Japan Spouse Visa: What Changes When You Buy a House

Spouse of Japanese National vs. Dependent visa: two starting points, one common confusion

Foreign nationals often use "spouse visa" loosely, but Japan's Immigration Services Agency (Shutsunyūkoku Zairyū Kanri-chō, Shutsunyūkoku Zairyū Kanri-chō) defines two residence statuses that get confused constantly, and the difference matters the moment a bank looks at a loan application.

Nihonjin no haigū-sha tō (日本人の配偶者等, officially translated as "Spouse or Child of Japanese National") is granted only to the spouse (or biological or adopted child) of a Japanese citizen. It is an independent status: the foreign spouse can work in any field, without hour limits, and the status does not depend on the Japanese spouse holding a job or a visa of their own, because the Japanese spouse is a citizen.

Kazoku tairyū (家族滞在, "Dependent" or "Family Stay") is granted to the spouse and children of a foreign national who themselves holds a work or study visa, such as Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, Highly Skilled Professional, or Business Manager. It does not exist for the family of a Japanese citizen, and it does not exist independently of the principal visa holder: if the principal loses their status, the dependents lose theirs too. Paid work is capped at 28 hours a week combined, and only after separate permission (資格外活動kyoka) is granted.

A third, less common status covers the spouse of a permanent resident (eijūsha no haigū-sha tō, 永住者の配偶者等): it behaves like the spouse of a Japanese national for work rights and the path to permanent residency, but it depends on the Japanese partner's own permanent residency remaining valid, which it normally does once granted. None of these three statuses is created by buying property: as the site's own guide to buying in Japan without a visa explains, ownership and residence status are decided by completely separate rules.

Point of comparison	Spouse of Japanese national	Dependent (family stay)
Who the foreign partner is married to (or child of)	A Japanese citizen	A foreign work or study visa holder
Status is independent of the sponsor	Yes	No, tied to the principal's visa
Paid work	Unrestricted, any field	Capped at 28 hours/week with separate permission
Typical validity	6 months, 1, 3 or 5 years, renewable	Matches the principal's period of stay
Fast track to permanent residency	Yes, from roughly 3 years of marriage + 1 year of residence	No dedicated fast track; counts toward the standard 10-year rule

Getting the Certificate of Eligibility: documents, cost, and the real timeline

Both statuses are usually obtained through a Certificate of Eligibility (zairyū shikaku nintei shōmeisho, zairyū shikakunintei証明書, "COE"), applied for inside Japan by the sponsor (the Japanese spouse, or the work-visa holder) at the regional immigration bureau, then sent to the foreign partner to present to a Japanese embassy or consulate abroad for the actual visa.

Step	Typical documents	Typical timing
1. Marriage or relationship on record	Marriage certificate, family register (koseki, 戸籍) for the Japanese spouse or dependent relationship proof for family stay	Before filing
2. COE application in Japan	Application form, photo, sponsor's tax and residence certificates, proof of housing, for a family stay case also the principal's residence card and certificate of employment	Filed at the regional immigration bureau
3. COE issued	A physical certificate, valid 3 months from issue	Immigration Services Agency's own published average is around 100 days (roughly 3 to 4 months) for spouse cases; simpler dependent cases can move faster
4. Visa stamped abroad	COE, passport, visa application at a Japanese embassy or consulate	A few days to a couple of weeks

Because the timeline runs to several months more often than to a few weeks, couples planning to buy a house together should not assume the visa will be settled before a purchase closes. A house hunt on immoJapon's own listings, a mortgage pre-approval and a COE application can and should run in parallel rather than one after the other; the full purchase process, step by step, is covered in our guide to buying a house in Japan.

What each visa actually unlocks for a mortgage

immoJapon's own rule for every buyer, regardless of nationality, still applies here: a mortgage from a Japanese bank is realistically available only to someone who lives in Japan AND is a salaried employee there; everyone else buys in cash, a path detailed in financing a purchase from abroad. What the two visas change is who, inside a couple, can be that salaried resident the bank is willing to lend to; the mechanics of a Japanese mortgage for a foreign resident are covered separately in getting a mortgage in Japan as a foreigner.

