After Losing Japanese Nationality: Can You Stay in Japan and Apply for Permanent Residence? (Visa and Nationality)

Hello. I am Taiga Sato, a Certified Administrative Scrivener based in Minato, Tokyo.

Japan does not allow dual nationality, so a Japanese national who acquires a foreign nationality must file a notification of loss of Japanese nationality (with a Legal Affairs Bureau or a Japanese embassy or consulate abroad). How each country treats dual nationality and how Japan's Nationality Act works are explained in Countries that allow dual citizenship and Japan's Nationality Act.

Some countries allow you to acquire their nationality without ever travelling there, while continuing to live in Japan.
*For example, citizenship by investment.

This article explains what you need to do to keep living in Japan in such a case.

*Rules and processing times are as of March 2025, when this article was written. This article is an English version of our Japanese guide, adapted for foreign residents of Japan and international investors.

If you are the biological child of a Japanese national, you are eligible for "Spouse or Child of Japanese National" status

If either of your parents held Japanese nationality when you were born in Japan, you qualify as the "biological child of a Japanese national" and are eligible for the status of residence "Spouse or Child of Japanese National".

The "Spouse or Child of Japanese National" status has no work restrictions at all, so you can do any kind of work in Japan.
*Normally, you need a status of residence (commonly called a "visa") that matches the type of work you do.

The "Spouse or Child of Japanese National" status can also be renewed after your parents have passed away.

After one year or more, you can apply for permanent residence

Once you have obtained "Spouse or Child of Japanese National" status and have continued living in Japan for one year or more, you can apply for permanent residence in Japan.

Are you staying illegally between losing Japanese nationality and being granted a status of residence?

The Immigration Services Agency of Japan publishes guideline processing times from application to decision for each status of residence.
For "Spouse or Child of Japanese National", it is about 73 days from application (information at the time of writing).

After losing Japanese nationality, you apply to immigration for a status of residence. We have been asked whether, during the gap until the result comes out, you would be staying in Japan illegally.

When we checked with the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, the answer was:

"You do not need to leave Japan. If you apply for a Certificate of Eligibility at your nearest immigration office within 30 days of losing your nationality, permission will be granted within 30 days of the application."

Therefore, you will not be staying illegally, and you can complete the whole process, from renouncing Japanese nationality to being granted a Japanese visa (status of residence), while remaining in Japan without ever leaving the country.

If you want Japanese nationality again in the future

You would be eligible for simplified naturalization, so you can apply for naturalization once you have lived in Japan for three years or more.

*However, this does not guarantee that Japanese nationality will be granted.