- Your legally married spouse and minor children join on a Dependent visa (家族滞在) you sponsor, you file a COE for each, proving you can support them.
- A dependent spouse can work only 28 hours/week (with a free permit). For a full career, they switch to their own work visa once they find a qualifying job.
- HSP visa holders get family superpowers: full spouse work rights, and the ability to bring a parent (to help with a young child) and domestic help.
- Childcare is heavily subsidised: free for ages 3–5 nationwide, and free for a first child 0–2 in Tokyo (from Sept 2025), but popular wards have waitlists, so research before choosing where to live.
- International school runs ¥1.5–3M+/year; local public school is effectively free and younger kids come out bilingual. Childbirth brings a ~¥500k lump sum.
The Dependent visa
Your spouse and children can join you on a Dependent visa (家族滞在, kazoku taizai), sponsored by you as the primary work-visa holder. You file a COE for each dependent (same process as your own, see the COE guide), showing the relationship (marriage and birth certificates, translated) and that you can financially support them. Dependents' period of stay is tied to yours.
Who qualifies & proving support
Only your legally married spouse and minor children qualify (not parents, siblings, or unmarried partners, except under HSP, below). There's no fixed income threshold, but immigration wants to see your earnings clearly cover the family: expect to provide salary slips, a tax certificate, and bank statements. A common rule of thumb is that supporting a spouse comfortably wants a salary meaningfully above the single-person minimum; more dependents, higher expectation.
Bring them together or after?
- Together: file all COEs at once. Cleaner paperwork, but slower to your start date and you arrive juggling housing + bureaucracy for everyone simultaneously.
- You first, family follows (most common with kids): you land, secure a family-sized apartment, set up bank/phone/ward registration, then bring the family 1–3 months later into a working household. Far less stressful than building everything from a hotel with jet-lagged children.
Can your spouse work? (the 28-hour rule)
A Dependent-visa holder cannot work by default, but can apply, free, at immigration, for "Permission to Engage in Activity Other Than That Permitted (資格外活動許可)", which allows up to 28 hours per week. That covers part-time work but not a full-time career.
Lifting the limit, a real career
To work full-time, the spouse needs their own status of residence. The usual route: the spouse finds a qualifying professional job and the employer sponsors a change of status from Dependent to a work visa (e.g. Engineer/Specialist). At that point they're no longer your dependent, they're a primary visa holder in their own right, with full work rights and their own path to PR. Many dual-career couples plan this from the start.
HSP family superpowers
If you qualify for the Highly Skilled Professional (HSP) visa, the family benefits are unusually generous and can justify pursuing HSP on their own:
- Your spouse can work full-time in skilled work without needing their own independent qualifying visa (the "spouse of HSP" allowance).
- You may bring a parent under conditions (typically to help raise a child under 7, or a pregnant spouse), almost unique among Japanese visas.
- You may bring domestic help under conditions.
See the visa categories guide for HSP point scoring.
Family healthcare
On employer Shakai Hoken, a non-working spouse and children enrol as dependents at no additional premium (below the income threshold), a real saving versus NHI's per-person charge. Register them through your employer and at the ward office.
Pregnancy & childbirth support
A childbirth lump-sum (出産育児一時金) of ~¥500,000 per child offsets delivery (normal birth isn't billed through 70/30), plus prefectural prenatal check-up vouchers. Register the pregnancy at the ward office for a Mother & Child Handbook (母子手帳), often available bilingually. As of April 2025, maternity/paternity leave provisions were further strengthened, check your employer's policy, which often tops up the statutory benefit.
Daycare (hoikuen) & the waitlist
Licensed daycare (認可保育園, ninka hoikuen) is high quality and heavily subsidised, but demand outstrips supply in popular urban wards, the famous waitlist (待機児童, taiki jidō). Placement is points-based: dual-income households score higher, and you apply through your ward office, ideally before you even arrive if you can. Alternatives when you can't get a licensed spot: unlicensed (認可外) daycare, employer-sponsored childcare, and international preschools.
Free childcare, 3–5 nationwide, 0–2 in Tokyo
Two big subsidies for foreign families (residence card + ward registration required):
- Nationwide: early childhood education is free for ages 3–5 at licensed centres and kindergartens, regardless of income, you pay only meals/materials (~¥3,000–10,000/month).
- Tokyo (from September 2025): licensed daycare is free for a first child aged 0–2 for all families, a major expansion. Outside Tokyo, under-3 fees are income-scaled (¥0 up to ~¥77,500/month).
Schools, local vs international
| Local public school | International school | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Effectively free (small fees, lunch) | ¥1.5–3M+ per year |
| Language | Japanese immersion | English (or IB/home curriculum) |
| Best for | Younger kids; long-term stayers; integration & bilingualism | Older kids; shorter stays; continuity & university pathways |
| Trade-off | Sink-or-swim language at first; PTA in Japanese | Cost; long waitlists at top schools; less local integration |
Younger children adapt to local schools remarkably fast and come out bilingual; teenagers mid-curriculum usually do better in an international school for continuity. International fees are a major budget line, factor them into your salary negotiation if relocating a family, as some employers offer school-fee assistance for senior hires.
Child allowances & subsidies
- Child Allowance (児童手当), monthly payment per child; the 2024 reform removed income caps and extended payments through high school for many families. Apply at the ward office.
- Child medical subsidy, free/cheap paediatric care; age cutoff varies by municipality (some cover through junior high or high school).
- Free preschool (3–5) nationwide, plus free public schooling.
- Prenatal vouchers and the ~¥500K childbirth lump sum.
Frequently asked questions
Can I bring my family with me to Japan on a work visa?
Yes, your legally married spouse and minor children can join you on a Dependent visa (家族滞在), which you sponsor as the primary work-visa holder. You file a Certificate of Eligibility for each dependent (same process as your own), showing your relationship with translated marriage/birth certificates and that your income clearly covers the family. Many people move first, set up housing and banking, then bring the family 1–3 months later.
Can my spouse work in Japan on a dependent visa?
Only part-time by default. A Dependent-visa holder can apply, free, at immigration, for permission to work up to 28 hours per week. To work full-time, your spouse needs their own status of residence: they find a qualifying professional job and the employer sponsors a change from Dependent to a work visa. If you hold the HSP visa, your spouse gets enhanced full work rights without needing their own independent qualifying visa.
Is childcare free in Japan for foreigners?
Substantially, yes, with a residence card and ward registration. Early childhood education is free for ages 3–5 nationwide regardless of income (you pay only meals/materials). In Tokyo, from September 2025, licensed daycare is free for a first child aged 0–2 for all families; elsewhere under-3 fees are income-scaled. The catch is availability, popular urban wards have waitlists (待機児童), and dual-income households score higher for placement.
Should my kids go to local or international school in Japan?
It depends on age and how long you'll stay. Local public school is effectively free, immerses kids in Japanese, and younger children adapt fast and come out bilingual, best for long-term stayers. International school (¥1.5–3M+/year) keeps an English or IB curriculum, suiting teenagers mid-curriculum and shorter stays. International fees are a major budget line, so factor them into salary negotiation, some employers offer school-fee assistance for senior hires.
What child allowances can foreigners claim in Japan?
Any foreign resident with a residence card and ward registration can claim them. The main ones: the monthly Child Allowance (児童手当) (the 2024 reform removed income caps and extended payments for many families); a child medical subsidy for free/cheap paediatric care; free preschool (3–5) and public schooling; prenatal vouchers; and a ~¥500,000 childbirth lump sum per child. Apply at the ward office.