How to get Japanese citizenship

According to the provisions of Japan's "Nationality Law", there are six basic conditions for applying to obtain Japanese nationality:

1. Domicile conditions

The applicant has been in Japan for 5 consecutive years Have a residence for more than 10 years.

This is the most basic condition, which means that the applicant must have lived in Japan for more than 5 years. If he does not meet this condition, he is not eligible to apply. Applicants must go through the application procedures in Japan. Before the revision of the Nationality Law, Japanese spouses were allowed to submit application procedures at the local Japanese consulate, but the current Nationality Law has canceled this provision.

Of course, applicants must have legal status of residence. The applicant's temporary departure from Japan or change of residence will not affect the application.

2. Capacity conditions

Applicants must be over 20 years old and have adult capacity as stipulated by the laws of their country.

However, the 20-year-old condition mentioned here does not include children who apply together with their adult parents, because the child’s application at this time is based on the approval of the parents’ application. According to Japanese Looking at children, the ability requirement of being over 20 years old can be waived.

3. Character conditions

Applicants must be of good character.

This is also the basic condition for obtaining Japanese nationality. It sounds abstract. Generally speaking, after an application is accepted, the applicant's occupational status, economic activities, social activities, daily life, whether he pays taxes, and whether he has violated criminal and administrative regulations will be investigated. In more detail, whether there have been driving violations and whether garbage classification regulations are complied with are all subjects of investigation.

If you have violated Japanese law and been sentenced, you will not be able to apply if you are released from prison within a certain period of time. Major tax evasion is also treated in the same way.

4. Livelihood conditions

The applicant and his/her spouse have sufficient assets and skills to maintain their livelihood.

This article is mainly to prevent people who may become a burden to the public from acquiring Japanese nationality.

5. Conditions for preventing dual nationality

The applicant has no nationality, or the applicant gave up his original nationality when acquiring Japanese nationality.

In other words, if a Chinese person applies to obtain Japanese nationality, after obtaining approval from the Japanese Minister of Justice, he or she must go to the Chinese Embassy to go through the procedures for renouncing Chinese nationality. This condition is mainly due to the principle of sole nationality. A person cannot have two nationalities at the same time.

5. Conditions for preventing dual nationality

The applicant has no nationality, or the applicant gave up his original nationality when acquiring Japanese nationality.

In other words, if a Chinese person applies to obtain Japanese nationality, after obtaining approval from the Japanese Minister of Justice, he or she must go to the Chinese Embassy to go through the procedures for renouncing Chinese nationality. This condition is mainly due to the principle of sole nationality. A person cannot have two nationalities at the same time.

6. Conditions for illegal groups

Applicants are not allowed to join or form groups that attempt to undermine the Japanese government through violence or political party organizations with similar ideas.

This is a natural condition for maintaining the national security of the community. Not only Japan, but also the United States and other countries have the same regulations.

The above are the six basic conditions for applying to obtain Japanese nationality. The specific application procedures must be carried out at the local Legal Affairs Bureau or branch office where the applicant is located. Application procedures cannot be handled at the Legal Affairs Bureau that does not have jurisdiction over the applicant's location. The applicant must be the person himself or his legal representative. This is mainly to make it clear that the applicant does have the intention to obtain Japanese nationality. Those who have no intention to apply will be declared invalid even if they obtain Japanese nationality. The age limit for determining whether an applicant has will is 15 years old. People under 15 years old must apply through a legal representative. Generally speaking, their parents are their legal representatives.

Legal Affairs Bureaus across Japan have consultation departments for applying for nationality relations. Our firm also handles document preparation and application consultation services, which you can use. Generally speaking, it takes about half a year to one year for the review results to come out.

The minimum is 100,000 per year. If you don’t want to be Chinese, naturalization is much easier.