Extending a Dependent Visa｜Proving You Are “Supported” and What to Do When You No Longer Are

Extending the Dependent residence status is often assumed to be a formality, but what the examination actually looks at is whether, at the time of the extension, you are still a “spouse or child receiving support.” This article sets out, based on the statutes and the materials published by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, the points examined at extension, how the 28-hour weekly cap on part-time work is applied, and what options exist when dependency is about to end.

Sources: e-Gov Law Search, “Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act” Appended Table I (4) and Article 19; “Ministerial Ordinance Providing the Criteria Pursuant to Article 7, Paragraph 1, Item 2”; Article 19, paragraph 5 of the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Act / Immigration Services Agency of Japan, “Residence Status: Dependent” and “Guidelines for Change of Status of Residence and Extension of Period of Stay” (established March 2008, last revised June Reiwa 8 = 2026)

Dependent Is the Status for a “Spouse or Child Receiving Support”

Appended Table I (4) of the Immigration Control Act defines the Dependent status as follows.

Daily activities performed as a spouse or child receiving support from a person staying with a residence status listed in the upper column of Table 1, Table 2 or Table 3 (excluding Diplomat, Official, Specified Skilled Worker (limited to item 1 of the lower column of the Specified Skilled Worker section of Table 2), Technical Intern Training and Temporary Visitor), or from a person staying with the residence status of Student under this Table

The Ministerial Ordinance on landing criteria further provides, for the Dependent section, that the criterion is that “the applicant stays while receiving support from …” In other words, Dependent status is defined not merely by family relationship but by the factual reality of receiving support. That is the axis of the extension examination.

Item	Content
Family members covered	Spouse or child (parents and siblings are not covered)
Statuses that cannot be a supporter	Diplomat, Official, Specified Skilled Worker (i), Technical Intern Training, Temporary Visitor
Period of stay	A period designated individually by the Minister of Justice, not exceeding 5 years
Legal basis	Appended Table I (4) of the Act; Ministerial Ordinance on landing criteria

For the procedure to bring family members living abroad to Japan for the first time (application for a Certificate of Eligibility), please see How to Bring Your Family to Japan on an Engineer Visa. This article focuses on extensions for those already in Japan.

What Is Examined at Extension

An extension of the period of stay is granted only when the Minister of Justice finds “reasonable grounds sufficient to deem it appropriate” (Article 21, paragraph 3 of the Immigration Control Act). The Agency’s Guidelines list eight representative factors considered in that judgment. Applied to a Dependent extension, they can be organised as follows.

Point examined	What is actually checked
Conformity with the residence status	Whether you still live as a supported spouse or child at the time of extension
Landing permission criteria	Whether the supporter holds a residence status listed in the criteria ordinance
Activities under the current status	Whether you have worked beyond the scope of your permission for activities outside the status
Good conduct	Criminal dispositions, or conduct that immigration administration cannot overlook
Independent livelihood	Not being a burden on public funds; foreseeable stability (judged on a household basis)
Tax and similar obligations	No large or long-standing arrears of resident tax, National Health Insurance premiums, etc.
Notification duties	Whether residence address notifications and residence card notifications have been filed

Note: On “possessing assets or skills sufficient to maintain an independent livelihood,” the Guidelines state that it is sufficient if this is recognised on a household basis. The fact that the Dependent visa holder personally has no income is not itself a problem; what is examined is whether the household is stable.

Social insurance enrolment is also checked at the counter. Because the issuance of health insurance cards was abolished on 2 December Reiwa 6 (2024), applicants are now asked to present the “Qualification Information” screen of My Number Portal, the “Notice of Qualification Information,” or a “Qualification Confirmation Certificate.” The Guidelines also state expressly that an application will not be denied solely because these cannot be presented.

Because the supporter’s own residence situation forms the foundation of the extension, prepare the supporter’s own renewal at the same time. The Checklist for Avoiding Denial on Engineer Visa Renewal is a useful reference.

The 28-Hour Weekly Cap on Activities Outside the Status

Article 19, paragraph 1, item 2 of the Immigration Control Act provides that a person staying with a residence status in Table 3 or Table 4 of Appended Table I (which includes Dependent) may not engage in “activities operating a business involving income or activities for which remuneration is received.” Unlike Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, it is not merely activities outside the status that are prohibited, but income-earning activity as such.

The exception is permission to engage in activities outside the status qualification under paragraph 2 of the same Article. The content of that permission is fixed by Article 19, paragraph 5, item 1 of the Enforcement Ordinance.

Category	Content
Comprehensive permission	Income-earning business operation or remunerated activity within 28 hours per week. The only required document is the application form
Excluded activities	Activities at premises operating adult entertainment businesses, store-type sex-related special businesses, or specified entertainment restaurant businesses, etc.
Individual permission	Granted case by case, specifying the organisation’s name and business content. Conditioned on the activity period not exceeding half of the period of stay
Legal basis	Article 19 of the Act; Article 19, paragraph 5, item 1 of the Enforcement Ordinance

Important: Working beyond 28 hours per week is evaluated as a negative factor at extension. The Guidelines list “having engaged in activities corresponding to the current residence status” as a consideration, and Article 22-4, paragraph 1, items 5 and 6 of the Act make it a ground for revocation of residence status where a person is not performing the activities of the status while performing or intending to perform other activities, or has not performed those activities for three months or more.

The 28 hours is a cap “per week.” Where a person holds more than one job, the hours are judged in total rather than per employer, so please take particular care if you work several part-time jobs.

Options When Dependency Is About to End

This is the situation we are consulted about most often. First, please note that a change of circumstances does not immediately lead to denial. The Guidelines state the following.

