Marriage to a Japanese National
Marriage to a Japanese national becomes legal in Japan the moment a municipal office accepts your 婚姻届 (konin todoke, marriage registration form), not on any earlier ceremony date.12 That registration alone does not grant the foreign spouse any visa status, and assuming otherwise can leave a spouse out of status while a separate immigration filing is still pending.
Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the Ministry of Justice (法務省) family register guidance and the Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁, ISA). This article is general information, not legal, tax, or immigration advice; for your specific case, consult a licensed immigration lawyer or gyoseishoshi (行政書士, administrative scrivener), especially if you have an expiring current status of residence, an overseas Japanese spouse, or a prior visa denial or overstay history.
Overview
A 婚姻届 (konin todoke) is the notification form Japanese law requires to register a marriage.1 Any foreign national marrying a Japanese national inside Japan under Japan's registration system files this form, regardless of their current status of residence, whether tourist, student, or work-visa holder.2
Two separate things happen when this marriage is registered. The marriage itself takes effect the same day the municipal office accepts the form, free of charge. Separately, the foreign spouse becomes eligible to apply for the "Spouse or Child of Japanese National" status of residence, but that status is not granted automatically; it requires its own application to the Immigration Services Agency, filed apart from the konin todoke.345
This article covers both halves in order: how and where to file the konin todoke, what each spouse provides to do so, and why the follow-on visa filing is a distinct step with its own timeline and its own risk if mistimed.
The terms below recur throughout this article:
| Japanese term | Romaji | English gloss |
|---|---|---|
| 婚姻届 | konin todoke | Marriage registration form |
| 戸籍謄本 | koseki tōhon | Full family register transcript |
| 婚姻要件具備証明書 | konin yōken gubi shōmeisho | Certificate of legal capacity to marry (affidavit of competency to marry) |
| 在留資格 | zairyū shikaku | Status of residence |
Where and How to File the Konin Todoke
The konin todoke may be filed at the municipal office covering either the Japanese spouse's registered domicile (本籍地, honsekichi) or the couple's current place of residence; the choice belongs to the couple.67 For a marriage between a Japanese national and a foreign national, the notification must be filed in Japan at a municipal office; it cannot be filed through a Japanese embassy or consulate abroad, unlike a marriage between two Japanese nationals living overseas.2
Filing the konin todoke itself carries no fee.6 The form requires the signatures of two witnesses who are at least 18 years old; the Civil Code sets no nationality requirement for witnesses, so friends, colleagues, or family members of any nationality can serve.1
Staff check photo identification, such as a driver's license, passport, or My Number Card, when the form is submitted.6 Sealing the form with a hanko is optional rather than required, a rule that has applied to all family register notifications since September 1, 2021; a signature alone is enough, though the form still has a box for a seal if you want to use one.18
If a municipal office declines to accept a konin todoke, the filer can appeal the refusal to family court.6 Exact reception hours, including whether a given office accepts submissions after hours or on weekends, are set by each municipality rather than by a single national rule; confirm directly with the specific office where you plan to file.6
The filing sequence looks the same regardless of which municipality you choose:
Same-Day Filing, Same-Day Effect
Marriage becomes legally effective the moment the municipal office accepts the notification, not on the date of any earlier ceremony.12 There is no waiting period and no requirement to hold a separate ceremony before or after filing.
Documents the Foreign Spouse Provides
The foreign spouse must submit a 婚姻要件具備証明書 (konin yōken gubi shōmeisho), commonly called the affidavit of competency to marry or certificate of legal capacity to marry. An ambassador, minister, or consul with authority under the foreign spouse's home-country law issues it, attesting that the marriage meets that country's own requirements, such as minimum age and unmarried status.2
Any document submitted in a foreign language, including the affidavit itself, needs a full Japanese translation with the translator's name recorded. The foreign spouse may translate the document themselves; a professional translator is not required.2
You do not need to pay a professional translator for the affidavit or other supporting documents. The foreign spouse may translate them personally, as long as the translator's name is recorded on the document.2
Where the foreign spouse's country has no system for issuing this certificate, Japanese municipal practice accepts a substitute. Options include a sworn statement made before that country's resident consul in Japan, or, failing that, a combination of the passport, national ID, certificate of nationality, civil-registry extract, or birth certificate, each with a Japanese translation.2 This substitution pathway is the general mechanism that now covers U.S. nationals.
