Naturalisation Rejected After 18 Months (June 22 2026)
I wanted to share my naturalisation/rejection timeline to help people like me to feel less alone and singled out.
So,
- Living in Japan since: December 2016
- Application submitted: 6 December 2024
- Interview: 9 May 2025
- Decision: 22 June 2026 (approximately 18 months after applying)
- Result: Rejected
A few details about my case:
- Engineer/Specialist in Humanities visa.
- Full-time employment.
- Monthly salary of approximately ¥360,000.
- Married, no children.
- No criminal record or traffic violations.
- Taxes, pension and health insurance all paid.
I changed jobs before my final application was submitted. During my second sodan, I specifically asked my tantō whether changing jobs would be an issue. She told me it was not a problem and encouraged me to proceed with the job change. By the time I submitted my final application, I was already employed by my new company.
I also did not have an official JLPT certificate. I attended a Japanese language school instead and offered to submit my graduation certificate, but they told me it was unnecessary. During the interview, I completed the Japanese language test without any apparent problems and was allowed to continue with the interview.
The process itself seemed completely normal. I was never asked to submit any additional documents and was never called in for a second interview.
After my application had been pending for just over a year, I called the Legal Affairs Bureau to ask whether there had been any progress. They simply told me that my case was still under examination and asked me to continue waiting. Other than that, I never received any calls or requests until the rejection letter arrived.
The rejection letter did not include any reason.
I should also mention that I did not use a lawyer for my naturalisation application. I have an acquaintance who is an immigration lawyer. He also mentioned that my case may have been affected by the policy changes announced in April 2026 regarding the residence requirement, although he emphasised that this is only his personal opinion and not an official explanation.
I feel devastated. What hurts the most is that, after almost ten years of building my life in Japan, I feel like I’m back where I started, still worrying about visas, still feeling that my future depends on decisions beyond my control. I really hoped that naturalisation would finally give me a sense of stability and allow me to stop living with that constant uncertainty. It’s just difficult not to feel discouraged. It feels like I have spent years working towards something, only to find myself back at the beginning.
At the moment, I honestly don’t know how to find the strength to go through the entire process a second time.
It’s a strange feeling, but knowing that other people have gone through the same thing makes me feel a bit less isolated. It reminds me that a rejection doesn’t automatically mean there was something fundamentally wrong with me or my application.