Taiwan has become the 27th country in the world to allow same-sex marriage
There are 26 countries which have approved the same sex marriage so far and Taiwan has become the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage and this went into effect on May 24.
However, this law is not 100% perfect. The same sex couples don’t have exactly the same rights like heterosexual couples, such as adoption and cross-national marriage. The same sex couples can only adopt the biological children of their partners and if one partner is from a country that doesn’t recognize the same sex marriage, the couples aren’t allowed to register their marriage in Taiwan. ( So the marriage between Taiwanese and Japanese won’t be approved even in Taiwan, not to mention in Japan)
But still, this is a big step and definitely a new page of history for the same sex couples and could influence other places in Asia to approve same-sex marriage.
With this, it is possible for the same-sex couples of Taiwanese or the couples between Taiwanese and the one whose country recognizes the same sex marriage to apply for a special type of designated activity visa.
For example, Marc and Peter are the same sex married couples. Marc is Taiwanese and Peter is American. Marc has got a working visa in Japan and Peter is thinking of moving to Japan to live with Marc under his care. In this case, Peter needs to enter Japan with a tourist visa first, then apply to change the visa to a designated activity visa. Of course, it doesn’t mean that Peter can receive this visa for 100%. The application will be thoroughly checked by the immigration like any other applicants. Once the checking is done, and the immigration officer finds no issues on their application, then the designated activity visa shall be granted and Peter can live with Marc under this visa.
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If you are a same sex married couple and looking for support, or you have any questions about Japanese visas and immigration, please, please contact us through the consultation form.
Visa Navi Japan
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