Hi all,
I’m planning on seeking legal advice on what’s involved with helping family members (specifically parents) move to Japan from the US. Searching this sub has turned up a few recommendations for legal consultants like acroseed, oak-admin, legal-service, and [immi.tokyo](https://immi.tokyo) so I’ll be contacting one of them in the near future after I’ve spoke more with my parents.
I was just curious if there are any here who have gone through something similar, and have suggestions/advice on questions that I should make sure I ask. I’m hopeful that the process of immigration itself will be (relatively) straightforward since I am a Japanese citizen and live here, and my father never renounced his citizenship despite moving to the US with my mother many years ago.
The challenges I foresee are going to be more along the lines of healthcare, housing, and how to move their savings from the US to Japan. If anyone has ever done this before, would you care to share your experiences?
Thank you.
4 comments
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> The challenges I foresee are going to be …
Isn’t the biggest challenge going to be finding an actual visa to move them here on? There’s some loophole where you can invite them for a specific purpose like helping raise the kids but there’s no “bring old people into a country already filled with old people” visa…
Did your dad get US citizenship as an adult? If so I think it would make more sense to talk to a lawyer first to see your options. Acquiring any other citizenship as an adult automatically makes you lose your jp citizenship. Japan is pretty strict about it and former jp citizens are protesting abroad for Japan to repeal this single citizenship law.
You don’t have an issue worth talking to a lawyer about.
1. Father applies for a CoE for mom
2. After receiving CoE mom gets visa in passport.
3. Take care of banking arrangements especially setting up international wire transfers to a Japanese bank.
4. Book flights and move.
5. Register with local city for healthcare. I assume they’re collecting US social security, they can arrange for that to be deposited in their Japanese accounts. They won’t have pension to worry about.