Find visa optionsFind visas
Menu

Japan · family

Dependent residence: supported spouse or child

By · Last reviewed:

Guidance updated 15 November 2026. Full-review date shown above.

Temporary residence for a supported spouse or child of a principal holding a qualifying Japanese work, cultural or Student status. Relationship, principal permission and genuine financial support must be established.

Qualifying spouse or child relationship, eligible principal residence status and genuine financial supportDoes not lead to permanent residencyAn individually designated period of up to five years. The relative does not automatically receive the principal's full period; renew under the actual continuing conditions.
Processing time
The ordinary COE standard is one to three months. Missing evidence, sector restrictions and the separate consular stage can add time; there is no guaranteed end-to-end travel date.
Government fees
COE application: free. For overseas visa applications accepted from 1 July 2026, MOFA gives approximate single-entry JPY 15,000 and multiple-entry JPY 30,000 fees, payable in local currency. Nationality, purpose and reciprocal exemptions can change the amount; no visa-issuance fee is charged if no visa is issued. Documents, translations, agents and tests are separate costs. For status changes or renewals received from 1 October 2026, office fees by granted period are: up to three months JPY 10,000; over three to six months JPY 18,000; over six months to under one year JPY 25,000; one year JPY 33,000; over one to under three years JPY 48,000; three to under five years JPY 64,000; five years or more JPY 75,000. Online totals including the processing charge are respectively JPY 10,330, 15,330, 21,330, 27,330, 42,330, 56,550 and 65,550. Receipts by 30 September 2026 retain the old office JPY 6,000 / online JPY 5,500 regime. Actual exemptions, reductions and special card charges require the authority assessment; concession requests use the office procedure.
Typical duration
An individually designated period of up to five years. The relative does not automatically receive the principal's full period; renew under the actual continuing conditions.
Required support
Qualifying spouse or child relationship, eligible principal residence status and genuine financial support
Leads to permanent residency
No
Reviewed Japan Immigration Services Agency ↗

In short

Temporary residence for a supported spouse or child of a principal holding a qualifying Japanese work, cultural or Student status. Relationship, principal permission and genuine financial support must be established. Guidance updated 15 November 2026. Costs, application stages and eligibility conditions are set out with their sources below.

Cite this: https://visaatlas.org/visas/japan/dependent-family-japan#answer

What is the Dependent residence: supported spouse or child in Japan?

Qualifying spouse or child relationship, eligible principal residence status and genuine financial support. Follow the actual entry, status-change or renewal procedure and issued activity conditions. Indicative government fees are COE application: free. For overseas visa applications accepted from 1 July 2026, MOFA gives approximate single-entry JPY 15,000 and multiple-entry JPY 30,000 fees, payable in local currency. Nationality, purpose and reciprocal exemptions can change the amount; no visa-issuance fee is charged if no visa is issued. Documents, translations, agents and tests are separate costs. For status changes or renewals received from 1 October 2026, office fees by granted period are: up to three months JPY 10,000; over three to six months JPY 18,000; over six months to under one year JPY 25,000; one year JPY 33,000; over one to under three years JPY 48,000; three to under five years JPY 64,000; five years or more JPY 75,000. Online totals including the processing charge are respectively JPY 10,330, 15,330, 21,330, 27,330, 42,330, 56,550 and 65,550. Receipts by 30 September 2026 retain the old office JPY 6,000 / online JPY 5,500 regime. Actual exemptions, reductions and special card charges require the authority assessment; concession requests use the office procedure; indicative processing time is The ordinary COE standard is one to three months. Missing evidence, sector restrictions and the separate consular stage can add time; there is no guaranteed end-to-end travel date; typical duration is An individually designated period of up to five years. The relative does not automatically receive the principal's full period; renew under the actual continuing conditions. This route does not lead to permanent residence.

Primary guidance checked with Japan Immigration Services Agency on 15 November 2026.

