Japan Spouse Visa

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

Japan spouse visa:
Nepal

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 is lodged through the Japan Visa Application Centre in Kathmandu by appointment. Budget extra weeks for Nepal's legalisation chain, and complete the tuberculosis screening that is now required at the COE stage before you file.

Main mission

Legalisation of Nepali documents: the Embassy of Nepal in Tokyo. The visa: the Embassy of Japan in Kathmandu, through the Japan Visa Application Centre.

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.

Nepal-specific documents

  • Single-status or unmarried certificate from your home Ward Office, legalised through Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Nepal in Tokyo, then translated into Japanese. The Embassy of Nepal in Tokyo does not issue the certificate itself; it legalises one issued in Nepal.
  • Your birth certificate and passport, with Japanese translations, for the city office.
  • To marry in Nepal, the Japanese partner's certificate of legal capacity to marry from the Embassy of Japan in Kathmandu. Both partners register at the District Administration Office, and the marriage certificate (issued in Nepali and English) is reported to a Japanese authority within three months.
  • Pre-entry tuberculosis screening (J-PETS): nationals of Nepal applying for a status over three months, including the spouse visa, must submit a tuberculosis-clearance certificate at the Certificate of Eligibility stage. It has been mandatory for Nepal since June 23, 2025, is done at a designated panel clinic, and is valid 180 days from the chest X-ray.

Document authentication

  • Nepal is not in the Hague Apostille Convention, so Nepali public documents used abroad go through consular legalisation: the issuing office, then Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then the relevant embassy.
  • The spouse visa and the COE need only a Japanese translation of any Nepali document. No apostille or legalisation is required for the visa itself.
  • Legalisation matters for registering the marriage and for proving capacity to marry at the city office, not for the visa.

Submitting your application

  • Order the single-status certificate from your Ward Office and start its legalisation early, because it expires in about a month.
  • Register the marriage at the Japanese city office with the legalised certificate, or at the District Administration Office in Nepal. A marriage registered in Nepal must be reported to a Japanese authority within three months so it reaches the koseki.
  • Complete the pre-entry tuberculosis screening at a designated panel clinic, then apply for the COE in Japan.
  • Apply for the visa at the Japan Visa Application Centre in Kathmandu, by appointment.

Expert tips

  • The single-status certificate is the tightest clock in the process. It lasts about a month, and legalisation eats two to three weeks of that, so line the steps up before you request it.
  • There is no Nepali certificate of capacity to marry. Do not spend time looking for one; the legalised single-status certificate is the substitute.
  • Book the tuberculosis screening early. It is required at the COE stage for Nepali nationals, done at a designated panel clinic, with the certificate valid 180 days.
  • Expect the COE stage to look closely at the relationship. The Immigration Services Agency reviews photos together, messages, and the sponsor's income for every applicant, so prepare that evidence well.
  • Keep your name spelled the same way across the passport, the national identity document, and every translation.

Common mistakes

  • Letting the single-status certificate expire during the legalisation chain.
  • Confusing the two requirements: legalisation for the marriage and the city office, translation only for the visa.
  • Leaving the tuberculosis screening too late, so it holds up the COE.
  • Looking for a Nepali capacity-to-marry certificate that does not exist.
  • Name spellings that do not match between the passport and the Nepali documents.

Translations: Nepali documents need a Japanese translation; the visa and the COE need a translation only, not an apostille or legalisation. Consular legalisation, through Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Nepal in Tokyo, is for registering the marriage and proving capacity at the city office, not for the visa.

Sources