Statement of Births form now online

It's not much, but the "form" used to certify that your mother only gave birth to a stated number of children is now online and accessible from our Docs & Forms page.

As mentioned in an earlier post, it's okay to pre-translate this particular form into English or another language (should the mother be uncomfortable signing something in a language she's can't read or understand) then attach a Japanese translation to the signed document.

And unlike other documents, where they ask that all foreign names be written in 仮名 {kana} (Japanese syllabet), it's okay for the mother to write the names in Latin / Roman letters.

Collecting the birth & marriage certificates

One of the most arduous paperwork processes for naturalization is the collection of birth, death, divorce, adoption, and marriage certificates for your family. It's tough paperwork to get because most likely you are in Japan, and most likely that paperwork is overseas. Because that paperwork is often decades old, most family members are not in possession of it and have moved or are living in a place far away from the local government office which holds their records. This means that in addition to you needing to contact your family, your family members will probably need to apply, via mail, to retrieve copies of their records. A paper chain relay, if you will. You will also need your own birth (hopefully not death), and possibly marriage, adoption, or divorce certificates, so you can empathize with your family members' paperwork pain.

Why does Japan need these certificates?

All Japanese citizens either have or belong to a 戸籍 {koseki} (family register), which tracks Japanese families and their relationships. Your spouse, your parents, and your children will all be on it. Thus, to construct a brand new family register for a naturalized person, they need this family information.

A secondary reason why this documentation is needed is to verify whether or not you qualify for any of the conditions for 簡易帰化 {kan'i kika} (simplified naturalization).

Whose certificates do they want?

They don't want your family history back to the beginning of time. They want your immediate family. No grandparents, in-laws, cousins, or nephews/nieces or uncles/aunts are needed. I only needed to get my parent's marriage certificate, not my sibling's.

It's a good thing that they only wanted my immediate family; they're pretty boring and by-the-numbers when it comes to genealogy and relationships. Once you look back a few generations, my family history gets very, very complicated. I imagine this has caused a lot of hair pulling with other candidates that have much more complicated family trees.

Other than your 源泉徴収票 {gensenchōshūhyō} (Japanese tax withholding statement) and your 特別区民税通知書 {tokubetsu kumin zei tsūchisho} (Japanese special munipicial tax notice), these documents will probably be the only ones not on standard A4 paper, so they're going to mess up your document stack from the perspective neatly stacking, collating, and filing. Due to the era in which the documents were made, they may be filled out with a typewriter (as was the case with my American paperwork), or even handwritten in cursive (!) (my British paperwork).

Translating

All of the non-Japanese certificates must be translated (on A4 paper, regardless of the original's paper size). I simply inputed all of the text of the certificates into a web based translation service, hand-edited the results to make them sane and comprehensible, and added the translator's name — me, the date, and my address on each translation. You don't need to do anything fancy like embed the Japanese into the original English/foreign text formatting or try to perfectly mimic the layout of the foreign document.

If you do use machine translation, and you're careless and don't proofread and after-edit the documents and overlook some wacky translations, it's possible they won't accept them.

Additional Paperwork

Many states do not provide paperwork that proves that a women only gave birth to a certain number of children. Because Japan doesn't want anybody omitted, you may need to provide your mother with the following form (which is in Japanese, on A4 paper), have her complete it, sign it, and return it to you for submission with your packet:

申述書 {shinjutsusho}
(statement)

私と＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿との間に生まれた子は、下記のとおりです。 {watashi to ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ to no aida ni umareta ko wa, kaki no tōri desu.}
(I gave birth to the children listed below with ___________________.)

氏名 {shimei} (name)	続柄 {tsuzukigara} (relationship)	生年月日 {seinengappi} (birthdate)	出生地 {shusseichi} (birth place)

年 {nen}　　月 {gatsu}　　日 {nichi}
(year-month-date)

住所 {jūsho}　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
(address)　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

氏名 {shimei}　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
(name)　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
印 {in}　
(seal)　

The "relationship" column should say whether they were the first, second, third, etc., son or daughter. The "with _______" should have the name of the biological father. The "seal" should have the mother's signature if she doesn't have an official seal (if she's not from an east Asian country).

It's okay for the mother to fill out this form in English — as opposed to 仮名 {kana} (Japanese syllabet). It's also okay to give her a completed translated version of this form for her to sign then re-translate it back after receiving it.

Update: OpenDocument format versions of naturalization forms

OpenDocument format versions of the naturalization forms we received and distributed in a previous post are now available. In addition to being accessible to people with newer versions of Microsoft Word, they are also accessible to people using alternative word processors and productivity suites. These will be indexed in the Docs and Forms page as well. This blog's Help page gives a little bit of advice regarding how to open these documents.

