r/JapanCitizenship

Hi, Can you share what kind of test you had? Like the questions, which paragraphs to read, etc. I have a test coming up soon, so hearing about yours would give me a good idea of what to expect

I submitted the 国籍離脱証明書 for my country this week to my 担当. I asked how long it will take, but all she said was it would be fast.

Looking online the general guidance seems to be around 1-2 months. Has anyone recently naturalized who needed to pre-renounce? How long did you have to wait?

-Official application in March 2025 (5.5 years in Japan at the time)

-Final interview in July 2025

The letter says I can sue the State to revert the decision, but what's that about? Does anyone know about it?

I applied for Japan naturalization in February 2026, before the rule change, and I still haven’t received any interview notice from the Legal Affairs Bureau. I’ve lived in Japan for 11 years, work full-time, have JLPT N2, and my family life is stable with my wife and daughter. My tax and pension history is clean except for one delayed payment in 2023, which I paid fully. Since the 2026 rule change caused a big backlog, many applicants from early 2026 are still waiting for interviews, so the delay seems normal. My main concern is whether that single tax delay in 2023 could lead to rejection even though all other years are perfect — has anyone experienced something similar?

Application submitted: April 2026(after the new rule kicked in)

Residency at time of application: 9 years 6 months

Currently waiting for interview

Received a call today from the legal bureau to schedule a home visit end of July. What should I expect during the visit? Any do's and dont's?

Tbh I am just relieved that they didn't call me to suggest withdrawing the application nor scheduling the final interview before September when I will finish my 10 years residency.

EDIT: applied at Kanagawa(Yokohama/Kawasaki area)

Hi, new to this sub, just had the first interview/相談 yesterday. I'm applying at the Hamamatsu bureau in Shizuoka.

I've been given the humongous list of documents to prepare, and my next appointment to submit them is in October.

Are there any fellow Brits going through the process right now? Would love to talk with you and compare what kind of things you had to prep.

One document they asked for is 国籍証明書, and when I asked the interviewer about this, he told me perhaps the UK does not provide this kind of document, but perhaps it does.... it was a bit unclear, but he said that if the UK does not provide this kind of document then I don't need to submit anything. I've searched the internet but can't find any information about this. The United Kingdom only seems to issue certificates of citizenship to people who have acquired British citizenship, not those who were born with British citizenship.

Any Brits on here willing to share if you provided this particular document and how you acquired it? Thanks.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking to see if anyone is in a similar situation or can share their recent timelines, especially those applying as a family or from countries with complex political situations. The wait is starting to get really stressful.

I am applying in Osaka with my wife and child. I come from a country where getting original documents can be complicated due to the political situation, which I know might delay the background check.

Here is my exact timeline:

July 25, 2024: First consultation.

Nov 13, 2024: Officially submitted all documents.

Jan 31, 2025: Official Interview.

Sep 2025: Renewed my status of residence and got a 5-year visa! I sent a copy of the new residence card to my case worker.

Jan 29, 2026: After a year of silence since the interview, I called my case worker. He told me the documents are currently in Tokyo and I just have to wait.

Apr 2026: I voluntarily sent some updated documents (my new driver's license, etc.) just to keep my file updated.

June 2026 (Now): Still waiting. Absolute radio silence.

What's making me anxious:

My case worker hasn't asked for a single additional document since the interview. He didn't ask for my 2025 taxes, nor the recent 2026 city tax documents. When I sent the updates in April, there was no confirmation or feedback.

Has anyone else (especially family applicants) experienced a wait time of nearly 2 years with absolute silence? Did Tokyo ever request updated tax documents right before the final decision?

Any insights or shared timelines would really help ease my mind. Thanks!

Hi all. I'm getting started on my naturalization application and looking for a 行政書士 in the Yokohama/Kanagawa area that people have had genuinely good results with.

My case is a little non-standard, so I'd prefer someone who's dealt with similar before. I'm on the spouse-of-a-Japanese-national track, been here since 2019, and my income is salary from an overseas company with no Japanese payroll, so I file my own taxes here. I've seen general visa offices, but I want someone who's actually handled foreign-employer income on a naturalization case, not just standard employee ones.

