For foreign nationals who want to acquire a Japanese citizenship and become a Japanese.
Administrative scrivener corporation Partner offers advice for naturalization.
This application has to prepare a lot of documents depending on applicant's nationality and actual situation.
We will consult with applicant and make suggestions that meet the budget and needs of each customer.
It usually takes about 1 year till the result comes out. If you want to naturalize to Japan as early as possible, it is very important to shorten the period between preparation and application.
If you have any desires such as obtaining Japanese citizenship before finding employment or before children's marriage, please contact us for advice.
Naturalization is a system that foreign nationals acquire Japanese citizenship and become Japanese nationals. By the naturalization, you will free form the procedures and limitation that foreign nationals have, and there will be a right as a Japanese to vote.
Permanent residents are foreigners who are allowed to stay in Japan without time limit. Naturalization is to be a Japanese citizen. Foreigners who are permanent residents do not have citizenship, so they cannot vote and have limit working at public agencies. Also, permanent resident status could be cancelled, if one has committed a crime or has left Japan for a long time.
However, it is very important to make a careful choice of being a permanent resident or a Japanese citizen, because once you lost your citizenship of your mother country, you may not get it back in some cases.
It is necessary to live in Japan continuously more than 5 years to apply naturalization.
Since it need to be “continuously”, if an applicant stay overseas longer than a certain period, it would not be recognized as live in Japan “continuously”.
Then what is the definition of “a certain period”?
Exodus longer than 3 months
Exodus longer than 150 days in a year (It is not necessary to count from January to December. It is counted as 150 days out of 365 days, wherever the start is.)
If there were exodus longer than a certain period, the record of living in Japan would be counted as “zero 0”and it is necessary to stay in Japan continuously for 5 more years to fulfill the requirement of residence.
Applicants have to be 20 years old or above and have capacity for judgment by themselves.
However, there are some cases that under 20 years old applicants can acquire Japanese citizenship under certain conditions.
Also, if applicants are under 15 years old, person who has parental authority, guardian, legal representative apply for naturalization as an agent instead of applicants.
That is to say, when joint custody exists in applicants’ mother countries, applicants must apply for naturalization in cooperation with their parents.
Applicants have not received any sentence to pay a fine or pensiveness.
Applicants must fulfill formal obligations such as tax obligation.
Especially, when applicants have had serious traffic offenses or have been repeatedly caught for speeding, they need certain period to apply for naturalization.
Whether applicants have traffic offenses or not, it is necessary to submit past 5 years’ driving record.
Applicants are required to have stable living in the future after the naturalization.
Income is considered on the basis of household but not an applicant him/herself. Therefore, there is no problem with income requirement if the spouse of the applicant has enough income.
Also, the income could be public pension in some cases.
Japanese government does not allow having dual citizenship in principle.
The procedure of loss of nationality varies by countries. When a person acquired other country’s nationality, some countries automatically denationalize, and some countries need to go through procedure to loose nationality.
People who belong to foreign communities that threaten sovereignty of Japan, or who has such kind of thought, or who has connection with members of organized crime or rightist, are not able to apply for naturalization.
一般的に１０歳程度（小学校３年生程度）の日本語能力が必要だと言われています。
管轄の法務局により違いはありますが、日本の義務教育を卒業していない場合は、日本語とのテストが実施されます。
当社では、日本語の読み書きが苦手な方に、日本語テストサポートを実施しています。
日本語テストについてはこちらをご覧ください
Applicants generally need Japanese language ability of 10 years old (3rd grade at the elementary school).
There are some differences among jurisdictional Legal Affaires Bureau, but Japanese language test will be implemented if applicants did not graduate from Japanese mandatory education.
Our office provides Japanese language test support for people who are not good at Japanese reading and writing.
For more information about the language test, please check out here＞＞About Japanese language test for naturalization
Applicants, who are spouses of Japanese nationals, have to live in Japan continuously more than 3 years and still live in Japan.
Or, married to Japanese more than 3 years and living in Japan more than 1 year.
Applicants have to born in Japan and living in Japan continuously more than 3 years.
Or, mother or father was born in Japan and live in Japan continuously more than 10 years.
※Most cases are special permanent residents.
Biological children of Japanese nationals and living in Japan.
Adopted children of Japanese nationals and living in Japan more than 1 year, and have to be underage at the time of adoption.
People who born in Japan and stateless since their birth, and living in Japan continuously more than 3 years.
※Examination period will not be shorten even the requirements are eased.
Naturalization application needs to prepare a lot of documents and submit to jurisdictional Legal Affaires Bureau.
Usually it takes about 10 months from accepting application to getting the result. But it takes more than one year sometimes, depending on the situation of examination and number of applications.
We will interview about the situation of customers themselves and their family, to check if they meet the requirements of naturalization.
If the situation is obviously not meeting the requirements, we will give advice about the future.
We will make suggestions as budget permit from documentation to total support plan base on customers’ situation and requests.
If customers agree with our suggestions and fees, then next step is signing up for our support service.
We will gather the necessary papers depending on each customer’s nationality, living situation, work experience and so on.
When a certain amount of papers are gathered, we will start preparing a documentation package.
Applicants have to submit the naturalization application documents to jurisdictional Legal Affaires Bureau by themselves in principle.
(When the applicant is under 15 years old, parents or an agent submit the application instead.)
Subject to customers’ wishes, we can be accompanying to Legal Affaires Bureau.
After 3 to 4 months after turning in the application, Legal Affaires Bureau will call applicants for interview.
Usually, spouse of applicants will be asked to come together.
Our support service includes providing advices for interview.
Sometimes, additional documents are necessary during the process of the examination.
We continue follow-up support until the announcement of the result.
If the naturalization application is permitted, applicants’ name will be on official gazette, and Legal Affaires Bureau will give notice directly to applicants.
Legal Affaires Bureau will issue identification certificate.
For some nationalities, it is necessary to return their passports to embassy before receiving identification certificate.
Ａ．If we can clarify the reason of rejection, we can try for reapplication.
Ａ．You still need to renew your visa that you have, when you are wanting for the result of naturalization to come out.
Ａ．It depends on what kind of status of resident you have, but a student is able to apply for naturalization.
Ａ．It is no problem to get married. However, it is necessary to submit some additional documents about your spouse.
Ａ．No, problem. After you got Japanese citizenship, your wife and children can change their status of residence to “spouse and child of Japanese nationals”.
Ａ．Katakana is also available for name.
It used to be asked to use name that is suitable for Japanese in the past, but not at present.
For more information, please check here＞＞Naturalization (acquire Japanese nationals) and name
Ａ．It is possible to be naturalized, when a certain time have had past after completing your prison term or finishing your sentence.
Ａ．Yes, you can. There were some cases that Korean nationals, who could not identify their birthplace and could not submit birth registration, got the permission for naturalization.
If you have any questions about naturalization, please feel free to contact us by mail format or phone call.
