Why I'm Giving Up My Passport to Become a Japanese Citizen

SUMMARY

A UK expatriate with 25 years in Japan, via RetireJapan channel, details his naturalization pursuit, renouncing British citizenship due to pandemic vulnerabilities, political factors, and life ties, sharing initial Legal Affairs Bureau consultation.

STATEMENTS

• The speaker, a UK permanent resident, has decided to naturalize as a Japanese citizen after 25 years in the country, requiring him to renounce his British passport since Japan prohibits dual citizenship.
• In 2011, the speaker's first naturalization attempt failed due to a rude and discouraging case officer who demanded an on-the-spot handwritten essay, exacerbated by the subsequent Tohoku earthquake.
• The COVID-19 pandemic served as a major wakeup call for permanent residents, as they were barred from re-entering Japan despite homes and jobs, unlike citizens who faced no such restrictions.
• Permanent residency grants indefinite permission to live in Japan but remains conditional and revocable, whereas citizenship provides an inherent right to reside without such vulnerabilities.
• Recent political discourse during Japan's upper house election, targeting foreigners and residents, motivated the speaker to seek citizenship for voting rights and greater participation in shaping the nation's future.
• The speaker's entire adult life, career, taxes, home, and family are rooted in Japan, with minimal ties to the UK where he lived only eight years, and no desire to return despite his birth in Germany and upbringing in Spain.
• Naturalization applications are processed by the Hōmukyoku (Legal Affairs Bureau), distinct from immigration offices handling permanent residency, involving an initial consultation after booking an appointment.
• During the consultation, the speaker brought documents like his residence card, passport, tax returns, and his wife's family register, which were photocopied to build his case file.
• The consultation required filling three forms: a basic application with a Japanese essay on naturalization reasons, a checklist of potential issues like taxes and traffic offenses, and a family tree in katakana.
• Japan outlines seven key conditions for naturalization, including five years' residency, age 18 or adult status, good conduct, financial self-sufficiency, renunciation of other citizenships, allegiance to the constitution, and sufficient Japanese proficiency for daily life.

IDEAS

• Japan's strict no-dual-citizenship policy forces a profound identity shift for long-term residents, weighing emotional ties against practical security in their adopted home.
• The pandemic exposed a hidden fragility in permanent residency, turning what seemed like stability into a precarious "permission" that could evaporate amid national crises.
• Acquiring citizenship grants not just residency rights but active political agency, allowing expatriates to vote and influence policies that previously marginalized them.
• Bureaucratic processes for naturalization reveal surprising flexibility, such as accepting affidavits from relatives when official family documents are unavailable due to deaths or foreign system gaps.
• UK's renunciation safeguards prevent statelessness by automatically restoring citizenship if the new one isn't obtained within six months, easing the high-stakes gamble of the process.
• Traffic offense scrutiny limited to the past five years offers a forgiving window for past mistakes, potentially clearing paths for applicants with dated infractions.
• The stark contrast between a hostile 2011 consultation and a supportive 2025 one highlights how individual case officers can dramatically alter bureaucratic experiences.
• Preparing handwritten Japanese essays on-site tests not just language skills but composure under pressure, turning administrative hurdles into personal growth opportunities.
• Naturalization's multi-stage document collection, starting with foreign certificates and progressing to self-authored CVs and budgets, builds a comprehensive life narrative scrutinized by authorities.
• The 1-2 year timeline for approval underscores the exhaustive investigation, from local interviews to ministerial review in Tokyo, ensuring only integrated applicants succeed.

INSIGHTS

• True belonging in a host nation demands transcending temporary permissions to claim inherent rights, revealing how crises like pandemics can catalyze irreversible commitments to one's chosen life.
• Political exclusion amplifies the allure of citizenship, transforming passive residency into empowered participation that aligns personal stakes with national trajectories.
• Bureaucratic empathy emerges in unexpected places, as flexible document alternatives for incomplete histories demonstrate systems adapting to human complexities rather than rigid ideals.
• Long-term expatriate lives often eclipse origins, making renunciation less a loss than an affirmation of where one's contributions, relationships, and future truly reside.
• Preparation mitigates administrative anxieties, showing that rehearsed responses to procedural demands can convert daunting encounters into affirming steps toward integration.
• Temporal leniency in evaluations, like five-year offense limits, balances accountability with redemption, acknowledging personal evolution over perpetual punishment.

QUOTES

• "permanent resident has permission to live in Japan, and a citizen has the right to live in Japan."
• "If Japan allowed dual citizenship, I would have done it decades ago."
• "The pandemic which was a real wakeup call for permanent residents here in Japan that permanent residency was perhaps not as good as we thought it was."
• "Japan's the only country I've worked in. Uh, it's the only country I've paid taxes in. It's the only country I've earned a home in."
• "Meeting these conditions does not mean that you'll be accepted for to become a Japanese citizen. But if you don't meet them, then you probably won't be accepted."

HABITS

• Maintaining meticulous financial records, such as annual tax returns and pay slips, to readily provide proof of self-sufficiency during official consultations.
• Practicing Japanese handwriting and essay composition in advance to handle on-the-spot bureaucratic requirements without panic.
• Avoiding traffic violations for extended periods, like the last 14 years, to ensure clean recent records that facilitate naturalization approval.
• Building and sustaining family ties in the host country, integrating spouses' documents early to demonstrate stable domestic roots.
• Regularly updating personal identification documents, including passports and residence cards, for seamless access during lengthy application processes.

