【If you are currently residing on a Japanese spouse visa, but have divorced or bereaved of your Japanese spouse.】
入管手続専門の行政書士が解説します！
「外国人のビザ取得サポート＠東京」（運営：行政書士はまべ法務事務所）

I think there are some foreigners who have married a Japanese person, but for some reason get divorced or widowed from their Japanese spouse.

What should foreigners who want to stay in Japan without returning to their home country do? Who should I talk to? I think there are some people who are worried and worried, so I would like to explain that area this time.

If the person reading this article is not you, but a friend, please let me know.

If you are a foreigner with a Japanese spouse visa and divorced or bereaved of your Japanese (or permanent resident) spouse, the conclusion is that your current spouse visa cannot be renewed.

The reason, of course, is that you are no longer a Japanese (or permanent resident) spouse.

What to do if you are divorced or widowed？

You must notify the immigration office within 14 days from the date of divorce or bereavement.

This notification is an obligation of medium- to long-term residents.
You should never leave your visa unattended because the expiration date is several months away.
In the unlikely event that you forgot to notify or did not know, be sure to notify even if 14 days have passed.

Again, leaving it alone and doing nothing is the worst.
If you leave it without doing anything, you will not be able to change your visa, so be sure to do it.
This notification can be submitted not only at the immigration counter, but also via the Internet or by mail.

↓You can download the paper from here, so please print it out and use it.

➡配偶者に関する届出 | 出入国在留管理庁 (moj.go.jp)

Consider whether you can change your status of residence.

Even if you have a spouse visa, if you get divorced or widowed, you will not be active as a spouse.

It doesn't matter for a short period of time, but if you don't do anything for months, it does.
Even if the expiration date remains, the visa will be subject to cancellation if 6 months have passed since the divorce or bereavement.

Do not leave it unattended until the next period of stay expires.

If you want to continue staying in Japan as it is, you need to apply for a change of visa even if the current period of stay has not expired.

The most common changes are，
①　Working visas such as “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services”
②　“Long-Term Resident” visa

①　Change to a work visa such as \"Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services\"

If a divorced or widowed foreigner graduated from a university or a junior college and is hired by an employer that requires work that matches the academics he or she has learned at university, etc., or translation/interpretation work, he/she can apply for "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services". You may be able to get a work visa for.

②　Change to “Long Term Resident” visa

Foreigners who are divorced or widowed without educational background are recognized as non-notification long-term residents under the following certain conditions.

（１）A person who is recognized to have had a normal marriage and family life for more than three years in Japan.

（２）Having enough assets or skills to make a living (having a certain income)

（３）Applicants must have Japanese language proficiency sufficient for daily life, and must not have difficulty in conducting normal social life.

（４）fulfilling or expected to fulfill public obligations (paying taxes or pensions).

In principle, it is necessary to apply to all of (1) to (4).

However, in the case of divorce from a Japanese spouse due to domestic violence, etc., there is room for consideration even if the marriage period is less than three years.

Also, if a foreigner divorced or widowed from a Japanese spouse and is raising a Japanese child, there is no problem if (2) and (5) apply.

（２）Having enough assets or skills to make a living (having a certain income)

（５）A person who takes custody and raises a child born between Japanese and is recognized as follows.
・Must have parental authority over a Japanese child.
・In fact, it is recognized that you have been custody and raising the child for a considerable period of time.

If the custodial authority is held by a Japanese person, even if there is a biological child, it is difficult to obtain permission to change the child's birth certificate unless the above (1) to (4) are met.

How to keep spouse visa holders from panicking about divorce or bereavement？

As mentioned above, in order not to panic when divorced or widowed, foreigners married to Japanese people should consider obtaining a "permanent resident visa" as soon as possible.

Permanent residence conditions for foreigners married to Japanese people are much easier than for general foreigners.

If you become a "permanent resident", you will be able to stay in Japan without any particular impact on your visa even if you get divorced or widowed.

Please do not hesitate to contact us about obtaining a "permanent resident visa".