RResidents in Japan

Register Marriage in Japan before or after PR application?(Foreign marriage already done overseas)

  • March 20, 2026

I’m on an Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa and have been working in Japan for 5 years (out of 10 years living in Japan).I plan to apply for Permanent Residency (Eijūken) starting in April 2026.

My partner is on the same type of work visa but has only been here/working for 2 years.

We are already legally married in our home country (we have all the official marriage documents/certificates), but we haven’t reported it to anyone in Japan yet—no notification to Immigration (Immigration Services Agency) and no marriage registration (kon’in todoke) at the city/ward office.

Questions:

  1. Do we need to report the marriage to Immigration or register it at the city hall (submit kon’in todoke) at some point? Is there any obligation/requirement for mid-to-long-term residents like us?
  2. When I apply for PR (under the normal 5-year work-visa route), what marital status should I put on the application form? “Single” (because it’s not registered in Japan yet) or “Married” (since we’re legally married abroad)?

Any advice or experiences would be really helpful—especially if someone has been in a similar situation with a foreign marriage not yet registered in Japan. Thanks!

Edit1: I have lived in Japan for 10 years and worked for 5.

by Rockstha1998

7 comments

  1. > under the normal 5-year work-visa route

    I think you may want to reread PR application requirements. This type of route does not exist. 

    If you are applying based on points via 70+ HSP it will be a 3 year route or 80+ HSP at one year.  If you dont have HSP nor Long term visa you need to live here for 10 years.. 

  2. If neither of you are japanese citizens you would just need to update your juminhyo, right? No todoke needed, or possible.

  3. I’m afraid you’re not eligible for a PR under your current circumstance.
    A faster PR through marriage only works with a Japanese spouse.

  4. You don’t need to register in Japan but you should put “Married” on the application form. Second page has room to put your family members in Japan, so you can add your partner there and mention they’re your spouse

  5. Register first and submit tax documents for both of you in the PR application as described

  6. My partner and I were married in the US. Our marriage isn’t recognized in Japan but it is a legal marriage so I always put my status as married on forms that ask for it because I am actually married, I’m not single.

  7. If you’re both from the same country and are already married under your country’s laws you don’t need to do marriage registration (婚姻届) in Japan!!!

    However, assuming you live together following the marriage, you have the option of filing to become a household together (世帯合併の届出) in the town hall residence record (住民票) if you choose.

Comments are closed.