Hello, this is Kou of IMS. February 1, 2022 is the Lunar New Year. Under normal circumstances, a large number of Chinese tourists would come to Japan, but due to the entry restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic that started in 2020, they are not allowed to enter Japan. I truly hope that the pandemic ends and things return to normal as soon as possible.
Now, I would like to explain a query I received from a person living overseas (Singapore). He is an Indian national and currently works in Singapore, and resides there with his wife, 6-year-old child, and 71-year-old mother. He has been told that he may be transferred to Tokyo and may have to come to Japan, and asked us if there is any way to bring his mother with him.
It is possible for your wife and children to come to Japan with you if you apply for a "family stay" visa together with your application for a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) through the company you are transferring to in Japan. However, you cannot apply for a "family stay" visa for your mother because she is not eligible for the "family stay" status of residence.
So, is there a way to bring your parent to Japan to live with you? And what kind of visa can he/she acquire? The answer is, there is a way. The visa the parent can acquire would be the “Specially Designated Activities (Specially Designated Activities: Notification No. 34, or for humanitarian reasons)” visa. However, the cases in which you can apply are limited, and not everyone can apply for this visa,
I would like to explain in what case, and what kind of people, can apply for this visa.
Visa for "Humanitarian Reasons"
First of all, regarding the “Specially Designated Activities: Notification No.34” visa, this is a visa allowing a foreign national staying in Japan with the “Highly Skilled Professional” visa to bring and live with his/her parent to raise the Highly Skilled Professional foreign national’s or his/her spouse’s child under 7 years old , or to assist with the housework or other necessary support for the pregnant Highly Skilled Professional foreign national’s spouse or pregnant Highly Skilled Professional foreign national herself. There are requirements such as annual household income of 8 million yen or more. In the case of the customer who contacted us, since he had a 6-year-old child, if he has 70 or more highly skilled professional points, and fits the other requirements such as annual income, and qualifies for the “Highly Skilled Professional” application, it is possible for him to apply for this “Specially Designated Activities” visa. However, the child must be under 7 years old, and this visa will no longer be applicable if he/she turns 7 at the time of the application, so you must be careful. Also, if the child turns 7 after entering Japan, the parent’s “Specially Designated Activities” visa cannot be extended.
And this is only for the purpose of taking care of a child under the age of 7 or supporting a pregnant person (the foreign national classified as a Highly Skilled Professional or his/her spouse), not for a long-term stay in Japan.
The So-Called "Elderly Parent Dependent Visa"
The next visa category is the "Specially Designated Activities" category, which is for humanitarian reasons, but is extremely hard to obtain. This visa is also called "Elderly Parent Dependent Visa", and as the term implies, it involves consideration from a humanitarian perspective, and is only approved by the Japanese Minister of Justice. There is no specific requirement published, but the applicant's parents must be elderly, have no relatives in the home country who can support them, and have difficulty becoming financially and medically independent. In addition, of course, the applicant's must be able to fully financially support dependents in Japan.
In addition, since this is a "Specially Designated Activities" visa, it is not possible to apply for a COE like a working visa or the "Specially Designated Activities: Notification No. 34" visa mentioned above, so the dependent must come to Japan on a tourist visa and then apply for a change of status in Japan. However, due to COVID-19, temporary visitor visas are currently suspended, so it is not possible to apply for this type of visa at this time.
Since there is no visa in Japan to bring a foreign parent to Japan for a long stay, the above methods are possible, but the number of people who can apply is limited and there are many obstacles to overcome.
For more information, please contact us below ↓
https://imsvisa.support/en/contact/
