Passport Visa by Beth

Spouse Visa for Japan Residency

A Filipino spouse of a Japanese national who will live with the husband or wife in Japan must apply a Spouse Visa for Japan Residency. This visa allows the spouse to stay longer in Japan until granted permanent residency. If you have plans to work after you get used to the life there, the icing on the cake is you are allowed to work full time. Just so you know, another type of visa doesn’t give you this privilege. So, it definitely is a bonus.

By now, you must have gotten your Certificate of Eligibility from Japan. The next step depends on your preference. You may go to the CFO office to acquire your Guidance and Counseling Certificate or you may choose to apply for the visa first. Either way is possible. However, if you ask about me, I attended the GCP first to get the GCP certificate and applied for the visa the next day.

Application for the Spouse Visa

To those visa applicant first timers who have no idea how and where to do it, fret not. Please keep in mind that the Japanese Embassy has a list of accredited agencies. That’s where you apply and submit the documents. Moreover, they’ll be the one to forward your application. In our case, we chose Friendship Tours because they have a branch in Cebu. We’ve also tried this agency when I applied for my tourist visa. They have Japanese staff who can answer clarifications whenever my husband has one. The service is commendable I’d say.


Requirements: Spouse Visa for Japan Residency

  1. passport with six months validity
    • no broken pages
    • less than two blank pages left
  2. 2×2 photo taken within six months
    • white background
    • no caps
    • clear
    • write your name and birth date at the back
  3. original marriage certificate from the PSA issued within one year NOTE: if there’s no record in the PSA get the Certificate of NON RECORD from the PSA and Certificate of Marriage from the Local Registrar
  4. original birth certificate from the PSA issued within one year NOTE: if unreadable, get the Certificate of Non Record from the PSA and Birth Certificate from the Local Registrar
  5. a photocopy and original copy of the Certificate of Eligibility
  6. visa application form

In case the birth certificate is late registered, you must bring the additional documents listed below.

  1. baptismal certificate
  2. school report card or Form 137

How much did I pay for the visa application fee?

To give you a detailed breakdown, the handling fee is 1200php and the visa fee is 1350php. Thus, I paid a total of 2,550php.

How long was the duration of the spouse visa for residency application?

According to the Japanese staff, it might take a week to one month before the Embassy of Japan grants me one. As it’s a spouse visa for residency, the process takes longer than the other type of visa.

A week after the application, I didn’t receive any email or text message from the agency. To be honest, I expected I’d receive it after one week. I wasn’t dismayed, I was nervous. Despite what the Japanese staff has told us which were supposed to give me hope, negative thoughts filled my mind any way. I prayed everyday for a positive outcome at the same time, ready to accept whatever the decision of the consul would be. I consoled myself by thinking how God moves in mysterious ways.

Two weeks passed and the agency still hasn’t kept in touch. Speaking of which, my husband emailed the agency about the concern. What he got as a reply was a reassurance that everything would turn out well. We held on a little bit longer because I’m a believer that there’s a reason and a right time for everything.

I waited for everyday until one Friday morning, exactly three weeks and two days from the application, while I was playing the game Word Stacks, a message popped up. It’s from Friendship Tours saying, my visa has been approved and I could pick it up. I couldn’t be more relieved.

This is my Japan Visa
Spouse Visa

Finally embraced the thought that my visa application is here. I’m beyond grateful to God.

Now, on to the last step before entering Japan, the CFO sticker.

Friendship Tours Cebu

For more information about the agency, please contact or visit their website. Just click the links below. Actually, all the highlighted words in this post contain links. Please click them because they’ll direct you to the corresponding sites.






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5 thoughts on “Spouse Visa for Japan Residency”

  1. Hello po! Thus the spouse visa usually a singe entry only? Does it mean I cannot go back to Philippines within the specified validity of my visa?

    Reply

    1. The visa can be a multiple entry visa. For spouse visa though, it depends if it’s for a short visa or for residency. As far as I know kasi po, pwd kang kumuha ng spouse visa if you’re married to a Japanese at gusto mo lng bumisita sa Japan. Pag.single entry po kailangan mong kumuha ng visa ulit pg.balik mo na ng Pinas at gusto mong bumalik. At kapag lumagpas na sa validity of stay yung visa mo, illegal na yon so need mong pumunta sa Philippine Embassy.:)

      Reply

      1. Hello,

        Question: when you applied for the spouse visa, aside from the above mentioned documents, did you also submit other supporting docs, e.g. pics together, financial capacity, etc? Appreciate your reply so much as I am about to apply next week.

        Reply
  2. Pingback: Getting the CFO Sticker in CFO Cebu - Bethy's Tiny Stories

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