Marriage between Vietnamese Nationals in Japan

General Process for Marriage Between Foreigners

When applying for a visa on the premise of marrying a foreigner, you will need to satisfy the following three points in principle, regardless of the type of visa you are applying for:
1) Both parties must be of legal age to marry.
2) The marriage procedures in Japan and your home country must be complete
3) You must be living as a married couple in accordance with Japanese social norms

In this case, the type of visa will be as follows.

Examples of visas that can be obtained by the spouse in the case of a marriage between foreigners

We will explain each point.

Both parties must meet the requirements for marriage

Both parties must be over 18 years old, and must also be over the age of marriage in their home country.
In addition, they must be single before getting married.

If one or both parties have been divorced or widowed in the past, additional documents relating to this situation may be required.

The marriage procedures in Japan and your home country must be complete

Both the marriage procedures at the Japanese municipal office (ward office, city office, town office) and the marriage procedures in your home country must be complete.

There are two ways to go about the marriage procedures:
Japanese method
Submit the marriage registration and hold the wedding ceremony in Japan, and then submit the marriage registration to the embassy of your partner’s country. In some cases, no notification is required.

※ Foreign language documents must be accompanied by a Japanese translation.
※1 A birth certificate that confirms the names and dates of birth of the parents, a certificate of nationality (or passport) that confirms the nationality, and a certificate of divorce if there has been a divorce are required, but the required documents vary slightly depending on the country, we will explain the details in the next session.

Foreign methods
The easiest way is to submit the marriage registration at the embassy of your home country, and then submit the marriage registration at the nearest municipal office.
Alternatively, you can submit the marriage registration in your home country, and then submit it the next time you visit Japan.
The marriage registration procedure differs depending on the country, so we will explain this in more detail in the next section.

Living as a married couple in Japanese society

This means that you are living together as a married couple in Japan and are living in cooperation with each other. When applying for a visa for a Japanese spouse, etc., it is not the case that the marriage is judged to be valid simply on the basis of the marriage procedures on paper, but “actually living in Japan as a married couple” is also a factor in the visa screening process.

The key points are whether or not the couple is living together and whether or not there is a financial dependency.

Whether or not you change your visa, and which visa you change to, depends on the current status of residence of both foreign nationals.
If both foreign nationals are permanent residents or have the same type of visa, there is no need to change.
If one foreign national is a permanent resident, the other can change to a Spouse of a Permanent Resident visa.
If one foreign national is a Long-term Resident, the other can also change to a Long-term Resident.
If one of the foreign nationals has a Working Visa, the other can change to a dependent visa.

For information on the spouse visa for permanent residents, please see here.
For information on the dependent visa, please see here.

Points to Note for Marriage between Vietnamese Nationals

Marriage eligibility

The minimum age for marriage in Vietnam is 20 for men and 18 for women.
Both parties must be at least this age.

Procedures and required documents: Japanese method (method of getting married in Japan first)

①Obtain a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage (Certificate of Single Status) for the Vietnamese couple

You can apply for this document at the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan.
For more information, please see the website of the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan.

※ If it is difficult to obtain these documents, you can also sign a Declaration of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage and have it certified at the Vietnamese embassy.
※1 You can also issue a power of attorney to a relative in Vietnam and ask them to apply on your behalf.
If this document does not state a valid period, the valid period will be 6 months.
※1 If you were living in a third country before coming to Japan, you will need to have this document issued by the Vietnamese embassy in that country.
※1 If you are currently serving as a soldier or officer in the Vietnamese military, you will need to have the marriage status confirmation document certified by the head of your organization.

② Register your marriage at a municipal office in Japan

※ If you are an Indochina refugee who is unable to obtain a certificate of no impediment to marriage from the Vietnamese embassy, please contact the municipal office where you are going.

※ The requirements may differ depending on the jurisdiction, so please check with the municipal office where you plan to submit your marriage registration for the specific requirements.

③ Report your marriage to Vietnam

When you submit your marriage registration at a municipal office in Japan, you will be issued a Certificate of Acceptance of Marriage Registration. Take this document back to the Vietnamese embassy and apply for a Certificate of Abstract of the Marriage Registry to report your marriage to Vietnam.

※ If the marriage procedures were carried out at the municipal office with one party absent (one person in Japan, one person in Vietnam), that person will need to carry out the procedures for the abstract of the family register in Vietnam. In this case, the Embassy will not accept the application.

Procedures and required documents: Vietnamese method (method of getting married in Vietnam first)

You can submit your marriage registration at the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan without returning to Vietnam.

※ If it is difficult to obtain these documents, you can also sign a declaration of no impediment to marriage and have it certified at the Vietnamese embassy.

※1 You can also issue a power of attorney to a friend or relative in Vietnam and ask them to apply on your behalf.
※1 If this document does not state an expiry date, it will be valid for 6 months
※1 If you lived in a third country before coming to Japan, you will need to have this document issued by the Vietnamese embassy in that country.
※1 If you are currently serving as a soldier or officer in the Vietnamese military, you will need to have your marital status certificate certified by the head of your organization.

※2 If you have a divorce verdict or other documents related to divorce issued by a foreign government, you must first register this record at the Vietnamese embassy before applying for a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage.

After completing this procedure, you can submit a marriage registration at your local city or ward office, which will make your stay in Japan smoother.

Summary

In this article, we have briefly explained the process of getting married in Japan and the necessary documents for Vietnamese nationals.

Depending on your situation, you can submit your marriage registration at either the municipal office or the Vietnamese embassy in Japan.

Once this procedure is complete, if you wish, you can apply for a spouse visa or a family stay visa for one of you.

If there are any deficiencies in the marriage procedure up to this point, there may be problems with your visa application.

Also, the documents you need to submit to the Immigration Bureau will differ depending on the type of visa you already have in Japan and your current immigration status, so if you are planning to apply for a visa in Japan, please make sure you do your research beforehand to find out which visa you need to apply for, what documents you need to submit with that visa, and any points to note. We also offer free consultations, so please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about applying for a visa through marriage.

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We are Yanagi group, which have offices in Osaka (Abeno and Tennoji), and our affiliated offices in Tokyo (Shibuya and Ebisu) are also available for an on-site consultation. We have handled many applications for permanent residence permits, naturalization permits, work visas, college student visas, management visas, etc., as well as visa renewal procedures related to the status of residence with the Immigration Bureau (Immigration Bureau) as a one-stop service. Our experienced administrative scriveners are also available to help you with any problems you may have. We also have staff members who can speak each of the native languages and can assist you in obtaining a visa.

Toll free number: 0120-138-552 

For English speaker: 080-9346-2991

For Chinese speaker: 090-8456-6196