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Registering US marriage in Japan 2016/2/23 18:16
Hi, Im a naturalized US citizen born in Canada and my wife is a Japanese with a US green card living most of her life in the US.

We got married in the US about an year ago and we will be visiting her parents in Japan on march and thought we would also renew her passport and update her last name to mine while we're there.
I was wondering what exactly do i need to bring to Japan.
Here are the list i've researched so far, but i would like to know exactly what they need.
2 Kekkontodoke (obtained in japan)
2 Koseki something (in japan also)
2 Marriage certificate (from the US)
2 Translation of the Marriage cert. (where do i get this?)
2 Proof of nationality (I need to know which one, either the passport or birth certificate or both? on the japanese embassy site it states one or the other, but I've read somewhere i needed both, can someone confirm?)
2 Translation of proof of nationality(is there a template i can get?)

So the question is

-Do I need both Passport AND birth certificate or just either one?

-If I end up needing both US passport and Birth certificate, would it be okay that my Birth certificate is from Canada? or will they want some proof of how I ended up in the US like the naturalization certificate?

-How do I translate the certificate and forms in Japanese? is there a template I can find? or do i need to hire a lawyer?

-What are the extra steps needed for a late registration? and what are the penalties? Something about a court?

I think we're about an year late on registering our marriage, because we didn't really think it was mandatory and just found out in Japan they take this more seriously...

Thanks much!
by ei8htBall (guest)  

Re: Registering US marriage in Japan 2016/2/23 19:17
I think this page sums it up pretty well but I think the most important advice is to contact the Japanese consulate or embassy to get the requirements from them directly: http://www.thejapanfaq.com/japanfaq3c.html
by Jim (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Registering US marriage in Japan 2016/2/23 23:05
the website described in the above poster does not help you, because you have been already married.
it is expected that your marriage is reported to the city office after you have got married, not delayed so long.
since your case is irregular (delayed reporting), you have to ask the procedure to the city office where her koseki is there.
also, because of the delay, the family name change will be not easy. probably, she has to state the change to the family court in Japan.
by ken (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Registering US marriage in Japan 2016/2/24 08:02
As far as I know (I am Japanese, got married in the UK to a non-Japanese according to the UK law, and happened to report the marriage a few years later to Japan), she can do the translation of the US marriage certificate herself (just write her name at the bottom as the translator), needs to take the original US marriage certificate too (the city hall has a thick file of marriage certificates from various countries/states, and they compare the format to see if it's authentic), and I took my husband's passport with me as his ID. I also moved my "koseki" out of my parents', so she might have to take that procedure. Note that it's something the Japanese national has to do, so make sure she calls up the city hall where her koseki is registered to ask exactly what she needs.

Note that the time the authorities set for reporting a non-Japanese marriage after-the-fact is 3 or 6 months, and I got fined a small amount for reporting it far too later :)

About changing names, she retains her maiden name (she cannot have changed it upon marriage, because the US authorities do not have the authority to change her name). Since about a year has already passed, I wonder if she can just report any change without going through family court proceedings.
by AK rate this post as useful

Re: Registering US marriage in Japan 2016/2/24 11:18
Hey guys thanks for the quick replies.

@AK
Thanks AK, it's great to have somebody who went through this. It's very complicated compared to what we did in the US.

Can you list what exactly you brought to Japan?
I'm guessing your husband didn't go with you to the city hall or to Japan?
My wife was told she needed:
My Passport
Kokuseki shoumeisho?
Marriage certificate
Birth certificate
And translation for the marriage and birth certificate

Did you bring all this?
We're not sure what the koseki shoumeisho is. Is it the passport?

They also added that there is no penalty for the late marriage registration as they only say that to get people to report early.

Apparently the time it takes to make the new koseki for her is about 2 to 10 days.

Thanks
by ei8htball (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Registering US marriage in Japan 2016/2/24 15:28
Well, at that time we had returned to Japan and were "living" in Japan, but my husband was on work visa. I went to the city hall by myself on a weekday, that was all :)

As far as I remember, I took with me his passport or his Alien Registration Card (as he was resident in Japan at the time), our UK marriage certificate, and its Japanese translation I made. I think I took my ID as well.

I do not recall ever having to obtain his birth certificate, but maybe that was because we both were living in Japan and he had Alien Registration Card (issued by the Japanese authorities, so his ID was established by that).

Someone else a few years ago asked about "certificate of nationality" (kokuseki shoumeisho) as well here:
http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+106221

She will need to ask the city hall exactly what document you need to provide.
by AK rate this post as useful

Re: Registering US marriage in Japan 2016/3/1 14:16
Thanks again AK.

All I can get now is my original birth certificate and passport and marriage certificate so we're hoping that's enough, including the translation and paperwork.

Do I need copies of everything or just the original? I heard they take the genpon but we're not sure if they would give it back.

Did they take away any genpon? Like marriage license?

Thanks
by ei8htball (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Registering US marriage in Japan 2016/3/1 23:02
Just to be safe, we had a few extra copies (meaning handwritten official duplicates made at the UK registry office where they did the marriage procedure for us) with us, but if all you have is the original, take a photocopy with you, and show both of them together, so that they can verify the original, and can just keep the copy (in case they want to).

I just checked my desk drawers, and I still have the very original and two extra duplicates (handwritten "official duplicates" from the UK), so it's likely they didn't take the original.
by AK rate this post as useful

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