I've already shortlisted a couple of offices and have a consultation booked, but I'd rather hear from people who've gone through it recently. Who did you use, did your application go through, and roughly what did it cost? Also happy to hear who to avoid.

Thanks.

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.

Hello everyone,

In the last few days some shocking rejections were reported (people being under 10 years of residency by only 1 month, with good income and PR, etc.), and some scattered cases of approvals under 10 years have been reported as well. While comparing these cases reveals no particular pattern to figure out why these cases were approved or rejected, one theory still remains consistent: a lot of shocking rejections among solid applications submitted in the first half of 2025. I personally heard of at least 3 cases approved under 10 years (8 and even 7 years) that were submitted in the second half of 2025.

I suspect some blanket rejections might have happened, after which the policy was softened.

My theory is that when the guideline was announced, they rejected anyone under 10 years, even by 1 day, and since the MOJ was going through the applications in order, most rejected cases are those submitted earlier in 2025. Later, more discretionary approvals likely started happening for people who applied in the second half, and we now have approval precedents.

I would like to gather some data on this. So my suggestion is:

If someone applied between February and June 2025 and got approved, please inform us in this post. Please specify your application date, visa type, and residency duration.

Let's gather more evidence.

Mine:

Applied June 2025 (expecting a rejection based on this blanket rejection theory)

Residency duration: 8 years will be completed in September.

Gijinkoku visa, results pending.

Kudanshita Tokyo

• Documents submitted: May 2025
• Final interview: December 2025 (9 years 11 months in Japan at the time)
• Confirmation call asking whether anything had changed: First week of June 2026
• Rejection letter received: June 22, 2026

I am currently at 10 years 5 months in Japan.

My situation:

• Applied as a single applicant
• Permanent Resident
• Same company for several years as a seishain
• No tax issues
• No late payments that I am aware of
• Stable employment and income

When I called regarding the rejection, I was told they could not provide the reason.

I’m posting to see if anyone has had a similar experience, especially applicants who were close to the 10-year mark when their application was reviewed. Any insights would be appreciated.

Application submission: October 2025

Final interview: April 10, 2026

Today, I received a call from the Homukyoku. They asked whether anything had changed regarding: Job, Addres, Relationship status, Travel plans.

I answered no to everything.

After that, they told me that the result should come out in about 2–4 weeks and asked me to stay in Japan during that period.

My background: Living in Japan since 2018, Currently on a 3-year, Engineer/Humanities/International Services (Gijinkoku) visa, No major changes since applying

I’m not sure how to interpret this. Looking through various timelines posted here, some people seem to receive similar calls before approval, while others have different experiences.

Has anyone from Chiba or another Homukyoku received a similar call? Was it ultimately a positive sign, a neutral procedural step, or something else?

Update / Clarification

Since many people have asked similar questions, I thought I would provide some additional context on my 1st post: https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanCitizenship/comments/1udc5d6/rejected_after_final_interview_at_9_years_11/

I applied through a scrivener who has handled many naturalization cases and claims to work with retired MOJ/Homukyoku personnel. Before proceeding, they reviewed my eligibility and documents in detail and did not identify any obvious concerns.

For reference, I have no traffic violations, JLPT N1, graduated from a Japanese university, hold Permanent Residence, have worked as a seishain at the same company for several years, have lived at the same address for years, have no known tax issues, no known late pension or health insurance payments, and earn approximately 20 million yen annually. The earlier 2M figure was simply a typo.

I applied as a single applicant and do not have any dependents. Throughout the process there were no major changes to my employment, address, or personal circumstances.

A few people asked about the confirmation call. During that call I was asked whether anything had changed regarding my job, address, relationship status, or travel plans. I answered no to all of them. I was then told that the result would likely be available within a few weeks and was asked to remain in Japan.

What has surprised me most is that neither the scrivener nor the case officer ever suggested withdrawing the application. At every stage, the process continued normally. There were no additional document requests, no concerns raised during the process, and the application proceeded normally all the way through the final interview and confirmation call.

