Living in Japan
Accompanying Family Members
Visas for family members
If you have been allocated a Couple or Family Room at Tokyo International Exchange Center (TIEC), GRIPS International House (GRIPS IH) and Misato Housing Complex (Misato) or will move into a private apartment with your family, you will need to obtain visa for your family members. GRIPS can assist you with inviting your dependent family members (spouse and children) only after your arrival in Japan.
You are advised to contact the Japanese embassy in your country and ask what documents you need to submit to obtain visa for your family members. In most cases your family will need to obtain a Certificate of Eligibility in Japan for which you may need to bring to Japan your Marriage Certificate in the case of spouse, Birth Certificates in the case of children and a copy of the passports of your accompanying family members.
Please note all documents in foreign languages must be translated in Japanese. Only officially authorized translations are accepted and must be submitted together with a copy of the documents in the original language. The Japanese Embassy in your country can probably take care of translating and/or authorizing translations but please ask them for further advice on this matter. If you do not bring authorized Japanese translations of the required documents it may slowdown the visa application process considerably. GRIPS will only provide visa support to students staying in Couple or Family accommodation. In principle, GRIPS provides any support for visa applications to students staying in Single Rooms in Tokyo International Exchange Center (TIEC) and GRIPS International House (GRIPS IH). Support for short-term tourist visa applications for family members will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Dependents staying in Japan for more than 90 days must apply for Foreign Resident Registration.
If you are intending to have your family live with you in Japan we strongly recommend that you come on your own first and have your family join you later. Do not attempt to bring your family on a tourist visa since you will not be able to change the visa status once they are in Japan and your family will not be able to stay longer than 3 months.
Should I bring my family to Japan?
There may be arguments for and against bringing your family while you are studying in Japan. On one hand, you will not be separated from them, you will not be anxious about their welfare in your absence, and you will have someone near and dear to share your experiences. On the other hand, families make demands on your time and energy and this can affect your study. Also, you may make less effort to meet new people if you have your family with you. We urge you to think very carefully about bringing your family. Often students don’t realize the difficulties that can arise as a result of bringing their families to Japan. In making your decision, please take into consideration that your family will most likely encounter great difficulty in communicating with neighbors and other local people, environment. Also, think about the amount of time you will be able to spend with them, how they will spend their time, how much they will miss home and other family members, and how lonely and unhappy they might be. In addition, having your family here may create financial problems for you. Housing and living expenses are considerably higher for a family than for single students and no additional allowance for family will be provided.
If you have children, please bear in mind that it may not be easy to get small children into a kindergarten; sending children to international schools is prohibitively expensive and out of the question for those depending on scholarships.
Finally, we may remind you GRIPS can assist you with inviting your family (spouse and children only) only after your arrival in Japan.
Student Office
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies
7-22-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-8677 Japan
studentoffice@grips.ac.jp
Tel: +81-(0)3-6439-6048
Fax: +81-(0)3-6439-6070
Officehour:
Monday-Friday: 9:30 - 17:30
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