What to do if you are divorced on a dependent visa
Divorce no longer qualifies for a dependent visa.
If you are divorced while in Japan on an overseas visa, many people may wish to continue living in Japan.
There may be various cases, such as marrying another foreigner or Japanese immediately after divorce, or living in Japan for so long that it is difficult to find a job back in your home country.
Today, we will explain the scope of the dependent visa and what to do if you are no longer eligible for it, for those who are divorced.
After divorce, you need to apply for a visa change within 3 months.
If you wish to continue working in Japan after divorce, you must apply for a visa modification within 3 months.
At that time, you may be wondering whether you can continue to work if you obtained a work visa if you had been working part-time as an activity other than that permitted under your dependent visa.
To sum up, you cannot get a part-time visa because you do not qualify for a work visa.
This is because jobs such as light work in factories, waitressing in restaurants, and working as a clerk in a convenience store are generally considered to be ineligible for a work visa.
Since work visas are only applicable to more specialized occupations (such as interpreters, translators, engineers, cooks, etc.), simple part-time work is out of the scope of this visa.
On the other hand, it is also true that some people have more difficulty in obtaining a work visa because they need to fulfill requirements such as educational background and years of work experience.
What visas may be changed after divorce?
As mentioned above, if a person on a dependent visa gets divorced, he/she must change his/her visa within 3 months, but what kind of visa can he/she change to?
There are three main possible candidates
- Working visa
- Spouse visa
- Other special circumstances
There may be others who are considering changing to a permanent resident visa, but basically it is not possible. Therefore, you must choose one of these three visas.Let's take a look at each of them in detail.
▼ Work visa
The most likely change from a dependent visa is a work visa.
If you have a college degree or have a lot of work experience, you may have eligible to apply to change for this visa.
Especially if you already have a job lined up after the divorce, there is a good chance that you can change to a work visa.
However, in that case, please note that a part-time job of up to 28 hours per week, which was allowed under the scope of a dependent visa, will not be accepted as work on a work visa.
Even if you find a job, it is possible that you may not meet the requirements for a work visa since your education, experience, and job description will be evaluated.
In addition to a work visa, it is also possible to change to a highly-skilled foreign professionals visa, for example, which can be obtained if you are highly educated, have a high income, and have graduated from a Japanese university.
If you have sufficient funds, you can also establish a company and obtain a "Business Manager" visa after preparing a business plan and other details.
These may seem like a lot of options, but it is difficult to change any of them.
▼ Spouse visa
Instead of a work visa, you can marry someone else after your divorce and obtain a spouse visa.
There are two types of spouse visas available: a spouse visa for Japanese nationals and a spouse visa for permanent residents.
In this case, if you love each other and get married, there is no problem.
However, if the marriage is too short, it is more likely to be suspected of a sham marriage.
Therefore, when applying for a marriage visa, you should carefully explain the circumstances of your marriage.
In addition, it is possible for a marriage to be remarried to a person on a work visa or a student visa, in which case the visa will be a dependent visa.
It may seem that you do not need to apply for a dependent visa, but since the spouse has changed, you will of course need to apply for a dependent visa.
However, since the spouse has changed, it is of course necessary to apply for a dependent visa again.
In case of other special circumstances
However, there may be people who find it difficult to apply for both a work visa and a spouse visa.
In such cases, there is another option: special circumstances are taken into account.
Special circumstances can vary from person to person, but for example.
The child has lived in Japan since birth and speaks only Japanese.
The person has lived in Japan for a long time and has no friends or family in Japan, making it difficult to find work even if he/she contributes to the program.
The child has an incurable disease that cannot be treated in his/her home country, and treatment in Japan is indispensable.
The person has an incurable disease that cannot be treated in his/her home country, and treatment in Japan is indispensable.
In all of these cases, it is anticipated that returning to Japan would be extremely disadvantageous.
In such cases, there is a possibility that the applicant will be granted special permission to stay in Japan, so it is recommended that the applicant apply for such permission.
On the other hand, please note that even in the above situations, it does not necessarily mean that you will be granted permission.
