Italian Citizenship by Marriage: Preparing Japanese Documents (Apostille, Italian Translation and Certification)

When applying for Italian citizenship on the basis of marriage to an Italian citizen, it is important to confirm the certificates and translation format specified by the receiving authority before obtaining Japanese documents. Attaching an apostille and an Italian translation to the family register (koseki) is not necessarily enough for every receiving authority.

Royal Partners Administrative Scrivener Office handles requests for obtaining the koseki from abroad, apostilles, translation and international shipping. We confirm the documents and translation certification required for your citizenship application and tell you which steps we can handle and the cost. This page covers preparing Japanese documents only; we do not handle the whole citizenship application and cannot guarantee that citizenship will be granted.

First, check the receiving authority with jurisdiction over your place of residence

If you live outside Japan, start from the guidance of the Italian embassy or consulate with jurisdiction over your current address. Being a Japanese national does not make the Embassy of Italy in Tokyo the office for your citizenship application.

Switzerland, for example, has several Italian consular offices. According to the published jurisdiction guidance, the consular section of the embassy in Bern covers the cantons of Bern, Fribourg and Neuchâtel. Do not assume Bern just because you "live in Switzerland"; check down to the canton and municipality. See: Italian consular network in Switzerland and jurisdictions.

Eligibility is not determined by the length of marriage alone. You also need to check when your spouse acquired Italian citizenship, registration of the marriage in Italy, continuation of the marriage, language requirements or exemptions, criminal record requirements and so on. If you live abroad, your spouse's AIRE registration (register of Italians living abroad) and address are also checked. For details, see the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' citizenship guidance on marriage and civil unions and the latest guidance of the competent consular office.

Before contacting us, gathering the following information in one place reduces the risk of having to obtain documents again:

• Country, canton/state and municipality of residence, and the name of the Italian consular office where you plan to apply
• The URL of the office's list of required documents, and the original wording and date of any individual instructions you received
• Country of birth, current nationality, past countries of residence and any name changes
• Number of originals required, validity periods after issue, and specified translation or certification
• Planned application date and the date by which you want the completed documents in hand

The documents to prepare in Japan are not necessarily just the koseki

Choose documents separately for proving your birth and for supplementing the history of your marriage and name. The table below is for checking your preparation and does not show every document required for the citizenship application.

Do not substitute the koseki for the certificate of acceptance of the birth notification

The Embassy of Italy in Tokyo's guidance on citizenship by marriage explicitly names the "shusseitodoke jurishomeisho" (certificate of acceptance of the birth notification) for people born in Japan. When applying at an office abroad, keep this difference in mind and confirm whether the koseki is accepted and whether additional documents are needed. Even for Japanese nationals, if you were born outside Japan, the documents from your country of birth must be checked separately.

Note also that certificates of acceptance differ from the koseki in where and by whom they can be requested. For example, Minato City's guidance on family register certificates states that a certificate of acceptance can be requested by the person who filed (signed) the notification, and that a request by an agent requires a power of attorney from a person entitled to request it. Do not assume that a power of attorney from the person born is enough; check with the municipality where the notification was filed. We will tell you whether we can help obtain the certificate of acceptance of the birth notification after this has been checked.

Check early how to obtain the criminal record certificate yourself

Criminal record certificates are not necessarily limited to Japan. The embassy in Bern's guidance lists certificates required according to your country of origin, countries of nationality and third countries where you have lived since age 14. It also explains obtaining the Swiss certificate in Italian with an apostille, but confirm with your own competent consular office which countries are required. See: Embassy of Italy in Bern, citizenship guidance and procedure sheet.

The Embassy of Japan in Switzerland's guidance on police certificates describes applying in person by appointment and having fingerprints taken by the Bern police. The embassy estimates about 2 months. This cannot be requested from us in the same way as obtaining a koseki. Check with the Japanese mission responsible for you or the Japanese police, explaining the purpose.

Do not open an envelope marked "invalid if opened" yourself for translation or scanning. MOFA states that it generally does not accept opened criminal record certificates. The order of certification, translation and online submission, and which body opens the envelope, are arranged according to the receiving authority's instructions. See: MOFA FAQ (in Japanese).

You will also need to prepare proof of the marriage registered in Italy, identity documents, a language certificate and so on. Requesting Japanese documents from us does not complete the preparation needed on the Italian side.

The apostille on the original and certification of the translation are separate steps

An apostille certifies the official seal on a Japanese public document; it does not certify the accuracy of the Italian translation. Certification of the original and the certification required for the translation are each checked separately.

MOFA treats documents such as the koseki as eligible for an apostille. Translations prepared by individuals and others, however, are not directly eligible. Distinguish between certifying the Japanese original and certifying a private document relating to the translation. See: MOFA, "Documents that can be certified" (in Japanese).

The Embassy of Italy in Tokyo's guidance on translation and legalization describes obtaining an apostille on the Japanese original and then preparing a translation and certification of conformity. The embassy does not accept documents apostilled by a notary on the basis of the applicant's own declaration. Do not assume that notarization in Japan can be used instead. For people living in Japan, the procedure and fees for translation certification at the embassy in Tokyo are explained in Translation certification at the Embassy of Italy in Tokyo.

