Hello! My apologies if this has already been asked and answered, but I didn’t see much about such a complex situation. I’m an American about to receive their PhD in Chemistry. I’m reaching the point in my career where I am seeking out post-doc opportunities, and a professor at University of Tokyo is near the top of my list of candidates. However, if possible, I would like my partner to also travel with me. While it would technically be possible for them to do short stints in Japan and then fly back, it would be nicer if they could fully move should they want to. They are ex-Air Force (medically discharged), and currently live on government payments. As they are currently unemployed, without a Bachelor’s degree, and transgender, I’m assuming this will lead to significant challenges because they can’t apply to any of the English teaching programs I’m aware of due to qualifications and/or stigma. Additionally, we are not married so I’m assuming this also means I cannot state them as my partner for a visa application even if my income would be enough to support both of us (I don’t know how much I would make, just trying to find out the feasibility of such a move before reaching out). While I’m assuming all these factors mean we are pretty well screwed, I was wondering if anyone would have some advice or knowledge on how we could potentially make this move happen.
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2 comments
A dependent visa would require that you’re legally married (and the marriage would be recognized in Japan, so not a same sex marriage).
If you were legally married and same-sex you could probably have the University of Tokyo help push through a designated activities visa for your partner to join you. It is not automatic by any means but it is within the realm of possibility.
If you’re not legally married at all then your partner would require their own visa independent of you. Without higher education this becomes rather problematic. They might get lucky searching on USAjobs for a job that will send them to a military facility under SOFA. https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/Results?l=Japan&p=1
-edit-
I should mention as well that as far as Japan is concerned your partners name & gender is what is stated on their passport. So they will want to ensure their paperwork is all up to date to prevent mistakes.
>even if my income would be enough to support both of us (I don’t know how much I would make, just trying to find out the feasibility of such a move before reaching out)
You might want to reach out and check because postdoc positions typically pay 2 to 3 million yen per year. UTokyo may be an exception and a position that accepts a foreigner much more so though.