For those that don't have confidence in their Japanese handwriting ability (like me), these forms should help make the completing the naturalization forms a little less painful.

OpenDocument Format version	English name
必要書類一覧表 {hitsuyō shorui ichiranhyō}	Table of Necessary Documents
帰化許可申請書 {kika kyoka shinsei-sho}	Naturalization Permission Application Form (blank)
帰化許可申請書 {kika kyoka shinsei-sho}（例 {rei}）	Naturalization Permission Application Form (SAMPLE)
親族の概要 {shinzoku no gaiyō}	Family Outline
親族の概要 {shinzoku no gaiyō}（例：日本 {rei: nihon}）	Family Outline (SAMPLE: within Japan)
親族の概要 {shinzoku no gaiyō}（例：海外 {rei: kaigai}）	Family Outline (SAMPLE: outside Japan)
履歴書 {rirekisho}（その１ {sono ichi}）	Personal History (part 1)
履歴書 {rirekisho}（例：その１ {rei: sono ichi}）	Personal History (SAMPLE: part 1)
履歴書 {rirekisho}（その２ {sono ni}）	Personal History (part 2)
生計の概要 {seikei no gaiyō}（その１ {sono ichi}）	Living Expenses Outline (part 1)
生計の概要 {seikei no gaiyō}（その２ {sono ni}）	Living Expenses Outline (part 2)
事業の概要 {jigyō no gaiyō}	Business Outline
自宅付近の略図 {jitaku fukin no ryakuzu} 勤務先（取引先）付近の略図 {kimmusaki (torihikisaki) fukin no ryakuzu}	Rough Sketch of Vicinity of Home Rough Sketch of Vicinity of Employment (Place of Business)

Currently, Google Docs doesn't give web previews of OpenDocument Text files, but you will still be able to download/re-upload them then open/edit/print them.

High-fidelity MS Word Japan naturalization forms

A helpful reader who is going through the naturalization process generously donated his Microsoft Word based blank and sample naturalization forms for distribution on this blog.

We already have web page sample versions at our Documents and Forms page, which are derived from the examples in the てびき {tebiki} (guidebook). These are useful for referring to, browsing and viewing without needing to use any extra software. They can even be viewed with many mobile phone browsers.

However, these word processor versions are more suited for direct editing, printing, and submitting directly to the 法務局 {hōmukyoku} (Legal Affairs Bureau).

The use of word processed forms is permitted for everything except the 動機書 {dōkisho} (Motivation Essay), which must be handwritten — similar to how many Japanese companies still want you to handwrite a form based 履歴書 {rirekisho}. For the case of naturalization, though, I don't think they're judging your handwriting.

The map of your home and business can be a printout of a computer generated map, pasted or embedded into the map form.

I realize not everybody owns or uses Microsoft Word, so this week I will convert them to OpenDocument Format (which newer versions of Microsoft Office and Word support too) and upload & post the conversions. They will be conversions, which may not have as high of a fidelity as the original Word documents, but they should be more than good enough. Additionally, these will be indexed in our Forms and Docs page eventually as well.

The sample documents provided are interesting and unique because they are filled out from the perspective of a U.S. citizen; in contrast the examples in the てびき {tebiki} (guidebook) use a more typical example of a naturalization candidate: a South Korean.

Microsoft Word version	English name
必要書類一覧表 {hitsuyō shorui ichiranhyō}	Table of Necessary Documents
帰化許可申請書 {kika kyoka shinsei-sho}	Naturalization Permission Application Form (blank)
帰化許可申請書 {kika kyoka shinsei-sho}（例 {rei}）	Naturalization Permission Application Form (SAMPLE)
親族の概要 {shinzoku no gaiyō}（日本 {nihon}）	Family Outline (within Japan)
親族の概要 {shinzoku no gaiyō}（例：日本 {rei: nihon}）	Family Outline (SAMPLE: within Japan)
親族の概要 {shinzoku no gaiyō}（例：海外 {rei: kaigai}）	Family Outline (SAMPLE: outside Japan)
履歴書 {rirekisho}（その１ {sono ichi}）	Personal History (part 1)
履歴書 {rirekisho}（例：その１ {rei: sono ichi}）	Personal History (SAMPLE: part 1)
履歴書 {rirekisho}（その２ {sono ni}）	Personal History (part 2)
生計の概要 {seikei no gaiyō}（その１ {sono ichi}）	Living Expenses Outline (part 1)
生計の概要 {seikei no gaiyō}（その２ {sono ni}）	Living Expenses Outline (part 2)
事業の概要 {jigyō no gaiyō}	Business Outline
自宅付近の略図 {jitaku fukin no ryakuzu} 勤務先（取引先）付近の略図 {kimmusaki (torihikisaki) fukin no ryakuzu}	Rough Sketch of Vicinity of Home Rough Sketch of Vicinity of Employment (Place of Business)

FAQ: Which is more difficult: permanent residency or naturalization?

