1. First of all, let’s introduce what is the “family stay” visa in Japan
Family stay visa is simply a supplementary visa, just like the main and secondary cards of a credit card. First of all, the family needs to have a dependent with the main visa, such as For example, the "Technical Humanities Knowledge International Business" visa, then the spouse and children at home can apply for a family visa to live in Japan. It should be noted that the dependents holding the main visa must have income and pay taxes in Japan, so the Japanese language Family members who hold a study abroad visa during the school period cannot apply for a family stay visa. In addition, parents You cannot come to Japan to live as a family visa. For the visa types listed above, you can apply for a family visa for your family to reunite in Japan.
"Family stay" refers to dependents who stay as dependents. For example, for couples, in principle they must have the conditions to live together and be financially dependent on each other. The status of a child's dependents refers to the situation where the child is receiving education and under the supervision of his or her parents. If your child is over 20 years old and is still receiving support, you must submit a certificate proving that you are a current student or international student (such as an admission permit). In principle, people holding family visas cannot engage in employment activities. If you want to engage in employment activities, you must go to the Immigration Bureau to apply for “Permit for Activities Outside Qualifications” or change your status of residence.
The core of the family stay visa: proof of kinship between the applicant and the dependents; income of the dependents.
Kinship is easy to prove. If it is a spouse, a marriage notarization is required. If it is a child, a kinship notarization is required. As for income, there is no clear regulation, but generally speaking, the greater the number of dependents, the higher the income requirements for the primary sponsor. As long as the annual income of the dependent is not too low (less than 3 million yen per year), it is generally no problem to bring up a spouse and a child.
For a family visa, you must first obtain the "Certificate of Eligibility for Family Stay" and then apply for the "Family Stay Visa". The "Certificate of Certificate of Eligibility for Dependent Stay" is generally submitted to the Immigration Bureau, and without supplementary materials, the result will be given in 2 weeks at the earliest and 3 months at the latest; the "Visa Application for Dependent Stay" only needs to be submitted to the embassy or consulate. , according to the current speed, the fastest is 6 working days, and the slowest is 1 month or 2 months.
2. Steps for applying for a “family stay” visa in Japan
1. You must first apply for a family stay in Japan Certificate of Eligibility for Residence
Preparation materials
(1) Application for Certificate of Eligibility for Residence 1 copy
(2) Photo (4cm*3cm) (1) Photo taken within the past three months, with the front without a hat and a white background (2) Write your name and date of birth on the back of the photo
(3) A self-addressed envelope and affix a 404 yen stamp.
(4) Documents such as the identity and relationship between the applicant and the caregiver (1) Household register (2) Certificate of acceptance of marriage registration - Apply for marriage procedures in Japan (3) Marriage certificate - Applying for marriage procedures in China (4) Birth certificate
(5) Residence card and passport
(6) Dependent’s occupation and income certification materials (1) Copy of employment certificate or business license certificate (2) Resident tax assessment Certificate and tax certificate are required if the dependent is working or running a business other than Deposit certificate in the name of the dependent or relevant certificate that clearly states the scholarship
(7) Reason for application (not absolutely required, but generally recommended)
Submit materials
Bring all the prepared materials, and bring the certificate to the location near the location Completed the procedures at the Immigration Bureau. Taking the Tokyo Immigration Bureau as an example, the acceptance time starts at 8:30 in the morning on weekdays and ends at 16:00. Business hours: 8:30 - 16:00. Go directly to the 2nd floor of the Immigration Bureau and find the queue with the five-pointed star in Area B. When you get there, hand over all the information to the service staff.
At this time, the service staff will give you a postcard and a number plate. The postcard is very important. You must fill in the mailing address on it. When the submitted family stay procedure is successfully delivered, you will be notified and you will come back with the relevant required information. Once into the administration.
After filling out the postcard, leave the five-pointed star area and wait for your number to be called at the picture below. When it is your turn, hand all the materials to the counter service staff. After confirming that they are correct, you will be given an application fee ticket.
The application receipt must be kept well. When the family status of residence is issued, you must present it to collect it.