Reading the comments, there seem to be several possible explanations. Many people believe the fact that I was under 10 years of residency at the time of application may have been the deciding factor. Others have mentioned travel history, internal policy changes, office-to-office differences, interview assessment, background checks, or factors that applicants are never informed about. At this point I genuinely do not know.

One thing I find interesting is that there appear to be multiple rejection or withdrawal cases from roughly the same application period, which makes me wonder whether something changed in how certain cases are being reviewed. Of course, that is only speculation.

I am sharing my timeline because I think real case data is useful for everyone. Regardless of the reason, I hope this information helps other applicants understand what kinds of outcomes are currently happening.

If anyone has gone through a similar rejection, received a confirmation call before a rejection, or later reapplied successfully, I would be very interested in hearing about your experience.

I'm expected to meet the requirements for naturalization April 1 next year (technically March 27, but let's just say April 1). By that point, I will have completed the required 10 years of residence.

From what I've read, the naturalization process can take a while. It seems that getting the initial consultation, preparing all the required documents, and eventually submitting the application can each take months.

Given that timeline, would it make sense to contact the Legal Affairs Bureau and try to schedule an initial consultation during the second half of this year, even though I won't officially meet the 10-year requirement until next April? My thinking is that I could start gathering information and documents early, then submit the actual application shortly after becoming eligible next year.

For context, I'm a full-time permanent employee (seishain), and I expect my situation to remain stable. I plan to stay at the same job and don't anticipate any major changes in employment, residence, family status, or finances before then.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Were you able to start the consultation process before you technically met the residency requirement, or did they ask you to wait until you became eligible? **I dont mean the actual submitting but just presenting your case, and get the green light to start gathering docs.

Any advice or experiences would be appreciated.

I really feel down regarding the things that I’ve been reading here from other people about being rejected and whatnot, especially after they changed the rules. I should’ve not waited for whatever reason to apply then. And now I’m here in the middle of my application, waiting for a call for the final interview and knowing my chances are now slim compared to 3 years ago.
Anyone else in the same situation or having similar feelings? How are you coping? It’s really depressing me.

I'm here to see if someone may go through the same and similar situation as me.

Background:

• Holding a 5 years Humanities visa, going to renew in Aug 2026, hopefully get a 5 or 3 years one, then I will go apply PR
• Living in Japan over 10 years, meet all requirement for both PR and naturalization
• My husband is also a foreigner, we get married in Japan and have a kid, my husband is with 5 years Humanities visa and my kid has a dependent visa under my husband's visa

What I am thinking now:

• get a PR for myself and my kid
• eventually naturalized for the whole family
• I want to have a PR first as a safe net, so I do not need to worry for my visa anymore at least

Reasons why our family would like to naturalized:

• mainly for my kid, he has a Japanese name (with kanji), but the surname is not, we are planning to live in Japan, not going to move back to our home town. I think having a Japanese surename and naturalised will only bring benefit to my kid (at least reduce chance to be discriminated due to his surname)
• Political reason that having a Japanese passport is much better than holding the passport we are having now

It would be great to hear others' experiences as I may miss some important points during my planning and thinking.

Arigatou gozaimasu!

I submitted my naturalization application in December 2025. Given the shocking rejections being posted here recently, I am trying to figure out what is currently happening behind the scenes.

Does anyone have insight into recent trends for cases submitted around late 2025?

I would specifically love to hear from simple, normal applicants with under 10 years of residency:

• Have you or any of your friends received an approval, rejection, or withdrawal notice recently?
• If you got a final confirmation call, what was the ultimate outcome?

Please drop your timelines and results below so we can see how these cases are being handled right now.

I am currently at exactly eight years of residency. Does this mean everyone under the ten-year mark is completely cooked? If they were going to reject us anyway, it would be much better if they did so directly. That way, we could move on with our lives instead of putting everything on hold—like changing jobs, moving to a new address, buying a car, or planning for the future. I don't understand why the process takes so long only to end in a rejection; it honestly feels like they are playing with our emotions.

Does anyone know of long-term PRs with steady income and good Japanese, and no delinquent payment issues or traffic violations or criminal record, etc, who are rejected for kika? Following the interview, do such PRs take shorter or longer to get the result?