This question is really a matter of opinion and every situation is different. First, neither one is easy. But in general, there are two different answers for the two major types of residents in Japan:

• If you are married to a Japanese national or a non-Japanese with permanent residency status, permanent residency is easier.
• If you are single or are not married to either a Japanese national or a permanent resident of Japan, Japanese naturalization is easier.

There are many theories, but the most common theory as to why it's so relatively easy to get 永住者の資格 {eijūsha no shikaku} (permanent resident status) if you're married — to a Japanese or another permanent resident — is that the permanent residency is given to you not for your sake alone, but rather the sake of your Japanese family. In other words, they don't want a visa to limit your ability to support your spouse or your family in Japan, regardless of whether or not you're considered "skilled labor." They don't want you to be forced to take your Japanese family out of Japan because your visa doesn't qualify you for a certain type of job or you're between jobs. Even if you divorce, in which case you would lose a 日本人又は永住者の配偶者等 {nihonjin mata wa eijūsha no haigūsha nado} (spouse of Japanese or permanent resident) visa status, they still want you to be around to provide financial or child rearing support if needed.

So, once you've passed the internal benchmarks that reassure immigration that your marriage is not an "on-paper-only" aka "green card" marriage (the primary variable being the years you have been married — usually three, sometimes five) and you're not poor and your immigration record & criminal record is clean, you're basically "in" after only one year of Japanese residency.

However, if you're single or married to a non-Japanese non-permanent resident apply for permanent residency, the bar can be quite high. The guidelines ask for 10 years of continuous residency in principle (though there are cases of exceptional people receiving it in less time — but never less than five years), and even then there's no guarantee. The Ministry of Justice has a list of actual cases of exceptionality judgement that were both approved and not approved, and lists the reasons why. While some of the approvals were for being here on the wrong visa (example 2) and not being in the country long enough (example 1), the vast majority of the rejection reasons were for 社会的貢献等には当たらない {shakai teki kōken nado ni wa ataranai} (not enough of a contribution to society). There's even an example of a ALT (Assistant [English] language teacher) who was judged as not being a big enough of a contribution. If you look at the ones who were single & accepted, many of them were working in higher education or science and research at the Ph.D level, and had been published and are recognized by their professional peers within their accredited field. Even more interesting are the approved cases where the candidate had been in Japan for more than 10 years, in which case you would think the exceptionality requirement wouldn't be needed.

On the other hand, there are accounts of single people who did not qualify for permanent residency but did qualify for naturalization.

So why do so many people opt for permanent residency rather than naturalization if naturalization gives you more rights (voting, holding office, public servant employment, etc)? Three primary reasons:

1. Permanent residency doesn't ask you to swear an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of Japan or give up your other citizenships. Viewed from a non-loyalty non-family/friends non-roots point of view, if your original citizenship is to a highly developed industrialized country (such as the U.S., U.K., Canada, Germany, Australia, etc.), you're probably hesitant to give up any type of real or imagined "safety net" you have in your original country (be it a social welfare system, military protection, career connections, etc.), even if you intend to live in Japan your whole life. Your original citizenship is your "insurance policy"; it gives you the unconditional right to return and try to restart your old life in your original country.
   
   
2. Permanent residency status in Japan is pretty liberal compared to permanent residency in some countries like the U.S. In the U.S. case, if you're outside of the country for more than a year, you'll need a fairly expensive ($170) re-entry permit. And this re-entry permit is only good for two years. After that, you may need a lawyer and/or luck to demonstrate to the U.S. that you haven't "abandoned" your permanent residency, re-entry permit or not. Furthermore, U.S. permanent residents are liable for taxation on foreign income earned while resident overseas for at least 10 years after leaving the U.S.
   
   In contrast, for Japan, as long as you make sure your single (¥3000) or multiple (¥6000) 再入国許可 {sai-nyūkoku kyoka} (re-entry permit) doesn't expire (good for 3 years for permanent residents) and you keep renewing it, there's no written limit as to how long you can be outside of Japan. And if the new immigration reforms happen, the re-entry permit / process will become even easier.
   
