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Marriage paperwork in Japan 2013/2/28 08:25
My parter and I are going to Japan next month.

We are both Australian and do not live in Japan.

We are wanting to get married while we are on hoildays there.

We currently have a cermony booked in Okayama and understand we are required to complete some paperwork and submit it to the town hall to be offcially married in Japan.

We are having a lot of trouble trying to find out what paperwork will be required of us to be legally married.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has only been able to tell us that we are required to complete a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage while in Japan and then informed us to contact either the Japanese embassy here in Australia or/and the Australian embassy in Japan.

Both of which have been unhelpful.

We even hired a translator who informed us we couldn't get married in Japan unless we lived there which I know is untrue!

Is anyone able to provided any information at all?

We're even happy to get the papaerwork done in Tokyo as I'm sure it's very uncommon in Okayama for 2 foreigners to get married there.

Thank you
by Shandii  

Re: Marriage paperwork in Japan 2013/2/28 11:01
Japan is not really friendly to destination weddings so the generally advice is to do the legal marriage in Australia and the ceremony in Japan.

But if you really want to do it in Japan then be prepared to spend a day or two at the various bureaucratic offices, and you will need a translator to accompany you if you cannot read/write Japanese as there are several forms and translations to be done. The procedure is described on many threads in this forum. Here's one to get you started:

http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+86053
by yllwsmrf rate this post as useful

Re: Marriage paperwork in Japan 2013/2/28 11:27
Thank you for your reply.

We no longer have the time to get married here first in Australia hence why I wanted to go ahead with the paperwork in Japan.

What's a wedding if there's no offical marriage right?
by Shandii rate this post as useful

Re: Marriage paperwork in Japan 2013/2/28 11:42
by AK rate this post as useful

Re: Marriage paperwork in Japan 2013/2/28 11:48
We no longer have the time to get married here first in Australia hence why I wanted to go ahead with the paperwork in Japan.

You wouldn't rather find time in your remaining month at home than waste two days of travel time doing paperwork in Japan?

What's a wedding if there's no offical marriage right?

But that's exactly how its done in Japan. The official marriage does not take place at the wedding. Often its done days if not months in advance, or sometimes even days or months after the ceremony.
by yllwsmrf rate this post as useful

Re: Marriage paperwork in Japan 2013/2/28 12:22
My wife and I are both foreigners and got married in Japan, but we both live here. I think you are confusing the wedding ceremony and the actual civil wedding that pronounces you legally married.

You can come here and have a ceremony with no problem. But that doesn't mean you are married! If you do not live here, you will not be able to be legally married. Even as a resident, you need notarized seals from your Australian embassy. Every country is different, and has different requirements that will allow you to be considered legally married.

Even if you find some way to legally get married here--and I find that highly unlikely--you will still have to go to the Australian embassy for paperwork!

I'm not entirely sure what is driving you to be legally married in Japan. That's your business, I suppose. But you will have to go to the Australian embassy regardless. So why not just have a civil marriage in Australia and have the "ceremony" in Japan?
by Taipan1975 (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Marriage paperwork in Japan 2013/3/4 15:09
If you do not live here, you will not be able to be legally married.

It is possible for two foreigners to get married in Japan, but as everyone has pointed out, its a lot of paperwork and a big hassle to do especially if you don't read/write Japanese.
by yllwsmrf rate this post as useful

Re: Marriage paperwork in Japan 2013/3/5 14:44
No I completely understand that the cermony doesn't not make you legally married hence when I said 'Iunderstand we are required to complete some paperwork and submit it to the town hall to be offcially married in Japan.'

In Australia you are require to give 31 days notice before being able to get married here, we leave here for Japan on the 25th of March so there's no more time to get married here before leaving for Japan.

Thank you for everyone who replied, I did find out everything that is required, it seems a lot of the posts that people have posted went without knowing what was require.

In case anyone else is wondering how to get married in Japan I will list now what is required.

You need to complete a No Impediment to Marriage Form and submit it to the Australian Embassy. (It has a Engslish and Japanese section, both are require to be completed but you only need to sign the English section). You will then be supplied with a Certificate of No Impediment.

