Office Cosmopolitan handles Naturalization procedures. If you have any questions, Please ask
us from the E-mail below.
The fundamental requirements for the acquisition of Japanese nationality
are as follows:
Conditions Set Forth in Article 5 of Nationality Law
1. A foreign citizen has been domiciled in Japan for five consecutive
years or more.
2. A foreign citizen is not less than twenty years and of legal
capacity under the laws of her/his home country.
3. A foreign citizen is of good and lawful conduct.
4. A foreign citizen is able to make a livelihood by his/her own
property or skill, or those of his/her spouse or other relatives
with whom he/her lives on common living expenses.
5. A foreign citizen has no nationality, or the acquisition of Japanese
nationality will result in the loss of his/her foreign nationality.
6. A foreign citizen has never formed nor belonged to a political
party or any other organization which plots or advocates the overthrow
of the Constitution of Japan or the Government existing thereunder
since the enforcement of the Constitution of Japan.
(*) A foreign citizen is also required, in principle, to have the
ability to read, write and speak Japanese (at the level of a Japanese
child of around eight years old).
Foreign citizens are exempted from the requirement of a domicile specified in Article 5-1 if they fall under any of the following categories.
1. A person who is a child (including a child by special adoption)
of a Japanese national and who has had a domicile or a residence
in Japan for three consecutive years or more.
2. A person who was born in Japan and has had a domicile or a residence
in Japan for three consecutive years or more.
3. A person who was born in Japan and either whose father or mother
was born in Japan.
4. A person who has had a residence in Japan for ten consecutive
years or more.
Foreign citizens whose spouses are Japanese nationals are exempted
from or less bound by the requirements of a domicile and capacity
specified in Articles 5-1 and 5-2 if they fall under any of the
following categories.
1. A person who has a Japanese spouse, has had a domicile or a residence
in Japan for three consecutive years, and has a domicile in Japan
at present.
2. A person who has a Japanese spouse, has married such spouse for
more than three years, and has had a domicile in Japan for one consecutive
year or more.
Foreign citizens are qualified to apply for naturalization if they
fall under the above conditions.
|