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Citizenship · 帰化

Japanese citizenship: who can get it, when and how

Foreigners become Japanese through naturalization (帰化, kika). The conditions depend on who you are: the spouse of a Japanese national, someone working in Japan on a visa, the child of a Japanese parent, or born in Japan. Here are all the routes in the law and in the Ministry of Justice practice for 2026 — and a self-check that shows which one is yours.

Check your route

All requirements

Checked against the Ministry of Justice of Japan on 7 October 2026 · All visas

Residence by law5 years

In principle from 1 April 202610 years

Spouses of Japanese nationals3 years

Application feeFree

Self-check

Which route to Japanese citizenship is yours? Check in 2 minutes

Answer a few questions about yourself: the check shows which article of the Nationality Act you can apply under, how many years are still missing and what the Legal Affairs Bureau (法務局) will look at. Your answers stay in your browser.

Routes to citizenship

Find your situation

The Nationality Act (国籍法) has ordinary and simplified naturalization. Your situation decides the most important thing — how many years you must live in Japan.

You work in Japan or hold PR

Ordinary naturalization (Article 5): 5 years of residence by law, in principle 10 in Ministry practice since April 2026. Route from a work visa, HSP or business

Your spouse is Japanese

Simplified naturalization (Article 7): 3 years in Japan, or 3 years of marriage and 1 year in Japan. No age condition. Conditions for spouses

Children and people born in Japan

A child of a Japanese national needs no residence period (Article 8); people born in Japan need 3 years (Article 6). Children usually apply with their parents. All about children

A parent used to be Japanese

Simplified naturalization (Article 6): 3 years in Japan instead of 5 for the children (not adopted) of former Japanese nationals. All simplified cases

Process and documents

Consultation at the Legal Affairs Bureau, many documents, an interview in Japanese, a decision after about a year of review. No fee. How to apply, step by step

Giving up your nationality

Everyone who naturalizes, children included, must as a rule give up their current nationality. Some countries end it automatically, others need a formal renunciation. Dual nationality and renunciation

Which residence period applies to you — by law

Who you are Article Residence in Japan Age 18+ and income
Ordinary case: work, business, PR Art. 5 5 years by law, in principle 10 in practice since 1 April 2026 Required
Spouse of a Japanese national Art. 7 3 years, or 3 years of marriage + 1 year Age not required; income yes (household)
Child of a Japanese national, living in Japan Art. 8(1) Not required Not required
Adopted by a Japanese national as a minor Art. 8(2) 1 year Not required
Former Japanese national living in Japan (not someone who lost it after naturalizing) Art. 8(3) Not required Not required
Born in Japan and stateless since birth Art. 8(4) 3 years Not required
Born in Japan Art. 6(2) 3 years (none if a parent was also born in Japan) Required
Child of a former Japanese national Art. 6(1) 3 years Required
Living in Japan for 10 years or more Art. 6(3) 10 years Required

The other conditions — conduct, taxes, Japanese, giving up your nationality — apply to everyone. Residence always means continuous residence on a valid status.

What changed in 2026

Since 1 April 2026: in principle 10 years instead of 5

The Nationality Act itself has not changed: Article 5 still says 5 years. But on 27 March 2026 the Minister of Justice announced new rules for reviewing applications, in force from 1 April 2026. The Ministry explained that permanent residency has long required 10 years, and citizenship only 5.

  • 10 years in Japan — in principle. The Ministry checks whether you have “integrated into Japanese society” (日本社会に融和していること) and now in principle expects at least 10 years of residence for that. Formally this is the Minister’s discretion, decided case by case, not the law: exceptions are possible, but the criteria are not published.
  • Taxes — for 5 years. Resident tax (住民税) is checked for 5 years, including whether you paid on time. Income tax for 3 years, if you are required to file a tax return (確定申告).
  • Pension and health insurance — for 2 years instead of 1, also with payment dates.
  • Japanese. The Ministry’s website now says it plainly: Japanese for daily life — speaking, reading and writing.