Then you are required to submit the following to a city council office.

1. No Impediment to Marriage certificate (w/ translation) and the application documents that accompanies the application of No Impediment to Marriage (w/ translation)

2. Translation of your passports (photo page), they will take a copy of your passports on the day as well.

3. You will need to fill in the marriage notification form in Japanese on the day, as it needs to be the original copy of the document.

4. You will need to sign a statutory declaration on the day which will be read to you in Japanese (interpreted by one of the staff members there who speaks English)

Then on the day, they will check all the paperwork and confirm with the Ministry of Justice to see if they can accept the paperwork and inform you if your married.

We hired a tranlator to meet us at the city council office in Okayama the day before our cermony to help us complete the paperwork. We will complete the certificate of no impediment the day we land in Tokyo.

And if you are Austalian your marriage will be recognised as legal in Australia so you won't need to do it all over again you just need to supply a tranlated copy of your Japanese marriage certificate.

by Shandii rate this post as useful

Re: Marriage paperwork in Japan 2013/3/5 16:10
Like I said, you still have to go to the Australian embassy.

I have to ask, why on earth would you go through all of that hassle? Just so you can say you were married in Japan? It seems silly to me, sorry. Especially since you don't even live here.

Well, regardless have a good wedding.
by Taipan1975 (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Marriage paperwork in Japan 2013/3/5 17:47
Because I've always loved Japan, I would live there if I could.

And it's the whole point of eloping, your getting married overseas.
by Shandii rate this post as useful

Re: Marriage paperwork in Japan 2013/5/5 21:39
Hi Shandi, congrats and i assume you would be married by now. Can i ask a few questions as i'm considering doing the same thing you did.
1) where did you find your translator?
2)how many days in advance do you have to be at Okayama to file the paperwork?
3) why did you complete the certificate of no impediment in Tokyo(you did land in Tokyo first before going to Okayama ?
4) the "No Impediment to Marriage Form and submit it to the Australian Embassy"- which Australian Embassy(location)?
5)sign a statutory declaration on the day which will be read to you in Japanese- is this your marriage vows or the legal bindings on your marriage certificate?
6) did you also have a ceremony/celebration elsewhere in Japan or this is it?
Lastly- do you find this whole process very cold? that's how i interpret it from alot of posts in different forums, pretty much a walk in and walk out with your marriage cert process.

thanks
Betty
by Betty (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Marriage paperwork in Japan 2013/5/16 11:19
Hi Betty

I assumed you've inbox me, I've replied to you.

For anyone else who is looking at getting married in Japan it really isn't as hard as others say, I am now living proof of that!

The Ebmassy and City Office was easy as pie to deal with as I was perpared with what paperwork and ID they required.

We also had a lovely cermony at Korakuen Gardens in Okayama under the cherry blossom trees.

I'd be more than happy to help anyone out who needs advice in what is required, just inbox me :)
by Shandii rate this post as useful

Re: Marriage paperwork in Japan 2014/4/4 06:58
Sorry I would like to add I only know what is required for two Australians to be married in Japan.

For other countries I do not know what is required.

Embassy websites should be about to give some help and insight to what is required.
by Shandii rate this post as useful

Re: Marriage paperwork in Japan 2014/4/17 11:47
Thanks for this information. I am going to Japan urgently for work but my partner cannot come for more than 90 days as they dont recognise our 13 year 2 child partnership, So we might need to get married in Japan as soon as we get there, and then we can apply for a spouse visa.

by MeCookie rate this post as useful

Re: Marriage paperwork in Japan 2014/4/18 01:14
So we might need to get married in Japan as soon as we get there, and then we can apply for a spouse visa.
no in your/spouse case (both foreigner?) then you have to apply for dependent visa, not spouse visa. spouse visa is only for japanese+foreigner spouse.
by no spouse visa (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Marriage paperwork in Japan 2015/1/10 08:35
This is my experience of getting married in Japan, hopefully it gives some added insight. I was quite daunted by the process before I started but actually really enjoyed the experience.

