Situation is as written in the title. I’m currently visiting Japan as a tourist, already here for a month, with no U.S. return ticket purchased yet. My wife received my Spousal COE today; it instructs me to go to my local Japanese consulate (in the U.S.) to exchange it for an entry visa which I should submit when disembarking at Narita Airport.
Is there a way to have my COE processed here in Japan? I’d really prefer not to have to waste money flying back to the U.S. for a few days and then flying all the way back. I plan on calling immigration on Monday, but as that’s two days away, I was hoping someone else has gone through similar circumstances. Thanks!
4 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
—
**Spousal COE cleared while I’m on vacation in Japan; can I save myself a trip back to the US just to process the COE?**
Situation is as written in the title. I’m currently visiting Japan as a tourist, already here for a month, with no U.S. return ticket purchased yet. My wife received my Spousal COE today; it instructs me to go to my local Japanese consulate (in the U.S.) to exchange it for an entry visa which I should submit when disembarking at Narita Airport.
Is there a way to have my COE processed here in Japan? I’d really prefer not to have to waste money flying back to the U.S. for a few days and then flying all the way back. I plan on calling immigration on Monday, but as that’s two days away, I was hoping someone else has gone through similar circumstances. Thanks!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/movingtojapan) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Tourist to Spouse (of a Japanese national) is one of the few exceptions that Immigration has been known to make to the “You must leave the country and re-enter” rule. So you’ll probably be okay heading into your nearest immigration office to officially change your status.
If you get declined inside Japan then maybe consider going to Korea and back. Cheaper than going to the USA and you don’t need Korean residency depending on your citizenship.
Out of curiosity, you could go yourself after you got the entry visa? You don’t need to be with your spouse it sounds, and can enter first? I’m trying to figure this out for myself right now