Q&A for How to Become a Japanese Citizen

You can get citizenship only if you have no citizenship at the time of the citizenship process. In order to do so you have to renounce your original citizenship. The questions for you is would you like to give up your Indian citizenship for Japanese citizenship or not, considering it is really difficult to get Indian citizenship back.

While having Japanese immediate family members speeds up the process, it doesn't matter if you have or don't have any Japanese relatives, as long as you meet the criteria.

Technically, you must be a person without a nationality to apply for Japanese citizenship. That means that you must give up any nationalities that you currently have, regardless of which nationality that is. You do not have to give up your religion to become a Japanese citizen.

No, your school record has nothing to do with your criminal record. Also, only your criminal record from your time in Japan counts.

No. Japan does not recognize dual citizenship for anyone past the age of 22. If you want to become a Japanese national, you must abandon any other nationality that you currently have. Technically though, many do have dual citizenship and the government turns a blind eye to it.

This will be part of the application process, and you will be guided by the immigration officials. There is a measure of freedom. You are free to choose any name, so long as it consists of a family name and a personal name, and can be written in standard Japanese script. Your own name can be transliterated phonetically, or you can adopt a new Japanese name.

Presumably it means you have money and/or are employable, able to financially support yourself and your family so that you are not a drain on the state.

The system is designed to expect that you will be living in Japan when you apply for citizenship. You are expected to reside in Japan for five consecutive years prior to applying. There are some exceptions, which could allow citizenship if you have lived there as short as three years. There is no maximum limit, other than what your tourist or resident visa will allow.

You must be at least 20 years of age to apply for Japanese citizenship.

You have to wait until the age of twenty and you have to meet all criteria. But as someone who is born in Japan, the process is usually easier, since you can get lots of the required documents in Japan rather than other foreign countries.

Permanent residence is a type of visa that gives you the right to live, work in a country without major restrictions. You still considered a foreigner and you need to use the passport from your country of origin when travelling overseas. As a permanent resident, you may need to extend your visa/resident card once every few years. Citizenship, on the other hand, is a privilege you may receive by birth or having parents of that country, or it may be awarded to you when you go through the naturalization process. When you are a citizen you may apply for a passport for the your country of citizenship, vote or participate in the elections, or even apply for government positions.

If you fit the criteria, you can become a citizen even without marrying a Japanese citizen, however doing so would speed up the process.

No. You would need to be naturalized before applying for citizenship. You may apply for a spouse visa instead.

Your original passport must be made invalid (you must renounce your former nationality). Japan wants you to be a non-holder of any other nationality. During your processing, you will remain a no-national person... so your passport is invalid, your visa is invalid, and you cannot go in or out of Japan.

You have to go thought naturalization just like everyone else and do the paperwork to have citizenship.

You need to be settled in Japan for at least five years with a mid- to long-term visa, having a stable life with enough income and being able to understand, read and write Japanese before applying for Japanese citizenship. There is a fast track path called Daikika for elites and athletes which is barely been executed unless that person has a chance for Nobel Prize or Olympics. Unfortunately, Japanese citizenship is more an evaluation process done by multiple assessors at ministry of justice rather than a regular government procedure in other advanced countries.

Yes, you can.

What you describe sounds more like political asylum than simple immigration. This has different requirements than those described in this article. You should see the following website about political asylum in Japan: http://www.unhcr.or.jp/html/protect/pdf/info_seekres_e.pdf

For children of Japanese nationals, it's controlled by the koseki, the family registry. You need to research your dad's koseki and see what it will take to be added to it.

Yes, you must live in Japan for at least 5 consecutive years. If you wait until you are 18, you can apply once you are at the age of 23.

You are expected to know how to speak and write Japanese. To be eligible for citizenship you must live in Japan for 5 years, so you should have plenty of time to learn the language.

Yes, you can. Being legally married or blood related to some one is not required to become a citizen in Japan, although being related or married to someone does speed up the process slightly. Anyone who fits the simple rule set is allowed as a citizen.

Anyone is allowed to be a Japanese citizen, as long as they fit the simple rule set. Being related to someone by blood simply speeds up the process. If you are simply going to Japan for fun or temporally to see your family, it is not recommended to become a citizen. You must live in Japan for 5 years and give up any citizenship you have with other countries. If giving up citizenship is to much to ask for, then becoming a Japanese citizen is not for you.

If you marry the man, then yes. If not, then your child may apply for citizenship, but you cannot.

Assuming you don't have any preexisting special agreement, you become stateless. It is a very serious problem, you will likely be unable to acquire work, pay taxes, use public goods and services, fly, or get married.

You will need to meet with immigration officials about this question. The statute says that you are expect to reside in Japan for five consecutive years prior to applying. That implies that it is the five years immediately preceding your application, but it does not clearly say that. If you can show, with your passport and visas, that you have spent this much time in Japan, you may qualify. If you are in Japan, visit a local legal affairs bureau office. If you are outside of Japan, contact the Japanese embassy nearest you.

If you are denied Japanese citizenship, you will become stateless and forced to undergo the lengthy and difficult process of regaining your previous citizenship.

Yes, you will have to revoke your American citizenship if you decide to become a Japanese citizen, because Japan strictly prohibits dual citizenship.

Yes, you can qualify for Japanese citizenship if you were born on a US military base. However, you will have to be willing to revoke your previous citizenship because Japanese law strictly prohibits dual citizenship.

You can only start the process of becoming a naturalized Japanese citizen if you are willing to revoke your previous citizenship as Japan strictly prohibits dual citizenship. However you should not take this decision lightly, if you are unfortunately denied citizenship, you will become stateless and you will be forced to undergo the long and difficult process of regaining your previous citizenship.