However, requirements such as the applicant’s age or the fact of receiving support may cease to be met owing to changes in circumstances after entry into Japan, such as advancing in age or the disappearance of the situation of receiving support; this does not, however, immediately result in denial of an extension of the period of stay.

That said, if the reality is that support is no longer being received on an ongoing basis, this is the point to consider a change of residence status rather than continuing with Dependent.

Situation	Direction to consider
Your income has risen and it is hard to say you are supported	Change to a work-permitting status. First check whether your education and duties meet the requirements
A child reaches adulthood / graduates and starts work	Change to Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, or Long-Term Resident / Designated Activities below
Divorce or death of a spouse	The Dependent requirement is lost. Consider a change of status or departure. A notification is also required
The supporter resigns or returns home	The supporter’s own status must be reviewed first; Dependent follows that outcome

Much of the reasoning is shared with a change from Student to a work status, so please also see Changing from Student to Engineer Visa. The relevance between education and job duties is the central issue.

Graduating from a Japanese High School and Starting Work

The Immigration Services Agency has published a treatment allowing those who stay with the Dependent status and wish to work after graduating from a Japanese high school to change to “Long-Term Resident” or “Designated Activities.”

Change to	Main requirements
Long-Term Resident	Completed compulsory education in Japan; graduated or expected to graduate from a Japanese high school; continuously stayed with Dependent status since entry; under 18 at the time of entry; employment decided (including an informal offer); public obligations fulfilled
Designated Activities	Graduated or expected to graduate from a Japanese high school; the supporter stays in Japan as guarantor; continuously stayed with Dependent status since entry; under 18 at the time of entry; employment decided (including an informal offer); public obligations fulfilled

Where the person transferred into a high school, Japanese language ability of around JLPT N2 is required. In practice, whether compulsory education in Japan was completed is what divides those who can proceed to Long-Term Resident.

Notifications When the Supporter Changes Jobs or Resigns

As a rule, the notification duty rests with the supporter.

Who	What	Deadline
Supporter (Engineer/Specialist, Researcher, Skilled Labor, etc.)	Change of name or location of the contracting organisation, its dissolution, termination of the contract, conclusion of a new contract	Within 14 days of the event
Supporter (Business Manager, Instructor, Student, etc.)	Change of name or location of the activity organisation, its dissolution, withdrawal or transfer	Within 14 days of the event
Dependent (spouse)	Divorce from or death of the spouse	Within 14 days of the event

The basis is Article 19-16 of the Immigration Control Act. For the full picture of procedures on changing jobs, see Procedures for Changing Jobs on an Engineer Visa. Failure to notify goes directly to the eighth item of the Guidelines, so do not put it off.

How to Think About Required Documents

The list of documents published by the Immigration Services Agency for “Dependent” (for an application to extend the period of stay) is structured as follows.

No.	Document
1, 2	Application for extension of period of stay; photograph (4cm x 3cm, taken within 6 months before application)
3	Passport and residence card (to be presented)
4	Documents proving the relationship between applicant and supporter (family register, certificate of acceptance of marriage registration, copy of marriage certificate, copy of birth certificate, etc.)
5	Copy of the supporter’s residence card or passport
6	Documents proving the supporter’s occupation and income

Item 6 varies with the supporter’s situation. Where the supporter operates an income-earning business or engages in remunerated activity, it means a certificate of employment or a copy of the business licence, together with a resident tax certificate of taxation (or non-taxation) and a tax payment certificate showing total income and payment status for one year. Where the supporter engages in other activities, such as a student, a certificate of bank balance in the supporter’s name, or a certificate of scholarship payment stating the amount and period, is used to show that the applicant’s living expenses can be met. Preparing a residence record listing all household members also helps evidence that you live together.

Note that no numerical standard such as “at least X yen per year” appears in the Agency’s published materials regarding dependency under the Dependent status. What the Guidelines set out is the concept of not being a burden on public funds and a foreseeable stable livelihood (sufficient on a household basis), judged on the individual circumstances. Figures circulating online as “guidelines” are not official criteria, and it is not appropriate to treat them as a pass or fail line. The proper approach is to show, with documents, that the household’s income and expenditure, savings, housing and family composition make daily life sustainable.

How to Prepare in Practice

• If your period of stay is six months or longer, you may apply from roughly three months before expiry. Check the timing at which the supporter’s taxation and tax payment certificates roll over to the new fiscal year
• Hours of activity outside the status can be verified later from payslips and shift records. Confirm for yourself that the whole year stays within 28 hours per week
• If any resident tax or National Health Insurance premiums are unpaid, pay them before applying and keep the receipts
• Once it becomes likely that dependency will end, check the requirements of the next residence status (education, job duties, remuneration) in advance so your options do not narrow
• For how to structure a family-wide permanent residence plan later on, see Applying for Permanent Residence as a Family

If you filed the extension application on or before the expiry date, you may stay until the disposition is made or until two months have passed from the expiry date, whichever comes first (the special period). This is a safety net, not margin to rely on.

Summary

A Dependent extension proves not a family relationship but the reality of being supported. The supporter’s residence situation, income, tax and social insurance; the family’s cohabitation and unity of livelihood; and your own hours of activity outside the status. When these three line up, the explanation comes together. Even when circumstances change, denial does not follow automatically, and considering the next residence status early keeps your options open.

How We Can Help

For extensions of the Dependent residence status and changes of status when dependency ends, please consult Kaneko Hidetaka Administrative Scrivener Office.

• 98% approval rate
• Languages: Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, English
• Free initial consultation
• Serving Chiba and Tokyo, and nationwide (online consultation available)

Contact us here