A Japanese national is never affected by either visa: citizenship carries no residency-status question at all, so a Japanese spouse who is salaried in Japan can apply for a mortgage exactly as any other citizen would, with the foreign spouse's visa status being close to irrelevant to that specific loan application. Lenders and relocation guides commonly note that a foreign national on a spouse-of-Japanese-national visa is, in their own underwriting, treated close to a permanent resident (eijūsha, 永住者) once their own income and employment history are stable, because the status itself does not expire the way a work visa does and does not depend on an employer.

A dependent (family stay) visa holder is a much harder case for a bank to underwrite on their own income, for two compounding reasons: the 28-hour weekly cap keeps earnings low even when work is authorized, and the status disappears the day the principal visa holder's status does. In practice, the mortgage is almost always built around the principal visa holder's income and residency history, not the dependent's.

Status of the person applying for the loan	Access to megabanks	Access to Flat 35 / regional and trust banks	Typical down payment asked
Japanese national	Full	Full	Often 10-20%, sometimes 0% with strong income
Permanent resident (eijūsha)	Full	Full	Often 10-20%
Spouse of Japanese national	Usually yes, with stable income and employment history	Yes	Around 10-20%, case by case
Work-visa holder (Engineer, Business Manager…), several years in Japan	Sometimes, policies vary a lot by bank	Often yes; a few trust and regional banks specialise in this profile	Often 20-30%, sometimes higher
Dependent (family stay) visa holder, applying alone	Rarely; income is capped by the 28-hour rule	Rarely on their own income	Not usually a realistic sole applicant

Two practical notes worth remembering: bank policy on non-permanent residents changes often and varies bank by bank, so a rejection from one lender does not close the door everywhere, and a Japanese guarantor (usually the Japanese spouse) makes almost every one of these cases easier, not just the dependent-visa one.

Whose name goes on the deed: Japan's separate-property rule for married couples

Japan has no community-property regime during marriage. Under Article 762 of the Civil Code (fūfu bessansei, 夫婦別産制, the "separate property system"), property acquired in one spouse's name during the marriage belongs to that spouse; only property that cannot clearly be attributed to either party is presumed to be jointly owned. Getting married in Japan does not, by itself, make a house bought by one spouse belong to both.

When a couple buys together and wants both names on the title (kyōyū, 共有), the registered ownership share should match each person's actual financial contribution, meaning the down payment plus their share of the mortgage repayments, not a round number chosen for convenience. If one spouse pays 90% of the price but the deed is registered as a 50/50 split, tax authorities can treat the mismatch as an undeclared gift (minashi zōyo, みなし贈与) to the spouse who contributed less, and Japan's gift tax has a comparatively low annual exemption, so the difference is often taxable. This applies in exactly the same way whether both partners are Japanese, one is a foreign spouse, or one is on a dependent visa contributing modest part-time earnings.

A practical rule of thumb: work out the ownership percentage from the money actually paid by each person, in yen, before signing at the notary (shihō shoshi, shihō shoshi, who registers the title), and keep the bank transfer records that prove it. The registration fees and acquisition taxes themselves, capped at 6% of the price, are broken down in the full cost of buying a house in Japan.

If your Japanese spouse dies: inheritance rights and the family home

A registered spouse, whatever their nationality or visa status, is always a statutory heir under Japanese inheritance law and cannot be fully disinherited: spouses keep a protected minimum share (iryūbun, 遺留分) even against a will that tries to exclude them. What changes is how much of the estate, including the house, the surviving spouse actually receives if there is no will.

Who else survives	Spouse's statutory share	Share of the other heirs
Children	1/2	1/2, split equally among the children
No children, but parents living	2/3	1/3 to the parents
No children, no living parents, siblings survive	3/4	1/4 to the siblings
No other heirs	All of it	n/a

If the house is registered solely in the deceased Japanese spouse's name and there are children, the surviving foreign spouse does not automatically own the whole house: it is shared with the children under the table above, unless a will or a formal division agreement (isan bunkatsu kyōgi, 遺産分割協議) says otherwise. On inheritance tax, a registered spouse benefits from a dedicated reduction that removes tax on whichever is larger: their statutory share of the whole estate, or 160,000,000 yen (roughly $1,025,600 at the rate used in this article). This reduction requires a legally registered marriage; a relationship without Japanese registration does not qualify, whatever the couple's status abroad.