Getting married in Japan (not the ceremeny) is not a simple process and if you cannot read or write Japanese you will need an interpreter .The process took some time to complete before we even left Australia but I cannot speak highly enough of the people I dealt with from the Consulate and the Ward office where we got married.
Also the requirement do vary from ward to ward.

Step 1.
-----------------
Requirements

1. Certificate of No Impediment
From Australia - Obtain it from the Department of Foreign Affairs in your state. I tried from the consulate in Osaka but got stuck on the payment method (they had no way of processing the funds at the consulate) . It took 3 working days from the Department of Foreign Affairs in Sydney.

From Japan it may be possible to obtain from a consulate but I am not sure how you go about paying for it. Osaka consulate are the most helpful.

For this you will need certified copies (by a Justice of the Peace) of
Birth Certificate
Passport
Decree Nici (if divorced)


2. Birth Certificate - original and colour photocopies (unless you donft mind leaving the original with your file in the ward office)

3. Passport

4. Decree Nisi

5. Certificate of No Impediment application form

6. Statutory Declaration provided by the ward office.


Note : Japanese New Years holiday is the last week in December ,for 2014 it was between December 26 and January 5. So donft expect to get married between those dates. The Marriage Certificate cannot be mailed by the ward office, it must be collected by you in person or a third party that has been granted power of attorney. It takes approx 3 business days to be ready.



Step 2.
----------
Translations

Depending on the requirements of the ward where you are getting married you may need the following as well ( I was required to supply them). I would suggest that you have them available. I will assume that the rules vary from ward to ward so be prepared.

Japanese Translation of:
Certificate of No Impediment application form
Certificate of No Impediment
Birth Certificate
Statutory Declaration provided by the ward office.


You will need to take with you all the paperwork completed and vetted.


Step 3.
----------
Contact the Ward Office

Once you have all the paperwork contact the local council ward where you want to get married. I found it easier to make the initial contact by phone and then exchange emails along the way.

I sent the ward office scans of all the documents for checking before we left to be checked and then for me to correct. Understand that in Japan the ward staff cannot make corrections to documents on your behalf, thay must be completed by the applicant.

It seems to be uncommon for both parties to be foreigners getting married in Japan. So the person you are dealing with may never had to process a foreign application before, so be patient and understanding when you have redo forms and correct translations. The person I dealt with as the ward office were so helpful and went out of their way to make sure we could get married. It did take approximately 2 months to complete all the paper work in Australia and have vetted by the ward staff.




Step 4.
----------
At the Ward Office

You will need two witnesses , depending on the requirements of the ward you may need Japanese citizens ( our children over 20 were enough for us). We turned up to the ward office on the day required with all the paperwork and met the ward officer. It then took approx 2 hours of filling out the marriage application form and other paperwork to complete the documentation for the ward office.

This includes filling out :
marriage application form in Hiragana and Katakana.
power of attorney to permit a third party to pick up the certificate on our behalf ( we left a stamped self addressed envelope with a friend)

In Japan everyone has a personal seal (Hanko) so that when you sign a document you also stamp it with your seal . These can be obtained fairly easily from a Hanko shop but may take a few days to produce. Otherwise you will be required to use you thumbprint as a seal.

Once all the documentation was completed we were then required to come back 4 days later to complete process with a witness, again this may vary from ward to ward. From my understanding from that point a file is created on you and all the documentation and certificates are stored there. It was quite thick by the time we had finished.


Step 5.
----------
On the Day

You will need to take with you all the paperwork completed.

The day was actually during the public holiday period but the person from the ward office was only too happy to come in on her day off to complete the paperwork and get us married. After some further checking and signing (thumbprint included) we were married.

Our friend had the power of attorney because ther Marriage Cerfiticate cannot be mailed by the ward office, it must be collected by you in person or a third party that has been granted power of attorney.


Step 6.
----------
Marriage Certificate

There is a choice of Marriage Certificates ,from A5 to A3 , they are very impressive. The cost was 1400 yen, that is all we had to pay for the entire process in Japan.