   
3. Permanent residency doesn't add any additional responsibilities/duties or ask of any additional commitments from you. Right now, there's only one "Duty" in the Japanese Constitution, Chapter III; Rights and Duties of The People (The Japanese "bill of rights"):
   
   Article 30: The people† shall be liable to taxation as provided for by law.
   
   

   Currently, non-Japanese who have lived in Japan for less than five years are not liable for any tax on income earned outside of Japan. After five years, they are considered "permanent residents" by the National Tax Agency (regardless of whether they are permanent residents in the eyes of the Immigration Bureau) and liable fo taxation on all income, domestic and foreign.

   It's possible that if you do something illegal in Japan but are in a foreign country, Japan may be able to extradite you if you only have Japanese citizenship. If you're somehow a dual citizen and you're on Japanese soil and you do something that is illegal in Japan but legal in your home country, you may be treated as a Japanese from a matter of sovereignty and there's no guarantee that you'll get the same consulate or embassy services that a non-Japanese would get.
   
   FINALLY, and this may sound like a very theoretical wonky argument, it is possible, that sometime in the future, Japan could enact a law, similar to the U.S., that taxes its citizens that live abroad. And while it's extremely unlikely that Japan would implement any sort of mandatory military service or draft thanks to Article 9 of the Constitution, you must remember that a lot can happen in the decades that will span one's life as a naturalized Japanese.
   
   So even though the amount of "Duties" that the Japanese Constitution assigns to its citizens today is small (taxation), there's no guarantee that the list of Duties and the laws related to them will grow in the future.
   
   Fortunately, the right to 離脱 {ridatsu} (renounce [one's citizenship]) is guaranteed by Article 22 of the Japanese Constitution.
   
   

   It would be interesting to see how many Japanese-Americans would keep their Japanese nationality if Japan taxed its overseas citizens. It would certainly be an interesting (if not bureaucratically cruel) way to enforce the MoJ's 国籍の選択 {kokuseki no sentaku} (Choose Your Nationality) policy.

So in Japan, permanent residency is similar to a "super visa." (though it's technically not a visa) You can't vote, hold office, or take a public welfare affecting ergo citizen-only job — ex. public school teacher, fire fighter, police officer, Self Defense Force (SDF) member, civil/public servant or bureaucrat, etc — but you can be single/divorced, homeless, and unemployed and still have the right to be in Japan indefinitely once you earn it.

† The original Japanese wording of Article 30 uses the word 『国民 {kokumin}』 ('citizen') for 'people,' but it's been ruled into law that aliens in Japan are also obligated to pay tax. Sorry.

Comparison: The U.S. Citizenship Test on Video

Naturalization in Japan, while requiring a lot of paperwork, doesn't have a test that's anything like the test they give permanent residents of the U.S. While the questions that are asked on the civics test are published on the internet and anybody aiming for U.S. citizenship memorizes the questions and answers in advance (you only need a score of 60% to pass!) and is practically a formality, Mr. Ferguson of the Late Late Show decided to take the cameras in with him during his test.

One thing that the U.S. does have in common with Japan is the language test. Like the Japanese test, it is not very hard, and even then, depending on your age or handicaps, you can be exempt from the English requirement (and can even take the civics test in a foreign language).

Unlike Japan, the U.S. does not have a 動機書 {dōkisho} (Motivation Essay) requirement, though they may make you write something to prove you can write in English. That essay is the only part of the application that is required to be handwritten and not word processed or prepared by a third party (like a lawyer). Strangely, they don't require you to write the essay in front of them to prove that you actually wrote it. (I do not recommend plagurism)

So one has to wonder if Japan is really testing for written Japanese ability or checking handwriting skills. Incidentally, my handwriting is so terrible in both English and Japanese that I didn't need to learn how to re-sign my name when I legally changed my name — my original signature had evolved over the decades from cursive into a scribble.

U.S. naturalization applicants' English skills are tested in the following ways:

• Reading. To test their ability to read in English, they must read one sentence, out of three sentences, in a manner suggesting to the USCIS officer that they understand the meaning of the sentence.
• Writing. To test their ability to write in English, they must write one sentence, out of three sentences, in a manner that would be understandable as written to the USCIS officer.
• Speaking. The ability to speak English is determined by their answers to questions normally asked by USCIS officers during the naturalization eligibility interview regarding the information on the U.S. Form N-400, Application for Naturalization.

Here's a lighter take on the U.S. interview and civics test. Enjoy!

I was impressed that a U.S. bureaucracy would cooperate with a television show. Perhaps if Japan did something similar, there would be far fewer misunderstandings regarding Japanese naturalization.

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