A will, written while both spouses are alive and registered under Japanese or the couple's home-country formalities, is the simplest way to avoid the house being split with in-laws the surviving spouse may barely know. The broader rules on who inherits a Japanese property, and how the tax is calculated, are covered in inheriting real estate in Japan.

If the marriage ends: the six-month visa clock and dividing the house

Divorce affects the visa first, and the house second. Once a divorce involving a spouse-of-Japanese-national or spouse-of-permanent-resident status is finalised, the foreign spouse must notify the Immigration Services Agency within 14 days, and the residence status becomes subject to revocation if the person spends six months or more without engaging in the activities that status was granted for. In practice, that means changing status, most commonly to Long-Term Resident (teijūsha, 定住者, generally available after several years of continuous residence or when raising a Japanese-national child in Japan) or to another qualifying status, or leaving the country, all within that window.

The house itself is not automatically split 50/50 on divorce either, because of the same separate-property rule described above. Article 768 of the Civil Code instead gives either spouse the right to claim a division of marital property (zaisan bun'yo, 財産分与) after divorce, and Japanese family courts weigh each spouse's actual financial and non-financial contribution to the property, not a fixed formula, when deciding the split. A spouse who is already a registered co-owner (kyōyū) is in a materially stronger position than one who is not, since a share already on the register does not need to be argued for from scratch.

Custody, when children are involved, is decided separately and matters here for one specific reason: Japan operates sole custody after divorce, and a foreign parent who is granted custody of a Japanese-national child, or who has lived in Japan long enough, has a realistic path to the Long-Term Resident status even without the marriage that first brought them to Japan.

The fast track: from spouse or dependent visa to permanent residency

Permanent residency (eijū, 永住, no expiry, no field-of-work restriction, and the status most lenders trust without question) normally requires ten continuous years of residence in Japan. The Immigration Services Agency's own published guideline shortens that considerably for a spouse of a Japanese national, a permanent resident, or a special permanent resident: roughly three years of an actual, cohabiting marriage plus one year of continuous residence in Japan, and the two standard tests of good conduct and independent livelihood are waived for that category, leaving only the national-interest test. Taxes, pension and health-insurance contributions still have to be paid on time; late payment, even if eventually settled, counts against the application.

A dependent (family stay) visa has no equivalent shortcut. Time spent as a dependent counts toward the standard ten-year residence requirement like any other status, and switching to permanent residency generally still requires switching first to an independent work status of one's own, or reaching the shortcut through marriage to a Japanese or permanent-resident partner instead.

For a couple planning to buy, permanent residency is worth planning toward specifically because it is the one status every lender treats the same as citizenship: once granted, the foreign spouse can be the borrower in their own right, not only a co-owner riding on someone else's mortgage. The eligibility rules have tightened in recent years, as described in permanent residency in Japan: what has changed, which is one more reason to start the marriage-based route as early as the paperwork allows.

Worked example: two families, the same 18,000,000 yen house

Both families are looking at the same house, the kind of listing found every day on immoJapon's catalogue or across the wider Japanese real estate market: 18,000,000 yen (about $115,400), plus acquisition costs capped at 6% of the price (1,080,000 yen, about $6,900), for a total of roughly 19,080,000 yen ($122,300). Figures are illustrative, not a quote.

Family A: Emma (British), spouse of Kenji (Japanese). Kenji has been salaried at the same company for five years, earning 6,000,000 yen a year, and applies for the mortgage in his own name at a regular bank: his nationality makes the loan straightforward regardless of Emma's visa status. On a 20% down payment (3,600,000 yen), the loan is 14,400,000 yen. Emma contributes 600,000 yen of her own savings toward the down payment, so the title is registered as roughly one-sixth to Emma and five-sixths to Kenji, matching what each of them actually paid; registering it 50/50 instead would expose Emma to gift tax on the difference. Emma's own "Spouse of Japanese National" visa was granted a little under three months after they married, in line with the agency's published average.

