* Below is for the Filipina about the divorce and visa issue in Japanese law 

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1, There are five requirements in the Japanese civil code:

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(i) If the spouse has committed an unfaithful act (flirtation etc.)

(ii) When the spouse has maliciously abandoned the spouse.　(don’t pay money for spouse, etc)

(iii) When the spouse's life or death has been unknown for three years or more

(iv) When the spouse suffers from a severe mental illness and recovery is not expected

(v) When there are other serious reasons that make it difficult to continue the marriage. (general clause)

Many divorce cases are related to violence, flirtations and moral harassment.

 

(1) Divorce with a Japanese national

The divorce must start with mediation in a Japanese court. It is not possible to start with a lawsuit (a court decision). In mediation, the parties agree to divorce and discuss the conditions of divorce (custody, child support, alimony, division of property, etc.).

If an agreement cannot be reached, the case goes to lawsuit, and after questioning witnesses (cross-examination), the court decides whether it will grant a divorce by court decision based on the evidence. The divorce is legally decided even if the other party does not want a divorce.

 

(2) Divorce between Filipinos

Since there is no divorce system between Filipinos, the only way to get a divorce between Filipinos is to seek annulment of the marriage in a Philippine court. However, a divorce between Filipinos may be granted in a Japanese court if there are grounds such as grant of child allowance, custody, or receiving a house for property division.

 

2，Spouse visa and divorce issues

 

(1) There are two kinds of spouse visa, one is spouse visa with Japanese nationals and second is spouse visa with permanent residents. However, if they do not live together, the spouse visa can be revoked.

 

(2) For visa after divorce, if two people have small children or have lived together for more than three years,  a long-term visa (1 or 3 years) is more likely to be granted, but if there are no small children or period of marriage is short, a visa will often not be granted. This is due to the Immigration Bureau's strict policy on post-divorce visas.

 

During a recent period, I have handled four divorced Filipinas cases, and in each case, the divorce was denied due to the short period of living together. As a result, two of clients had to return to the Philippines. (V, J, S, J)

In the near future, the Immigration Bureau is planning to revoke permanent resident visas as well, if the tax and insurance premiums are not paid.

 

There are number of Filipinas who have to endure their husbands' domestic violence in order not to lose their visas. In addition, there were Filipinas who could not get a divorce because their husbands threatened not to guarantee the extension of their Spouse Visa.　Filipinas are in very weak position in Japan.

For protection from DV, the first step is to separate and escape from the husband, and then report to the police. There are legal measures such as court order of protection not to approach the victim.

 

(3) After the visa has expired (overstay), getting marriage is an advantage for obtaining a special permission visa, but there is no guarantee that you will get a visa on the marriage alone. Other factors (presence of children, length of marriage, length of overstay, criminal record, etc.) will also be taken into consideration to determine whether a special permission visa will be granted.                                                                                                          

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