When a Child Is Born After International Marriage

This article is intended for internationally married couples consisting of a Japanese national and a foreign national.

When a child is born, various registrations and applications are required. In the case of international marriage, you also need to consider the child's nationality. Failing to complete the necessary procedures could delay or even prevent the child from obtaining Japanese nationality.

Required Procedures When a Child Is Born

Just like Japanese couples, internationally married couples need to complete the following procedures:

1. Birth registration (within 14 days of birth)
2. Child allowance application
3. Infant medical expense subsidy application
4. Health insurance enrollment
5. Lump-sum birth allowance application

Municipal office staff will guide you through these procedures. If the husband supports the wife as a dependent, health insurance enrollment and the lump-sum birth allowance should be confirmed with the husband's employer.

Depending on your situation, you may also want to consider:

• Maternity allowance application
• Childcare leave benefit application
• Extension of unemployment insurance benefit period

About the Child's Nationality

In Japan, a child acquires Japanese nationality when "either the father or mother is a Japanese national at the time of birth." This is called the principle of jus sanguinis (right of blood).

If the marriage has been established, the child acquires Japanese nationality when the birth registration is submitted to the municipal office. Even if the child is born abroad, they can acquire Japanese nationality as long as either parent is a Japanese national.

On the other hand, countries like the United States follow the principle of jus soli (right of soil), where a child born on their territory acquires that country's nationality regardless of the parents' nationality. Due to these different approaches, a child may end up holding multiple nationalities.

In Case of Dual Nationality

When the child is born abroad and acquires dual nationality

If a child of a Japanese national is born abroad and acquires both Japanese nationality and the nationality of the spouse's country or the country of birth, a Nationality Retention Notification must be submitted to the Japanese embassy or consulate along with the birth registration within 3 months of birth.

Failure to submit this notification will result in the loss of Japanese nationality.

After submitting the Nationality Retention Notification, the child holds dual nationality and must choose their nationality by age 22. To choose Japanese nationality, submit a Nationality Selection Notification to the Legal Affairs Bureau at the registered domicile or the place of residence.

When the child is born in Japan and acquires dual nationality

In this case, only the birth registration is required and no Nationality Retention Notification is needed. However, the requirement to choose nationality by age 22 remains the same.

If nationality selection is not made

If nationality selection is not made by age 22, the Minister of Justice will issue a demand for nationality selection. If Japanese nationality is not selected within one month of the demand, Japanese nationality will be lost.

When a Child Is Born Before Marriage Registration

If a child is born before the marriage is officially established, there are cases where the child cannot acquire Japanese nationality simply by submitting a birth registration.

Japanese mother and foreign father

For a Japanese mother, the requirement that "the mother is a Japanese national at the time of birth" is always met. Therefore, regardless of who the father is, the child acquires Japanese nationality.

Foreign mother and Japanese father

In this case, the child does not automatically acquire Japanese nationality just by submitting a birth registration. A separate Nationality Acquisition Notification is required.

Reference: Ministry of Justice - Nationality Acquisition for Acknowledged Children

When a Child Is Born After Marriage Registration but Before Official Approval

When a marriage registration is subject to a preliminary inquiry (juri ukagai), the marriage status remains unclear for about one month after submission.

An important point is that when the marriage is officially approved through the preliminary inquiry, the date of marriage establishment is the date the marriage registration was submitted.

Japanese mother and foreign father

As mentioned above, a Japanese mother's child acquires Japanese nationality without any issues.

Foreign mother and Japanese father

Even during the preliminary inquiry period when the marriage is not yet officially established, if the Japanese father submits a birth registration as the registrant for a legitimate child and it is accepted, the child will acquire Japanese nationality when the marriage is later officially approved.

In other words, by submitting the marriage registration before the child is born, you can avoid the need for a separate Nationality Acquisition Notification. For couples expecting a child before marriage, we recommend submitting the marriage registration as early as possible.

Summary

When a child is born to an internationally married couple, in addition to the same procedures as Japanese couples, nationality-related procedures may be required. Special attention is needed when giving birth abroad or when the child is born before the marriage registration is submitted.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.