Overview

Dependent status is a separate family permission. The statutory principal list includes qualifying HSP, Business Manager, professional work, SSW(ii), Cultural Activities and Student statuses. It does not provide ordinary family accompaniment for SSW(i), include parents merely because they are financially dependent, or replace the separate family statuses of Japanese or permanent-resident principals. The relative's actual period is individually granted, up to five years. Ordinary paid work requires separate outside-activity permission or a qualifying work-status change.

Additional sources

Eligibility

Typical criteria

  • ✓Establish the qualifying spouse or child relationship and actual dependency/support by a principal with a listed eligible status. The principal's valid card/passport and current activity must match the claimed family basis. Parents are outside this ordinary Dependent category.Japan Immigration Services Agency ↗
  • ✓Show that the principal can support the relative. A working/business principal provides the applicable occupation and income/tax-payment evidence. Where the principal is not undertaking paid activity, use genuine bank balances, scholarship amount and period, or equivalent support evidence. There is no single fixed household salary amount stated on this checklist for every family.Japan Immigration Services Agency ↗
  • ✓Use the actual ordinary family, birth/acquisition or eligible in-country change procedure. A marriage or birth certificate alone does not issue the status, and SSW(i) or a different principal permission must not be treated as automatically included.Japan Immigration Services Agency ↗
  • ✓Check the current JPETS scope for entry. Philippine and Nepali certificate submission began on 23 June 2025 and Vietnamese submission on 1 September 2025. Indonesia screening is scheduled from 2 November 2026, but certificate submission is scheduled for 4 January 2027; China and Myanmar start dates remain unannounced. Documented residence outside the target countries and specified programme exemptions matter. Specified Skilled Workers are among the temporarily exempt programmes; do not impose the ordinary covered-student or family rule automatically on SSW.Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare ↗

Common blockers

  • !An unsupported relationship, a non-qualifying principal, inadequate genuine resources or a family arrangement outside the category can prevent approval. Family of a Japanese citizen or permanent resident needs the correct separate status; HSP parent and working-spouse benefits have their own conditions.Japan Immigration Services Agency ↗
  • !Dependent status itself does not authorise ordinary paid employment. Appropriate outside-activity permission can allow generally up to 28 hours per week outside prohibited adult-entertainment workplaces; full professional work needs an applicable work permission. The Student long-holiday eight-hour rule is not a general Dependent holiday entitlement.Japan Immigration Services Agency ↗

Typical evidence

  • ·Use the current application form, passport, specified photograph and actual activity checklist; an in-country applicant also provides the current residence card. Supply Japanese translations where the checklist requires them and respond to additional evidence requests. A COE or appointment alone is not the granted residence status.Japan Immigration Services Agency ↗
  • ·Provide the accepted marriage, birth, family-register or equivalent relationship records; the principal's passport or residence card; and the actual work/business and income evidence or bank/scholarship support. Japanese tax certificates should establish the relevant annual income and tax-payment position; ask the bureau about appropriate alternatives for a recent arrival who cannot yet obtain them.Japan Immigration Services Agency ↗
  • ·Follow the checklist's Japanese translations and current Japanese-issued certificates, ordinarily issued within three months. Birth/status-acquisition cases have separate evidence and address procedures. For overseas entry use the competent mission's actual family visa documents and accepted COE format.Japan Immigration Services Agency ↗

Application pathway

  1. Establish the correct family and principal category

    Confirm the actual marriage or child relationship, dependency, principal status and sufficient resources. Identify a separate Japanese/permanent-resident family or HSP special benefit where that is the actual basis.

  2. Prepare the relative's separate residence application

    For entry, submit the Dependent COE evidence with relationship, principal and financial documents through a permitted applicant/representative. An eligible existing resident uses the status-change process; a Japan-born child or other acquisition case follows its specific procedure.

  3. Complete the visa or in-country residence decision

    For ordinary overseas entry apply at the competent Japanese mission with the COE and current identity/family documents, then complete landing examination. A non-COE consular application can require additional evidence and months. Neither the principal's card nor a pending COE automatically grants the family status.

