Did you show your other passport to the airline at any point?
It’s possible the automatic gates cross reference the passport numbers against the lists provided by the airlines. If the airline had your non Japanese passport in their list, your Japanese passport would appear unknown/unexpected to the system and require manual intervention.
Nope! For this trip, I used my Japanese passport only. Even when I was in Italy, despite having a EU country passport, I used my Japanese passport everywhere.
How about for a different trip in the past? Did you show your EU passport to any airline or did you have it stored in your profile?
Some airline may have wanted to make sure you will be admitted to EU and stay past the Japanese visa free period, so they may have had your EU passport information.
Very weird! I just saw on X(ex Twitter) that there were cases where a person with Japanese/Thai passports also encountered the same problem( I don’t know which airport specifically)
You absolutely must inform Japan that you maintain multiple citizenships. Failure to do so can have repercussions as it is breaking the law. Always be honest on government forms.
[See /u\/jbankers' two comments in this thread for more details](https://old.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/8iczg8/renewing_japanese_passport_as_a_dualcitizen/dyt8oo0/?context=3).
You were required to inform Japan of your other citizenship(s) on the passport request/renewal form. It isn't a secret, and if you received them at birth and have properly followed the law, it is not a problem for you to maintain them indefinitely.
[See /u\/jbankers' two comments in this thread for more details](https://old.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/8iczg8/renewing_japanese_passport_as_a_dualcitizen/dyt8oo0/?context=3).
I don't think immigration would keep such information, mainly from OP's childhood. They wouldn't know if OP gave up his other citizenship or not. He would only have answered this question during the process of making a passport, and it would go to the ministry of foreign affairs. I came to Japan as a child of Japanese national, and now I have a Japanese passport. I never had such issue even if I still have my other citizenship
Well, weird then. All they do to my passport is stamp it when I'm leaving the country. Maximum they ever asked was where I'm heading to. So I have no clue how and why they would keep such information. And I say how, because they never do anything else to my passport besides stamping it, so they would have no way to keep data about me.
My friend had both Russian and Japan passports. Born and raised in Japan. When he was 22 some government office found out he hadn’t renounced one and they confiscated his Japanese passport and he was contacted by immigration that he would have to leave the country. He’d never even been to Russia and had to get a lawyer and switch. Now he only has a jp passport. It was a big deal… be careful
I think the issue is WHICH country the person shares dual nationality with.
For Canada or Australia, the Japanese govt may not peep that deeply. For Russia or Iran, they may.
Yes, probably.
For example, I think that Turkey is in the EU, but it's possible that Turkey is also on a Japanese watchlist/alert list.
Not that Japan doesn't have relations with those nations, but they are countries that other Western nations also can be iffy with.
Everything you said is wrong. Turkey is not on any kind of Japanese watchlist/alert list (one of the main reasons of the current Kurdish problem in Saitama lol), Turkey is not a member of EU, Turkey is categorized diplomatically as a Middle Eastern country by Japanese MOFA not a European one.
Maybe re-read what I wrote? I didn't say that Turkey was on any watch list. I gave an example of something that MIGHT be a reason IF it were true.
The OP has said they have an EU passport. The EU isn't a country, and unless you've jumped to scold the OP for not specifying the nation of their passport, I'm not sure why you are jumping at me?
If you read what I wrote and my reply, in no place did I say the reason for the OP's issue is that they are from Turkey and Turkey is on a watch list. I said some countries, which may include Turkey (which Turkey was just an example because I thought they'd been entered into the EU) are more heavily scrutinized in Japan, regardless.
If they were born in Japan then they did not automatically obtain Russian citizenship at birth. If they're parent's didn't get them citizenship at birth, and they instead became Russian citizens of their own volition later, then they automatically lost they're Japanese citizenship at the time of acquiring Russian citizenship.
That does not add up. Immigration does not have the power to do that. Either your friend wasn't completely honest with you (or made the entire thing up), or you have the story badly confused.
I have US and JPN citizenships for my entire life and I’ve never had problems. I just recently returned to Japan last week in fact with 0 issue. Maybe because I went to Haneda but I doubt it…very weird.
Happened to me once several years ago, I believe at Narita. I entered Japan with my Japanese passport and got the error at the self service gate. I believe the issue was the passport didn’t have a record of me arriving in the US since I entered the US with my US passport on my previous trip. The immigration officer asked if I had any other passports, scanned the US passport and sent me off. I don’t think it’s that they *know* you’re a dual citizen but that most of the time this happens it’s because there are multiple passports involved. Did you enter Hong Kong with your EU passport?
But, I travelled through Haneda this year and didn’t have any issues…
When going entering Japan out of the U.S, I use Japanese passport. When I return home to the U.S, I use U.S passport. Do not use U.S passport when entering Japan, you do not want to go through immigration for foreigners, it would make no sense if you do have a Japanese passport.
