Looking for spousal visa advice

For all those tuning in,
My wife and I successfully turned in our kon'in-todoke earlier this month and are now married. I would like to thank all those who provided advice and information relating to that.
Since I will be ending my job as a JET at the end of July and starting a new job as a computer programmer, I will need to change my visa over from the current instructor visa to another type. Since I am now married I've been thinking all along that a spousal visa would be the obvious way to go, but after looking into the process a bit I'm not so sure anymore.

The issue is that most of the information about spousal visas I find online talk about submitting proof of employment from the Japanese spouse, and proof of their income. My wife is currently employed full time (though not with a terribly large salary) but she is planning to quit her job at the end of July to come live in the area where I am now.
I'm concerned that the spousal visa process seems to seek assurance that the Japanese spouse is in a financially stable situation, whereas I am planning to be the main breadwinner for the two of us. Would it be wiser to seek a work visa from my future employer in this situation?

One other quesiton I have: there seem to be a lot of organizations that take care of the visa paperwork, etc. in exchange for a fee. Is there anyone here who used such an organization to handle their visa stuff and/or would recommend using such a service, or is it easy enough to take care of this on one's own? I would very much like to hear about the experiences of other people who have been through this whole process.

Thank you very much in advance.

Get the spouse visa, Jimmy. You don't have to tell immigration whether your wife is staying with her job or quitting tomorrow. Proof of stability is proof of the past, not the future, right?

In my case, I had a work visa and wanted to switch to a spouse visa, but my wife was working only PT, and I was between jobs. I did what most people do in that situation -- got her father to serve as guarantor (and he had just retired that year!).

Personally, I'd say it would be "wiser" (to use your word) to get the spouse visa. A work visa limits you to whatever job field it is designated for, and you'd just have to get special permission to do other work, or change visas if you change your field. A spouse visa wouldn't have to be changed at all.

Plus, some people will say that if you are eventually looking for Permanent Resident status, immigration would rather prefer you have at least 3 years on the spouse visa first. Not sure if this is true, but it would certainly look better hypothetically, if you intend to get PR.

As for paying a fee to process the visa, don't bother. Why would you need to do that anyway? The process is very straightforward and free (except for the visa stamp itself which you get only if you are issued the visa).

Thanks for the good advice! It was certainly reassuring.

I definitely want to get a spouse visa if I can, and since it sounds rather attainable based on what you said and what I heard from the guy at the immigration office when I called today, I'm gonna go for it.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

JimmySeal said:

Thanks for the good advice! It was certainly reassuring.

I definitely want to get a spouse visa if I can, and since it sounds rather attainable based on what you said and what I heard from the guy at the immigration office when I called today, I'm gonna go for it.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

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There is nothing to worry about in getting a spouse visa, it is just a pain in the butt to get all the forms. I could almost say you will get the visa with 99% assurance. As glenski said, if you can get her father as a garrentor you will not have a problem.

I would think the spousal visa would be easier for you. As long as your wife is employed in the here and now when you apply for the visa, her future employment plans shouldn't matter.

You can find a list of everything you need here.

I had to write my annual salary on the main application. As the main bread winner, I also had to provide a proof of employment form from my company, as well as proof of taxes from my city. My wife acted as my guarantor, but I do not recall having to report her income to immigration at all since we live off my salary.

It's all very easy to do yourself. Just fill out all the paperwork, check it twice, and get the necessary forms from your city and employer.

I got my visa earlier this week. I and my wife called ahead to the office several times before applying, and what we found was that her quitting her job at the same time my current job will be ending did make things rather more complicated.
I was asked to bring proof of my current employment (在職証明書), my last year's salary (源泉徴収書), a job offer letter from my next employer stating my salary and term of employment, and a copy of the balance page in my bankbook demonstrating the amount of my current savings. We were told more than once that given the situation, her proof of employment wasn't of much consequence as long as my stuff was in order.

All in all, I got the confirmation postcard about 16 days after applying though they had said over the phone that we should allow plenty of time (~two months) for a response, because my situation was complicated.

Anyway, just wanted to put an update here in case this is of use to anyone else. Thanks to all those who contributed information.

JimmySeal said:

I got my visa earlier this week. I and my wife called ahead to the office several times before applying, and what we found was that her quitting her job at the same time my current job will be ending did make things rather more complicated.
I was asked to bring proof of my current employment (ﾂ催敖職ﾂ湘倪?督ｾﾂ鞘??, my last year's salary (ﾅ陳ｹﾂ静ｲ窶卍･ﾅｽﾃｻﾂ鞘??, a job offer letter from my next employer stating my salary and term of employment, and a copy of the balance page in my bankbook demonstrating the amount of my current savings. We were told more than once that given the situation, her proof of employment wasn't of much consequence as long as my stuff was in order.

All in all, I got the confirmation postcard about 16 days after applying though they had said over the phone that we should allow plenty of time (~two months) for a response, because my situation was complicated.

Anyway, just wanted to put an update here in case this is of use to anyone else. Thanks to all those who contributed information.

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Very nice. I remenber I had to get copies of my yearly income too. Those two months are really for the slackers in the department.

Hey, congratulations! Small question,

We were told more than once that given the situation, her proof of employment wasn't of much consequence as long as my stuff was in order.

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Why is that?

Putrefaction said:

Hey, congratulations! Small question,

We were told more than once that given the situation, her proof of employment wasn't of much consequence as long as my stuff was in order.

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Why is that?

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I wasn't given a reason straight out, but I think one of the main things they're trying to establish is the financial wherewithall to support ourselves, so we don't become a burden on the state, and I was able to demonstrate that I have an income so I was ok. There's also the factor that my wife is quitting her job a month from now, and they knew that, so her income would not contribute to our financial stability for long.

We are looking into what it would take to move to Japan and I was wondering about guarantors as well. My wife (Japanese) and I both live in the US and I am the only one with a job. Her father is retired but does have a pension from the bank he used to work for. Would he still be able to act as a guarantor given that he is not currently employed? Would either myself or my wife need to line up a job before we apply for the spousal visa to show that we could support ourselves?
We are starting our research early and would not likely be moving for another two years (summer of 2011 or 2012 most likely, unless some extraordinary opportunity comes up). I just want to know what we will need to do.
Thanks,

Petaris,
My wife's father retired the year before I got my spouse visa. He served as guarantor. Give it a shot. It may only depend on how much his pension is.

Neither of you absolutely needs to get a job before you get a spousal visa. Having one in Japan would certainly help, even if you got it the day before the application. No guarantees, though.