Effective September 1, 2025, the U.S. Embassy and consulates in Japan stopped notarizing affidavits of competency to marry altogether. The Embassy does not issue this type of certificate at all; instead, it publishes a downloadable PDF statement confirming that no such U.S. document exists (as of 2026-07-24; confirm current figures with the U.S. Embassy Tokyo).9
A U.S. citizen presents this PDF statement to their local Japanese city or ward office in place of a notarized affidavit.9 If a specific ward office insists on a notarized document instead of accepting the PDF, the Embassy's guidance suggests exploring a remote online notarization service offered by certain U.S. states, and recommends confirming acceptance with the specific ward office in advance.9
British nationals need a marital status affirmation or affidavit, since the UK does not issue a Certificate of No Impediment for this purpose; the process runs only through the British Embassy in Tokyo, not the Osaka consulate (as of 2024-05-09).10
An applicant applies online and pays a fee of £50 at that time (as of 2024-05-09).10 Appointments run only on Tuesdays or Wednesdays and must be booked at least seven days after the online application (as of 2024-05-09), so consular staff have time to review the required documents beforehand: a UK passport, full birth certificate, proof of address, and proof that any previous marriage or civil partnership has ended.10
The Philippines routes the affidavit differently. A Filipino citizen in Japan first obtains a DFA-apostilled, PSA-issued Certificate of No Marriage (CENOMAR, valid six months) and a DFA-apostilled PSA birth certificate, then applies to the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo for a Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage Certification (LCCM) built on those documents, along with copies of their passport and residence card (as of 2026-07-24).11
Fees and processing times for these three nationality examples, current as of the dates shown, illustrate how differently the affidavit process can run; confirm your own country's requirements directly with your embassy or consulate (as of 2026-07-24).
| Nationality example | Document | Fee | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | No affidavit issued; Embassy provides a PDF statement instead | No fee (no certificate issued) | 2025-09-01 | 9 |
| United Kingdom | Marital status affirmation/affidavit | £50 | 2024-05-09 | 10 |
| Philippines | Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage Certification (LCCM) | ¥3,750 | 2026-07-24 | 11 |
| Philippines | Affidavit of Civil Status | ¥3,750 | 2026-07-24 | 11 |
| Philippines | Express processing (per document, 5 working days instead of 10) | +¥1,500 | 2026-07-24 | 11 |
The Affidavit of Competency Is Not One Document
Issuance source, format, and turnaround for the affidavit of competency differ sharply by nationality. Some countries' Tokyo embassies notarize a self-attested document, as the UK does; some route the request through a home-government civil registry first and the embassy only certifies the result, as the Philippines does; and for at least one major nationality, the United States, the embassy issues no affidavit at all, providing only a statement that no such certificate exists in that country's system (as of 2026-07-24).91011
This article covers three representative examples rather than an exhaustive table of every nationality's process. If your country is not one of the three above, confirm the requirement directly with your own embassy or consulate in Japan, since issuance source, fee, and turnaround vary enough that a general assumption is not reliable.
Documents the Japanese Spouse Provides
The Japanese spouse's marital eligibility is verified through the koseki system rather than a separate certificate. A 戸籍謄本 (koseki tōhon, full family register transcript) historically served this purpose.2
Since a Family Register Act amendment effective March 1, 2024, attaching a koseki tōhon is generally no longer required when the konin todoke is filed at a municipal office other than the one holding the registered domicile. Staff at the receiving municipality can now look up the registered-domicile family register electronically, with one exception: family registers not yet converted to the computerized system still require the paper transcript.12
This reform concerns only the Japanese spouse's koseki tōhon requirement. It does not reduce or change what a ward office may separately require from the foreign spouse, such as the affidavit of competency or a translated birth certificate, covered above.
The foreign spouse does not receive their own koseki entry. Instead, the Japanese spouse's koseki is updated to record the foreign spouse's name, date of birth, nationality, and the fact of the marriage; if the Japanese spouse was not previously the head of a koseki, a new one is created for them at this point.2
The article Koseki: Japan's Family Register Explained covers how this entry is recorded in full, including how a foreign spouse appears on the register.
Marriage and the Spouse Visa Are Decoupled
The "Spouse or Child of Japanese National" status of residence covers, among others, the husband or wife of a Japanese national.3 This status runs for 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, or 6 months, set case by case (as of 2026-07-24; confirm current figures with the Immigration Services Agency).3
Obtaining or changing to this status requires a different application than the konin todoke, one the Immigration Services Agency processes at a regional immigration bureau rather than a municipal office. Which application applies depends on where the foreign spouse currently is.
