2025-08-03

When a foreigner wishes to acquire Japanese nationality, he/she must apply for naturalization. Since this is a change of nationality, there are strict requirements. In addition, the examination period is longer than that for a regular application for status of residence. How long is the required period?

What is an application for naturalization?

An application for naturalization is a procedure for foreigners living in Japan to acquire Japanese citizenship. If the application is approved by the Immigration and Residence Office, the foreign nationality will be lost and the applicant will be granted Japanese citizenship. However, there are strict requirements to be approved.

For example, the person applying for naturalization must be of legal age (18 or older). Moreover, they must also have reached the age of majority under the laws of the country of their current nationality.

In addition, the applicant must have paid his/her taxes without delinquency and must not have been convicted of any serious crime while living in Japan.

Flow of naturalization application

The flow of the naturalization application procedure is as follows

First, go to the Legal Affairs Bureau or District Legal Affairs Bureau that has jurisdiction over the applicant’s current address to confirm the necessary documents. However, an appointment must be made in advance to visit the Legal Affairs Bureau or Regional Legal Affairs Bureau. Some legal affairs bureaus and regional legal affairs bureaus may be booked up one or two months in advance. Therefore, it is recommended to make an appointment as early as possible.

The person in charge at the Legal Affairs Bureau will ask about the applicant’s history of arrival in Japan, status of residence, family structure, and criminal record. If it is determined that the applicant meets the requirements for naturalization based on this information, he or she will be told what documents are required for the application.

Next, the necessary documents must be gathered, and depending on the applicant, many documents and materials may be required. In addition, documents and certificates issued by the applicant’s home country are particularly time-consuming. Of course, some documents can be obtained at the Japanese embassy, but some cannot be obtained until the applicant actually returns to his/her home country.

Once you have gathered the necessary documents, fill out the application form obtained from the Legal Affairs Bureau where you are applying. All application forms are handwritten by the applicant, so you must be very careful. For detailed instructions, please refer to the “Guide to Naturalization” issued by the Legal Affairs Bureau.

After that, bring the application form and required documents to the Legal Affairs Bureau. As with the consultation, an appointment must be made in advance. The officer in charge will then check the application. If there are no problems with the contents of the application or the documents collected, the application will be accepted. However, this does not mean that the application is approved, since it means that the application and documents are received. If there are any deficiencies or shortfalls, the application and documents will be brought back to the office to be corrected or to obtain the missing parts.

A couple of months after the receipt of the documents, the person in charge at the Legal Affairs Bureau will directly ask the applicant questions about the questions on the documents and the past and present situations. If the applicant has a spouse or other family members, they will also be interviewed.

In addition, the Legal Affairs Bureau may call the applicant’s company or school to confirm the applicant’s enrollment. The Legal Affairs Bureau may also visit the applicant’s home or other places (a date will be set in advance).

If the Legal Affairs Bureau determines that the applicant meets the requirements for naturalization, the documents submitted by the applicant will be sent to the Ministry of Justice, where the Minister of Justice will finally decide whether to grant or deny the application. In the case of approval, the applicant’s name will be published in the Official Gazette and a representative of the Legal Affairs Bureau will contact the applicant by phone. In the case of disapproval, the applicant will receive a “notice of disapproval”.

What is the required timeframe?

The above is the process from application to approval or denial.

As for the time required, it takes 1 to 2 months to prepare the documents, 2 to 3 months from the application to the interview, and about 10 months from the interview to the notification of approval or denial. Therefore, it takes about 13 to 15 months from the preparation of documents to the final contact.

Summary

The time required to apply for naturalization is about 13-15 months. However, it may be shorter or longer than this period depending on the individual circumstances of the applicant, the size of the legal affairs bureau where the application is filed, and how crowded the bureau is.