Family in Japan

Routine child vaccinations in Japan are given by the city you live in under the Immunization Act, and foreign children are included. Each is publicly funded only within its age window (free in Yokohama and Osaka); BCG must be given by the day before the first birthday, and after a window closes you pay. Forms come from the city where you are registered, so go to the health centre after arriving or moving. Shots from home can count if the doctor agrees. Plus booking, what to bring and the two-year illness exception.

Renewing a Japan spouse visa (Spouse or Child of Japanese National) is an application for extension of period of stay, filed from about three months before expiry. Seven documents: the form, a photo, your spouse's family register, residence tax certificates, the spouse's letter of guarantee, the household residence record, plus passport and residence card to show. The questionnaire and couple photos from when you married are not required. Since 1 October 2026 the fee depends on the years granted: 64,000 yen at the counter or 56,000 yen online for three years; applications accepted by 30 September 2026 still pay the old 6,000 yen (5,500 online). Periods are 5 years, 3, 1 or 6 months with unpublished criteria; of the eight published factors, only tax and premium arrears, long absences and notifications are in your hands. You can apply while living apart, with a written explanation.

Bringing your family to Japan means getting them the Dependent status of residence, and the provision names only a spouse and children. Parents are not covered. The status you hold also decides it: Engineer/Specialist, Specified Skilled Worker (ii) and Student can bring dependents, while SSW (i) and Technical Intern Training cannot. The order is a Certificate of Eligibility in Japan, sent home, then a visa at the embassy there. A student proves support with a bank balance certificate. Nepalese family members have needed a TB clearance certificate since 23 June 2025; Sri Lanka is not covered.

Japan has no birthright citizenship, so a baby born to foreign parents is a foreign national and needs a status of residence.

Divorce or bereavement must be reported to immigration within 14 days, but divorce does not end your status of residence on the spot.

Foreign children have no legal duty to attend school in Japan, but public elementary and junior high schools take them free of tuition if you apply to the board of education. For April entry some cities want the form the autumn before (Osaka: 30 September). Grades follow age, from 2 April to 1 April births. Lunch and school expenses average about 110,000 yen a year at elementary and 186,000 yen at junior high, with assistance for families who struggle. From April 2026, high school tuition support depends on status of residence.

A dependent visa permits no work until you hold a work permit.

To marry in Japan, you file a marriage registration at a city office, and the day it is accepted is your wedding day in law. There is no fee. The foreign partner needs a certificate of legal capacity to marry from their embassy, with a Japanese translation. Each partner's own law decides whether they can marry; Japanese nationals from 18. Your visa does not change by itself: a change to Spouse of Japanese National takes one to two months. The city office does not tell your home country.

Register the pregnancy at the city office where your resident record is and you get the boshi techo (Maternal and Child Health Handbook) free, on the spot. All 1,741 municipalities fund at least 14 prenatal checkups, averaging 113,647 yen. Since April 2025 the pregnancy support payment adds 100,000 yen for one baby. Nationality and insurance type do not matter. Plus the 10-language handbook, what to bring, and moving mid-pregnancy.

Long-Term Resident (teijusha) is a status the Minister of Justice grants for special reasons, held by third-generation Nikkei, stepchildren and people who changed status after divorce. There are no work limits. Periods are 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, 6 months or a set period up to 5 years, and 5 years on this status is enough to apply for permanent residency. After divorce there are no published requirements, only 13 published cases. Renewal documents, where to get them, and fees from 1 October 2026 (33,000 yen for 1 year, 75,000 yen for 5 years) are checked against official sources.

The spouse visa is the status Spouse or Child of Japanese National, for a Japanese national's husband or wife, child or special adoptee. From abroad you need a Certificate of Eligibility (1–3 months, no fee); in Japan, a change of status (1–2 months). A change from a tourist stay is not granted as a rule. Spouses submit a family register extract, a home-country marriage certificate, tax certificates, a guarantee letter, an 8-page questionnaire signed by the Japanese spouse and couple photos. From 1 October 2026 a change costs 18,000–75,000 yen. No work limits.

Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident is the status for people married to a permanent resident or special permanent resident, and their children born in Japan. No work restriction; stays of 5, 3 or 1 years or 6 months. Get it by COE (free, 1-3 months), a change of status, or within 30 days of a birth in Japan. PR after 3 years of marriage plus 1 year in Japan; a draft for 5 plus 3 from April 2027 is undecided. Divorce: notify within 14 days.