Japanese media reported that the new rules also apply to applications filed before April and still undecided. The Ministry has given no separate statement for spouses and children of Japanese nationals; most practitioners think the shorter periods in the law (3 years, 1 year) still apply to them, with the stricter tax and insurance checks. The government says it is studying further tightening, mainly of the income requirement.

Ministry of Justice statistics

How many people become Japanese

Year Applications Approved Refused
2023 9,836 8,800 813
2024 12,248 8,863 639
2025 14,103 9,258 666

Official refusals are few — about 7–8.5 % of decisions (2023: 8.5 %, 2024 and 2025: 6.7 %). But the Legal Affairs Bureau often advises withdrawing an application before a decision, and those cases do not appear in the refusal figures.

Main requirements

What is checked when you apply

Seven conditions: six from Article 5 of the Nationality Act, and a seventh — “integration into Japanese society” — that the Ministry has assessed more strictly since 2026.

  • Residence. Continuous and on a valid status: 5 years by law, in principle 10 since April 2026. In practice a trip of 3 months or more usually restarts the count.
  • Age. 18 or older (since April 2022; before that 20). Children apply with their parents.
  • Conduct. No criminal record or immigration violations, no unpaid taxes or contributions, few traffic violations.
  • Income. Your household can support itself. The law sets no amount; practitioners use about ¥3 million a year for a single person as a guide; applications at ¥2.5–3 million are possible.
  • Giving up your nationality. As a rule you must give up your current nationality — children who naturalize too. An exception is possible if your country will not release you.
  • Loyalty to the Constitution. No part in groups that aim to overthrow the government by force.
  • Integration into society. Japanese for daily life (speaking, reading, writing) and, in principle, 10 years in Japan.

All requirements in detail

Citizenship or permanent residency

Which to choose: Japanese citizenship or permanent residency

Since the 2026 change the residence periods are close. The difference is in rights, duties and what happens to your passport.

Citizenship (帰化) Permanent residency (永住)
Residence in Japan 5 years by law, in principle 10 in Ministry practice since 1 April 2026 10 years, including 5 on a work status (not Technical Intern Training or SSW (i)) or a residence-based status; HSP: 1–3 years
Spouses of Japanese nationals 3 years in Japan, or 3 years of marriage + 1 year in Japan Applications until 31 March 2027: 3 years of marriage + 1 year in Japan. From 1 April 2027: 5 years of marriage + 3 years in Japan
Your current nationality Must be given up Kept
Government fee None ¥200,000 for applications from 1 October 2026 (¥10,000 before)
Passport Japanese Your own country’s
Voting, public service Yes No
Immigration control None — you are a citizen Yes: residence card, re-entry permit. From 1 April 2027 PR can be revoked for deliberate non-payment of taxes or social insurance
Japanese Daily-life level, checked at the interview Not a requirement for applications until 31 March 2027. From 1 April 2027 B1 (CEFR) is a factor taken into account, with exemptions such as HSP holders and their families
Name Registered in Japanese script; you may keep your name in katakana Unchanged

Permanent residency gives almost every right you need to live and work in Japan and keeps your nationality. Citizenship gives a Japanese passport, the vote and life without immigration control, but you hand in your old passport. Many people take permanent residency first and decide about citizenship later. Permanent residency in Japan

Process

How naturalization works: 6 steps

In practice it takes about 1–2 years from the first consultation to the decision. If your country does not end your nationality automatically, renouncing it can add months.

1. Consultation at the Legal Affairs Bureau

Book by phone at the Legal Affairs Bureau (法務局) for your address. The officer checks the basic conditions and gives you a list of documents for your case.

2. Documents — 1 to 6 months

Japanese certificates, documents from your country with Japanese translations, a personal history and a handwritten statement of your reasons (帰化の動機書) in Japanese.

3. Filing in person

You file only in person (parents file for children under 15). There is no fee.