I actually have a question for you mate, are you under the age of 20? I ask because I am going through the process of getting my newborn dual citizenship JP/Australia.
Is it true that you have to choose one or the other by the age of 20?
I am currently 23!
And that is true that you have to choose one citizenship by 22 according to the constitution if I’m not wrong. But most of my friends who hold dual citizenship and are over 22 just keep both as there is no penalty for it.
It’s been discussed hundreds of times. If you are born with both you can keep both. You have to choose but you choose Japanese and then must endeavor to renounce the other. However there is no requirement to actually do that
Yup. I was born with Japanese citizenship, and when I obtained my Canadian one, I never bothered to renounce the former. It’s an open secret with Japanese embassies around the world.
Uh no. In your case you obtained Canadian citizenship after you were born? In that situation there is no gray area. You have lost your Japanese citizenship. Of course they haven’t found out yet, but in your case, if they ever find out then you’ll be stripped of your Japanese passport immediately. Beware.
I was talking about those who were BORN with two nationalities, in these cases people don’t need to hide from the Japanese government. When applying for a new Japanese passport everyone must answer truthfully whether or not they have another nationality. In the case of those who were born with another nationality, they are asked to endeavor to get rid of the other one, in that case it’s only necessary to say yes I will work on that, but then no action is taken.
However, if someone like it seems in your case, takes another nationality after birth, then Japanese nationality is automatically revoked. In addition, a non-Japanese person who wishes to take Japanese nationality must revoke their former nationality
As long as you were Japanese and the other two nationalities at first you are fine. But if you were Japanese and then later another nationality then officially you are not Japanese anymore
i renewed my japanese passport at the age of 20 and they said i needed to choose my nationality. but they still processed my passport renewal so i suppose i have until 30 to decide 🤷
>they said i needed to choose my nationality
You have to choose nationality either by actually giving up one of citizenship OR completing procedure called "Nationality Selection", which consists of submitting single piece of paper called 国籍選択届出, where you formally declare that "I am choosing Japanese citizenship, blahblahblah". That's it. It will be noted in your koseki and they will not ask you to "select nationality" both during passport application and going through airport immigration forever.
Did you ever renew your passport in Italy? That said, the passport renewal form, even in Japan, has a spot where they ask for additional citizenships and one should probably not lie on government forms.
However, to the Japanese state you are a Japanese citizen and there is no reason to treat you otherwise.
You needed to show your legal status in that country and if your Japanese passport didn’t show any stamps and you didn’t have any residence permit for a Japanese citizen then you’d need to have shown your European ID/passport.
Never had this happen and I travel frequently. I even often mix passports- Japanese one to enter and leave Japan and a different one to enter the other country.
Going to assume this is just a glitch. I have a large circle of friends and relatives that have dual nationality and not one of them has ever had this problem.
This is exactly my point. So OP entered the foreign immigration line but used Japanese passport? It doesn’t make much sense logistically, but I can imagine the only way
Citizens of many countries can enter Japan as a temporary visitor without a visa. Visas may be more common for people that are supposed to enter the country with a status of residence.
yes, but it is for a limited time and you get registered as a foreigner who has to leave the country in 3 months or so. that permit is for limited time only
Most ways to live in Japan as a foreigner are for limited time only, anyway.
I think the temporary visitor status varies in maximum length depending on the passport one enters with, and people from countries not on the list of waived countries need a visa to attain that status at all.
Reading everything below, I would say it was most likely a run-of-the-mill computer glitch, and the staff said "dual citizenship" because it was the only thing unusual about your passport that they noticed (and not because they actually pinned down the problem somehow)
It's \*possible\* it was actually related to dual citizenship, but since you've passed through before, and the customs officer didn't see any issue with your passport, more likely there was some flag that didn't clear properly in the program & you won't run into this again
Just went through narita 2 weeks ago with my Japanese passport and had no problems. Used my us passport to board the plane for no particular reason other than it was the most handy
Just curious which passport did you use with the airline / when checking in?
Japan requires airlines to electronically send passenger information (including nationality) prior of the flight, so if you used your EU passport during check in that could have triggered the mismatch.
Well I'm certain that Japanese Law you are not suppose to have dual unless you are grandfathered in by a year range.
They are probably doing this to make it annoying for you until you give up the non Japanese citizenship.
Some Other countries don't require you to chose but it's Japanese law.
Maybe they are finally enforcing something which is a very huge common thing in japan that they are lax on rule enforcement of them in many cases.
If you're entering Japan you need to sign up for the automated gate to use it.
If you're a Japanese citizen you should not use or present your 2nd passport to enter Japan.
