How can I obtain Japanese citizenship?

Distant and isolated Japan is a dream not only for lovers of haiku, anime and strange inventions, but also for investors, entrepreneurs, and visionaries. Despite the serious economic crisis and demographic problems, Japan attracts people from all over the world.

However, becoming local is almost as difficult as it was a hundred years ago. Despite globalization, the Japanese remain a closed nation that does not allow outsiders into their home. But the realities of the world force us to gradually open doors, especially to highly qualified specialists.

Therefore, today we will look at the main ways to obtain a residence permit or permanent residence in Japan, as well as how to proceed to citizenship after that.

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You can view a complete list of options for obtaining an investment passport in our feature article.

History[edit]

The first travel documents for overseas travel by Japanese citizens were introduced in 1866, near the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. These documents took the form of a stamped "letter of request" allowing Japanese citizens to travel abroad for business and educational purposes. The term "passport" was officially introduced into the Japanese language in 1878, and in 1900 the first regulations governing the use of Japanese passports were introduced. The modern form of the Japanese passport first appeared in 1926, and the first machine-readable Japanese passports complying with ICAO requirements were introduced in 1992.[1]

Types of passports[edit]

• Ordinary Passport
  : Issued to ordinary Japanese citizens. Regular passports are issued with two different validity periods: 5 and 10 years. Japanese citizens under the age of 19 can only be issued a 5-year passport, while those 20 years and older can choose a 5-year (blue) or 10-year (red) passport for different application fees.

All Japanese passports issued after March 20, 2006 are biometric passports.

Japanese passports have the Imperial Seal of Japan with a chrysanthemum inscribed in the center of the front cover, with Japanese characters reading Nipponkoku Ryoken

(日本国旅券) written above in seal font, and its English translation
of JAPAN PASSPORT
in Latin letters below the seal. Regular passports with a validity of five years have dark blue covers, while those valid for ten years have crimson covers. Additionally, official passports have dark green covers, while diplomatic passports have dark brown covers.

Data page[edit]

• Photo of the passport holder
• Type
• Country of issue
• Passport ID
• Surname
• Given name
• Nationality
• Date of Birth
• Sex
• Registered domicile
• date of issue
• Date of Expiry
• Issued by
• Bearer's signature

The information page ends with a machine readable area.

Registration procedure

An application for a Japanese passport can only be submitted within the country itself. Regardless of the chosen method of acquiring an indigenous person, a foreigner must have lived in the Land of the Rising Sun for at least 3 years at the time of filing the application.

The procedure consists of several stages:

1. Submitting an application in the official language of the country with a full package of necessary papers.
2. Passing two interviews with representatives of the migration and law enforcement services. Employees of government organizations can call the applicant’s work place or neighbors to find out their opinion about this person and his behavior in society.
3. Passing a Japanese language proficiency test and providing a certificate confirming successful completion of the exam.
4. Documentary proof of income.

Attention! Residents of other countries who have opened their own business in Japan, when applying for citizenship, must confirm the availability of funds (not credit) in the amount of at least 25,000 US dollars.

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Requirements for the applicant

To obtain a Japanese indigeneate, a foreigner must fulfill a number of conditions:

1. Provide a document confirming that the citizen is over 20 years old. An exception is dependents who receive citizenship at the same time as their parents.
2. Minimum stay period is 3 years. A foreigner must stay in the country for at least 292 days a year. Years of study at universities in Japan on a student visa are not taken into account.
3. Availability of an official source of income, and its amount must not be less than $2,000 per month.
4. Proficient in written and spoken Japanese.
5. Refusal from the previous indigenous.
6. No intention to commit actions directed against the Japanese government.

Required Documentation

The Japanese are a pedantic people; they scrupulously check the availability and authenticity of documentation. The applicant will have to collect the following package of papers:

• international passport;
• application for indigenous status;
• 2 photos measuring 4.5x4.5 cm;
• resident card;
• original birth certificate;
• income certificate;
• certificate of no criminal record;
• medical certificate confirming the absence of HIV or tuberculosis;
• a certificate confirming passing the exam on knowledge of the state language;
• medical insurance;
• bank account statement.

Employees have the right to request additional documents if they consider the information insufficient.

Where to contact?

An application for Japanese national status is submitted to the Migration Service under the Ministry of Justice of the country. It will not be possible to obtain a passport “remotely” through the embassy in your home country. The nearest address of the migration office can be found on the prefecture’s website.

Deadlines

The procedure for obtaining a new status does not have strict regulatory deadlines. On average, a passport is issued within a year. The timing is affected by the accuracy of compliance with the conditions and requirements.

After submitting the documentation, you will have to undergo an interview, the results of which will determine how long the process will take.

