Renewing Visa

[Chinpokomon]

I'm about to renew my Japan working Visa in a couple of months, and thought I'd post what I'd learned through my eXtreme google skillz, as well as solicit advice from those who have been through the process before.

Here's what I know:
The application form is 27 pages long, but only 2-3 apply to me: http://www.moj.go.jp/ONLINE/IMMIGRATION/16-3-1.pdf
I have to do this in person with:

My Passport
Photocopy of Alien Registration Card
Application form (duh)
Employment Certificate from my company
A photocopy of my Tax Return Form (KAKUTEISHINKOKU) or an original Tax Receipt (GENSEN-CHOSYU) for the previous year
Revenue stamp for 4000 yen attached to the Certificate of Payment of Fee form


I'm also married to a Japanese national (:eek:), so I apparently can change my visa status to spouse/dependent.
To do this, I'll apparently need:

Letter of Guarantee
Copy of resident registration (Juminhyo)
Copy of family registration (Koseki Tohon)


What I don't know:
What's a Letter of Guarantee, and what needs to be in it?
Do I still need to list a guarantor on the form even if I'm going to be self supporting?

[mikem]

I'm not cool enough to do the work visa thing yet, but if we were like best friends forever I would recommend you renew your visa as a work visa and begin to apply for permanent residence.

Here is the Letter of Guarantee (English version):
http://www.moj.go.jp/ONLINE/IMMIGRATION/16-2-26.pdf

[Digital Masta]

Always nice to have you drop by. Yeah...I can offer nothing to this thread.

[Chinpokomon]

Yeah, I did some more research and discovered the following:

Here's the guarantor letter in Japanese:
http://www.moj.go.jp/ONLINE/IMMIGRATION/ZAIRYU_HENKO/16-2-25.pdf

I can either extend my work visa, or change to a spouse visa.

The application to change status is here:
http://www.moj.go.jp/ONLINE/IMMIGRATION/ZAIRYU_HENKO/16-2-23.pdf
and I would need to submit a bunch of additional stuff listed here:
http://www.moj.go.jp/ONLINE/IMMIGRATION/ZAIRYU_HENKO/zairyu_henko1_01.html
including 8 pages in Japanese about how we met, etc:
http://www.moj.go.jp/ONLINE/IMMIGRATION/ZAIRYU_HENKO/16-2-27.pdf

As much as I enjoy filling out paperwork, if I do end up filing for PR soon, I might end up resubmitting all this crap again, and I think a visa extension may be easier than a visa change. I might just end up taking Mike's advice.

Thanks for the help!

[japanat]

Personally, I say "why do it twice?", but... Apply for the spouse visa, and you'll never need another work visa. Have your wife help you with the paperwork if necessary (although your Japanese ability isn't a question, there may be strange forms to fill out - it's been so long I can't remember).

As long as your visa application is in before the work visa expires, it doesn't matter if it's finished. They'll call you if you need any other papers. My wife and I put my packet together in a matter of days, and never did get a call back, except to pick up the visa a few weeks later. The 8 pages on how you met, etc, only took an hour, my wife was my guarantor. The guarantor is so if you rack up debts, they know who to go after, so if your wife doesn't have a good/long enough work history, then they'll take her parents as guarantors. Or your full bank account.

Going from a work visa directly to PR, however, is a leap. Most people will be turned down at least once, unless they have a necessary skill, or a great guarantor (a full bank account can also act as guarantor). No matter what any website may say, however, most people pretty much need a minimum of 5 years on some kind of long-stay visa before they'll be approved (many will need 10). Going from work-visa direct to permanent residence usually requires a big bank account. I had the advantage of marrying into a doctor's family, having used the spouse visa for 5 years, I think (can't remember any more, but anyways, showing that it probably wasn't a 'green card' marriage), and got my PR with no hassle, faster than any of my acquaintances (one guy got turned down 3 times, taking over 12 years before getting his PR). And while it shouldn't matter, it really does depend on the immigration office you go to. Kobe and the small port of Befu (that office closed after the Hanshin quake) are really good, Himeji is a nightmare.

[six-eight-ten]

I say go for the spouse visa as well. Opens up some opportunities in that you aren't tied to one specific work category, should you desire a change of job.

[koku]

i would get a spanky spouse visa too

[stsparky]

Spouse Visa ftw. Mine's fine.

[Chinpokomon]

For the spouse visa, I'd have to get the koseki tohon, and that would require a trip to her hometown, I believe, which I don't really feel like doing at the moment.

I think I'll just renew the engineer visa for now, and change status sometime later, and then apply for PR when I'm feeling ambitious.

Edit: Well that was easy. I was directed to the clerk immediately after pulling my number, and was at the clerk for less than a minute.
Now I just have to wait for the postcard to get delivered. I went with the Engineer visa, as it required the least paperwork :)