the marital status of the couple, it is often critical for the spouses to work together to obtain a renewal of these visas.  However, if the sponsoring spouse decides to withhold his or her cooperation in renewing a visa, there […]
August 15, 2016

What documents are required for a spousal visa in Japan?

By marrying a Japanese citizen, a foreign national becomes eligible to apply for a Japanese spousal visa.  However, the application for the visa does require some preparation and is not automatically granted just based upon marriage.  In addition to an application form, the new couple will need to submit the Japanese’s spouse’s family register and residence registration certificate to show that the couple is truly married.  A foreign marriage certificate may also be required if the couple married overseas.  Next, the couple will need to submit financial information, usually in the form of a residence tax certificate, for either spouse […]
July 25, 2016

Do married couples have a duty to support each other even when separated?

Married couples have a duty to financially support each other during the course of their marriage.  This duty to support exists even when the spouses are living separately.  Usually these support payments will take the form of monthly bank transfers, similar to child support after divorce.  The amount of money should be enough to provide for the daily necessities of the lower-income spouse.
July 1, 2016

How are child support payments calculated in Japan?

The basic premise behind child support payments in Japan is to give the child a standard of living enjoyed by the parent with the obligation to pay child support.  These payments can either be determined by a government schedule or through a calculation.  Because court-ordered child support payments are based on a formula and are fairly easy to predict, it usually allows divorcing parties to agree on the amount of child support payments relatively quickly.