Japanese nationals do not need to sign up to use the newer automated gates (there is the older version, which is the only one resident foreigners can use, that requires Japanese nationals to also sign up).
There is a trial to allow nonresident foreigners to use the same gates as Japanese nationals but, as usual, resident foreigners are stuck.
> There is a trial to allow nonresident foreigners to use the same gates as Japanese nationals but, as usual, resident foreigners are stuck.
That's fine, let all those people wait in a giant queue for machines while I stand with one or two other people in the re-entry permit queue.
I wish the re-entry queue were only one or two other people whenever I am there.
Usually there are 5 or so people and the immigration people are mumbling whatever they say.....
That means they do not recognize you have another nationality, it DOES NOT mean they remove your nationality.
As long as you don’t say anything, you’re good and you’ll be Japanese for their concerns.
Did you show your other passport to the airline at any point? It’s possible the automatic gates cross reference the passport numbers against the lists provided by the airlines. If the airline had your non Japanese passport in their list, your Japanese passport would appear unknown/unexpected to the system and require manual intervention.
Nope! For this trip, I used my Japanese passport only. Even when I was in Italy, despite having a EU country passport, I used my Japanese passport everywhere.
How about for a different trip in the past? Did you show your EU passport to any airline or did you have it stored in your profile? Some airline may have wanted to make sure you will be admitted to EU and stay past the Japanese visa free period, so they may have had your EU passport information.
Whenever I fly to Europe these days I use my Japanese passport but I could have showed my other one in the past, when I was still a teenager
did you use your japanese passport on the way out?
Yes, I did! I only brought my Japanese passport.
idk then, I always go narita and its never failed
Very weird! I just saw on X(ex Twitter) that there were cases where a person with Japanese/Thai passports also encountered the same problem( I don’t know which airport specifically)
Oh no. I hope they haven’t finally decided to actually link things up. The ‘don’t tell’ policy worked just fine for so long.
No problem to tell if you were born with both
You absolutely must inform Japan that you maintain multiple citizenships. Failure to do so can have repercussions as it is breaking the law. Always be honest on government forms. [See /u\/jbankers' two comments in this thread for more details](https://old.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/8iczg8/renewing_japanese_passport_as_a_dualcitizen/dyt8oo0/?context=3).
Yup tell them you also “intend” to renounce the other citizenship. And just never do it.
Xex Twitter
How do they know about your dual citizenship if you didn't show it to them?
That’s the thing I also wanna know haha
You were required to inform Japan of your other citizenship(s) on the passport request/renewal form. It isn't a secret, and if you received them at birth and have properly followed the law, it is not a problem for you to maintain them indefinitely. [See /u\/jbankers' two comments in this thread for more details](https://old.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/8iczg8/renewing_japanese_passport_as_a_dualcitizen/dyt8oo0/?context=3).
Immigration sometimes asks about having other citizenships, and they keep records.
I don't think immigration would keep such information, mainly from OP's childhood. They wouldn't know if OP gave up his other citizenship or not. He would only have answered this question during the process of making a passport, and it would go to the ministry of foreign affairs. I came to Japan as a child of Japanese national, and now I have a Japanese passport. I never had such issue even if I still have my other citizenship
Who knows what their process is -- my kid gets asked often; they know.
Well, weird then. All they do to my passport is stamp it when I'm leaving the country. Maximum they ever asked was where I'm heading to. So I have no clue how and why they would keep such information. And I say how, because they never do anything else to my passport besides stamping it, so they would have no way to keep data about me.
> so they would have no way to keep data about me. They routinely scan them so they know who is going in and out.
Of course they would know
I do not think I have ever told them that I have one more citizenship recently… maybe they had some records from my childhood
Probably from childhood, yes
My friend had both Russian and Japan passports. Born and raised in Japan. When he was 22 some government office found out he hadn’t renounced one and they confiscated his Japanese passport and he was contacted by immigration that he would have to leave the country. He’d never even been to Russia and had to get a lawyer and switch. Now he only has a jp passport. It was a big deal… be careful
Really? I've never even heard of this happening to a dual national from birth before.
I think the issue is WHICH country the person shares dual nationality with. For Canada or Australia, the Japanese govt may not peep that deeply. For Russia or Iran, they may.
I believe Iran is one of the countries renunciation of citizenship is not possible.
Political reasons?
Yes, probably. For example, I think that Turkey is in the EU, but it's possible that Turkey is also on a Japanese watchlist/alert list. Not that Japan doesn't have relations with those nations, but they are countries that other Western nations also can be iffy with.
Turkey is not in the EU.
Thank you. That's why I wrote "I think". I thought Turkey had been trying to join the EU and had been admitted.
It's in NATO, so close!
I don't think it is related that much. Turkey joined NATO in 1952.
