Sorry in advance if this is the wrong place for this question. I know this isn’t a sub for military stuff usually, just a long shot to see if anyone has experience with a situation like this.
I have been working in Okinawa for 2 years teaching English. I have a work visa. My spouse has been my dependent and working part time, but is currently waiting on his student visa to be finalized (language school, he has the paper in his passport but no new zairyu card yet). He does not want SOFA as losing his japanese visa will negatively effect his long term plans (permanent residency, converting his part time gig into a small business down the line).
Last month, I got an offer for an MCCS job on an american military base. Much better benefits + pay, I can go back to school using tuition reimbursement, the whole nine yards. Was upfront throughout the hiring / background check/ SOFA brief process that I have a partner who will be moving to a student visa during the same time period I am giving up my work permission. I said multiple times that he does not want to convert to SOFA or become my SOFA dependent. One person at personnel security said it was super wierd that I would be taking SOFA status and my spouse would not, but never said that I couldn’t do it. She even said that there had been other cases of MCCS employees in the same boat as me, but she had only seen seven others. Lol. I was given paperwork to take to Kadena immigration last week. HRO said that basically my partner and I would be in the same boat as a MCCS employee married to a japanese national (i.e. he will weirdly have some base privileges but will be able to keep his other status as a student). Immigration office would not accept this paperwork without punching my spouse’s residence card and sent me back to HRO. After some back and forth where personnel security reiterated that I *would* be able to convert to SOFA without my partner being forced to give up his japanese residency card, they suddenly called me back and then told me that all that was actually not true??
Apparently I am not eligible for SOFA unless my partner also gives up his student status and residency card.
This would not be such a big deal if he had not already started school and if I had not already quit my teaching job because I was meant to start working on base like next week. So now I’m honestly lost and feel awful. I don’t have military experience, this was going to be my first time working on a base and I didn’t know much going into this other than what my friends told me and looking online.
I know this is a long shot, but has anyone been in some similar situation? Or know any of those magical seven people who apparently made this work according to that personnel security lady?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
2 comments
I’m assuming because he is still a dependent that they want to punch his card. can you push off the start date until he gets his own permission to stay?
You can have SOFA, and choose for your dependent to not be sponsored. Lots of people do this when their spouse is Japanese, as being SOFA and holding an ID card will prohibit them from certain employment in the Japanese system (MLC, etc.).
Your situation is a little different, as your spouse has no way to stay here without you. They will have to sort their visa and ability to stay like they’re on their own.
IMO, the better way is for them to take the SOFA so they can stay, then work on the other part. Once you decline sponsorship for dependents, it can be hard to get it, and there’s a real chance the Japanese will deny their visa.
That said, there are contractors who are under SOFA, where their dependents are American and not sponsored. The Japanese give them a type of spouse visa, but it lacks the things you get with a regular spouse visa, like off base employment entitlement, etc.
Go talk to immigration before you move on this.