Japan Spouse Visa

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

Japan spouse visa:
Indonesia

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 to 6 business days after the COE and is lodged through the Japan Visa Application Centre (JVAC), not at the embassy counter. Budget extra weeks for the Indonesian documents, the apostille, and translations.

Main mission

Marriage and single-status documents: the Embassy of Indonesia in Tokyo or the Consulate-General in Osaka. The visa: a Japanese mission in Indonesia, through the JVAC centre 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.

Indonesia-specific documents

  • Single-status or no-impediment certificate from the Embassy of Indonesia in Tokyo or the Consulate-General in Osaka, used to marry in Japan, with a Japanese translation. You typically also bring your passport, KTP (identity card), Kartu Keluarga (family card), and akta kelahiran (birth certificate).
  • The correct marriage record for your religion: the Buku Nikah from the KUA (Muslim) or the Akta Perkawinan from Dukcapil (non-Muslim), with a Japanese translation, for the COE.
  • To marry in Indonesia, the Japanese partner's certificate of legal capacity to marry from the Embassy of Japan in Jakarta, plus a koseki, translated into Indonesian.
  • Pre-entry tuberculosis screening (J-PETS): Indonesia 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 Indonesia as of mid-2026. Check the current J-PETS status before you apply.

Document authentication

  • Indonesia and Japan are both in the Hague Apostille Convention (in force for Indonesia since June 4, 2022), so Indonesian civil documents used abroad are apostilled by Indonesia's Ministry of Law rather than consular-legalised.
  • The spouse visa and the COE need only a Japanese translation of any Indonesian document, not an apostille.
  • Apostille matters for registering and cross-recognising the marriage, not for the visa.

Submitting your application

  • Order the single-status certificate from the Indonesian mission in Japan (to marry in Japan) or the Japanese certificate of legal capacity from the Embassy of Japan in Jakarta (to marry in Indonesia) early.
  • Register the marriage at the Japanese city office, or at the KUA or Dukcapil in Indonesia. A marriage registered in Indonesia must be reported to a Japanese authority within three months so it reaches the koseki, and to the Indonesian civil registry within thirty days of returning.
  • Apply for the COE in Japan once the marriage is on the koseki.
  • Apply for the visa through the JVAC centre for your region of Indonesia, not at the consulate counter. The mission verifies the documents and usually issues the visa in about five to six business days.

Expert tips

  • Use the registry that matches your religion. A Muslim marriage goes through the KUA and a non-Muslim marriage through Dukcapil, and the marriage record they issue is the one you translate for Japan.
  • Mind two separate report deadlines: three months to report the marriage to Japan, and thirty days to report it to Indonesia after you return.
  • If your passport shows a single name with no surname, keep that exact form on every document. Japanese forms assume a surname and a given name, so agree with the city office how your single name is recorded and keep it consistent across the passport, the COE, and the visa.
  • Do not apostille documents for the visa. The COE and visa need only a translation; the apostille is for the marriage step.
  • Do not wait for the Indonesian paperwork before starting the COE. The koseki proves the marriage once the city office accepts it.

Common mistakes

  • Registering the marriage in the wrong system for your religion, which produces a record the other office will not process.
  • Apostilling documents for the visa, when the COE and visa need only a translation.
  • Missing one of the two report deadlines: three months to Japan, thirty days to Indonesia.
  • A single-name passport recorded inconsistently across the marriage record, the COE, and the visa.
  • Marrying in Indonesia and forgetting to report the marriage to a Japanese authority, so it never reaches the koseki.

Translations: Indonesian 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 do not require an apostille, only a translation. The apostille from Indonesia's Ministry of Law (in place since June 2022) is for the marriage registration, not the visa.

Sources