Confused about paperwork while moving to Japan in March 2024

4 comments

1. This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.

   —

   **Confused about paperwork while moving to Japan in March 2024**

   My husband and I just got married and I also just got accepted for an ALT company in Japan. I’m super excited, especially as a way to get my foot in the door to travel and live abroad.

   However, the company says that they’ll sponsor my visa, but won’t sponsor the COE for my husband. I read online that I’ll need to apply for that after I arrive in Japan.

   I was wondering what options I have so that he and I don’t need to be separated for a few months. Is it possible for him to come to Japan with me on a travel visa while I apply for his COE and then as a dependant on my visa?

   Also, if it possible for me to go through a visa application company so that I can start his application before we move together?

   Thank you for all your answers and time!!!

   *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.*

2. >Is it possible for him to come to Japan with me on a travel visa while I apply for his COE and then as a dependant on my visa

   It’s certainly possible for you to apply for a CoE for your husband while he is in Japan as a tourist. It is important to note though that your husband will not have any residence extensions granted during this time. So he would still be bound by the 90 day max. Additionally your husband would not be able to apply for a visa or a change of status from within Japan, so once the CoE is issued he’d need to take it to a country where he is a legal resident to apply for the visa.

3. Is your husband under 30 and from a country that has a working holiday visa agreement with Japan?

4. >I was wondering what options I have so that he and I don’t need to be separated for a few months.

   Unfortunately there simply aren’t any options. You either get your company to apply for both at the same time or you wait until you’ve arrived and do it yourself.

   >Is it possible for him to come to Japan with me on a travel visa while I apply for his COE and then as a dependant on my visa?\

   u/Benevir covered this pretty effectively. He could come, but because he would have to fly back to the US for the visa it would be a fairly expensive option.

   >Also, if it possible for me to go through a visa application company so that I can start his application before we move together?

   “Visa application company” is not really a thing that exists.

   Regardless, the answer is no, even if they did exist. His visa is inherently tied to yours. It requires certain documentation (income verification most notably) that only your company can provide before you arrive.

   One other thing that you need to consider as well: You’re working as an ALT. There is a non-zero chance that you might not be eligible for a dependent *at all*. ALT salaries are kind of right on the edge of what Immigration considers an acceptable income to sponsor a dependent. Depending on your company you might be perfectly ok (JET) or utterly screwed (Heart), with the rest of the companies falling somewhere in the middle.

   While your company has said they won’t sponsor the dependent you should still ask them if any of their ALTs have managed to bring dependents over on their own. The *last* thing you want is to learn that your salary is too low after you’ve already moved.