married to japanese but no visa

Hello sir/madam
I am a citizen of Ghana, married to a Japanese citizen.
I overstayed before meeting my wife. we have presented all required documents to the immigration office since august 2009. my wife was pregnant and lost the baby twice last year.
she is not very healthy to work and the immigration office told me not to work as well. living conditions have become a bit hard for us due to the fact that we are both not working.
since last November, we have not heard anything from the immigration office.
in view of this , i am writing to you to find out if there is something you can do to help us in this respect.
or is there anything you can advice us to do at this moment?
thank you
moses

I personally don't live in japan, But couldn't you just get nationalized and become a full fledged citizen of japan, so you don't have to mess with the goof balls at the immigration office?

Jncocontrol said:

I personally don't live in japan, But couldn't you just get nationalized and become a full fledged citizen of japan, so you don't have to mess with the goof balls at the immigration office?

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No way, he's "overstayed"--meaning that he violated Japanese immigration law. He isn't allowed to work because of this "crime" and is being "salvaged" only because he's now married to a Japanese national. If not for the marriage, he'd be deported and banned from entry in Japan for as long as 5 years. He's now in "immigration limbo," pending decision by the authorities.

Permanent residence or citizenship comes only after he's lived in Japan for a very, very long time (at least 5 years, I think) and has shown good behavior (no criminal history and sound financial status).

Too bad, moses, but you have to wait for now. Maybe the best is to consult the immigration authorities regarding your predicament.

epigene said:

No way, he's "overstayed"--meaning that he violated Japanese immigration law. He isn't allowed to work because of this "crime" and is being "salvaged" only because he's now married to a Japanese national. If not for the marriage, he'd be deported and banned from entry in Japan for as long as 5 years. He's now in "immigration limbo," pending decision by the authorities.

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Being banned with a maximum sentence I would think is still likely, probably just a bit more like 1 year than 5, with the wife and her health situation, etc. BTW, Is she in trouble, too, for supporting you during the stay :?

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20041201f1.html

Elizabeth said:

Being banned with a maximum sentence I would think is still likely, probably just a bit more like 1 year than 5, with the wife and her health situation, etc. BTW, Is she in trouble, too, for supporting you during the stay :?

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20041201f1.html

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It all depends on how the immigration authorities look at his situation--i.e., the veracity of the circumstances.
I know a Chinese woman who overstayed and was banned for 5 years from entry in Japan, EVEN WHEN she was already married to a Japanese national before deportation.

epigene said:

It all depends on how the immigration authorities look at his situation--i.e., the veracity of the circumstances.
I know a Chinese woman who overstayed and was banned for 5 years from entry in Japan, EVEN WHEN she was already married to a Japanese national before deportation.

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Wow... that is a lot harsher than I would have thought they would be..

Chidoriashi said:

Wow... that is a lot harsher than I would have thought they would be..

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Yeah, I know! I was surprised to hear it myself.

I think it really depends on what you were doing while you overstayed, how you behaved after getting caught, what kind of person the Japanese national you married is, etc. -- really, how you impress the authorities.

That's why I think it's the best to be sincere and consult the authorities that you're in need of real help.

thanks to you all for your contributions. i keep a very clean sheet since entering japan 2years ago.
the only japanese law that i broke is just the overstay something. apart from that , i have never been
involved in any matters with the law.

on tge side of my wife, she submitted all of her tax clearance and all the requested to them the same
day we applied.

i just think the immigration authorities are just punishing us and also pushing our marriage to the wall
so that incase the lady gets fedup she will divorce me and leave.

thanks man but this is not america. no human rights here in japan.
they just keep pretending to the rest of the world that all is well with
foreigners but that is a very big LIE.

America is still a great nation and i will always respect them.

If you had arranged to turn yourself in, it would be the biggest leniency of all (at least there is hope Immigration enforces that promise...).


