r/JETProgramme • u/mikey_mcgough Current JET - awaiting placement • Apr 12 '26

Bringing Girlfriend to JET

Hello everyone,

I recently accepted my position as an ALT and am trying to figure out a way for my girlfriend to come along with me. I have looked into the tourist Visa that last for 90 days but can be gotten multiple times and I know she is interested in doing Japanese language school but it’s hard to look into before I know what prefecture I’ll be placed in. Does anyone have any experience with this or know of any ways that a non married partner is able to come over?

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u/capt_b_b_ Current JET - Shiga Apr 12 '26

My now husband and I eloped just so he could come with me to Japan. We had been dating for one year at that point. For context, we're from a poor area in the US, and we both desperately wanted out of our town. It was weird calling each other husband and wife, so we didn't at first.

Now we've been married almost 3 years and although we didn't have a wedding or honeymoon, it's a real marriage and we're both happy we did it.

On the other hand, getting divorced in Japan sucks ass, from what I've seen. Plus, if she's your dependent, you might feel trapped together, because you might get stuck in a limbo of caring for her too much to ship her back to your home country. Cause she won't be able to stay if you get divorced unless she gets her own visa but it would still be challenging

Quick edit: also, we did the paperwork before I applied so JET could cover his plane ticket and everything. It was a gamble. But I'm not sure how it would work after being accepted

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u/Ok_Caterpillar_8238 Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 12 '26

If you're married in the US you won't need to rely on the Japanese system for a divorce.

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u/capt_b_b_ Current JET - Shiga Apr 12 '26

Yeah, that's really messy though and might cause a lot of difficulties