The A3 envelope was not available at the Post Office so I had to obtain from a stationery supply store. I inserted cardboard inside the envelope to protect the certificate. The cost to send via AirMail to Australia was 400 yen .

I think that had we not been leaving the town before the holiday period and travelling further before leaving Japan we would have come back and collected the Marriage Certificate ourselves, as it was the certificate arrived in the post approximately 10 days later.






by bullibeach rate this post as useful

Re: Marriage paperwork in Japan 2015/1/18 03:33
Hi Bullibeach,

Thanks a lot for the very detailed instructions - my fiancé and I are hoping to get married over in Tokyo in February.

Did the staff at the ward office speak English, and so could explain everything to you okay? Also, did you need a translator to complete the forms for you on the day, or will the ward staff do that?

Thanks for any info you can give us to help!

Wolf_e81
by wolfe_81 (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Marriage paperwork in Japan 2015/1/18 17:18
generally, you are requested to understand Japanese to take necessary procedures, because official language is Japanese, not English.
by ken (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Marriage paperwork in Japan 2015/5/24 20:00
Hi Everyone,

Me and my wife married in Tokyo in February, so I'm updating this thread to share our experiences....

Two foreigners getting married in Tokyo is actually pretty simple, as long as the paperwork is done correctly up front. We probably had the most complicated situation - I'm British, she's American, and neither of us live in Japan. So here's what is needed:

1. Choose your Ward office carefully.
The 'official' ceremony is carried out at one of the many government ward offices, and the official forms (and the certificate you'll receive) is all done in Japanese. We did a lot of research, looking at all the ward office websites, and found that two of the ward offices have English language services - Setagaya and Chuo. We chose Chuo-ko (close to Ginza) as they have a very helpful English language helpline (number on their website - http://www.city.chuo.lg.jp/multilingual/english/support_in_english.htm...) and free interpretation service.
After a quick telephone call, the very helpful people at the ward office sent us an email to confirm exactly what documents we would need. We were then able to communicate back and forth very easily by email over the next few weeks and even have copies of our documents checked by email weeks in advance of us arriving in Tokyo, to confirm we had everything correct.
On the day we wanted to marry, the free interpreter at the Chuo-ko ward office met us at our appointed time and helped us complete the required forms. The interpreter was amazing and we couldn't have done all this without her help! Within 40mins we were married!
Two days later, we went to collect our marriage certificate from he same office - a beautiful scroll, all in Japanese with official seals and presented to us in a tube for safe keeping.

2. Prepare documents as far in advance as possible.
Once the required documents have been confirmed with the ward office, gather them as soon as possible. The documents we required were:
- A CNI (certificate of no impediment) for each of us.
- Copies of the picture pages of our passports (and those of our two witnesses).
All of these documents need to be translated into Japanese before arriving at the ward office (see note 3).

Note: Obtaining a CNI from the UK is more complicated than the US. In the UK you need to go to your local registrar and submit a notice of intent to marry, wait 3 weeks to allow anybody to object to the marriage, and then your CNI can be issued. For the US, the CNI can be obtained from the US Embassy in Tokyo within a day, but an appointment is needed, and these can get booked up weeks in advance.

3. Pick your translator carefully.
Most of the translations you can have prepared in advance, but if you are obtaining a CNI from the US embassy, you'll need a translator that can do an immediate translation for you. For example, we were able to use the same translator to translate my UK CNI and the four passport pages in advance by email. However, we obtained my wifes US issued CNI the morning we were to be married. Our translator was able to meet us close to the ward office and translate the document over lunch, allowing us to take all the documents to the ward office and be married in the afternoon.

It can seem a bit daunting to figure out what exactly is needed, so I would really suggest choose your ward office as soon as possible and confirm the requirements with them. We had a really smooth experience once we had made contact with Chuo-Ko ward office. I'd really recommend them!

Good luck!
by Wolf_e81 (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Marriage paperwork in Japan 2015/5/25 11:52
Congrats, and thanks for the update!
by yllwsmrf rate this post as useful

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