We are 2 foreigners living in japan but will have a wedding ceremony in another country. Theres no need for us to register legally in that country since we dont plan to live there. Instead we plan just regestering directly in japan. Is this a good idea, or would it be easier to register in japan if we had a marriage certificate from that other country?
I heard that in japan to register marriage you need a certificate from your home country proving that you are single, but my country or embassy does not issue any such document. You can only prove that you are married, not that you are single. Will this be a problem?
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Getting married in Japan is filling out the form and giving it to the ward office or city hall. The ceremony is just for show.
I’m sure your embassy has the correct proof. Otherwise no one from your country could get married in Japan.
I (US) married my partner (Malaysian) in Japan.
What country are you from?
In our case, we used two different kinds of proof to show we can marry in Japan.
My embassy issued me an “affidavit of competency to marry”. My partner had to go back to his own country to get a “certificate of single status”, then have it endorsed by the local government to be used abroad.
If you get married abroad and bring back a marriage certificate, you can probably change your juminhyo to say you’re married. I don’t know about that process, so you’d need to ask your local city hall.
Different countries have different documents and processes, so even if your government won’t issue a certificate of being single they should have a process you can follow. For example, for me as a Canadian I had to book an appointment and met a dude (who I think was the ambassador to Japan, but I can’t remember exactly who) who asked me if I was married already and if I wanted to get married then signed a letter saying that I promised I was single and that that was good enough as far as Canada was concerned.
Some countries perform weddings themselves at their own embassies. For example Sweden will allow two Swedes to wed each other at the Swedish embassy in Tokyo (assuming at least one of them is a resident).
Check with your Embassy. For UK citizens you get a “certificate of no impediment to marriage” after swearing an affidavit legally promising that you are single at the Embassy.
They have no power to know or investigate if you are married in other countries. With that certificate you can take it to the Japanese City office.