Is the order of the naturalization steps the same for everybody?

帰化許可申請手順
This old description implies that the paperwork and form
inspection and reception always occurs before the
interview (and request for additional paperwork)
A person who is currently undergoing the naturalization process asked me if the order of the steps is the same for everybody, and if it is different then does that mean a problem or rather a fast track to naturalization.

Over the years, I have had many people report to me that some of the steps they took for naturalization were done in a different order from how I did them or how others who have written for this site did them. For example:
  • Signed one or more of the oaths at the very first  or second appointment
  • Did the interviews after all the paperwork was completed, or before all the paperwork was completed
  • Had additional paperwork to complete far after they thought all of the paperwork had been turned in
There are a few things which will always proceed in a certain order. For example, they will always talk about your family and your family tree and relationships prior to asking for paperwork regarding your family (birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, divorce certificates, contact information) obviously, as they will need to determine whose paperwork is necessary and whose isn't for the purpose of creating your Japanese family register.

From what I can deduce, most of the reordering simply has to do with scheduling convenience (for the Bureau of Legal Affairs, not for the candidate) and because of situations that were discovered during the course of submitting and reviewing paperwork.

The only thing that is certain within the process is that once your case worker submits your entire packet to the Ministry of Justice, there is no more interviews or paperwork to file.

What is NOT advisable is for a candidate to try to set their own timeline and order for the submission of the paperwork: I have heard of stories where a potential candidate has attempted to complete all the paperwork and insist on a submission to the Ministry within two or even one appointment. In all of these cases, the candidate met with pushback, as it is the case workers duty to methodically and carefully go through all the steps as the ramifications of changing one's nationality is never something to be done in haste.
Location: Kalispell, MT 59901, USA

Popular posts from this blog

How much did it actually cost to naturalize?

Image
Pennies, compared to most other developed countries In 2010, an article was published here about how much it costs to apply for naturalization. It was true then, and it's still true now in 2022: The application itself is free . ¥0, nada, zilch. Compare that to the US ($725) , UK (£1,330) , Germany (€255) . However, there are many things throughout the process that can cost money: getting your civil documents both in Japan and your home country, tax documents, driving record, etc. You will also to make personal appearances to your local Legal Affairs Bureau. Here I will talk about how much it cost me personally, including the cost of gathering all documents, photocopying, travel, etc. List of Expenses Below is the list of my naturalization-related expenses. All told, it cost me about ¥18,500 to make a successful application. It is worth repeating: There is no application fee . Everything in the list above are expenses related to getting documents I need to submit with my naturaliza...
Read more →

Types of Japanese Passports

Image
The vast majority of people that naturalize will probably apply for a "red" Japanese passport after their 戸籍 { koseki } (family register) is created — which takes about a couple weeks followed by a few weeks for the passport to be issued. It is not necessary to apply for a passport. Just like the United States, the vast majority of the populace never actually travels outside of their country for their lifetime. However, realisticly speaking, it's very likely that a naturalized person would have a Japanese passport as they most likely have family ties overseas. Language The passport is in two languages: English and Japanese. Very old passports, similar to my U.S. passport, also had French, the language of diplomacy. My oh my, how the French empire's influence has faded. My last U.S. passport added Spanish. My oh my, how South, Central, and Latin America's influence has increased! ☺ On current Japanese passports, the message from the Minister of Foreig...
Read more →

All about Japanese personal inkan/hanko/chops/seals

Image
"signing" a payment slip at a bank In Japan (and other Asian countries), it is traditional practice to use an 印鑑 { inkan } ( aka 印章 { inshō } ) — colloquially called a 判子 { hanko } in Japanese or "chop" in British English — instead of a signature for acknowledging / signing / accepting documents. Pedantically speaking, a 判子 hanko is the actual stamping object, and an 印鑑 inkan is the ink impression that is made, but many native Japanese use the two words interchangeably. In the 21st century, Japanese recommend having three types of seals: one for casual informal acceptance: 認印 { mitomein } one for your bank accounts: 銀行印 { ginkō-in } the "real" registered one: ( 実印 { jitsuin } ) While it's perfectly possible to use just one seal for all of these functions, most people use at least two or three for the same reason that people should use different passwords for different services on the internet: in the case of a compromised s...
Read more →