Both of you are abroad, and you both want to move to Japan

A common case: a US citizen married to a Japanese national, both living in the United States, who now want to relocate to Japan together. It looks like the simplest scenario and it is quietly the most awkward one, because the Japanese spouse's own position has to be sorted out first.

The Certificate of Eligibility is filed in Japan, and the person who may file it as the applicant's representative is a relative residing in Japan. Two of the required documents point the same way: the Japanese spouse's 住民票 (certificate of residence), which only exists once they are registered as a resident, and a guarantor who is in Japan.

So while the Japanese spouse is still living abroad there is nobody in Japan able to file. In practice the Japanese spouse returns first, registers their address at the municipal office, and files from there — the foreign spouse follows once the certificate is issued. Plan for a period apart; it is normal, and it is a perfectly good answer on the questionnaire.

The order things happen in

1. Register the marriage so it exists in Japanese law
   If you married in the United States, the marriage still has to be reported to Japan before a 戸籍謄本 (family register) will show it — and that certificate is what proves the marriage to immigration. This can be done at a Japanese embassy or consulate abroad, or at a municipal office after returning.
2. The Japanese spouse returns to Japan and registers their address
   Within 14 days of settling. This produces the 住民票 (certificate of residence) the application needs, and establishes the residence that makes them the applicant's representative.
3. Sort out income evidence before filing, not after
   This is the trap in this scenario. A Japanese spouse who has been living abroad has no Japanese taxable income for last year, so the 課税証明書 (taxable income certificate) will be blank or unavailable. Bring what you do have: a job offer with a start date in Japan, savings, or a relative formally recorded as meeting the expenses.
4. File the Certificate of Eligibility application
   At the bureau covering the address you intend to live at. No fee. Standard processing period one to three months. It cannot be filed by post.
5. The foreign spouse exchanges the certificate for a visa and enters
   At the Japanese mission covering where they live. The certificate is valid three months from issue and the landing application must happen inside that window. Roughly 15,000 yen for a single-entry visa since July 2026.

Starts on the coe route, so you are only asked the questions that apply to this situation.