Passport photo requirements. [edit]

A Japanese passport photo must meet certain requirements:

• Size: 35 mm by 45 mm and (pixels): minimum 600 dpi.
• Head size and position: from chin to forehead should be between 32 mm and 36 mm.
• The photograph must be colorful.
• Must be done within the last 6 months.
• Background: solid white only. No other visible objects such as doors, windows, etc.
• Neutral facial expression.
• 2 passport photos per application.
• Head covering is permitted for religious or medical reasons.

Passport certificate [edit]

Passports contain a note from the issuing country, addressed to the authorities of all other countries, identifying the bearer as a citizen of that country and requesting that he or she be allowed to pass and be treated according to international standards. The note inside Japanese passports reads:

In Japanese:
をられるよう関係の要請する。
In English:
The Japanese Foreign Minister asks everyone who this may concern, allow the bearer, a Japanese citizen, to pass freely and unhindered and, if necessary, provide him or her with all possible assistance and protection.

Language [edit]

Japanese passports are printed entirely in both Japanese and English, with the exception of the warning found at the end of the passport (such as page 51 of the ten-year biometric ordinary passport), which is printed only in Japanese. This note contains information that the bearer should know when faced with various situations in a foreign country.

Last name, first name and other personalized references (for example, registered domicile) are indicated in capital letters only. Japanese names are in principle transcribed according to the Hepburn romanization system, but exceptions are allowed in some cases, especially when the name is a katakana transcription of a foreign name (a Japanese spouse or a Japanese child of a foreigner), in which case the original spelling of the name is in the Latin alphabet.

The signature can be written in any language and in any spelling desired.

Is it possible to have dual citizenship in Japan?

According to the law, dual citizenship is prohibited in the country. In addition, there are mechanisms designed to reduce the incidence of bipatrism. Children who have a passport of another state are required to choose one indigenous identity within two years after reaching the age of majority (20 years old). If there is no choice within the specified period, the Minister of Justice will issue a warning to the person. If within a month after the warning the citizen does not submit documents to obtain an internal passport, he will be deprived of citizenship of the island state.

Japanese citizenship is not easy to obtain. The country makes high demands on foreigners; the applicant must not only meet them, but also be worthy of living in the Land of the Rising Sun. Even if you don’t succeed in becoming a Japanese citizen the first time, the acquired experience, skills, and moral qualities will help improve your quality of life and increase your chances of acquiring a passport when you re-apply.

Visa requirements[edit]

Main article: Visa requirements for Japanese citizens

Countries and territories with visa-free entry or visas on arrival for holders of ordinary Japanese passports

Visa requirements for Japanese citizens are administrative restrictions on entry by the authorities of other countries that are imposed on Japanese citizens. As of April 3, 2021, Japanese citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 191 countries and territories, ranking the Japanese passport as the most secure passport in the world for freedom of movement according to the Henley Passport Index. [6] However, the suspension of visa waivers and travel restrictions for Japanese passport holders from January 2021 due to the COVID-19 outbreak calls this into question. [7]

As of October 2021, Japanese, Brunei, Singapore and San Marino passports are the only ones that allow visa-free entry or electronic travel authorization to the world's four largest countries, namely China, India, the European Union and the United States. .

Japanese passport gallery[edit]

• The first Japanese passport, issued in 1866.
• Japanese passport issued to Denju Horiuchi ( ) in 1903.
• Imperial Japanese Foreign Passport issued in Taiwan in 1917.
• Restricted passports for passengers traveling between mainland Japan and Okinawa, 1952–1972.
• Front cover of a non-machine readable Japanese passport issued in the 1980s.
• Japanese electronic passport with a validity of 5 years.
• Official passport of Japan.
• Travel document for returning to Japan.

Who can apply for citizenship?

By law, any foreigner over 20 years of age who has lived in the country for more than 5 years and has no problems with the law can obtain Japanese citizenship. A person must have a worthy moral character.

The applicant must provide for himself independently, without state support, in the form of benefits and pensions. A foreigner must be sufficiently proficient in Japanese and have an appropriate certificate confirming this.

Links[edit]

1. ^ a b c d
   "旅券の変遷と最近の動向（海外渡航文書 150周年に際して）" (PDF). 外務省. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
2. "Council of the European Union - PRADO - JPN-AO-02002". www.consilium.europa.eu
   .
3. "Council of the European Union - PRADO - JPN-AO-02003". www.consilium.europa.eu
   .
4. "秋のレビュー3日目（平成28年11月12日開催）".
5. https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp/news_politics/articles/000087655.html
6. "Global ranking". Henley & Partners Holdings Ltd. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
7. "新型コロナウイルス（日本からの渡航者・する各国・地域の入国制措置及び入国・域行動）" . www.anzen.mofa.go.jp
   . Archived from the original on March 17, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2020.