I am searching for a way to find a guarantor (or some alternative) in Japan in order to get a Long-term Resident Visa (my grandparents are Japanese living in Canada).
Backstory: I went to Japan in 2019 to update my family koseki in Shizuoka prefecture so that I could add myself and my mother to establish lineage. This went well, and I got the updated koseki. I went back to Canada, got the application for my CoE (Certificate of Eligibility) for a 3 year Long-term Resident Visa, and sent that to my cousin in Japan. He went to the immigration office in Shizuoka and got the application done. By the time I received the CoE, the pandemic had hit. FML. So it turns out that they would honor the CoE past the usual 3 month limit because of the pandemic – but things dragged on. Fast forward to 2022, and my cousin dies. They did give a window to use the CoE at the end of 2022, but it was short (no) notice and I wasn’t able to use it in time. So here is the problem (beyond my cousin dying) – I no longer have a guarantor in Japan, which I needed in order to use the CoE to get my visa (and now I need to apply for a new CoE – which also requires a guarantor). He was the only family that I had contact with in Japan – the rest of the family is either too old, or I cannot contact them.
Options that I know of at this point:
1) I could go to Japan on a 90 day tourist visa and try to figure things out. Seems like an expensive long shot. Not only would I have to find a guarantor, but as per the visa requirements, I would also have to secure a residence in Japan (an address that would accommodate me, and possibly my family). I would have to secure an address either way, but I wouldn’t want to sign a 1 year lease when my visa application isn’t guaranteed.
2) Find a job and start by getting a work visa and turn that into a Long-term visa later. Also seems like a long shot because of my lack of a degree. Also, I am over 35, so maybe english language schools would not be an option? On the other hand, the degree requirement is just because of immigration/visa requirements, and the fact that I could get a 3 year Long-term Visa might help?
3) Find some random person living in Japan who is willing to act as my guarantor and maybe do some of the leg work (if not I could fly back and forth between Canada and Japan to get the paperwork done – but that is an expensive PITA).
4) Maybe there are lawyers or guarantor companies that I could pay to help (like the guarantor companies that cosign for apartment rentals in Japan)? Not sure if this is an option.
I currently live in Canada – I don’t speak Japanese – I don’t have a 2 year degree – I do have enough money to support myself without income for the first year – 38 years old, wife, 2 kids ages 5 and 8 – Plan would be to live in Japan for 1-2 years as a trial and see how jobs/school/general living went.
Any suggestions and/or links are appreciated. Cheers!
Details on the guarantor requirements:
The definition of a “guarantor” under the Immigration Control Act is the following:
“In accordance with the Immigration Control Act, a guarantor is someone who has vowed to the Minister of Justice that they will take it upon themselves to assist the foreign national with their smooth integration into Japanese society, both socially and financially, while ensuring that they comprehend and are compliant with local rules and regulations. Although these assurances being made to the Minister of Justice are not legally enforceable (at best, authorities can only remind a guarantor of their duties), they do hold a degree of social accountability. Those who shirk their duties as guarantor will not be accepted on subsequent applications.”
As you can see from the explanation above, if something happens to the person who obtained a Permanent Resident visa in Japan, for example, the “guarantor” is morally responsible, but even if the guarantor does not do anything, he/she will not be pursued by the Immigration Bureau, etc.
When asking for someone to be your “guarantor,” explain to them thoroughly, referring to the contents above. That way they will surely be convinced and happily agree to be your guarantor.
Also, there are no specific regulations for being a “guarantor,” but generally, it is limited to a Japanese national or a foreign national living in Japan with a “Permanent Resident” status. Sometimes customers ask us if a foreign national with a work visa in Japan can be their “guarantor.” In general, a foreign national on a work visa cannot be their “guarantor.”
The reason for that is because the “guarantor” of a Permanent Resident applicant must be the guarantor throughout the whole time the applicant resides in Japan. Those with a work visa can only stay in Japan for a fixed period of time. Therefore, they are not suitable for being a “guarantor” for a Permanent Resident applicant who will stay in Japan permanently.
3 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Finding a guarantor (or alternative) in Japan**
I am searching for a way to find a guarantor (or some alternative) in Japan in order to get a Long-term Resident Visa (my grandparents are Japanese living in Canada).
Backstory: I went to Japan in 2019 to update my family koseki in Shizuoka prefecture so that I could add myself and my mother to establish lineage. This went well, and I got the updated koseki. I went back to Canada, got the application for my CoE (Certificate of Eligibility) for a 3 year Long-term Resident Visa, and sent that to my cousin in Japan. He went to the immigration office in Shizuoka and got the application done. By the time I received the CoE, the pandemic had hit. FML. So it turns out that they would honor the CoE past the usual 3 month limit because of the pandemic – but things dragged on. Fast forward to 2022, and my cousin dies. They did give a window to use the CoE at the end of 2022, but it was short (no) notice and I wasn’t able to use it in time. So here is the problem (beyond my cousin dying) – I no longer have a guarantor in Japan, which I needed in order to use the CoE to get my visa (and now I need to apply for a new CoE – which also requires a guarantor). He was the only family that I had contact with in Japan – the rest of the family is either too old, or I cannot contact them.