  4. Maintain family, support and activity conditions

    Keep the actual qualifying relationship and support and make required residence/card or spouse-death/divorce notifications. Obtain any paid-work permission before working and use the correct change procedure for a different main activity or principal basis.

  5. Renew before the relative's own expiry

    Use the current family, principal and support evidence for renewal. A principal's renewal does not itself renew every relative. Plan any change when the principal's category or family circumstances change.

After approval: prepare for your next step

For Dependent residence: supported spouse or child, use the actual decision and the issuing authority’s instructions to establish what has been granted. A successful application, permission to enter, permission to work and a residence document are not interchangeable.

  1. 1. Check the decision. Confirm the name, passport, status granted, start date and any next action. Resolve an error with the authority before relying on the document for travel or employment.
  2. 2. Establish the travel step. Read any entry window, activation, collection or in-country registration instruction. For an extension or change of status, do not assume leaving the country is required or safe while a further step remains pending.
  3. 3. Confirm what you may do. Check the conditions for your own permission, including work, and keep evidence of the qualifying relationship. The principal applicant’s conditions may differ.
  4. 4. Organise the household. Check each accompanying person’s permission separately, then arrange healthcare, accommodation, access to money and the relevant local registrations. A tax number or bank account does not by itself prove a right to work.
  5. 5. Keep the ongoing conditions visible. Record the actual expiry, renewal process, permitted absences and any duty to report changes. An initial grant does not automatically establish permanent residence or citizenship.
Official Dependent residence: supported spouse or child instructionsBuild my moving plan for this routeMoving to Japan

Plan the practical side of your stay

Once you have checked the official route, you can prepare for day-to-day life in Japan. These optional services are separate from the application and do not establish visa eligibility.

Official application links

Where to actually go next

Government links only

These are the official pages to use for this route. Open them before preparing documents: the forms, fees, appointment systems, and sponsor steps can change without warning.

  1. Official guidanceApplicant
    Prepare the Dependent residence application ↗

    Use the actual COE, change, renewal or birth/acquisition checklist with principal and relationship evidence.

    Japan Immigration Services Agency · verified

  2. Official guidanceApplicant
    Check the competent mission's family visa documents ↗

    Confirm the actual jurisdiction, nationality documents and COE presentation arrangements.

    Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs · verified

  3. Official guidanceApplicant
    Check separate permission before paid work ↗

    Read the actual outside-activity permission and limits before accepting ordinary paid employment.

    Japan Immigration Services Agency · verified

Also explored by

Indian Filipino Nigerian

Compare Japan with

Related routes

Frequently asked questions

Can I bring a dependent parent under this category?+

No. Ordinary Dependent status covers a supported spouse or child of the listed principals. HSP parent arrangements and other possible permissions have separate specific criteria; financial dependence alone does not make a parent eligible here.

Can family of SSW(i) use ordinary Dependent residence?+

No. SSW(ii) is included in the principal list, while ordinary SSW(i) family accompaniment is not. ISA describes limited humanitarian Designated Activities cases for certain already-resident families or Japan-born children; these do not create a general overseas family-entry entitlement.

Can a Dependent spouse work full time?+

Not on that status alone. Separate outside-activity permission generally permits limited work up to 28 hours per week under its conditions. The HSP working-spouse arrangement and a professional work status are distinct permissions.

Does the family automatically obtain PR with the principal?+

No. Any PR application must establish the relative's own applicable conditions and residence history. The principal's work or accelerated HSP residence exception is not automatically inherited.

Need tailored advice?

We do not provide legal advice. For an application that depends on your exact circumstances, consult a regulator-listed immigration advisor.

Find a regulated advisor in Japan

How we verified this

We check every figure on this page against the primary government source, record the date it was last checked, and re-check it on a regular schedule. Rules change, so always confirm time-sensitive details with the official source before you rely on them. Visa Atlas is an information-only publication and does not give legal advice.

Primary source: Japan Immigration Services Agency

Last checked: 15 November 2026

See the full evidence trail and methodology

CompareFind visa options