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| Pennies, compared to most other developed countries |
In 2010, an article was published here about how much it costs to apply for naturalization. It was true then, and it's still true now in 2022: The application itself is free. ¥0, nada, zilch. Compare that to the US ($725), UK (£1,330), Germany (€255).
However, there are many things throughout the process that can cost money: getting your civil documents both in Japan and your home country, tax documents, driving record, etc. You will also to make personal appearances to your local Legal Affairs Bureau. Here I will talk about how much it cost me personally, including the cost of gathering all documents, photocopying, travel, etc.
List of Expenses
Below is the list of my naturalization-related expenses.
All told, it cost me about ¥18,500 to make a successful application. It is worth repeating: There is no application fee. Everything in the list above are expenses related to getting documents I need to submit with my naturalization application, but the application itself costs nothing.
I was also fortunate that my parents helped me a lot in obtaining the civil documents from my home country. Otherwise, I might have needed to spend more in obtaining those documents.
I also chose not to use a scrivener (行政書士), as I did not see the benefit for me. My case was relatively easy, I am capable of preparing all of my documents, and I can translate all of my foreign documents into Japanese. If you do decide to use the services of a solicitor, it costs between ¥100,000 to ¥200,000 based on a quick search online.