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Originally Posted by Nyororin
This is not bad thinking at all, but something you should definitely be careful about - most of the documents required are time sensitive. I was asked to produce documents that were dated within 6 months of my application. It would be unfortunate to get a bunch of documents ready... And have them be useless. Gathering information and researching how to get the documents is definitely something that it cannot hurt to begin early.
I believe this is something that may be concerning some of us. There are a LOT of people who want to move to Japan. There are a lot of people who feel that moving to the country will give them a great new start. The majority of them are completely ready to leap into citizenship.
And the majority of those who do live in Japan usually do not end up wanting to stay in the country permanently... This is particularly true when they a) Start out without Japanese language skills and b) Do not have family in Japan. (By marriage or blood relation.)
Japanese does not appear to be an easy language to pick up in adulthood, and being in a home situation where the household language is something other than Japanese makes it even harder.
Obviously, as there is such a long wait before you`ll be eligible for either PR or citizenship, it would be impossible to leap into either of them... And I am sure you will have more than enough time to figure out your feelings on living in the country permanently... But there are more than enough cases of people who think that Japan will be where they want to live, only to find they do not feel that way at all once they`ve lived here and experienced the difficulties of being immersed in a foreign culture with no escape. It makes me, at least, feel very iffy on simply encouraging someone to plan to take citizenship before they`ve even lived in the country.
I see. If they are taking care of it (I`m guessing you`d end up a family stay visa linked to your wife`s student visa) then you shouldn`t have much to worry about. Other than, well, what you`ll be doing if you`re not attending school. You can`t work on that visa, so will have a lot of free time.
There is no test, but they do talk to you in 100% Japanese - and all the paperwork must be done in Japanese. I hear there is a home visit in the last stages of the process, but I have yet to get that far.
As you`ll need documentation for all of this, the more complex your family situation the more documentation you will need. Whether this is a "complication" or would have any connection to your chances for approval - I have no idea.
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You've been very helpful and I appreciate your assistance.
In light of the documentation being time sensitive, simply knowing what I will eventually need will save me a lot of time and money as I will not need to chase after anything.
Regarding the citizenship thing; I do intend to make my stay there, during my wife's education, something of a trial. It will be the means for me to actually experience the culture and see if it is truly where I want to be. If all else fails, I simply return to home. The Global 30/MEXT programs will cover the costs of returning us after she's finished her Masters degree.
Regarding the visa; I am not so sure about the details of how it will work, to be honest. However, like I said, we have a lot of time to plan that out. We can't even apply for the scholarship until June of next year and then we will be sent out the following April. We plan to make use of this time by asking as many questions as possible. Hence, why I have been posting here. This is my attempt to gather information and to spark more questions to ask the Consulate as we work our way through this process.
Heck, our plans may fall through all-together if my wife's thesis is not approved by Tokyo Metro-U. However, being 3 steps ahead is always a good strategy.
