Long-term resident visa

Frequent examples of long-term resident visas

There are three conceivable frequent examples of long-term resident visas.

●The first is when a foreign spouse who married a Japanese person will bring a “child from a previous marriage” to Japan.

●The second is when a foreigner who is a “spouse or child of Japanese national” has divorced or been widowed by a Japanese person but wants to stay in Japan

●The third is when a person of Japanese descent (a Brazilian person of Japanese descent, etc.) will obtain a long-term resident visa that does not have work restrictions.

Next, we will explain each of these cases.

●The first is when a foreign spouse who married a Japanese person will bring a “child from a previous marriage” to Japan. This is a situation in which a foreign spouse has a child in his or her home country who was conceived with a previous spouse before he or she married a Japanese person, and he or she will bring the child to Japan. In such a case, the conditions are that the child is a minor and is unmarried. Therefore, if the child is 20 years old or older it is not possible to bring him or her to Japan on a long-term resident visa. In addition, basically the older the child is the more difficult it will be to bring him or her to Japan. In general, a child who is 18 years old, which is the age of graduating from high school, is likely to be judged as having the ability to live on his or her own even though he or she is still a minor, and there is an aspect by which it is likely that permission will not be granted.

●The second is when a foreigner who is a spouse of a Japanese national has divorced or been widowed by a Japanese person but wants to stay in Japan and therefore will change to a “long-term resident.” The point in this case is whether or not the person has a child with Japanese nationality. If the person does not have a child with Japanese nationality, it is necessary for the period of marriage to have been at least three years. If the person has a child with Japanese nationality, there is a possibility even if the period of marriage was approximately one year. The person must be living with and raising the child with Japanese nationality in Japan. If the child is living with the person’s parent in his or her home country, it will not be possible to change to a long-term resident for the reason of raising the child.

●The third is when a person of Japanese descent will obtain a long-term resident visa that does not have work restrictions. Many people of Japanese descent are from South America, such as Brazilians of Japanese descent and Peruvians of Japanese descent. There are so many that there are Brazilian towns in places such as Gunma Prefecture. It is possible for people of Japanese descent up to the third generation, and in some cases up to the fourth generation, to obtain a long-term resident visa. A long-term resident visa does not have any work restrictions; therefore, it is possible to work in any kind of occupation. There is also no relationship between academic background and obtaining a visa. It is possible to obtain a visa by proving that the person’s ancestors were Japanese people by going back through a copy of the family register.

Changing from a visa for a “spouse or child of Japanese national” to a visa for a “long-term resident”

We receive questions from people who have married a Japanese person and have a visa for a “spouse or child of Japanese national” but want to know what happens to the visa if they divorce the Japanese person.
A frequent question in such cases is “Can I stay in Japan as I am now even if I get a divorce?”

The answer is, if you have married a Japanese person and have stayed in Japan for three years or more on a visa for a “spouse or child of Japanese national,” even if you get a divorce you can make a change to a “long-term resident visa.”
If you want to change to a “long-term resident” and stay in Japan after a divorce, it will be necessary to make an application by proving your current income and rationally and persuasively stating in a statement of reason how you will live in Japan from now on and why you want to stay in Japan.

Points

●If you do not have any children with Japanese nationality, the period of marriage must be a minimum of at least three years.
●If you have a child with Japanese nationality, there is a possibility even if the period of marriage is approximately one year.

Changing to a “long-term resident” for the reason of raising a child with Japanese nationality

If you are raising a child with Japanese nationality, it is possible to change to a “long-term resident” visa.
In such a case, the condition for changing to a long-term resident visa is that you will live with and raise a child with Japanese nationality in Japan.
In the event that the child will live with your parent in your home country, you will not be allowed to change to a long-term resident for the reason of raising a child (with Japanese nationality).
Even supposing that you are receiving welfare because the child is young and you cannot work, it will be necessary to explain in a document content stating that you are considering living by working yourself when the child is a little older and can be enrolled in daycare.