| Application | Who files | Where | Processing time | Fee | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Eligibility (COE, 在留資格認定証明書) | Sponsor in Japan, typically the Japanese spouse, on behalf of a spouse currently outside Japan | Regional immigration bureau covering the intended residence | 1–3 months | None | 2026-07-24 |
| Change of status of residence (在留資格変更許可申請) | Foreign spouse already in Japan on a different status | Regional immigration bureau | 1–2 months | ¥6,000 (paper or counter), ¥5,500 (online) | 2026-07-24 |
These are the two possible next steps after marriage registration, and their processing times and fees can change (as of 2026-07-24).45
Because these are separate, agency-run filings with their own processing windows, a foreign spouse does not become a visa holder in the Spouse or Child of Japanese National status automatically the moment the marriage is registered. They remain on whatever status they currently hold until the separate immigration filing is approved.345
Neither application can be submitted by postal mail; both require in-person submission at the relevant regional immigration bureau. A representative, including the receiving organization's staff or a registered immigration lawyer or gyoseishoshi, may submit the application on the applicant's behalf.4
The two possible paths after marriage registration look like this:
Marriage registration and visa approval are separate events with separate timelines. If your current status of residence expires, or you resign a job tied to that status, before the Certificate of Eligibility or change-of-status application is approved, you risk a gap in lawful status. If you have an expiring current visa, an overseas Japanese spouse, or a prior visa denial or overstay history, consult a licensed immigration lawyer or gyoseishoshi before you time your filing.
Reporting the Marriage to Your Home Country
Whether you need to separately report your marriage to your home country depends on your nationality; the three examples below show genuinely different approaches, not one universal rule.
The U.S. Embassy Tokyo states that marriages legally performed and valid abroad are also legally valid in the United States, and that a U.S. citizen does not have to report the marriage to the Embassy or Consulate. The U.S. government does not issue its own marriage certificate for marriages performed overseas; the Japanese-language Certificate of Acceptance of Notification of Marriage is the only proof of marriage.9
The Embassy's own guidance describes a municipal-office fee for this certificate of roughly ¥1,400 for the large or decorative version and roughly ¥350 for the standard A4 version. This is the Embassy's description of a Japanese municipal fee rather than a confirmed nationwide fee schedule, so treat it as illustrative and confirm the actual fee with your own municipal office (as of 2026-02-02; confirm current figures with your municipal office).9
A marriage will be recognized in the UK automatically if the couple followed the correct legal process in Japan and the marriage would be allowed under UK law. There is no separate UK registration requirement for this scenario.10
The Philippines takes the opposite approach for its own nationals. A Filipino national whose marriage was registered in a specified set of Japanese prefectures, including Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, and Hokkaido among others, must report it to the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo as a Report of Marriage (ROM) within one year of the marriage (as of 2026-07-24).13
Filing after that one-year window requires an additional Affidavit of Delayed Registration executed at the Embassy. Standard ROM processing takes 10 working days once complete documents are received.13 Confirm the current list of prefectures covered by the Tokyo embassy's jurisdiction directly with the Embassy, since it is the kind of administratively set list that can change.
Good to know
Do Not Assume the Visa Follows Automatically
Some foreign spouses assume that the Spouse or Child of Japanese National status is granted automatically the moment the konin todoke is accepted. It is not.345
The foreign spouse must file, and the Immigration Services Agency must approve, a separate Certificate of Eligibility or change-of-status application, a process that runs one to three months on top of the marriage registration itself.45 Because the two filings are decoupled, there is a real window in which a foreign spouse is legally married but not yet holding, or approved for, the spouse status.
Changes to your current status-supporting circumstances during that window, such as resigning a job tied to your current visa or letting that visa expire, can create a status gap. This is the core reasoning behind this article's recommendation to consult a professional if your case involves an expiring current visa, an overseas Japanese spouse, or a prior visa denial or overstay history.
Confirm Translation Requirements Before Your Ward Office Visit
Translation format requirements are set ward by ward, not by a single national rule. Yokohama City and Funabashi City both require a Japanese translation of the affidavit of competency, and any other foreign-language document, with the translator's name identified.714 Neither ward's page restricts who may act as translator, consistent with the national rule that the foreign spouse may translate the document themselves.2
Funabashi's page additionally asks for the translator's phone number or address, and states a three-month validity window on the affidavit itself. These two municipalities are illustrative examples only, not an exhaustive survey; confirm the specific requirements and validity windows directly with the office where you plan to file.14
The Affidavit's Issuance Path Depends on Your Nationality
Budget weeks, not days, if your nationality routes the affidavit through a home-government civil registry rather than same-day embassy notarization (as of 2026-07-24; confirm current figures with the relevant embassy or consulate).91011
The Philippine model requires a DFA-apostilled, PSA-issued CENOMAR, itself valid for only six months, before the Embassy will issue the LCCM, plus a further 10 working days of standard embassy processing, or 5 days with an express-processing surcharge. That is a materially longer runway than the UK's roughly 35-minute online application and in-person embassy appointment, which itself needs a booking lag of at least seven days, or the current U.S. model, where no embassy-issued certificate exists at all and you instead need to confirm in advance whether your ward office will accept the U.S. statement PDF or requires a state-notarized alternative.