A general action plan for the international marriage between non-Japanese and Japanese in Japan

This article is for those who get married to a Japanese partner in Japan about how to and what to prepare for international marriage procedure in Japan. I am going to explain the following topics in order.

In terms of marriage procedure in your country, you need to go through the procedure in accordance with laws.

What kind of certificate you need to prepare prior to marriage procedure

There are 4 certificates in total, which you need to prepare beforehand prior to marriage procedure

Action plan

STEP 1

Your Japanese marriage partner acquires marriage registration application and certificate of the family register at a municipal office

STEP 2

You tell a person in charge of marriage registration in a municipal office where you are from and ask the person about what kind of certificate to submit in terms of your country’s marriage certificate. You also check what kind of certificate you should prepare instead of the certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage in a case that your country doesn’t issue it

STEP 3

You make a call to a consulate or the embassy of your country and make sure if necessary certificates you are required to submit by a municipal office can be issued there. Then, you go to the embassy with necessary certificates for the issuance of required marriage certificates at the embassy.

STEP 4

You bring Certificates prepared at Step1 and Step 2 and submit these to a muncipal office

STEP 5

If marrige registration is accepted, you receive the certiicate of Acceptance of Marriage Report

STEP 6

You submit the certificate of Acceptance of Marriage Report, other necessary certificates and marriage notification report to your country’s embassy

STEP 7

You need to go through the procedure of changing your visa status to a spouse status as needed.

The procedure process is different depending on the country. All you have to do first is knowing what kind of certificates you need to prepare by asking your country’s embassy.

What is the certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage?

It is named “婚姻要件具備証明書” (Konin-Youken-Gubi-Shoumeisho) in Japan. This certifies the following conditions.

In short, this is a certificate that proves that there is no problem that you get married with a Japanese partner.

For example, if A country’s person get married to B country’s person in A country. A country’s government office can judge if A country’s person satisfies the marriage requirements legally based on A country’s law. However, whether this marriage is acceptable under the B country’s law is unclear. A country’s government office doesn’t share the regulation on B country’s marriage law.

Hence, B country’s person submit a document of the certificate (the certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage) issued by B country’s government, which mentions this marriage is legally acceptable to A country’s embassy.

What is the certificate of Acceptance of Marriage Report

This is what you receive in step 5 after the marriage is accepted. This is a certificate that proves legally you and your Japanese partner are a married couple. The following contents are mentioned in this certificate

The certificate of acceptance of marriage report is, so to speak, a temporary certificate on behalf of the new certificate of the family register until it is issued by a municipal office.

What is the certificate of the family register

The certificate of the family register is a document that copies information of the original family register. It takes you about a week until you and your Japanese partner’s information are reflected on the database of the municipality.Until then, you are going to use this certificate as the ceritificate of the family register.

What kind of situation to use the certificate of Acceptance of Marriage Report

This certificate is mainly needed in the following situations

When registering new name on the certificate of residence

The certificate of residence is a document that records your name and your address, proves where you live and which city you belong to.

When you move, you need to notify by transferring the certificate of residence within 14 days after you move. When you rent a new apartment, the certificate of residence is one of the necessary documents required by an apartment owner or a real estate agency.

But, you face one problem, which is about your family name. The family name of yours or your Japanese partner’s will change after the certificate of the family register is issued. In other words, your family name or your Japanese partner’s family name is the same as always until the certificate of the family register is issued.

In a case that your family name changes to your Japanese partner’s family name, if there is something urgent to do with the certificate of residence with a new family name, you are supposed to submit the certificate of Acceptance of Marriage Report to a municipal office. Then, a municipal office will change your family name on the certificate of residence to a new family name.

When notifying the marriage to the company you work for

After marriage, a wife becomes a dependant of a husband, you may be required to take the necessary procedure on marriage depending on the company. There is a case you need the certificate of acceptance of marriage report.

When holding wedding ceremony in a foreign country

In western countries, there is a wedding blessing that a marrying couple who is not a Christian can hold a wedding ceremony in a church. This is just a wedding commemoration but not a formal one to declare the marriage to become a husband and a wife. In short, this is a ceremony to be held on the premise that a marrying couple has already got married to each other. For that reason, the certificate of acceptance of marriage report is needed as the evidence that “we have been already recognized as a married couple”.

Things you pay attention to

I introduce you two things you pay attention to prior to marriage procedure.

Epiration of documents

Public documents you submit to a municipal office have expiration.
Generally,

Satisfaction of the marriage requirements

Basically, if you receive the certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage, your marriage is accepted officially through the Japanese authority. However, the thing you pay attention to is a case that you prepare another document on behalf of this certificate because your country doesn’t have such a system to prove legal capacity to contract marriage.

In this case, “the substitute document” confuses a municipal office to judge if it satisfies the marriage requirements. If you fall into this situation, you will be under waiting for judgment if the substitute document can be accepted after transferring the marriage registration certificate to the Legal Affairs Bureau. It takes you around 3 months until it is accepted.

Certifications you acquired is needed to be translated into Japanese

The certificates you acquired from your country’s embassy is needed to be translated into Japanese as per request from a municipal office.

You may need to ask your Japanese marriage partner to translate certificates into Japanese as needed if you don’t write Japanese. Or, make a request for this translation to Certified administrative procedures legal specialist, which is “Gyosei-Shoshi”.