4. Interview — after 2 to 4 months

In practice: in Japanese, 30–60 minutes about family, work and your reasons. Sometimes a written test. Your Japanese spouse may be invited too.

5. Review — about a year

The Ministry checks everything and may call your employer or visit your home. Report a move, a new job or trips abroad.

6. Decision and registration

Approval is published in the official gazette (官報). Then: register in the family register (戸籍) within 1 month, return your residence card within 14 days, apply for a Japanese passport.

Process, documents and timing in detail

In this section

Japanese citizenship: all pages

FAQ

Questions about Japanese citizenship

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Ask us a question

Can I get Japanese citizenship after 5 years?

By law, yes: Article 5 of the Nationality Act asks for 5 years. But since 1 April 2026 the Ministry of Justice in principle expects at least 10 years of residence, decided case by case: exceptions are possible, but the criteria are not published. The shorter routes in the law stay: 3 years (or 3 years of marriage and 1 year in Japan) for spouses of Japanese nationals, 3 years for people born in Japan, no period for children of Japanese nationals. The Ministry has not confirmed that the 10-year standard does not apply to them, but most practitioners read it that way.

There is no government fee — the application is free. You pay for certificates (a few thousand yen) and translations of documents from your country; in practice about ¥5,000 per document if you use a translator. Help from an administrative scrivener (行政書士) is optional: a survey of scriveners put the average at about ¥180,000 for an employee. Giving up your current nationality may cost a fee in your own country.

No. Everyone who naturalizes — children included — must as a rule lose their current nationality on becoming Japanese (Article 5). If your country does not let you go for reasons outside your control, the Minister may make an exception (Article 5(2)). How you give it up depends on your country’s law — see dual nationality and renunciation. People who are dual nationals from birth, such as a child of a Japanese and a foreign parent, are a separate case: they may keep both until the choice deadline in Article 14.

Officially, enough for daily life: speaking, reading and writing. A JLPT certificate is not required. Practitioners aim for the level of a Japanese 3rd-grade schoolchild — roughly N4 or above. Your Japanese is checked at the interview, sometimes with a short written test.

No, permanent residency is not a condition for naturalization. The periods are now close, but permanent residency costs ¥200,000 for applications from 1 October 2026 and naturalization is free. Many people still take permanent residency first because they keep their passport.

The Ministry has no standard processing period. In practice it takes about 1–2 years from the first consultation to the decision: waiting for a consultation (1–3 months in Tokyo), collecting documents, an interview 2–4 months after filing and several more months of review. Giving up your current nationality can add months.

In practice most administrative scriveners count student years toward residence if you then work in Japan on a work visa. While you are a student you usually cannot apply. See naturalization from a work visa.

Not by birth in Japan alone — Japan follows the principle of blood (jus sanguinis). A child of a Japanese parent is Japanese from birth. A child of foreign parents who was born in Japan needs only 3 years of residence to naturalize. See Japanese nationality for children.

No. You apply in person at the Legal Affairs Bureau (法務局) for your address in Japan, and you must live in Japan on a valid status of residence. For a child under 15 the parents file the application.

Student → Work → Permanent residence

The most common route in Japan — and where you are on it

  1. Student留学 · language school or college
  2. Change of statusbefore your student status ends
  3. Work visaEngineer / Humanities or SSW
  4. HSP70–80 points
  5. Permanent residenceusually after 10 years, 1–3 with HSP
  6. Citizenshipusually 10 years in JapanYou are here

Sources

Where this information comes from

Facts were checked on 7 October 2026 against the Nationality Act (国籍法) and the Family Register Act (戸籍法) on e-Gov, the website of the Ministry of Justice and the Legal Affairs Bureaus (法務局). The Ministry publishes no figures for some points — how long a trip abroad breaks your residence, what income is enough, how long the review takes. There we rely on what Japanese administrative scriveners (行政書士) consistently report and say “in practice”.

This page is general information, not legal advice. The Minister of Justice decides each application, and the Legal Affairs Bureau may ask for more documents. Rules for your current nationality come from your own country’s law.

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