Contents
Key points
- To bring a foreign spouse to Japan, the usual route is a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) filed in Japan, followed by a visa application at a Japanese embassy or consulate.
- A marriage certificate alone is not enough. Immigration examines whether the marriage is genuine and whether you will actually live together as a married couple in Japan.
- The questionnaire (shitsumonsho) is one of the most important documents. It must be detailed and consistent with your other documents, such as the koseki and tax records.
- There is no published minimum income. Based on the local public assistance level, a reference for a two-person household in a large city is an annual income of roughly 2.5 to 3 million yen.
- A large age gap, a short relationship, an introduction through an agency or app, or no common language do not mean automatic refusal, but each needs careful explanation and evidence.
1. How the COE route works
The status of residence for the foreign spouse of a Japanese national is “Spouse or Child of Japanese National” (nihonjin no haigusha-to). If your spouse lives outside Japan, the process normally runs in three steps:
- COE application in Japan. The application is filed in Japan by a representative of the foreign spouse. For this status, the representative must be a relative of the applicant who lives in Japan. This is usually the Japanese spouse. If the Japanese spouse lives abroad with you, a relative in Japan, such as the Japanese spouse’s parent or sibling, can act as representative instead. The application is filed at the regional immigration office for the representative’s address, or online.
- Visa application abroad. Once the COE is issued, the foreign spouse applies for a visa at a Japanese embassy or consulate. A COE is generally valid for 3 months for entering Japan.
- Entry to Japan. The spouse receives a residence card at the airport (at major airports) and registers their address at the city or ward office.
For the general steps, see our page on how to enter Japan with a COE. If your spouse is already in Japan on another status, such as a work visa, the procedure is a change of status instead.
Using a gyoseishoshi: someone must be in Japan
A gyoseishoshi who has notified the immigration bureau as a filing agent (shinsei toritsugi) can submit the COE application on your behalf. However, the ISA states that this is possible only while the foreign applicant or the representative is in Japan. If you and your Japanese spouse both live abroad and no relative in Japan can act as representative, a gyoseishoshi cannot file the application for you.
Visiting Japan as a tourist first?
A change from “Temporary Visitor” to a spouse status is, in principle, not permitted unless there are special, unavoidable circumstances. A marriage completed during your stay may be considered as such a circumstance, but approval is not guaranteed, and Immigration may tell you to leave Japan and apply for a COE instead. If you are planning your move to Japan, the COE route is the standard approach.
2. What Immigration checks
The documents required are listed on the ISA website and on our Spouse of Japanese National page. Behind that list, Immigration is looking at four questions.
Is the marriage legally valid in both countries?
You must be legally married under the laws of both your countries, and the marriage must be recorded in the Japanese spouse’s koseki. Common-law partners are not eligible. If you have not yet decided where to register the marriage, see our article on how international marriage is recorded in the koseki.
Is the marriage genuine?
Even a legally valid marriage does not qualify if the couple does not intend to live together and support each other as husband and wife. Immigration looks at how you met, how the relationship developed, how often you have met in person, and how you communicate.
Will you live together in Japan?
Living together is expected unless there is a reasonable explanation. Your planned home matters too. A very small home, such as a one-room apartment, can raise doubts about whether you will really live together, especially if you have children.
Can the household support itself?
Immigration checks income mainly through the supporting person’s resident tax certificates. Low income is not an automatic reason for refusal, but if it is combined with other weak points, such as a very short relationship, it can lead to doubts about the marriage. See section 5.
3. The questionnaire: the heart of your application
The ISA’s questionnaire (shitsumonsho) asks about your relationship in detail. It is available in Japanese and in several other languages, including English. Items include:
- When, where and how you first met, and who introduced you
- The history of your relationship up to the marriage, including dates you met in person
- The languages you use with each other and how well each of you speaks them
- Your relatives in Japan and abroad, and whether they know about the marriage
- Whether you held a wedding, and who attended
- Previous marriages and visits to each other’s country
Points to keep in mind when filling it in
- Be honest. Do not hide previous marriages, past refusals or overstays. Immigration can check these, and a false statement is far more damaging than the fact itself.
- Check that your documents match. Immigration compares the questionnaire with the koseki, the marriage certificate, your entry and exit records and your tax records. Check dates and names carefully. If something genuinely differs, for example a date recorded differently in two documents, explain why rather than leaving it.
- Be specific. Write concrete episodes that only the two of you could tell: where you went on dates, who proposed and when, how you overcame the language barrier, how you spend your days together. If the space is not enough, attach a separate sheet.
- List your relatives fully. The questionnaire asks you to list your family members in Japan and abroad, and who attended your wedding, if you held one. Immigration uses this to see whether your families know about the marriage. If close relatives such as your parents are missing from the list, or only one side of the family attended the wedding, this may raise questions. If there is a reason, for example a parent has passed away, you are not in contact with a relative, or family members could not travel, write it in the questionnaire or a separate sheet.
4. Relationship evidence
The ISA asks for 2 to 3 snapshot photos in which both of you can be clearly seen (photos edited with apps are not accepted). Records such as social media messages and call logs can also be submitted. In a straightforward case, this may be enough. In a case that needs more explanation (section 5), it helps to add:
- Photos taken on different occasions over time, including with each other’s family and friends
- Passport stamps, flight tickets or itineraries showing visits to each other’s country
- Selected message or chat records and call logs showing regular contact, with dates
- Photos and records of a wedding or celebration with family
- A letter from a parent or relative who knows you both and supports the marriage
Quality matters more than volume. Hundreds of pages of unsorted screenshots are hard to read. Choose representative records, arrange them by date, and label what each one shows. Documents in a foreign language need a Japanese translation.
