Acquiring Japanese Nationality

A foreign national will be “naturalized” by acquiring a Japanese nationality. There are three types of naturalization: Normal Naturalization, Special (Simple) Naturalization and Extraordinary Naturalization. Here, let's take a look at the requirements for normal and special naturalization.

Requirements for Normal Naturalization

This is the most common type of naturalization. People who are not eligible for favorable treatment all need to apply for this type of naturalization. There are 7 requirements for normal naturalization.

1. To Have Had a Domicile in Japan Continuously for 5 Years or longer.

“Continuously” here means “without leaving Japan for a long period.” Then how long stay outside Japan will have a negative impact on the application?

Staying Outside Japan Continuously for 3 months or Longer

Staying outside Japan for 3 months or longer will have a significantly negative impact for the application. Even when it is due to an inevitable circumstance such as a business trip or nursing care for old parents, no special consideration will be given.

Staying Outside Japan for 200 Days or Longer in Total within One Year

This can also be a greatly negative factor. Whether it’s continuous or not is not relevant here. Again, a business trip, old parents needing nursing care or other pressing circumstances wouldn’t make any excuse either. So if you are someone who travels outside Japan for business very often, and want to apply for naturalization, you might want to ask your boss or employer to decrease the number of your business trips outside Japan.

More than 3 years of Working Experience

Continuously domiciling in Japan for more than 5 years isn’t enough. You also have to have more than 3 years of working experience within those years. It has to be the experience as a full-time and directly-employed worker. Experience as a part-time/dispatch worker or fixed-term employee won’t be considered very favorably in the context of application for naturalization.

2. Aged Over 20 Years Old and Legally Considered Adult in Home Country

The applicant has to be legally “adult” both in Japan and the home country. In Japan, the age of legal adulthood is 20 years or older but it varies by country. It is 18 years or older in China, Korean and France, 21 years or older in Singapore and the US defines it differently between the states.

3.Probity of Conduct

It is also assessed whether the applicant will be able to comply with laws and regulations and be a part of society without causing troubles. It has to be proved that the applicant has no arrearage of taxes and pensions, no criminal record nor any involvement in any “anti-social forces.” Business owners also need to prove the payment status of corporation taxes. It is advised to clear any arrears of taxes before the application. It would make a significant difference whether you have cleared any arrears before the application or to have your screening officer point it out. If you have any family members in Japan, you also need to make sure that none of them is involved in any suspicious relationship including that with an anti-social force.

4.Being Financially Fit and Secure

Another item to be assessed is whether the applicant has a steady job that suffices the needs of all the family members in the household. The most important point to be examined here is the income level and also, the applicant household should not be in deficit and in case the applicant is a business owner, the business should not be financially precarious. “180 thousand Yen a month” makes a good reference as the minimum income level for the eligibility for naturalization.

5.Being Able to Renounce the Original Nationality

As Japan does not allow dual nationality, one is supposed to renounce his/her original nationality when becoming naturalized as a Japanese. So naturalization is only allowed for someone who can renounce the original nationality or who is stateless in the first place.

6.Not Having Destructive/Violent Ideas and Thoughts

Someone with a dangerous thought who, for example, is plotting an overthrow of the government or a revolution through violent means cannot be eligible for naturalization. It is natural that someone who is potentially harmful to the Japanese government or Japanese citizens is denied to be a part of the Japanese society. Having a relationship with any group or organization with such a tendency will also be considered negatively. Not only the applicant but also his/her family members need to be free of such relationships.

7.Literacy in Japanese

The applicant’s literacy level in Japanese language will also be examined as a basic ability for someone who is to live in Japan. But it doesn’t mean you have to have an interpreter/translator level of high proficiency. If your Japanese is around N4 and N3 level in the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), it will suffice. There is also a language test as part of the screening process, but it is not such a difficult one and will require the applicant to have only a basic skill of reading and writing Japanese.

Requirements for Special (Simple) Naturalization

The process of application for special or simple naturalization (referred only as “simple naturalization” hereafter for the sake of convenience) is not much different from that for normal naturalization. But the requirements are relaxed and the screening also tends to be less strict. As stipulated in the article 6 of the Nationality Law, below are the requirements for simple naturalization.

