This article is a translation of the Japanese original. Where the two differ, the Japanese version prevails. Read the Japanese original（日本語版を読む）
Living apart does count against you, but that alone does not mean you cannot renew. If you explain the unavoidable reason with objective material, and show through records of contact and remittances that the marriage has continued while you were apart, renewal is possible.
This is an enquiry about how the renewal screening views a couple who live apart because of a job posting away from home, caring for a parent, or similar circumstances.
Because for 日本人の配偶者等, living together in Japan as a married couple is the most important premise.
As the name says, 「日本人の配偶者等」 is a status of residence that assumes you are the spouse of a Japanese national. In other words, living together in Japan as a married couple is the most important condition.
When a couple live in different places, the following doubts may arise.
In this way, the fact of living apart raises concerns about whether the marriage is genuine, and about its stability and continuity.
Not only the fact of living apart, but also whether the reason is a proper one, how long it has lasted, how the two of you keep in touch, how living costs are shared, and whether the 住民票 matches how you actually live.
If these points are unclear, or if there is not enough contact between the two of you, you may be judged to lack the substance of the marriage, and the risk that the renewal is denied becomes higher.
2 kinds: material that backs up the reason for living apart, and records showing that the marriage is continuing.
Together with objective material such as a company transfer order, documents on certification of long-term care needs, or a school admission notice for a child, explain the situation in detail in a written explanation. Make it clear as well that living apart is temporary, and that you intend to live together again in the future.
The application is not only the foreign spouse's problem. The Japanese spouse gathers material and prepares the explanation together with them.
The application is not the responsibility of only one of you. It is important that the Japanese spouse and the foreign spouse work together, gather the material and prepare the explanation as a couple.
So that the foreign spouse does not carry the pressure of the procedure alone, please have the Japanese spouse take an active part as well. If anything is unclear or worrying, please talk it through together without holding back.
The material you should put together changes with the reason for living apart, how long it has lasted, and the history of your marriage so far. If you have concerns, please consult us early.
The fact of living apart does not by itself lead straight to a denial. What is checked is whether the reason is a proper one, how long you have been apart, whether the two of you keep in touch, how living costs are shared, and whether the 住民票 matches how you actually live.
Explain it in a written explanation, together with objective material such as a company transfer order, documents on certification of long-term care needs, or a school admission notice for a child. Make it clear as well that you intend to live together again in the future.
Gather things such as incoming and outgoing call logs, message exchanges, records of video calls, photographs of the two of you together, air tickets and hotel booking slips from trips, and remittance records for living costs.
What is checked is whether the notification of a change of address has been made properly, and whether the address on the 住民票 is consistent with how you actually live.
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This page is a translation of the Japanese original. Where the two differ, the Japanese version prevails.