Throwaway because of personal reasons.
As mentioned in the title of this post I was born in Japan to a Japanese father and a Filipina mother, the thing is they are not married and they live in separate households. I have been living in the Philippines for more than 10 years now and I also have government IDs which Filipinos have. What am I? Do I count as a Japanese citizen? Can I possibly move to Japan in the future?
Extra information: I am below 20 y/o
7 comments
In order to be a Japanese citizen from birth, your parents must have notified Japan of your birth (出産届). Try asking your father, if possible.
If you have a koseki (戸籍) lying around, try to see if you are listed on it. If not, and the date is after your birth, then most likely you are not a citizen.
Being born in Japan to a Japanese parent means your birth was probably registered so you should be on the family registry. Get a copy of your father’s registry and see if you’re on it.
If you are, take it to the Japanese consulate nearest you and get a passport.
If you are not then you’ll still be able to use it to apply for a child of a Japanese national visa, although you’d also need additional proof of the relationship (your nearest consulate can help provide more details).
Even if you’re not a Long Term <– or listed in your family register, you can likely still get a PR resident visa if you can’t get citizenship.
Your case can be a little complicated if you were born before 2008 .
Before the laws were changed in 2008, if your parents were NOT married and your father didn’t acknowledge you as his child BEFORE you were born, you wouldn’t have been a Japanese citizen. However, if that was corrected after the new laws were implemented, you are likely Japanese.
It all depends on how your father handled the situation. Ask him.
You’re a Japanese citizen if your father legally acknowledged you as his child. Do you know if he did so?
One at a time.
>Do I count as a Japanese citizen?
Possibly. First, you have to find out if you are listed in your father’s family register or “koseki”. You’ll have to ask your father for this. If yes, you are a Japanese citizen. Otherwise…
a. Are you below 18 years old(*)? If so, you can still get Japanese citizenship through acknowledgement of your Japanese father. [Here is the form](https://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/files/100325630.pdf) from the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines. It’s under “Consular Services→Acquisition of Japanese Nationality” in their website.
*Japan changed the age of majority from 20 to 18 years old this year.
b. If you are 18 years old or above, you no longer quality for getting Japanese citizenship through your father. However, you can still get a [“Spouse/child of Japanese national” visa](https://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/00_000035.html) through your father.
>Can I possibly move to Japan in the future?
Definitely. You can get a spouse/child of Japanese national visa like I said above, or any other visa as applicable.
An important question to ask here is what do you want to get out of this? Citizenship? A visa?
This boils down to whether or not your father is willing to support you in the process of becoming a citizen or getting a visa. Others have started the laws more specially, but gettin on his Koseki tohon i.e family registry is a step in the right direction. Much of the paperwork will have to be completed by him.