Family B: David (American, Engineer/Specialist in Humanities visa, four years in Japan) and Priya (Dependent visa, caring for two children). David earns 6,500,000 yen a year but is not yet a permanent resident. Priya's visa caps any paid work at 28 hours a week, so her income cannot support the loan. Several megabanks decline the application outright; a trust bank that specialises in long-term foreign residents accepts it, but asks for 30% down (5,400,000 yen) instead of 20%, meaning David needs 1,800,000 yen more in cash up front purely because of the household's residency profile, for the same house at the same price. The title is registered solely in David's name, since Priya has not contributed toward the purchase.

The most expensive mistakes foreign spouses make, and what actually changes

Assuming the visa is settled before it is. A COE can take three to four months on average. Sign a purchase agreement, arrange a mortgage pre-approval and file the COE application in parallel, not in sequence.

Registering ownership shares that do not match contributions. A round 50/50 split feels fair but can trigger gift tax on the unpaid half; keep the bank records that show who actually paid what.

Assuming a dependent visa works like a spouse visa for a loan. The 28-hour cap and the dependency on the principal's status make a dependent visa holder a weak solo applicant; plan the mortgage around whoever in the household has the strongest residency status and income, and expect a larger down payment if that person is not yet a permanent resident.

Skipping a will because "we're married, it's automatic." It is not: with children in the picture, a surviving spouse shares the house with them by default, and a foreign spouse who barely knows the in-laws can find the family home divided in ways nobody intended.

Forgetting the six-month clock after a divorce. The house and the visa are decided by different rules, but both run on a deadline; changing status or claiming a share of the property both need to start well before the clock runs out.

A step-by-step purchase checklist for Japan covers the paperwork that applies regardless of visa status, and couples who would rather have the search, the financing conversation and the paperwork coordinated for them can compare that against handling it alone in our accompaniment service.

In short: a Japanese spouse's citizenship, not the foreign partner's visa, is what makes a mortgage straightforward; a dependent visa is the weakest starting point of the three and usually means leaning on the principal visa holder's income instead; and no visa, however favourable, changes how ownership, inheritance or divorce is decided under Japanese property and family law. Getting those three facts straight before signing anything avoids most of the surprises this section describes.

Frequently asked questions

Can a dependent visa holder buy a house in Japan?

There is no legal bar to owning property on a dependent visa, but qualifying for a mortgage on that income alone is very difficult because paid work is capped at 28 hours a week. In practice the purchase is almost always financed and titled around the principal visa holder instead.

Does marrying a Japanese national automatically make my mortgage easier?

It does not change your own visa's underwriting risk directly, but it usually puts a Japanese citizen (your spouse) in the household who can apply for the loan without any residency-status question at all, which is what actually simplifies most of these cases.

What happens to my visa if I divorce my Japanese spouse?

You must notify the Immigration Services Agency within 14 days, and your residence status can be revoked if you go six months or more without engaging in the activities of a spouse. Changing to another qualifying status, most often Long-Term Resident, has to happen inside that window.

Can I own the house 100% in my own name if my spouse is Japanese?

Yes, if you pay for it entirely yourself; property in your name that you acquire during the marriage is your separate property under Japanese law, not automatically shared.

How long does a Japan spouse visa take after marriage?

The Certificate of Eligibility that most applications go through takes about 100 days on average by the immigration agency's own figures, then a few more days to a couple of weeks to have the visa stamped abroad. Plan on three to four months in total.

Does my dependent-visa spouse's income count toward a mortgage?

Rarely on its own. The 28-hour work cap keeps earnings low, and lenders generally build the loan around whichever household member has an independent, stable residency status and income instead.

What happens to the house if my Japanese spouse dies first?

As the registered spouse you are a statutory heir and cannot be fully disinherited, but if there are children the house is normally shared with them, not owned outright by you, unless a will says otherwise.

Can I keep the house if we divorce?

There is no automatic 50/50 split. A registered co-owner keeps their share; beyond that, division of marital property is negotiated or decided by a family court based on each spouse's actual contribution, not a fixed rule.