Marriages between Korean 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 marriages between Koreans

Marital eligibility

The minimum age for marriage in Korea is 18.

Both parties must be at least this age.

In addition, the marriage must be legal according to Korean law, and must not be a case of bigamy or consanguineous marriage (e.g. between direct blood relatives or direct in-laws), etc.

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

①Obtain a family relations certificate and a marriage relations certificate for Korean nationals

Normally, foreigners who submit a marriage registration at a city hall in Japan need to have a certificate of no impediment to marriage. However, the Korean Embassy will not issue this certificate. Instead, you can apply for a family relations certificate and a marriage relations certificate at the Korean Embassy.

※ If the name, date of birth, or registered domicile (legal domicile) is incorrect, the certificate cannot be issued

※ It is also possible to apply by post or through a representative. For details on applying by post, please check the website of the Korean Embassy.

For details, please check the website of the Korean Embassy.

② Report your marriage at your local municipal office in Japan

*The governments of Japan and South Korea have agreed to use Family Relationship Certificates and Marriage Relationship Certificates instead of Certificates Of No Impediment To Marriage, but there is a possibility that the staff at the city hall do not know about this change. In that case, please explain about this change in requirements. If that does not work, please contact the Legal Affairs Bureau that has jurisdiction over that city hall

Depending on the city office, the required documents may change other than the family relations certificate or marriage certificate, so please check in advance.

③ Reporting your marriage in Korea

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 Korean embassy and submit your marriage registration.

Also, if you do not submit your marriage registration in Korea within three months of submitting it in Japan, you will need to submit additional documents and go through additional procedures.

Procedures and required documents: Korean method (method of getting married in Korea first)

For the Korean method, you can either go to the Korean Consulate General with your spouse or apply at a Korean city hall (you can also apply by post).

For details on the required documents, please contact the Korean Consulate General or the Korean city hall where you plan to apply.

*However, this service is only available to South Korean citizens. If the matter of your birth is not recorded in the Korean family register or you are not registered as a foreign national, it will be difficult to follow the above application procedures.

After obtaining a South Korean 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 marriage in Japan for South Koreans and the necessary documents.

Depending on your situation, you will 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 dependent visa for one of you.

If there are any deficiencies in the marriage procedures up to this point, they may cause 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.

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