In Japan, Legal procedure for marriage is so simple, you just go to a city hall and fill a form of marriage and then submit to the government. You don’t have to do another procedure to create marriage status between you and your partner.
But in case of International marriage, things is a little bit, perhaps more different from this case. Can you answer the question about legal procedure to create marriage status.
Which country should I take the procedure, in my country or Japan?
Today, as a Immigration Law Practitioner for International marriage, I will answer to this question.
1. You need to take procedure for marriage in both(in your country and Japan)
If you planed to get married with a Japanese partner, you have to take procedures for marriage in both your country and Japan. In Japan, there is law to rule about which nations has jurisdiction over marriage of couple with different nationality.
According to the Law, formation of marriage is governed by the national law of each party of the couple. So, for example, if you came from Philippine and planed to get married with Japanese, your status of marriage is ruled by the Laws of Philippine and Japan. So, you have to take procedures to form the marriage in your home country and Japan.
In some case, we strongly recommend to take procedure first
Which procedure in your home country or that in Japan should you take first?
The answer is that you can start from both in your country and in Japan. There is no rule concerning the question.
But, in some case, I strongly recommend to take the procedure in your nation first not that of Japan.
The reason is that in some case, marriage procedure in your home nation take times and perhaps it is difficult compared with that of Japan. Let’s see a case in Philippine
In Philippine, you have to go to a local registry office and submit the form to seek a marriage license.
After you obtained the marriage license, next step is to hold a wedding ceremony. You can choose a religious ceremony in church or civil ceremony in a court or mayor’s office or even in the Supreme Court of the nation. It is so complicated compared with the procedures of Japan in which you just have to submit a document in a city hall.
Some couple failed to create marriage status after submitting the form of marriage in japan because they fail to take procedure for marriage in the country where one of each party came from.
So, you have to finish the time consuming procedure first and then finish smoothly the procedure in Japan. That is what I recommend to do.
I’m Daichi Ito, Kanagawa based Immigration Lawyer(Gyoseishoshi/Administrative Solicitor) from Kamakura International Legal Service. I mainly practice Immigration Procedure and Naturalization Procedures with my knowledge about the Immigration Law and Naturalization Law and experience to support foreign citizens who have lived in japan as a member of Volunteer Group in Tokyo.