Options that I know of at this point:
1) I could go to Japan on a 90 day tourist visa and try to figure things out. Seems like an expensive long shot. Not only would I have to find a guarantor, but as per the visa requirements, I would also have to secure a residence in Japan (an address that would accommodate me, and possibly my family). I would have to secure an address either way, but I wouldn’t want to sign a 1 year lease when my visa application isn’t guaranteed.
2) Find a job and start by getting a work visa and turn that into a Long-term visa later. Also seems like a long shot because of my lack of a degree. Also, I am over 35, so maybe english language schools would not be an option? On the other hand, the degree requirement is just because of immigration/visa requirements, and the fact that I could get a 3 year Long-term Visa might help?
3) Find some random person living in Japan who is willing to act as my guarantor and maybe do some of the leg work (if not I could fly back and forth between Canada and Japan to get the paperwork done – but that is an expensive PITA).
4) Maybe there are lawyers or guarantor companies that I could pay to help (like the guarantor companies that cosign for apartment rentals in Japan)? Not sure if this is an option.
I currently live in Canada – I don’t speak Japanese – I don’t have a 2 year degree – I do have enough money to support myself without income for the first year – 38 years old, wife, 2 kids ages 5 and 8 – Plan would be to live in Japan for 1-2 years as a trial and see how jobs/school/general living went.
Any suggestions and/or links are appreciated. Cheers!
Details on the guarantor requirements:
The definition of a “guarantor” under the Immigration Control Act is the following:
“In accordance with the Immigration Control Act, a guarantor is someone who has vowed to the Minister of Justice that they will take it upon themselves to assist the foreign national with their smooth integration into Japanese society, both socially and financially, while ensuring that they comprehend and are compliant with local rules and regulations. Although these assurances being made to the Minister of Justice are not legally enforceable (at best, authorities can only remind a guarantor of their duties), they do hold a degree of social accountability. Those who shirk their duties as guarantor will not be accepted on subsequent applications.”
As you can see from the explanation above, if something happens to the person who obtained a Permanent Resident visa in Japan, for example, the “guarantor” is morally responsible, but even if the guarantor does not do anything, he/she will not be pursued by the Immigration Bureau, etc.
When asking for someone to be your “guarantor,” explain to them thoroughly, referring to the contents above. That way they will surely be convinced and happily agree to be your guarantor.
Also, there are no specific regulations for being a “guarantor,” but generally, it is limited to a Japanese national or a foreign national living in Japan with a “Permanent Resident” status. Sometimes customers ask us if a foreign national with a work visa in Japan can be their “guarantor.” In general, a foreign national on a work visa cannot be their “guarantor.”
The reason for that is because the “guarantor” of a Permanent Resident applicant must be the guarantor throughout the whole time the applicant resides in Japan. Those with a work visa can only stay in Japan for a fixed period of time. Therefore, they are not suitable for being a “guarantor” for a Permanent Resident applicant who will stay in Japan permanently.
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> Find some random person living in Japan who is willing to act as my guarantor and maybe do some of the leg work
Since this has come up a lot lately for some reason, I want to point out that a random person should not act as your guarantor. What guarantee does a random stranger give you that they will do what you ask? If you are offering to pay for the privilege, could an unscrupulous person not take the money and run? If you aren’t offering money, what are you offering them for the liability you are asking them to take on?
The role of guarantor is specifically designed to be someone you know, someone who guarantees they will do what you ask and who trusts you to follow the rules. Even a friend of a friend is more likely to do that based on transitive trust than a random stranger.
I’m not picking on you specifically here – as I noted, we’ve had three or four posts about this in the past couple of weeks, so I wanted to get it written down: random strangers should not be your guarantor, and you should be concerned about anyone who offers to.
Out of curiosity, what do you intend to do for work here?
I ask, because if your plan is to work remotely for your company back in Canada, then you could probably arrange for an Employer of Record to ‘hire’ you and act as your guarantor (as well as handle the various other HR bits).
>Find a job and start by getting a work visa and turn that into a Long-term visa later. Also seems like a long shot because of my lack of a degree. Also, I am over 35, so maybe english language schools would not be an option? On the other hand, the degree requirement is just because of immigration/visa requirements, and the fact that I could get a 3 year Long-term Visa might help?
If you’re going to look at ALT or Eikaiwa work, you should be aware that those positions are unlikely to pay well enough to convince immigration that you’d be able to support your wife and two children. Those jobs are generally fairly low wages and immigration would use the salary from your work as the basis for determining your ability to support dependents. But yes, the main hurdle for those sorts of jobs is qualifying for a status of residence, which you do. So the degree would not be required.
>I don’t speak Japanese […] I do have enough money to support myself without income for the first year
Not being able to speak Japanese would represent a significant hurdle for the sorts of jobs that would pay well enough to support dependents. I’d say perhaps spend your first year studying Japanese, and the language school could be your guarantor. They’re used to sponsoring full blown student visas so being your guarantor should be a cakewalk for them. But that doesn’t solve the problem of being able to support your dependents.
Keep in mind with your budgeting, if you’re going to send your children to international school (and if you’re thinking you may want to go back to Canada in a few years I’d suggest looking here: [https://columbia-ca.co.jp/en/](https://columbia-ca.co.jp/en/) to make sure the kids follow the Canadian curriculum) you’ll need to keep those costs in mind.