If you’re working in Japan on an Engineer visa or equivalent, your spouse and children can live with you. Japan’s dependent visa — officially called 家族滞在 (Kazoku Taizai, “Family Stay”) — is the standard path for bringing immediate family members once you have a qualifying work status.
Unlike the initial work visa, there’s no degree requirement or skills assessment for dependents. The visa is tied to your status period and renews with it. The main work is documentation: Japan’s immigration process requires certified originals, Japanese translations, and careful form completion.
The ISA family stay visa page is the official reference; this guide explains the process in plain English.
Who Qualifies as a Dependent
You can sponsor two categories of dependents: your spouse (配偶者) and your unmarried minor children (子). That’s the complete list — parents, siblings, and other relatives are not eligible for this visa category.
Your spouse must be legally married to you. Japan recognizes marriages registered in your home country, but you’ll need an official marriage certificate, typically with a Japanese translation. Common-law and de facto arrangements don’t qualify — the family stay visa requires a legal marriage.
Children must be unmarried and minor (generally under 20). Once a child marries or reaches the age of majority, they’re no longer eligible for dependent status.
The primary visa holder — you — must be on a status that permits family accompaniment. Standard work visas qualify: Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services (技術・人文知識・国際業務), Intra-company Transferee (企業内転勤者), and similar categories. Tourist and temporary visitor visas do not. If you’re still at the job search stage and don’t have a work visa yet, the engineer visa guide covers how the initial application works.
Visa Period and Renewal
The dependent visa has no independent validity period. It’s tied directly to your primary status: if your Engineer visa is valid for five years, your dependents’ visas cover the same five years. When you renew, they renew alongside you.
If your work visa lapses — contract ended, not renewed, or you leave Japan — your dependents’ family stay status becomes invalid at the same time. If your situation changes and you want to transition to Permanent Residency, your dependents need to transition to the appropriate status for PR holders’ family members.
Two Application Paths
Simultaneous Application
If you’re applying for your initial work visa and you know you’ll bring dependents, you can include them in the same application. When your employer or sponsor submits your certificate of eligibility (在留資格認定証明書) application to the immigration bureau, they can file dependent documents at the same time.
This is the cleanest path — everything processes together, and your family arrives with you. Coordinate with your employer’s HR or visa sponsor early enough to gather dependent documents before the application window closes.
Adding Dependents Later
If you’re already in Japan and want to bring family after the fact, you have two options.
From within Japan. Your spouse and children can enter Japan on a temporary visitor visa (typically 90 days for most nationalities), then change status to family stay once they arrive. You file a change-of-status application (在留資格変更許可申請) at your regional immigration bureau. Processing times vary but typically take several weeks; your family can remain in Japan on temporary visitor status while the application is pending.
From abroad. You apply for a Certificate of Eligibility at the immigration bureau in Japan. Once issued (typically a few weeks), you courier it to your family, who then present it at the Japanese consulate in their home country to obtain the dependent visa. They enter Japan as family stay visa holders. This route takes longer end-to-end but is the standard path if your family isn’t already in Japan.
Required Documents
The exact list varies by immigration bureau and circumstances. Expect to prepare the following.
For you (the primary visa holder):
- Passport and current residence card (在留カード)
- Proof of employment and income — employment contract, recent payslips, or a letter from your employer
- Proof of housing — lease agreement or proof of residence
- Recent tax documentation (住民税納税証明書 or equivalent)
For each dependent:
- Original or certified copy of marriage certificate (for spouse) or birth certificate (for children)
- Passport and, if already in Japan, residence card
- Visa application photos (standard Japanese visa photo specifications)
- Completed application forms
For dependents applying from abroad:
- Marriage certificate and birth certificates with certified Japanese translations
- Proof of relationship documents from your home country’s civil registry
All non-Japanese documents need to be translated. If you’re using a company-sponsored immigration lawyer or registered administrative scrivener (行政書士), they typically handle translation coordination.
Working Rights: 資格外活動許可
Dependent visa holders are not permitted to work by default. To gain working rights, they apply for 資格外活動許可 (Shikaku-gai Katsudo Kyoka), officially translated as “Permission to Engage in Activity Other than That Permitted By Status of Residence.”
With this permission, a dependent can work up to 28 hours per week. That limit is strict and applies across all jobs combined — one part-time job, two side jobs, or any combination. Exceeding it can result in visa revocation.
The application is filed at the regional immigration bureau (入国管理局) after the dependent has arrived in Japan on family stay status. It’s a separate submission from the original visa and is typically processed within a week or two. Your dependent can start looking for work as soon as it’s approved.
Dependent Visa and the HSP Track
If you’re pursuing the HSP route to PR, your family lives in Japan on family stay visas while you build toward the point threshold. The HSP points system evaluates your individual credentials (education, salary, age, certifications), not whether you have dependents — so bringing your family to Japan doesn’t directly boost your score.
What does change once you reach HSP status is the options available to your family. Your spouse gets enhanced working rights (see callout above). HSP holders also have a unique benefit: under specific conditions (income ≥ ¥8M, a child under 7, and other requirements), you can sponsor one parent from either side to reside in Japan — something standard PR holders cannot do.
You can check where you currently stand with the Japan HSP Points Calculator. The HSP visa guide covers the retrospective qualification rule, the PR checklist, and how the timing works.
Changing Status: From Dependent to Work Visa
A dependent visa holder isn’t locked into that status. If your spouse finds employment in Japan, they can apply to change status to their own work visa — an Engineer visa or equivalent — through the standard change-of-status process.
This requires the same type of documentation as your initial work visa application: employment contract, evidence of qualifications (degree, certifications, relevant experience), and employer sponsorship. Processing typically takes a month or more. Once approved, your spouse is on an independent visa tied to their own employer, not yours. If your contract later ends or you leave Japan, their visa remains valid.
This is worth planning for in dual-career households: a spouse who gets to Japan on a dependent visa can transition to their own work status once they secure a position. The engineer work visa guide covers the standard qualification requirements. If a degree isn’t in the picture, the work visa without a degree guide covers the alternative paths.
What Happens When Your Situation Changes
Your visa is renewed. Dependent visas renew as part of your status renewal. You typically handle both simultaneously at the immigration bureau.
You change employers. A standard employer change on an Engineer visa doesn’t require a new dependent visa application — your status remains the same. Notify immigration if required by your visa conditions, but your family’s status follows yours, not your employer.
Your visa is not renewed or you leave Japan. Your dependents’ family stay visas become invalid. They need to either leave Japan or apply for a different status. If there’s any chance of a gap in your primary status, coordinate with immigration early.
You apply for Permanent Residency. Once you obtain PR, your dependents apply separately for the appropriate status for PR holders’ family members. This is a standard transition, but it’s a separate application — it doesn’t happen automatically.
