Japan Spouse Visa

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

Japan spouse visa:
Thailand

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 working days after the COE and is lodged through the Japan Visa Application Centre (JVAC) in Bangkok, not at the embassy counter. Budget extra weeks for Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs legalisation of the marriage documents.

Main mission

Marriage and single-status documents: the Royal Thai Embassy in Tokyo or the Consulate-General in Osaka. The visa: the Embassy of Japan in Bangkok through the JVAC, or the Consulate-General in Chiang Mai for the northern provinces.

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.

Thailand-specific documents

  • Thai civil-status documents to marry in Japan: a single-status or marital-status certificate, the household registration (ทะเบียนบ้าน), and a birth certificate. They are authenticated by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then by the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate in Japan, then translated into Japanese.
  • Some city offices want the single-status certificate authenticated by both the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Thai mission in Japan. Requirements vary by municipality, so confirm with your city office.
  • To marry in Thailand, the Japanese partner's single-status certificate and declaration of capacity to marry from the Embassy of Japan in Thailand (about 310 and 490 baht), translated into Thai and legalised by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs before the amphur registers the marriage.
  • After marrying in Thailand, the Thai marriage certificate (ใบสำคัญการสมรส, with the คร.2 register entry) and a Japanese translation, to report the marriage to a Japanese authority within three months.

Document authentication

  • Thailand is not in the Hague Apostille Convention. Thai public documents are legalised through the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, not apostilled.
  • For the marriage in Japan, Thai documents are authenticated by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Thai mission in Japan, then translated. For the marriage in Thailand, the Japanese documents are translated into Thai and legalised by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  • The spouse visa and the COE need a Japanese translation only, with no legalisation.

Submitting your application

  • Allow time for Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs legalisation, which takes several business days and feeds later steps that carry their own freshness windows.
  • Register the marriage: at the Japanese city office with the authenticated Thai documents, or at the Thai amphur with the legalised Japanese documents. Report the marriage to the other country so both registers match. After marrying in Thailand, report to a Japanese authority within three months.
  • Apply for the COE in Japan once the marriage is recorded.
  • Apply for the visa through the Japan Visa Application Centre in Bangkok, or at the Consulate-General in Chiang Mai if you live in the nine northern provinces. The visa usually issues in about five working days.

Expert tips

  • Plan around the Thai legalisation timeline. The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs step and the consular authentications each take days and carry three-month freshness windows, so do them in the right order.
  • Watch the two translation directions. To marry in Thailand you translate Japanese documents into Thai; to report the marriage to Japan you translate the Thai certificate into Japanese.
  • Keep one romanisation of your name. Thai names transliterate several ways, and the spelling on your passport must match the visa application and the marriage documents.
  • Do not legalise documents for the visa. The COE and visa need only a translation, so Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs legalisation there is wasted time.
  • Use the JVAC for the Bangkok area and the Chiang Mai consulate for the north. The embassy does not take spouse-visa applications at its own counter in Bangkok.

Common mistakes

  • Confusing the two requirements: legalisation for the marriage registration, translation only for the visa.
  • Underestimating the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs legalisation time and its three-month freshness windows.
  • Forgetting the second translation, from Thai back into Japanese, when reporting the marriage to Japan.
  • Name transliteration that does not match across the passport, the visa application, and the marriage documents.
  • Assuming Thailand uses an apostille. It does not, so a plain apostille is not accepted.

Translations: Thai documents need a Japanese translation. For the spouse visa and the COE, the Immigration Services Agency asks for a translation only, with no legalisation. Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs legalisation applies to registering the marriage, not to the visa, and the authentication carries its own three-month freshness windows.

Sources