International Marriage in Japan
As globalization accelerates, more couples are getting married internationally. The visa for “Spouse of a Japanese National” and “Spouse of a Permanent Resident” are the two main visa types related to international marriage. Here, we’ll mainly take a look at the former type, but the requirements and other key points are essentially the same between these two visa types.
Key Points of Screening
The application for international marriage itself is rarely denied. So people may assume it is also easy to get a spouse visa. But many people actually end up asking for a specialist’s help and advice after their own trial for application turns out to be unsuccessful. Though it is on the wane nowadays, there used to be many cases of sham marriage, which has contributed to how the screening for spouse visa is conducted strictly today.
Whether the couple in question is sincerely and concertedly wishing to get married or not makes an important key point in the application screening. That is, the immigration bureau tries to discern whether the marriage is sham or not.
In order to make such a determination, all kinds of questions will be asked in the screening process; how the couple met each other and got into a serious relationship, what are the attractive qualities of the partner, how the couple is planning to financially support their marriage life, whether they wish to have a child and so on. While it may almost sound like they are intruding on privacy, these examples can give you a good idea about how strict and meticulous the screening will be. It will also be required to submit the photographs showing both of the couple. If you can submit at least 10 or more such photos, the credibility of your application will be enhanced accordingly. So it is recommended for an international couple to take many photos together if marriage is a realistic option, even when either one of them is not a big fan of being photographed.
If the visa applicant’s Japanese spouse has a low income, works only part-time or is not fully-employed, the prospect of the application is not very promising. The immigration bureau’s judgment would be that marriage registration or visa approval won’t provide enough help for the couple to maintain a long-term marriage if they don’t have sufficient financial support. Also taken into consideration is a risk for someone in financial difficulty to get involved in criminal troubles.
In case someone comes to Japan to marry a Japanese person who doesn’t have sufficient income, and looks for a job after coming to Japan, he/she needs to prove his/her job history, job qualifications and/or job skill to apply for a spouse visa. Such a visa applicant is also required to state clearly about his/her plan on how to get a stable life and prove his/her financial standing by showing savings, assets and/or a proof of any financial support from family or relatives.
Many people think it would be ideal if an occasion naturally comes up where you encounter someone by chance and get into a romantic relationship. Such a relationship isn’t particularly difficult to prove and it would often suffice just to state the true story for the application to be successful. But there are also many couples who meet each other in a little different type of setting.
Such a “setting” could be a marriage consultation system, a matching website or a bar with foreign hostesses, to name just a few examples. It can be any kind of setting, online or offline, where people come and seek for the possibility of a romantic relationship. Some types of setting could raise questions about the sincerity of the relationship and depending on the nature of such a setting the application screening officer may suspect that the couple has rushed into marriage out of a very volatile relationship, possibly driven by impure motives .
So it is sometimes required to prove the very existence and nature of such a “setting.” It may also become necessary to submit documents to prove that the marriage consultation system or the matching website where the couple met is legitimate and nothing of fraudulent nature, or prove how the couple was using such a setting to communicate with each other. This is where photos of the couple can provide a good evidence to prove the genuineness of their relationship. The logs of communication apps and emails can also make a good supportive evidence.
While this also applies to anything other than visa application, ethics and probity of the visa applicant are essential elements to be assessed. Even when a foreign applicant can prove the sincerity of his/her marriage, a record of illegal stay or any criminal act of the applicant will significantly decrease the chance of the application being accepted. The immigration bureau will resort to all kinds of means to examine the ethical and moral aspects of the applicant’s lifestyle and conducts. Someone who stands on an untruthful ground can never hold out very long against their examination. So the applicant is advised to answer any question in the screening process honestly whether the question seems unfavorable or not. The applicant’s honest and sincere attitude in the screening process can compensate for a minor disadvantage.
