Japan Spouse Visa

Last verified June 14, 2026 against official ISA/MOFA sources

Japan spouse visa:
China

Country-specific steps

Country guides cover the parts that depend on your nationality: the documents, legalisations, and consular steps. For some countries this work begins before the COE. For the overall process and the COE itself, start with the main guide.

Processing time at the consulate

The Japanese visa takes about 5 business days after the COE. In mainland China it is lodged through a designated agency, not at the consulate counter. Budget extra weeks for notarisation, apostille, and translation of the Chinese documents.

Main mission

Marriage and single-status documents: the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo or a Chinese Consulate-General in Japan. The visa: a Japanese mission in China (Beijing and the consulates-general), through a designated application agency.

Where to apply

Apply at the mission with jurisdiction over your residential address — official embassy site .

General documents

  • Valid passport (original).
  • Completed and signed Japan Visa Application Form (fill every field; write "N/A" where it does not apply).
  • One recent passport photo to the mission's specification.
  • Certificate of Eligibility (COE): original or printed copy.

China-specific documents

  • Single-status declaration (无配偶声明公证) from the Chinese Embassy or a Consulate-General in Japan, used to marry in Japan. You must appear in person and sign before a consular officer, and bring a Chinese passport plus a residence card or a 住民票 issued within the last three months. It is normally ready on the fourth business day and is valid for three months in Japan.
  • If you were previously married: the divorce certificate, mediation, or judgment (or, for a Japanese former spouse, a koseki or divorce-acceptance certificate issued within three months). If widowed: the late spouse's marriage certificate and the death certificate.
  • To marry in China instead, the Japanese partner's certificate of legal capacity to marry from the Embassy of Japan in China (or their home Legal Affairs Bureau), carrying a Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs apostille and a Chinese translation. Both partners register together at the Civil Affairs Bureau (民政局).
  • A Chinese document notarised inside China by a notary office (公证处), such as a notarised birth or marriage certificate, now carries an apostille (附加证明书) from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs or an authorised provincial foreign-affairs office, in place of the old consular legalisation.
  • For the visa step in mainland China, the household register (居民户口簿) and, if you apply outside your registered area, a residence permit (居住证) may be requested to establish which mission has jurisdiction. Confirm the exact list with the designated agency.
  • Pre-entry tuberculosis screening (J-PETS): China is one of the target countries for Japan's pre-entry tuberculosis screening, which requires a tuberculosis-clearance certificate at the Certificate of Eligibility stage. The screening is being phased in and is not yet mandatory for China as of mid-2026. Check the current J-PETS status before you apply.

Document authentication

  • Since November 7, 2023, China and Japan are both in the Hague Apostille Convention, so a single apostille replaces consular legalisation between them.
  • Chinese public documents used in Japan are apostilled by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs or an authorised local foreign-affairs office. Japanese public documents used in China are apostilled by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  • The spouse visa and the COE need only a Japanese translation of any Chinese document, not an apostille.

Submitting your application

  • Order the single-status declaration (to marry in Japan) or the Japanese certificate of legal capacity (to marry in China) early, and allow time for notarisation, apostille, and translation.
  • Register the marriage: at the Japanese city office with the single-status declaration, or at the Chinese Civil Affairs Bureau with the apostilled Japanese certificate. A marriage registered in China must be reported to a Japanese authority within three months so it reaches the koseki.
  • Apply for the COE in Japan once the marriage is on the koseki.
  • Apply for the visa in mainland China through a designated application agency for your jurisdiction, not at the consulate counter. The mission verifies the documents and usually issues the visa in about five business days.

Expert tips

  • The single-status declaration is valid only three months in Japan. File the 婚姻届 soon after you collect it.
  • The Chinese mission in Japan issues the single-status declaration only if you have lived in Japan for at least 180 days or hold a work or study visa. Short-term visitors are not served.
  • In mainland China the spouse visa goes through a designated agency. Use the Embassy of Japan's published agency list for the province where you live.
  • Do not wait for the slow Chinese paperwork before starting the COE. The koseki proves the marriage once the city office accepts it.
  • Keep names and characters consistent. The pinyin in your passport, the characters in your household register, and the kanji on your Japanese documents should line up, or you will get questions.

Common mistakes

  • Following an old guide that says the Chinese consulate must legalise a document. Since November 7, 2023 it is an apostille, not consular legalisation.
  • Letting the three-month single-status declaration lapse before the marriage is filed.
  • Trying to apply for the visa at the Japanese consulate counter in China, when it must go through a designated agency.
  • Marrying in China and forgetting to report the marriage to a Japanese authority, so it never reaches the koseki.
  • Name or character mismatches across the passport, the household register, and the Japanese documents.

Translations: Chinese-language documents need a Japanese translation. You or your spouse may translate them, and no certification is required for the spouse visa or the COE. The visa and COE themselves do not require an apostille, only a translation. Apostille and notarisation matter for registering the marriage, not for the visa.

Sources