1. Child (Except for Those Adopted) of a Former Japanese National who has had a Domicile or Residence in Japan Continuously for 3 Years or Longer

This applies, for example, to someone either one of whose parents was a Japanese national and has renounced Japanese nationality. Because Japan doesn’t allow dual nationality, one has to renounce Japanese nationality when acquiring the nationality of another country. If someone has renounced Japanese nationality, his/her child initially doesn’t have Japanese nationality either. But after domiciling in Japan for 3 years or longer, the child will be eligible for naturalization. The required length of residence in Japan for naturalization eligibility is 2 years shorter than the case of normal naturalization.

2. Someone who was Born in Japan and has Domiciled in Japan Continuously for 3 Years or Longer, or Someone either of whose Parents (except for foster parents) was a Japanese National

This typically applies to Korean descendants in Japan. There are many Korean descendants in Japan who wish to be naturalized at their turning points in life such as marriage, childbirth and employment. If you want to apply for naturalization, check the length of your residency in Japan first and please feel free to contact us for consultation.

3. Someone who has had a Residence in Japan Continuously for 10 years or Longer

While normal naturalization requires the applicant to “have had a domicile for 5 years or longer,” in the case of simple naturalization, it is required to have had a “residence.” There is a clear difference between “domicile” and “residence” as legal terms.

Domicile

“Domicile” is the place where you currently live.

Residence

“Residence” here, as a legal term (translation of “居所(kyosho)”), means “a place that serves as a lodging and a living base for a certain period but does not make a permanent domicile.” It is a temporary living base for someone who may leave it sooner or later. A company dorm where temporarily relocated workers stay and a hospital are good examples of “residence” in this sense. Someone eligible for a permanent residency under this condition is required to have only one year of working experience or longer, which is 2 years shorter than what is required for normal naturalization.

4. Spouse of a Japanese Person

A foreigner who is married to a Japanese person can apply for naturalization with a shorter period of domicile in Japan than the case of normal naturalization. There are two types of eligibility conditions depending on “whether one is in Japan or not at the time of marriage.”

Someone who has had a Domicile or Residence in Japan Continuously for 3 Years or Longer and Currently has a Domicile in Japan.

If someone has domiciled in Japan for 3 years or longer at the time of marriage, he/she will be eligible for naturalization once married. If one has domiciled in Japan for 2 years at the time of marriage, he/she has to domicile in Japan one more year after getting married to be eligible for naturalization

Someone who has Domiciled in Japan for 1 year or Longer after Having been Married for 3 Years

If a foreigner marries a Japanese person outside Japan, comes to Japan after three years of marriage and domiciles in Japan for one year, he/she will be eligible for naturalization.

5. Child of a Japanese Perosn

Legelly, there are two types of “child”；biological child and adopted child. Each type of them has specific requirements for naturalization.

In the Case of a Biological Child

If someone is the biological child of a Japanese person, you may wonder why the child needs to be naturalized as a Japanese in the first place. It actually matters in such a case where a former foreign national gets naturalized as a Japanese and his/her child still holds the original non-Japanese nationality, or where a Japanese parent gives birth to a child outside Japan and chooses to give the child the nationality of the place of birth. In such cases,one only has to have a place of permanent residency in japan to be eligible for naturalization as a Japanese, regardless of the length of residency in Japan.

In the Case of an Adopted Child

Below is an example case where an adopted child gets naturalized as a Japanese.

A child born to non-Japanese parents → the parents get divorced → the parent who took custody of the child gets remarried to a Japanese → the child comes to Japan with the parent → the remarried Japanese partner adopts the child

There are two requirements for such a child to be eligible for naturalization.

The child cannot be eligible right after coming to Japan. At least one year of residency in Japan is required.

This requirement is about the age of the child. If the child is an “adult” according to the law of the home country, the child cannot be eligible for simple naturalization. It is especially important to note that it is up to the legal definition of adult/minor in the home country of the child and not Japan. Let us reiterate this because it’s very important. What matters here is not the definition of adult/minor in Japan but that in the home country.

6. Former Japanese National

7. Someone who was Stateless at the time of Birth and has Domiciled in Japan for 3 Years or Longer

These are the requirements and conditions for simple naturalization.