Naturalization in 2022

@HMHK
Congrats! I wonder if you could get the documents the next day or have to wait for another week or so.

@Maxpain
No worries, we're still in this together.
Even tho your name will probably be listed on kanpou before me, I do hope both our names will be listed on next week's kanpou!

Congratulations for all who were approved.

So how many are we waiting the result now?
Mine should be around next spring at the latest, around january ar the fatest.

@HMHK
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ACHIEVEMENT!!!
I have some questions. What kind of questions your agent asked about your work. I am 社員in a haken gaisha. Not haken shain. Will this be a problem for me. Did the agent visit your work place. Please tell me. Anyone with answers will be very useful for me. Thank u

Hey guys!
Just checked and found out my name is listed on the kanpou!
Now waiting for them to call me for documents, etc.

@Miri
I'm not sure about if they will visit your work place or not, you should check with your tantousha.
For me, not visit or calls to my work place.

@Miri
I am a normal company permanent employee. There is no home visit, call to HR and office visit for my case.
As far as my understanding, every step is case by case.
Example,
Most home visit happened to person who married to Japanese (They want to make sure not fake marriage).
If they suspect your bank transition and tax payment (they might call your office)

Congratulations to everyone who saw their names in the Kanpo!

I have a question regarding the Japanese test. My tantosha mentioned that the test was taken from a standard 3rd grade school textbook. Does anyone know which specific book it is?

Thank you in advance!

Correction my post above.
@Miri
I am a normal company permanent employee. There is no home visit, no call to HR andno office visit for my case.
As far as my understanding, every step is case by case.
Example,
Most home visit happened to person who married to Japanese (They want to make sure not fake marriage).
If they suspect your bank transition and tax payment (they might call your office)

Hey everyone,

Any recent experiences with the wait time at Kudanshita?

I submitted my documents in April 2024 at Kudanshita, but haven’t heard any news from them. Still waiting for a call.

"Most home visit happened to person who married to Japanese (They want to make sure not fake marriage)."
For reference, I was not visited.

Just saw my name in the gazette. Almost 3 weeks after confirmation call, extremely relieved now.

Hello everyone,

Congratulations to all who received results!

Is there anyone here who recently got approval in SAITAMA Prefecture or is still waiting for results? If so, could you please share your timeline for the process?

Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you!

Congratulations who became Japanese citizens and Thank you everyone for your replies.
I am planing to face my first interview 19th Nov. from Chiba.
Let`s see what will happen.

@Dear Max,

First, my heartfelt congratulations on officially becoming a Japanese citizen. I understand how much patience is required to go through this process.

I have a quick question regarding your comment:

"I got a confirmation call on 2024/09/04 and am still waiting..."

Does this mean they called to say you had already received nationality, or were they just double-checking your status, job change, address change, etc.?

Also, from which city did you apply? Tokyo or Saitama? I noticed that your timeline until the result was very short, and I am happy for that.

I also received a similar call two weeks ago. What can I expect from this, based on your experience? I would appreciate your comments on this.

Thank you!

Dear Max,

Following up on my question, I would appreciate it if you could clarify the exact flow of the phone call. Does this confirmation call indicate approval, or is it simply a double-check of the changes?

I also wanted to confirm if this call suggests that you should check the gazette, or if it means this is the final confirmation.

Sorry, I am a bit confused. Appreciate if you could give a detail answer. Thank you

@Spread Good

About Confirmation Call

During the interview (06/18), my Japanese fiancée was with me. They asked us when we are getting married, and we said our plan is to do it in August. But in July, my dad passed away, and the marriage was postponed (which I informed my tantou).

On September 4th, my tantou called me, and at the very beginning, he asked about my marriage plans going forward. I said we are not getting married soon, but we might do that November onward. After confirming that 2/3 times, he asked me standard questions like job change, any plans for leaving Japan, etc. Then he told me the result might come in 1 month or 2, and if I get married by that time, I must tell them right away. I said I will inform them if it happens.

My Timeline and Details

Place: Yokohama Legal Affairs Bureau

Initial Consultation: 2022/09 - They were not happy with my Japanese and asked me to come back next year. But they gave me the list of papers needed for my case for the next visit.

2nd Consultation: 2023/08/29 - Gave me the application form and asked me to collect a few papers for next time with formal application.

3rd Consultation: 2023/11/30 - Could not submit application as I missed one paper from home by mistake.

Application Submission: 2024/02/16 - A Japanese test was done and I failed terribly. Tantou told me there is a very little chance for my application to get approved, but I submitted anyway.

Moved in with my Japanese Fiancée: 2024/05/01 -
(Before we moved in, I called Honkyoku to inform them about my fiancée and found out my tantou was changed around mid-April).
New tantou asked for a residence record which has my fiancée's name. I submitted that, and he sent a list of necessary papers (Tax, pension, salary certificates, etc.) he needed from my fiancée. We submitted them in a couple of weeks.

Final Interview: 2024/06/18: First week of June, tantou called me to have the final interview. Tantou also requested to bring my fiancée with me. We scheduled the interview on 18th June. Tantou did the home visit the next day. He also called my colleagues at work.

Father passed away: 2024/07/04: After the death of my father, I went to my home country for the funeral on the same day. Right before I caught the flight, I could inform my tantou about my departure and the death of my father. He requested to bring the death certificate when I come back and let him know about my arrival. I arrived on 12th July and sent the death certificate, updated passport VISA page copies shortly. I also informed him my marriage will be delayed.

Confirmation Call: 2024/09/04: Please refer to the beginning of the post.

Published the name in Kanpo: 2024/09/26

"I also wanted to confirm if this call suggests that you should check the gazette, or if it means this is the final confirmation."
– It is not final confirmation and you should check the gazette. You will become officially Japanese on the day your name is published in the gazette, not before. Having said that, my assumption based on experience - this type of confirmation call means the application is tentatively approved and they are doing preparation to make your koseki, etc.

I forgot to mention in the final interview I had to take another Japanese test before event the interview begins. I passed that fortunately.

Dear @Max,

I completely understand the background now. I truly appreciate your support and the detailed explanation of the overall process. Thank you so much for your time and kind heart.

Just one final confirmation: after your name appeared in the gazette, did you receive any call from your tantosha? I would appreciate it if you could confirm this as well.

Your help and guidance have been incredibly helpful for those applying for this process and facing challenges.

By the way, my best wishes in advance for your marriage. May it be a blessed one with full of happiness and peace!

@Spread Good

Yes, I got call from Tantou-sha on the same day and I collected the paper next day in the morning. I am trying to get the Japanese passport fast, because right now I can not (and should not) use my non-japanese passport even in case of emergency.

I hope you will see your name in Kanpo very soon and best of luck. I love this post and how community is growing here. There is very little reliable information about naturalization in Japan and we should help each other more.

@maxpane

I had one test before the acceptance of documents.
Are there 2 japanese test usually?(on interview also).sorry for the disturbing.

I would like to know that, is there anyone know about the time phrase of nagoya homukyoku?
My documents accepted on july and waiting for the interview.

Sorry for the inconvenience and hope any advice from you all.
Thank you..

Dear Max,

Thank you for your reply, it is well noted. I truly appreciate it. If there's any good news, I will keep you updated and share a complete case study of my experience to help others.

Good luck!