Status of Forces Agreement
QUESTION
I am a 29-year-old Filipino. I’ve been to Japan several times with a tourist visa supported by my stepfather. Last year, I met my boyfriend, a 33-year-old American who works in Atsugi base but lives outside the camp; His visa is under SOFA status. I’m back in the Philippines now. My boyfriend visited me here last week. We have plans of getting married in Japan. I just want to ask what are the requirements needed to get married there. Where do we get married in Japan? At the Philippine Embassy, US Embassy or at the municipal office? Do I need to first apply for a tourist visa? I want to know the procedure.
ANSWER
a.The Immigration Control in Japan
As you know, the law, which specifies the entry to Japan, departure from Japan and residence in Japan, is the “Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law.” Your entry, departure and residence by tourist visa in the past was regulated by this law. Those who are excluded in the application of this law are existing in Japan. They are the military men who receive application of the Status of Forces Agreement between Japan and the U.S., an army civilian employee and their family. When these persons do entry and departure from the country using a warplane/vessel based on the ninth article of this agreement, they are excepting the application of immigration control of Japan.
Moreover, after entrance into a country, as long as it is during the period that is serving in military affairs, and he/she is a family, they are excluding the application of the resident control by the Immigration Bureau of the Japanese government. Therefore, when your fiancé does entry into and departure from the country using a warplane/vessel as before, the application of Immigration Law will be excluded during his military-affairs term. Under these interpretations and treatments, if you are able to do marriage with your fiancé and get the status of a “family status” from the U.S. government, you also do receive the application of the agreement. You are also not applied the regulation of Japanese Immigration Law.
b. Marriage
You can carry out your marriage contract with your fiancé at any country, the Philippines, the U.S., and Japan. When carrying out your marriage registration in the U.S. and the Philippines, please refer and confirm the required documents and procedures to each authorized organization since it is based on the statute of both countries. If you would like to carry out your marriage registration in Japan, it is necessary to acquire a Temporary Stay visa from the Japanese Embassy or Consulate in the Philippines. Then, after entering Japan, you have to carry out your marriage registration at US Embassy and the Philippine Embassy in Japan. It is not necessary to carry out your marriage registration at Japanese municipal office since you are Filipino and your fiancé is American.
c. Resident’s permission procedure
If marriage registration from the Philippine and US embassies during your stay in Japan was not accepted, you have to go back to the Philippines, or you have to go to the U.S. after you would obtain a fiancé visa from the U.S. Embassy in Japan. On the other hand, if the marriage certificate is issued by both embassies, and also the certificate of “admitting being a military man’s family” is delivered from the US Forces authorities, you are supposed to carry out the procedure to erase your status-of-residence. The Immigration Bureau will erase the “tourist visa” on your passport, and seal the qualification instead of tourist visa, which is “the family of the military man who provides in the Status of Forces Agreement between Japan and the US.” You can reside in Japan as US Forces people’s family, unless you will divorce from your husband. It is not necessary to get residence permission from the Immigration Bureau.
d. Entry and exit procedures
When returning to your native country temporarily or making a trip to the US or other country, you have to take the necessary procedure at an airport. In this case, when using the warplane of the US Forces, the examination of entry/departure is supposed to be performed by the US Forces authorities. On the other hand, when using a commercial aircraft without using a warplane, the examination at the airport in Japan will be undergone by the Immigration Bureau of Japan.
Office name: Miyoshi International Legal Counsel Office
Telephone/Fax (Japanese/English): 042-339-8013(office), 090-14360-4107(Mobile phone)
E-mail: miyoshi@ipcworld.co.jp or joshua-galasha@mvg.biglobe.ne.jp (Japanese/English) OR p-digest@ipcworld.co.jp(English/Tagalog)
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