Glossary

The version of a 住民票 (certificate of residence) covering everyone at the address rather than one person. This is the version that evidences a couple living together.

The city office's record of who lives at an address. Ask for the version showing every member of the household (世帯全員) so it evidences that the couple live together.

The modern name for a full copy of the family register. A form asking for a 戸籍謄本 and a city office issuing a 全部事項証明書 (full certificate of all recorded matters) are asking for and issuing the same thing.

Where applications are filed. Jurisdiction follows the Japanese spouse's address, not the applicant's nationality.

A local branch under a regional immigration bureau. Often closer than the bureau, but not all of them accept residence applications — some handle only airport, seaport or enforcement work.

A registered professional (an 行政書士 (administrative scrivener) or lawyer with filing accreditation) who may submit on the applicant's behalf. A spouse filing for their partner is a representative, not a 取次者 (authorised agent / filing agent).

The same role, filled by somebody living abroad — a parent supporting a student, for instance.

Whoever actually pays the applicant's living costs and lives in Japan. On a spouse case this is usually the Japanese spouse, and usually the same person as the guarantor — but the two roles are asked for separately and can differ.

The card issued to mid- and long-term residents, showing status, period and expiry. The number is two letters, eight digits, two letters.

Extends an existing spouse status. Can be filed from about three months before the card expires. 6,000 yen is payable when permission is granted (5,500 yen if filed online). The 4,000 yen figure still widely quoted applies only to applications received on or before 31 March 2025.

The legal category that permits a foreign national to be in Japan and says what they may do here. "Spouse or Child of Japanese National" is one such status. It is not the same thing as a visa.

Used when the applicant is already in Japan on some other status and wants to switch to the spouse status. 6,000 yen is payable when permission is granted (5,500 yen if filed online). The 4,000 yen figure still widely quoted applies only to applications received on or before 31 March 2025.

A certificate issued in Japan confirming in advance that an applicant meets the conditions for a status. The consulate abroad then issues the visa on the strength of it. Valid for three months from issue.

The form that creates a marriage in Japanese law. The marriage exists from the moment a city office accepts it -- a ceremony has no legal effect by itself.

A document from the foreign spouse's own country confirming they are free to marry under its law. The municipality needs it to accept the 婚姻届 (marriage registration notification). The United States no longer issues one; US citizens present the Embassy's published letter instead.

The address the applicant intends to live at in Japan. For a certificate of eligibility it decides which bureau has jurisdiction — not the applicant's nationality and not where they are now.

The law governing the family register. It sets the three-month window for reserving Japanese nationality for a child born abroad.

The Japanese spouse's family register. Once a marriage to a foreign national is registered, the foreign spouse's name and nationality appear in the remarks. This is the primary proof the marriage exists in Japanese law.

The person supporting the applicant, named at item 26 of the application. For a spouse visa this is the Japanese spouse.

The status of residence this application prepares for. The 等 ("or the like") matters: the same status covers a special adopted child and a child of a Japanese national, not only a spouse.

The address at which a Japanese family register is kept. Often an ancestral address rather than where the person actually lives.

A sticker placed in the passport by a Japanese embassy or consulate abroad. It is permission to travel to a port of entry and ask to be let in -- nothing more. The status of residence is what is granted on arrival.

A separate status with no period of stay. The Agency's monthly processing table reports it in its own row, which covers every permanent-residence applicant whatever status they held before.

Where an application was filed before the period of stay expired, the holder may remain until the decision or two months from expiry, whichever comes first.

A free-form letter, with no official template, explaining something in the record that needs context — a penalty, an overstay, a previous refusal, or an unusual history.

The accreditation that lets a qualified person hand an application in for the applicant. It is permission to submit, not permission to be the applicant: the application remains the applicant's own.

Confirms the tax shown on the 課税証明書 (taxable income certificate) was paid. Unpaid residence tax is a recurring cause of trouble; clear arrears before filing.

Whoever actually pays the applicant's living costs. 在日経費支弁者 (supporter residing in japan) is one living in Japan; 在外経費支弁者 (supporter residing outside japan) is one living abroad.

The column on a 住民票 (certificate of residence) showing how each person relates to the head of the household — spouse, child, and so on. It is omitted unless you ask for it.

A field marked 自筆 (written in one's own hand) must be handwritten, not typed. On these forms the guarantor's name, and the applicant's signature and the date of preparation, are all 自筆.

A field marked this way must be written by the person themselves, in ink, after printing. A typed or printed name in a 自署 (signed in one's own hand) box is a common reason a bundle is handed back at the counter.

A nationally qualified specialist in preparing documents for submission to public authorities. Preparing an application for somebody else, for a fee, is their reserved work; one who has additionally notified a regional bureau may also file on an applicant's behalf.

The Agency's own filled-in specimen of a form, which is the authority for house style — how boxes are ticked and choices ringed.

States taxable income for a given year. Immigration uses it to check the household can support itself. Pair it with the 納税証明書 (tax payment certificate), which shows the tax was actually paid.

A request by post for more material, usually with a fortnight's deadline. It is routine and is not a refusal — but the days spent answering it are counted inside the published processing average, so a slow reply lengthens the wait.

An eight-page form asking how the couple met, how they communicate, and how the marriage came about. It is the document where a genuine marriage is demonstrated or a doubtful one exposed.

The person who signs the 身元保証書 (letter of guarantee). For a spouse visa this is virtually always the Japanese spouse. They must sign by hand.

A moral undertaking by someone in Japan -- normally the Japanese spouse -- covering living costs, the fare home, and compliance with Japanese law. It is not an enforceable debt, but it identifies a responsible person.

Issued instead of a 納税証明書 (tax payment certificate) where income fell below the taxable threshold, so there is no tax to certify as paid.