Do I have to give up US Citizenship?

5 comments

1. Citizenship != residency.

   Citizens can vote.

   Residents can not.

   So no, you don’t have to renounce your US citizenship to be a permanent resident in Japan.

2. Might want to focus on the first visa and the moving part. Then come back to this question in 10 years time.

3. You are confusing citizenship and residency.

   Having Japanese citizenship means you have a Japanese passport and are legally Japanese.

   You don’t need Japanese citizenship to live in Japan. In fact most foreigners who are residents of Japan don’t have Japanese citizenship. They enter Japan on some kind of visa (e.g work visa, student visa, spouse visa, etc.) and live as a foreign national, leaving Japan once their visa expires or renewing it every 1-5 years. Exceptions are Permanent Residents who are basically people without Japanese citizenship who have met strict requirements (including things like being in Japan for at least 10 years). These people can stay in Japan without having to renew their visa every few years.

   The only instance in which you have to give up your US citizenship is if you naturalize and become a Japanese citizen, i.e. become legally Japanese. Of course, if you become a Japanese citizen, you can stay in Japan as long as you want.

4. What exactly makes you think you’re going to be able to get permanent residency in Japan? You do realize that you can’t just go to Japan and declare yourself a permanent resident…. right?

5. I am a permanent resident of Japan. I am not a citizen of Japan. I am a citizen of Canada. When I leave Japan for a holiday I get a “special re-entry permit” from the airport that gives me permission to come back up to one year later. If I wanted to be outside of Japan for more than one year I’d apply for a re-entry permit from immigration, which would give me permission to come back to Japan up to five years later.