Formalities for Marriage between a Japanese and a Foreigner in Japan

Question: I hear a foreigner who is going to get married in Japan needs a "certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage". What kind of document is this?

Answer: A certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage is a document to be issued by the government of your country to certify that you meet the requirements for marriage stipulated by the law of your country. It may be issued by your country's ambassador, consul, judge, lawyer or notary. People from Taiwan and Korea, which have family registration systems similar to the Japanese one, may present copies of family register instead. If your government issues no such certificate, alternative documents (which vary with the country) will be accepted. For instance, a national of the United States may take an oath before the consul that he/she meets the requirements stipulated in the law of his/her state and have an affidavit to that effect signed by the consul. If you cannot submit a certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage or an alternative certificate, then you should present the following documents instead.

  1. Documents to certify your nationality(passport, certificate of nationality, etc.)
  2. Copy of the marriage law of your country
  3. Documents to certify that you meet the requirements stipulated in the law of your country (identity card, birth certificate, etc.)
Regarding some foreigners (Korean residents in Japan, for instance), their own governments may not have records of their marriage status. In such a case, you may submit a written statement of the reason for being unable to submit the certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage and of the fact that you meet the requirements for marriage as well as the alien registration card on which your marriage status should be written. If the certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage is written in a foreign language, you have to attach to it a Japanese translation with the translator's name and address.


related to preparation of Documents Required for a Marriages Abroad for submission in foreign countries.

We will:

Prepare or Retrieval the necessary Documentsfor Marriages Abroad

Obtain an Apostille (for Hague Convention countries) or Embassy Legalization (for non-Hague countries)

Translate the Documents into the target language

Have the Marriages Abroad authenticated by the Consulate or Embassy of the target country

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