Ways of acquiring Japanese citizenship

Japanese legislation provides for several ways of acquiring citizenship:

● By birthright. A newborn born on Japanese soil automatically becomes a citizen, regardless of whether his parents are married or not. If the child was born outside the country, but one of the parents is a Japanese citizen, then citizenship can and must be issued no later than three months after birth. Also, a child whose parents cannot be identified will become a Japanese citizen.

● Through naturalization or through a smooth long-term immersion in Japanese life. This method is available to migrants who live in the country without leaving its borders for five years or more and have a stable income. Also, knowledge of the Japanese language and proof of registration at the place of residence in Japan will be required. In order to obtain Japanese citizenship, a foreigner must reach the age of majority in his home country and be at least 20 years old. It is important to demonstrate a benevolent attitude towards the country, its rules and culture.

● Reunion with relatives. At the same time, it will not work to move to Japan with a great-grandmother or a second cousin: it is important that the kinship is close (children, parents, spouse).

● Marriage registration. Immediately after marriage, a migrant receives a residence permit, and only after 5 years of married life in Japan he/she can apply for citizenship. If the couple gets divorced during this period, the migrant automatically loses the right to acquire citizenship and is deported from the country.

● Investments. To get a Japanese passport, giving money to local authorities for economic development is not enough. It is important to invest at least 50,000 dollars in starting your business in Japan, you will have to constantly maintain your investment volume. Also, a businessman must constantly develop production, and create jobs for Japanese people.

● Training. To become a student at one of the Japanese educational institutions, a young person must obtain a student visa (it is issued for a period of 3 months to 4 years). After graduation, it is possible to obtain citizenship, provided that the young person wishes to work in a Japanese company.

● Work. Highly qualified specialists: engineers, programmers, doctors have the preferential right to receive such a visa. After 5 years of residence in the country on a work visa, a migrant gets the opportunity to obtain a Japanese passport.

● Refugee status. The Japanese are restrained in issuing passports to migrants who have suffered persecution in their homeland: on average, no more than 30 people can use this opportunity per year.

Conditions for granting Japanese citizenship

So, there is a basis for obtaining a Japanese passport. But this is not enough: each candidate must meet certain requirements set by the country's authorities. Among these are:

● the applicant must be over 20 years old (the exception is minor children who acquire citizenship together with their parents);

● the migrant must have lived in the country for at least 3-5 years (this term depends on the reason for obtaining it), and during each year he/she must stay in Japan for 292 days or more;

● the candidate's official permanent salary must be at least $2,000 per month;

● confident command of the Japanese language (it is necessary not only to speak but also to write Japanese competently);

● renunciation of citizenship of the native state;

● absence of offenses and illegal actions against the Japanese government and its citizens.

List of documents for acquiring citizenship

The Japanese are very meticulous, so they take paperwork as seriously as possible. Do not forget about this feature of them and approach the preparation of documents especially carefully. The standard set includes:

● application form (to be filled out in Japanese);

● valid international passport;

● two photos measuring 4.5 * 4.5 cm;

● current residence permit;

● original birth certificate;

● documents confirming income and financial capacity: income certificate, bank account statement;

● a medical certificate stating that the migrant does not suffer from socially dangerous diseases and an insurance policy;

● a certificate of successful completion of the Japanese language proficiency exam.

A representative of the Japanese migration service may consider this package incomplete and ask the candidate for additional documents, for example, documents on marital status, employment contract, etc.

The procedure for obtaining citizenship:

● Submission of documents to the Ministry of Justice.

● Passing interviews with a representative of the ministry (one or two interviews). At the same time, the option that the candidate visits the departments on his own is not mandatory. Often, the employee himself comes to the migrant's home or work to talk with his colleagues or neighbors and make sure of the applicant's reliability.

● After that, the migrant has to be patient and wait for the Japanese authorities to make a decision.