Japanese citizenship?

Question

I've read most of the detail I need to know, and how to obtain a working visa once I finish school and get my job. So I am pretty knowledgeable of how to obtain a citizenship status over the years.

But I have a question, I was born in Chantancho, Okinawa Japan on an American military base and I hold duel-citizenship. Holding my birth certificate verifying I was born in Japan, will it be easier for me to obtain a Visa and over the course of the years an actual citizenship, granted I find the love of my life in Japan and get married?

Answer 1

If you are holding dual citizenship that means one parent is Japanese and one parent is American? I am just swaging here. If one parent is Japanese and all the other paperwork is in order you are Japanese till your 22nd birthday. After which time you must choose your citizenship (in actuality you can retain both if you follow strict protocol, Japan will only recognize Japanese though). If neither of your parents were Japanese, being born in Japan will not help you as Japan is a right of blood country(you get citizenship from your parents).

Answer 2

I agree with the previous posters. Perhaps you are assuming you have Japanese citizenship when you might not. Are either of your parents Japanese citizens? If no, then you are not a Japanese citizen. If your mother is a Japanese citizen, then you are most likely not a Japanese citizen. Citizenship in Japan is passed down by the father (unless your Japanese mother was made pregnant and abandoned by the father in which case she might have been able to pass down citizenship, or during special periods when mothers are allowed to register their children of foreign father births). You have to be on the koseki (family registry) to be Japanese. Japan does not allow dual citizen adults. If you have dual citizenship, Japan makes you choose. If you have dual citizenship and are male, you will know for sure when that letter comes in the mail saying it's time to pick sides. It's happened to guys I know but not girls.

Being born on American soil makes you an American. American military bases are American soil. Otherwise, all military kids would be Japanese citizens and they are not. Citizens do not require visas to live/work in the country they are citizen of. Citizen has all the rights. Visa is a temp thing for foreigners. If you are a citizen of the country, you don't need to find someone to marry from there to stay there 'cos a citizen already has that right.

Now, let's say you're not a Japanese citizen. Marrying a Japanese girl doesn't make you a citizen either. You have to apply for their version of a green card and then after 5 years or something like that, you can apply for citizenship but they don't hand it out to just anyone. You have to be serious about it. I knew a half Japanese/American guy who married a Japanese girl and could never get citizenship. They had kids too. After years he eventually gave up and returned to America. My advice, look into things and if you have to apply for a visa or something like that, learn to read/write Japanese so that you can deal with the officials directly. They'll be more kind to you that way than if someone's translating for you.

Answer 3

If you hold dual citizenship why do you need a visa?  At age 22 you'll be able to pick Japanese citizenship.  After age 22 Japan does NOT recognize dual citizenship.  At that point you are either Japanese or you are not.

Do you understand that simply because you were born in Japan does not make you a Japanese citizen?  Just like being born on a US military base does not make you an American citizen.

Answer 4

Yes it will.You're a lucky man.Treasure your Japanese heritage.