FACTS

• Japan prohibits dual citizenship, mandating renunciation of prior nationalities upon naturalization.
• Permanent residents were prohibited from re-entering Japan during certain COVID-19 periods post-departure, unlike citizens.
• The naturalization process typically spans 1-2 years, involving local investigations and final approval by Tokyo's Minister of Justice.
• UK citizenship renunciation for acquiring another nationality includes a six-month failsafe, automatically reinstating it if unsuccessful.
• Naturalization requires at least five consecutive years of residency in Japan, among other prerequisites like financial independence.

REFERENCES

• Hōmukyoku pamphlet outlining the seven naturalization conditions.
• Tohoku Great Eastern Earthquake (2011) as a disruptive event post-initial consultation.
• Upper house election political discourse on foreigners.
• UK government rules for citizenship renunciation and restoration.

HOW TO APPLY

• Contact the local Hōmukyoku (Legal Affairs Bureau) by phone to schedule an initial consultation appointment, which may involve waiting a couple of months due to high demand.
• Prepare and bring essential documents to the appointment, including your residence card, passport, driving license, tax returns (kakutei shinkoku or gensen choshu), pay slips, and your spouse's family register and tax details.
• During the consultation, complete three on-site forms: a basic application with a handwritten Japanese essay explaining your reasons for naturalization, a checklist addressing potential issues like taxes, pensions, and traffic offenses, and a family tree diagram in katakana.
• Review and confirm eligibility against the seven naturalization conditions, such as five years' residency, financial self-sufficiency, and sufficient Japanese proficiency, ensuring no immediate disqualifiers.
• After the consultation, gather required foreign documents like birth certificates and marriage records from your home country, translate them into Japanese, and schedule a follow-up appointment to advance the application, preparing for subsequent self-authored items like a CV and budget.

ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

Renouncing foreign citizenship after decades abroad secures unbreakable rights in one's true home, turning permission into belonging.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Rehearse key explanations in Japanese beforehand to navigate on-the-spot writing demands confidently during consultations.
• Start collecting family-related documents early, seeking flexible alternatives like relative affidavits if official records are inaccessible due to deaths.
• Coordinate with your spouse on personal histories and finances to ensure consistent responses in joint interviews later in the process.
• Limit recent legal infractions, focusing on clean records in the past five years, as older issues rarely derail applications.
• Embrace the full timeline by viewing document gathering as an opportunity to reflect on your integration journey.

MEMO

After a quarter-century in Japan, a British expatriate named Andrew Scott—host of the RetireJapan YouTube channel—has embarked on a transformative journey: surrendering his UK passport to claim Japanese citizenship. This decision, born of deep-rooted ties and a sobering pandemic revelation, underscores the poignant trade-offs of expatriate life. Scott, who arrived at 22 fresh from university, has built his career, home, and family here, paying taxes solely to Japan and viewing the UK as a distant memory from his youth. "Japan's the only country I've worked in," he says, his voice steady with conviction. Yet the path forward demands renunciation, as Japan's stringent no-dual-citizenship policy leaves no room for divided loyalties.

The catalyst was stark. During the COVID-19 crisis, permanent residents like Scott found themselves exiled if they left the country, barred from return despite homes, jobs, and loved ones waiting. Citizens, by contrast, moved freely. "I remember feeling not just shocked but like upset and almost betrayed," Scott recalls. This "wakeup call" exposed the fragility of his indefinite leave to remain—a mere permission, revocable at the state's whim. Layered atop this were whispers of exclusion in recent political rhetoric, where debates on foreigners during the upper house elections amplified his outsider status. Seeking the vote and a voice in Japan's future, Scott resolved that after 25 years, it was time to evolve from guest to citizen.

His initial foray into naturalization in 2011 ended in dismay. A brusque case officer at the Sendai Legal Affairs Bureau demanded a hasty handwritten essay, leaving Scott demoralized just before the Tohoku earthquake upended everything. This time, in late October 2025, the experience flipped. Arriving with a stack of documents—residence card, passport, tax returns, his wife's family register—Scott met a affable young officer who photocopied them methodically. Over nearly two hours, they filled forms: a simple application laced with Scott's practiced Japanese rationale; a checklist probing taxes, pensions, and past traffic tickets (all pre-earthquake, thus likely overlooked); and a katakana family tree, awkward for his deceased British kin but accepted with grace.

Navigating the seven prerequisites—five years' residency, financial stability, allegiance to the constitution—Scott cleared the basics without red flags. Questions delved into his background, marriage, income, and employment history, mirroring a spousal visa but with deeper scrutiny. No criminal record marred his story, and even old speeding tickets and accidents seemed survivable. The officer outlined next steps: procuring UK birth and marriage certificates, perhaps an uncle's affidavit for family ties, all translated for submission. Later phases would demand a formal essay, CV, address history, bank statements, and a monthly budget, culminating in a joint interview with his wife.

The road ahead stretches 1-2 years, from local probes to Tokyo's ministerial nod, with UK's failsafe restoring citizenship if Japanese approval falters within six months. For Scott, it's not loss but affirmation—a pledge to the nation that shaped his adulthood. As he wraps up his video series chronicling this odyssey, he invites fellow residents to weigh their own stakes. In a world of fluid borders, his choice illuminates the quiet power of choosing permanence, trading one flag for the unyielding right to call Japan home.