Marriages between Taiwanese people 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 when marrying a Taiwanese person

Marital eligibility

The minimum age for marriage in Taiwan is 18.

Both parties must be at least this age.
In addition, it must be a legal marriage in accordance with Taiwanese law, such as not being a bigamy or a marriage between close relatives (e.g. direct blood relatives, direct in-laws, etc.).

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

① Obtain a certificate of eligibility for marriage (certificate of single status) for Taiwanese nationals

This document can be obtained at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan.

For more information, please see the website of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan.

If you are a Taiwanese citizen and are going to get married in Japan first, we recommend that you obtain a copy of your family register, including a spare copy.

However, depending on the municipal office in Japan that you go to for the next step ②, you may be able to use a copy of your family register from Taiwan as proof of your marital status instead of a certificate of legal capacity for marriage (certificate of single status).

Therefore, please contact the municipal office where you plan to get married and check the detailed requirements.

② Report the marriage at the municipal office in Japan

③ Report the marriage in Taiwan

You must report your marriage within 30 days of getting married in Japan at the household registration office in your registered domicile in Taiwan or the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan.

The two of you must visit together to make the report.

※1 If the marriage certificate was issued by a municipal office outside the jurisdiction of the representative office, please have it certified in advance at the relevant office in Japan

Procedures and required documents: Taiwanese method (method of getting married in Taiwan first)

You can submit your marriage registration at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan without returning to Taiwan.

Please note that if you submit your marriage registration at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan, you can only do so without a reservation on Mondays to Thursdays, and you must make an online reservation on Fridays. Please be sure to read this before visiting: Click here for information on visiting and making an appointment.

After obtaining a Taiwanese marriage certificate, you can submit a marriage registration at the municipal office, which will make your stay in Japan smoother.

Summary

In this article, we have briefly explained the process of getting married in Japan between Taiwanese nationals and the necessary documents.
Depending on your situation, you can submit your marriage registration at either the municipal office or the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office 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 the visa application.

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

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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