Hello! My wife and I are moving to Japan, and she's a citizen so she's already moved there and gotten things started. We're currently in the process of getting my spouse visa applied for and approved. She doesn't like being away from me for so long, so she's asking if I can come as a temporary visitor in the meantime. I know I can't work there until the visa is approved. I read online and I could find both "it doesn't affect anything" and "it could jeopardize your application" so I wanted to ask here for some more answers. Is it alright to go to Japan as a temporary visitor while waiting for the spouse visa application to be approved? Once it is approved, would I need to return home and then back to Japan again with the visa? Thanks for any help!
by DanTheManWithThePant
1 comment
>she’s asking if I can come as a temporary visitor in the meantime.
So whether or not this is possible really depends on your nationality. If you’re from a country that has a visa waiver agreement with Japan, then it is possible for you to enter Japan while your CoE is being processed. If you require a tourist visa then you can’t, because you can’t have more than one application in progress at a time. Even if you are able to enter Japan using visa waivers, immigration doesn’t recommend doing so as they may ask for additional documentation from you and it could cause significant delays if you need to return to your home country to get it.
>Once it is approved, would I need to return home and then back to Japan again with the visa?
Historically the spouse of the Japanese national status has been an except to the “you can’t change from tourist to long term stay” rule. However folks have been reporting that immigration has been stricter on this lately. Once you get your CoE, you should definitely ask if you could use it to acquire a status of residence at your local immigration office. But you should be prepared to have to take a trip home for a couple of weeks to submit the visa application at the embassy/consulate.
Good luck!