5. Cases that need a careful explanation
In practice, the following situations are examined more strictly. None of them means automatic refusal. What matters is whether you explain them convincingly and back up the explanation with evidence.
| Situation | Why Immigration looks closely | What helps |
|---|---|---|
| A large age gap (especially 20 years or more) | Doubts about whether the marriage is genuine | A detailed account of how the relationship developed, with many concrete episodes and evidence. You may also explain how the two of you think about the age difference. |
| Introduced through a marriage agency, dating agency or app | A typical pattern in sham marriage cases | Records of visits to each other’s country, meetings with family, regular communication and a wedding |
| A short relationship, or few meetings in person before marriage | Doubts about the stability of the marriage | The reason you decided to marry, and evidence of contact and plans for life together |
| No common language | Doubts about how you communicate as a couple | Explanation of how you communicate and your efforts to learn each other’s language (classes, test results) |
| A previous marriage to a foreign national (Japanese spouse) or to a Japanese national (foreign spouse), especially a short one | Concern about repeated sham marriages | Honest explanation of the previous marriage and how it ended, and strong evidence for the current relationship |
| Low or unstable income | Doubts about the household’s stability | Savings, a job offer, the foreign spouse’s own work plans, or support from family (see below) |
| The foreign spouse plans to work in the nightlife industry (such as hostess bars) after marriage | Doubts about whether the marriage is the real purpose. The spouse status has no work restriction, but Immigration views this unfavorably. | A frank explanation of your plans after marriage |
| Past overstays, unauthorized work, deportation or refusals | Concerns about the applicant’s record | An honest account of the past and what has changed. Some cases involve grounds for denial of landing and need specialist review. |
About income
The ISA has not published a minimum income for the spouse visa. One useful reference is the public assistance (seikatsu hogo) level in your area: Immigration checks whether the household could become a burden on public funds. For a two-person household in a large city such as Tokyo or Osaka, this works out to an annual income of roughly 2.5 to 3 million yen. Lower incomes can still be approved where savings or a job offer show that the household is stable.
Immigration normally looks at the latest resident tax certificates of the person who supports the household. If those do not show enough income, for example because the Japanese spouse has just returned to Japan or changed jobs, you can submit bank statements, an employment contract or job offer, or other evidence. Income and savings are an important part of showing that your married life in Japan will be stable.
6. After the COE is issued
- Visa and entry: apply for the visa at the embassy or consulate and enter Japan while the COE is still valid. A COE does not guarantee that the visa will be issued.
- Period of stay: for a new marriage, the first period of stay is usually 1 year. In practice, a 5-year period is considered only after you have lived together for more than 3 years since marrying and have met your notification and tax duties.
- Work: the spouse status has no restriction on the type of work.
- Your duties: register your address, pay taxes and social insurance, and file notifications on time. If the marriage ends, a notification is due within 14 days. See Divorced or widowed on a spouse visa in Japan.
7. If the application is refused
A refusal is not always final. You can ask the immigration office for the reasons and prepare a new application that addresses them, often with a more detailed explanation of the relationship and stronger evidence. Re-filing the same documents without changes rarely works. See our article on what to do if your visa application is denied in Japan. We also offer an accompaniment service for hearing the reasons for a refusal.
8. FAQ
Does my spouse need to speak Japanese?
No Japanese test is required. What matters is that the two of you can communicate with each other, in any language.
How long does the COE take?
It varies by immigration office and by case. The ISA publishes average processing periods every month. For “Spouse or Child of Japanese National” COEs, the national average in 2026 has been roughly three to four months (about 90 days for applications approved in April 2026 and about 121 days for those approved in August 2026). At busy regional immigration offices, or if Immigration asks for additional documents, it can take six months or more, and in some cases close to a year. Plan your move with a generous margin.
Missing documents, mistakes or inconsistencies in an application can also make the examination more careful and take longer. Having a gyoseishoshi check your documents before you file, or prepare and file the application for you, is an effective way to avoid such delays. We offer a document check as well as full application support.
The Japanese spouse also lives abroad. Can we still apply?
Yes, but someone must file in Japan. A relative of the applicant who lives in Japan, such as the Japanese spouse’s parent or sibling, can act as representative (see section 1). The ISA’s document list also assumes that the Japanese spouse lives in Japan and acts as guarantor, and that the household’s income can be shown with Japanese tax certificates. If you both live abroad, you will need to explain your plans for moving to Japan, such as where you will live and how you will support yourselves. In practice, the Japanese spouse often moves back first to prepare. Your situation should be checked individually.
My spouse is from the Philippines and was divorced before. Is there anything special?
Yes. A divorce involving a Filipino national raises specific issues about remarriage and the documents Immigration will accept. See Remarrying in Japan after divorce: spouse visas for Filipinos without judicial recognition.
Sources
- Immigration Services Agency, “在留資格「日本人の配偶者等」（外国人（申請人）の方が日本人の配偶者（夫又は妻）である場合）” (Japanese)
- Immigration Services Agency, “在留審査処理期間” (Japanese)
- Immigration Services Agency, “在留資格認定証明書交付申請” (Japanese)
- e-Gov, Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, Articles 7 and 7-2 and Appended Table II (Japanese)
- e-Gov, Ordinance for Enforcement of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, Article 6-2 and Appended Table IV (Japanese)
Disclaimer: This article is provided for general information only and is not legal advice on any individual case. The information is based on sources available as of October 26, 2026. Laws, guidelines and their application may change without notice. The practical points described in this article are not official criteria published by the ISA. TKG Immigration Consulting Office accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising from the use of this information. In case of any difference between our English descriptions and the original Japanese texts, the Japanese texts prevail.