When visa laws are tightened, because of people like you, this is definitely a crime that effects us all. :

:angryfire:

You overstayed your visa limit. Don't brush that off as a trivial offense. Immigration certainly doesn't.

It's good that you have kept your nose clean since then, but immigration is not "punishing" you. They are dealing with the matter. You have a black mark on your record. Now you want to marry a Japanese citizen in order to stay here. To them, it's a reason to deliberate whether you got married just for the convenience or not.

November to now is a fairly long time for most people to get a spouse visa. When is the last time you inquired with immigration about the status of your application? Sometimes that is all it takes to nudge them into taking action. Be polite and merely inquisitive, not demanding. I suggest you have your wife call.

BTW,
Turning oneself into immigration for overstaying can lead to only a year of deportation, and deportation is not an automatic punishment, either. Maximum is 5 years at the moment, but they are considering raising that to 10.

Permanent residence is usually given after 10 years of residence here. People married to Japanese can do it in about 5. Case by case. Getting citizenship requires 5. You could apply for PR if you like. It's free until you get word that you've been accepted, but I seriously doubt you would get it. Too short a stay, and that black mark, plus as far as we can tell, there are no extenuating circumstances which make you an indispensable part of society (one of the reasons for some exceptions to the time limit).

Chidoriashi said:

Wow... that is a lot harsher than I would have thought they would be..

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I once saw a case of a man from Southeast Asia (I believe it was Vietnam) who had lived and worked legally in Japan for about 20 years and had a couple of children who had Japanese citizenship. He worked in a Japanese factory, spoke Japanese very well, and in every way was making a full effort to assimilate and live his life in a completely Japanese manner. He was applying for permanent resident status and it was discovered that his 18 year old daughter had been caught riding a scooter without a helmet. For this "offense" Immigration rejected his application and told him to try again in a couple of years.

Yeah, they can be harsh.

I'm sorry for your case, but let us rephrase your story this way:
-You came to Japan, stating in official documents that you will only stay for a certain amount of time. You are well aware that if you stay longer, you commit a felony and you well receive problems with this and most likely get deported. However, you decided to stay longer, bringing the consequences down on yourself.
-Knowing this, while already in trouble, you married a Japanese woman. This of course means that she will have to share your trouble in getting a visa. While it is not smart to marry a woman without having a job and without having a visa to stay in her country, I can understand that you may love her.
-The thing that is the most hard to understand is the fact that you (not once, but twice) got the woman pregnant. Fully aware of the fact that this child will bring you trouble, not even to mention the trouble the child will have growing up in a situation like this.

If you voluntarily engage in activities that carry certain risks, as this woman apparently did, you can't sue when that threat becomes manifest. It's the law. We all reserve the right to make decisions about our private lives, such as whom to marry and whether to procreate, no matter how potentially disastrous.


What I don't understand is how Immigration authorities allowed a foreigner out of status to be legally married in the country. Was it straightforward with an expired visa ? Did you need a lawyer ?

America is a Great Nation?

rash19877 said:

thanks to you all for your contributions. i keep a very clean sheet since entering japan 2years ago.
the only japanese law that i broke is just the overstay something. apart from that , i have never been
involved in any matters with the law.
on tge side of my wife, she submitted all of her tax clearance and all the requested to them the same
day we applied.
i just think the immigration authorities are just punishing us and also pushing our marriage to the wall
so that incase the lady gets fedup she will divorce me and leave.

thanks man but this is not america. no human rights here in japan.
they just keep pretending to the rest of the world that all is well with
foreigners but that is a very big LIE.
America is still a great nation and i will always respect them.

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Boy you are an *******. I currently live in the US and am planning my exit back to Japan hopefully soon. This country sucks and is getting worse by the day. Human rights? It is mostly a joke here. If you want human rights, try Canada or Holland. Not here. As for immigration, if you overstay and even if you get married it is very hard to get legalized, though not impossible. They make you wait for years and even then nothing is assured.