Japan Spouse Visa

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

Japan spouse visa:
France

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 and is applied for in person, by appointment. The slow part is the French side: the certificate of capacity to marry takes about four to six weeks, because of the mail-only filing and the ten-day publication of banns.

Main mission

Certificate of capacity to marry: the Embassy of France in Tokyo or the Consulate-General in Kyoto. The visa: the Embassy of Japan in Paris or a Japanese consulate, for the region where you live.

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.

France-specific documents

  • Certificate of capacity to marry (certificat de capacité à mariage) from the Embassy of France in Tokyo, used to marry in Japan, with a Japanese translation that you provide. Obtaining it requires a ten-day publication of banns and a recent birth certificate, and the file goes to the embassy by mail.
  • A recent birth certificate (acte de naissance) showing filiation: within three months if issued in France, within six months if issued by a consulate, counted from when the embassy receives your file.
  • Two adult witnesses for the Japanese marriage notification (婚姻届), which the French partner files in person on a weekday.
  • To marry in France, the Japanese partner's certificate of customary law and certificate of capacity to marry from the Embassy of Japan in Paris (valid within six months). After the wedding, the French marriage certificate (acte de mariage) with a Japanese translation, to report the marriage to a Japanese authority within three months.

Document authentication

  • France and Japan are both in the Hague Apostille Convention, so documents move between them with an apostille, not consular legalisation.
  • A French public document used in Japan is apostilled in France; a Japanese public document used in France is apostilled by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Each is apostilled in the country that issued it.
  • The spouse visa and the COE need only a Japanese translation, not an apostille.

Submitting your application

  • Start the certificate of capacity to marry early. The publication of banns runs ten days and the mail-only filing means about four to six weeks in total, so do not book a wedding date before this is underway.
  • Register the marriage at the Japanese city office, in person on a weekday with two witnesses, or at the town hall in France. A marriage registered in France 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 person, by appointment, at the Japanese mission for your region of France. It usually issues in about five business days.

Expert tips

  • Order your birth certificate at the right time. Its freshness is counted from when the embassy receives your file, not from the wedding date, so an early copy can expire.
  • Plan around the four-to-six-week certificate. The banns and the mail-only filing make this the slow step, and everything else waits on it.
  • The certificate is not pre-translated. The embassy issues it in French, and you supply the Japanese translation for the city office.
  • File on a weekday, in person. The French partner must attend the city office during business hours so the officer can confirm their presence.
  • Do not apostille documents for the visa. The COE and visa need only a translation; the apostille is for the marriage documents.

Common mistakes

  • Booking a wedding date before starting the four-to-six-week certificate of capacity to marry.
  • Letting the birth certificate expire, since its freshness is counted at the embassy's receipt of the file.
  • Expecting the embassy to translate the certificate into Japanese.
  • Apostilling documents for the visa, when the COE and visa need only a translation.
  • Marrying in France and forgetting to report the marriage to a Japanese authority within three months.

Translations: French documents need a Japanese translation; the spouse visa and the COE need a translation only, not an apostille. Apostille matters for the marriage step: a French document used in Japan is apostilled in France, and a Japanese document used in France is apostilled by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Sources