For sworn translations too, for example the Milan judicial authority's guidance sets out requirements for translators who take the oath. Do not choose based only on the label "with sworn translation"; check the body accepted by the receiving authority.

Whether people living abroad can obtain certification of conformity at a mission in Japan, whether an oath taken in their country of residence or in Italy is accepted, and how much our office can arrange are checked case by case. We start work once the spelling of names, place of birth, former surnames, what is to be translated (including the apostille) and the number of copies have been decided.

How to request our service from abroad

Share the receiving authority's specifications with us, confirm the scope, cost and schedule, and then make a formal request. Preparation differs depending on whether you need only the koseki or also certification, translation and shipping.

1. Send us the list of required documents and the steps you want us to handle. If you do not have the documents yet, tell us their names and status.
2. We check whether we can obtain, certify and arrange translation of the documents, and send you a quote and estimated schedule. We also sort out the steps you need to take yourself locally.
3. After your formal request, prepare a power of attorney and other documents as instructed. Obtaining the koseki requires mailing the original power of attorney, so allow for the time it takes to reach us.
4. We obtain the documents and proceed with certification of the original, translation and any required translation certification by the method confirmed. If there are inconsistencies in name spellings or similar, we check with you.
5. We confirm the type, number and destination of the completed documents and ship them. If you need PDFs, we confirm in advance which documents can be scanned and for what purpose.

For the application form, identity documents and how to write the power of attorney for obtaining the koseki, see Family register (koseki). The same power of attorney may not be usable for other birth-related certificates.

MOFA does not accept applications mailed from abroad or return documents directly abroad. Documents must be certified through an agent in Japan and then shipped abroad. See: MOFA guidance on mail applications and return addresses (in Japanese).

Costs, timeline and international shipping are checked step by step

The total for this purpose is quoted individually. The standard fee for obtaining the koseki does not include Italian translation, translation certification or shipping to Switzerland.

The fees shown are taken from our koseki retrieval service page. Confirm the exact amount, including the number of copies and requests to several municipalities, in our quote before requesting the service.

The timeline is built up from the power of attorney reaching Japan, issuance by the municipality, MOFA's certification, translation and certification, and international delivery. MOFA states that for mail applications, if there are no problems or further checks, documents are generally returned 3 business days after receipt, but mail in both directions is extra. Check the latest handling in MOFA's application guidance (in Japanese). This cannot be taken as the total timeline.

MOFA generally certifies originals issued within the last 3 months. The receiving authority's validity periods are checked separately. The Embassy of Italy in Bern's procedure sheet (PDF, 2 pages) makes criminal record certificates issued within 6 months before application mandatory, while for birth documents it says "within 6 months if possible". Taking into account the time needed for appointments and translation certification, check at what point validity is judged and decide when to obtain each document.

Our koseki certification guide lists international shipping by EMS, DHL and FedEx. The specific service, cost and expected delivery date to Switzerland or elsewhere are checked using the address, postcode, weight and so on. We give the shipping date and arrival date separately, so allow a margin for delivery delays.

FAQ

Should I also obtain a declaration of value for my academic qualifications?

It is not necessarily required just because you are applying for citizenship by marriage. It is a separate document for evaluating academic qualifications, so do not obtain it unless it is specified. If you need one for study or similar, see Declaration of value (dichiarazione di valore) for Italy.

What if my former surname or the spelling differs between the koseki and my passport?

Do not simply match one to the other in the translation; list the differences. Check with the receiving authority whether proof of the name change or supplementary documents are needed. Consulting us with your documents arranged so that issue dates and spelling differences are clear makes the check easier.

If I receive PDFs of the documents, do I still need the originals?

Data for online submission and submission of originals are separate. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' guidance indicates that originals are collected during the consular procedure after the online application. Some sealed documents cannot be scanned, so check how each document is to be submitted and keep the originals.

Can I have the translation done locally and ask you only to obtain and certify the Japanese documents?

Yes, you can consult us about separate steps. First check whether the local translator needs the original and whether the apostille must also be translated. If you want the documents shipped directly to someone locally, tell us the recipient and required documents when requesting a quote.

Can I keep Japanese nationality if I acquire Italian citizenship?

Under Japan's Nationality Act, a person who acquires a foreign nationality by their own choice loses Japanese nationality. Check this consequence before preparing documents. See: Ministry of Justice, "Nationality Q&A", Q12 (in Japanese). For individual cases, consult a Legal Affairs Bureau in Japan or a Japanese mission abroad.

Information we need for a quote

First, tell us the receiving authority's specifications and the steps you want us to handle. If the translation format has not been decided yet, say so and we will tell you what needs to be checked before quoting.

• Subject: Japanese documents for an Italian citizenship application
• Country, canton/state and municipality of residence, the competent consular office and the URL of its list of required documents
• Names of the documents needed, number of copies, issue dates and whether you already have them
• Specified translation or certification, and which of obtaining, certification, translation and shipping you want us to handle
• Desired arrival date, destination country and postcode, and whether you need originals or PDFs

Royal Partners Administrative Scrivener Office will check the scope of what we can handle and get back to you.

Information checked on 7 September 2026. Check the latest guidance of your competent consular office when applying.