MMoving to Japan

I unfortunately revoked my Japanese Citizenship, what next?

  • July 11, 2025

Situation seems complicated, and I am unsure how to go about it.
I was born in Okinawa. American Dad, Japanese Mom. My mom currently has her green card permanently residing in the US. I am currently 30 years old, I had dual citizenship, but joined the US military and ended up revoking my Japanese Citizenship due to my job requirements. I lived in Okinawa for about a total of 8 years ago together through my dad being stationed there while in the military.
Recently my Grandpa has been not doing well, and may require some care. Long story short he does not have anyone around Okinawa to help him and I am looking to see what my options are when it comes to trying to live with, and help take care of him. From my understanding after doing some research:
-Reinstating Citizenship is difficult, and if I do manage to do so, would require me to revoke my US citizenship
-Student visa is an option, however I am looking for a longer term option
-Spouse or Child of Japanese National. Not too informed on this one but unsure how or if it would work.
Any advice on which direction is recommended/possible would be greatly appreciated.

by Junbach

15 comments

  2. Child of Japanese national might be your best choice, nearly no restrictions. Won’t go into detail cause you can easily search for it, but you can use your mother’s koseki to prove she’s still Japanese basically and get a visa based on that. Would need a guarantor in Japan I think, maybe your grandpa?

  3. If you were born into the citizenship I would double check the koseki. Most binational JP/US people in the military I know never actually got removed from it, and all my brother had to do was to get an updated koseki and go to the Embassy for a passport.

  4. Btw, the word is “renounce”, not “revoke”. “Revoke” is when someone else takes something, usually some privilege, away from you, usually involuntarily, while “renounce” is something you yourself give up, usually voluntarily. Gambatte in trying to get your Japanese citizenship back. 🙂👍

  6. Child of a national visa isn’t hard to acquire. Yes, you can get it without your Japanese parent living in Japan. If you have your mums koseki and passport you should be fine, plus savings/ means of earning an income. From memory I think anyone in Japan can be your guarantor, your grandad would be a good option. Although, your guarantor physically has to go to a government building to get paperwork, if your grandad has health issues you may be better off asking someone else. You don’t need to have a Japanese permanent address for your application.
    I don’t think it’s necessary to get a lawyer, I did my application myself and had no issues.

    From memory I believe I submitted:

    Proof of my parents citizenship
    – koseki
    – passport

    Proof they are my parent
    – my birth certificate

    Other than that I just filled in the forms they provide.

    Source: I have this visa and my Japanese parent lives overseas

  7. You can get a Child of a Japanese National visa based on your mother and if your grandpa is your guarantor, waiting for it to process should be the hardest part! Good luck!

  8. Usually people who lost JP citizenship qualify for Long Term Residence visas.

  9. It’s potentially possible for your grandfather to adopt you as a son. There are over 100,000 adoptions of adults every year in Japan.

  10. If your mom is still a japanese national that would make you a second generation japanese and thus you qualify for a 定住者 visa, which is probably the best visa you can get as it also allows you to get PR extremely fast. The immigration website has all the info and docs needed, but basically you’re going to need your grandpa or someone with a PR to start the process for you here in Japan.

  11. If you’re fluent in Japanese, then you should talk to a lawyer in Japan. Most people on here are Gaijin. I was told there are some business manager and start-up visas that are longer term. Talk to Nick at JapanRemotely.com

  13. My friend has an ancestry visa because his grandma (who had passed away before he got his visa). He just had to show family lineage through family registry, and birth certificates. But you could if your mom is a japanese citizen you should be able to get one as a child of a japanese citizen, but not to sure on the specifics of that since your mom is in the US.

  14. Op, did you actually have your Japanese citizenship revoked? As I understand it, getting a security clearance in the US military usually requires you to make an oath to the US and to renounce all allegiances to other nations but that oath is not bound by law in any way. It is just a formality and the Japanese government probably doesn’t even know you even made that oath nor do they care. If all you did to have your citizenship revoked was to make this oath to the US military, in all likelihood you’re still a Japanese citizen. You should check with your nearest consulate or embassy and see if you’re still a citizen according to their laws.

  15. Consider taking a sofa visa job too but there are other good suggestions in here

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