Points

●If you have a child with Japanese nationality, there is a possibility even if the period of marriage is approximately one year.

Bringing a minor child from a previous marriage to Japan

There are cases in which a foreigner who has a visa for a “spouse or child of Japanese national” was married in his or her home country before marrying a Japanese person, and has a child that with that foreign former spouse.
We are sometimes asked if it is possible to bring a child who was born as a result of a marriage to a previous spouse (a child from a previous marriage) to Japan.
The answer is that if that child is a minor and is unmarried, it is possible to bring the child to Japan on a “long-term resident” visa.
In such a case, we think that permission will be granted if a plan about the future is specifically presented to the Immigration Bureau, including what will be done about school after the child with foreign nationality comes to Japan and how the Japanese husband will be involved in raising the child (for example, whether or not he will adopt the child).

Point

●The conditions are that the child is a minor (up to 19 years old) and is unmarried. If the child is 20 years old or older, he or she cannot be brought over as a long-term resident. In addition, the older the child is the harder it is to obtain permission.
Things to be careful about for the screening

In the case of bringing a child from a previous marriage to Japan, the economic circumstances on the Japan side (whether there are financial resources sufficient for supporting the child) will be screened.
Strict screening of your past support for the child from a previous marriage thus far will also be conducted. For example, there will be questions about why you suddenly want to bring the child Japan even though you previously did not support him or her at all, and it will be necessary to answer such questions sufficiently.
It is likely that a judgment will be made that the child has become old enough to take on a part-time job and therefore you merely want to have him or her work in Japan in order to help your household budget, and if overall judgment is made permission will not be granted.
For an application for a long-term resident visa, the key points are to assert in the written reason for application an explanation of the background of raising the child thus far, the necessity of raising the child, and your plans for raising the child and daily life from now on (for example, you plan to support the child in Japan for a certain period and have him or her receive a high-standard education). In addition, because it is a requirement that the child will receive support for daily life, there is basically a premise that the child has the same address as his or her parents.

When you want to bring a child from a previous marriage who is 20 years old or older to Japan

This is a case in which a person wants to bring to Japan a child he or she had with a previous spouse (a foreigner) before marrying a Japanese person, and that child is already 20 years old or older (an adult).
Sometimes we are asked whether it is possible to bring such a child to Japan and live with him or her, but if the child is 20 years old or older, he or she cannot be brought to Japan on a “long-term resident visa.”
In the case of an adult, a long-term resident visa is not applicable. If he or she wants to come to Japan, there are methods of a short-term stay (visiting relatives), enrolling in a Japanese language school, vocational school, or university in Japan, marrying a Japanese person, marrying a foreigner who has a visa in Japan, or establishing a company and obtaining a business manager visa.
However, if he or she wants to come to Japan there are many things that are unrealistic about getting married or establishing a company; therefore, there is also a method of coming to Japan for a short-term stay and then searching for something such as a Japanese language school and switching to a student visa.

Inviting a parent

In the event that you want to bring a parent (a foreigner) to Japan for a long period, unfortunately, there is no applicable visa (status of residence) under the current Immigration Control Act, and the current situation is that it is difficult to obtain a visa for a parent.
However, in past examples there have been cases in which a parent came to Japan for 90 days to visit a relative (a short-term stay) and then changed to a “designated activities visa.”
This is a special decision by the Minister of Justice, and it is not easily allowed.
However, there is a possibility of permission for a person who fulfills the points below; therefore, it is worthwhile to give it a try.

Points

●The parent is 65 years old or older and lives by him or herself (there is no spouse).

●It is possible to prove that there are no relatives in the parent’s country who can take care of the parent.

●The child in Japan (the person making the invitation) is the only person who can take care of the parent.

●here are financial resources that are sufficient for taking care of the biological parent.
* If there is a spouse or another child of the parent in the parent’s country, it will be difficult to have a stay under “designated activities” allowed.