Apply for a paid ticket
2. After obtaining the certificate of residence qualification, apply for a short-term Japanese visa in China to go to Japan
Foreigners who visit Japan must, in principle, hold a passport issued by the government of their home country and obtain a valid visa issued by the Japanese government
Submit information - Consulate of Japan in China
(1) Original passport
(2) Visa application form
(3) 2-inch bareheaded photo with white background
(4) Original and copy of certificate of residence qualification
(5) Original and copy of household register
(6) Marriage Questionnaire
(7) Kinship Questionnaire
In addition to the above information, other supplementary materials may be required based on the needs of the review.
3. What you need to pay attention to when applying for a family visa
1. You can bring your spouse and minor children with you, but you cannot bring your parents to live in Japan. If the children are adults, they can go to Japan to reunite through studying abroad, employment, business, etc. If you are in Language school stage, cannot be applied for However, if you are an international student studying in Japan, such as university, master's degree, or doctorate, and provide a certain degree of deposit certificate, scholarship certificate, and overseas remittance certificate, you can theoretically apply for family stay. This is different from the language school stage. The visa allows you to engage in activities outside the qualifications, which means you can legally work 4 hours a day, 28 hours a week.
2. In addition, if the dependents pay the Welfare Pension, then the entire family only needs to pay this share. However, if the dependents pay the National Pension, then the spouse also needs to pay the National Pension. In the Japanese tax system, the so-called [dependency exemption] objects cannot exceed 1.03 million in annual income, otherwise they will be excluded from the [dependency exemption]. If the holder of a family stay visa meets the application conditions for other visas, he or she can change the status of residence. For example, if you have a university degree, you can change your status to a "Technical Humanities Knowledge International Business" visa.
3. If your child applies for a family stay, the upper limit is 18 years old (currently Rules)
The current standard for immigration control is that children applying for "family stay" are in principle under the age of 18. Those over 18 years old will be advised to apply for "study abroad", etc.
4. When applying, you should pay attention to the size of the house you live in.
During the immigration review, you will pay attention to the building type of the address. This is especially true when international students apply to be accompanied by their family members. There are also cases where you are asked to add a lease agreement and floor plan during the review. Housing that is not suitable for family sharing, such as a room that is too small (such as a dormitory or a student dormitory), will result in a visa rejection. If there are relevant circumstances, you may wish to change housing before applying.
5. "Family status" is the status of dependents.
Even if the spouse and children have jobs or assets in China, they will still become "dependents" after coming to Japan. This is the premise of "family stagnation". Therefore, it is necessary to fully prove that the Japanese inviter (dependant) has a stable income that can support the family, or a high bank balance (especially important for international students). In addition, there is no problem if the spouse transfers the Chinese savings to the account of the Japanese caregiver to prove that the spouse has enough funds to support himself.
6. If the child (family stay) returns to the country, the spouse's family stay update may not be smooth.
The spouse and children are both family stays, but the child returns to the home country and the spouse renews the residence card alone. In the past, there was no problem in updating the residence card. But the probability of not being allowed is increasing recently. When updating, the reasons why the children have to be separated from their parents and who will take care of the children must be fully explained.
7. If the dependents go abroad for a long time, it will be detrimental to the renewal of the family’s stay.
The Immigration Control Bureau will worry about "who will raise and take care of the family members in Japan?". If you are returning from an overseas assignment, your salary in Japan will still be paid, and there are other relatives in Japan who can help take care of you, so there won’t be a big problem. It will be disadvantageous if the dependents return to their home country for a long time and do not have a stable income in Japan.
8. The amount of income determines how many people can be supported (how many "family stays" can be applied for)
Many people are concerned: How much annual income can I apply for my spouse and children?
As a case reference, a person with a monthly income of 180,000 (annual income of 2.16 million) applied for 4 people (spouse and 3 children), but was not approved. If you are not at ease, you need to continue to supplement or gradually increase:
① Include ボーナス income in the application
② Emphasize bank savings
③ Materials to supplement sideline income, etc.
In addition, the immigration management may require you to submit the company's "counseling account" to verify whether the salary flow amount is consistent with this. If it is inconsistent, it is best to explain it.
More: 2021How to apply for a Japanese family stay visa - Zhouyi Travel Network