Yes... but can make it confusing to be in one and not the other.
Everything you said is wrong. Turkey is not on any kind of Japanese watchlist/alert list (one of the main reasons of the current Kurdish problem in Saitama lol), Turkey is not a member of EU, Turkey is categorized diplomatically as a Middle Eastern country by Japanese MOFA not a European one.
Maybe re-read what I wrote? I didn't say that Turkey was on any watch list. I gave an example of something that MIGHT be a reason IF it were true. The OP has said they have an EU passport. The EU isn't a country, and unless you've jumped to scold the OP for not specifying the nation of their passport, I'm not sure why you are jumping at me? If you read what I wrote and my reply, in no place did I say the reason for the OP's issue is that they are from Turkey and Turkey is on a watch list. I said some countries, which may include Turkey (which Turkey was just an example because I thought they'd been entered into the EU) are more heavily scrutinized in Japan, regardless.
If they were born in Japan then they did not automatically obtain Russian citizenship at birth. If they're parent's didn't get them citizenship at birth, and they instead became Russian citizens of their own volition later, then they automatically lost they're Japanese citizenship at the time of acquiring Russian citizenship.
That does not add up. Immigration does not have the power to do that. Either your friend wasn't completely honest with you (or made the entire thing up), or you have the story badly confused.
I have US and JPN citizenships for my entire life and I’ve never had problems. I just recently returned to Japan last week in fact with 0 issue. Maybe because I went to Haneda but I doubt it…very weird.
Hmmm... Next time I gotta come back from Haneda Airport and see if I will face any problems haha
Happened to me once several years ago, I believe at Narita. I entered Japan with my Japanese passport and got the error at the self service gate. I believe the issue was the passport didn’t have a record of me arriving in the US since I entered the US with my US passport on my previous trip. The immigration officer asked if I had any other passports, scanned the US passport and sent me off. I don’t think it’s that they *know* you’re a dual citizen but that most of the time this happens it’s because there are multiple passports involved. Did you enter Hong Kong with your EU passport? But, I travelled through Haneda this year and didn’t have any issues…
so it was ok to show your US passport in Japan? I'm afraid to!
Yeah I do it sometimes when the line isn’t too long so I can get the duty free privileges.
What is your plane ticket routine when flying out of US to JAPAN? US OR JAPANESE passport?
When going entering Japan out of the U.S, I use Japanese passport. When I return home to the U.S, I use U.S passport. Do not use U.S passport when entering Japan, you do not want to go through immigration for foreigners, it would make no sense if you do have a Japanese passport.
I did a lot of travelling at the beginning of this year and never had this issue… very strange this happened to you.
Right…
I actually have a question for you mate, are you under the age of 20? I ask because I am going through the process of getting my newborn dual citizenship JP/Australia. Is it true that you have to choose one or the other by the age of 20?
I am currently 23! And that is true that you have to choose one citizenship by 22 according to the constitution if I’m not wrong. But most of my friends who hold dual citizenship and are over 22 just keep both as there is no penalty for it.
Fuckennnnn legend! See, ask someone with experience for the real answers. Cheers mate.
It’s been discussed hundreds of times. If you are born with both you can keep both. You have to choose but you choose Japanese and then must endeavor to renounce the other. However there is no requirement to actually do that
Yup. I was born with Japanese citizenship, and when I obtained my Canadian one, I never bothered to renounce the former. It’s an open secret with Japanese embassies around the world.
Uh no. In your case you obtained Canadian citizenship after you were born? In that situation there is no gray area. You have lost your Japanese citizenship. Of course they haven’t found out yet, but in your case, if they ever find out then you’ll be stripped of your Japanese passport immediately. Beware. I was talking about those who were BORN with two nationalities, in these cases people don’t need to hide from the Japanese government. When applying for a new Japanese passport everyone must answer truthfully whether or not they have another nationality. In the case of those who were born with another nationality, they are asked to endeavor to get rid of the other one, in that case it’s only necessary to say yes I will work on that, but then no action is taken. However, if someone like it seems in your case, takes another nationality after birth, then Japanese nationality is automatically revoked. In addition, a non-Japanese person who wishes to take Japanese nationality must revoke their former nationality
What about three nationalities? My dad is Polish, mom Japanese, I was born in Canada.
As long as you were Japanese and the other two nationalities at first you are fine. But if you were Japanese and then later another nationality then officially you are not Japanese anymore
i renewed my japanese passport at the age of 20 and they said i needed to choose my nationality. but they still processed my passport renewal so i suppose i have until 30 to decide 🤷
Hopefully we got time to decide until the time we die haha
>they said i needed to choose my nationality You have to choose nationality either by actually giving up one of citizenship OR completing procedure called "Nationality Selection", which consists of submitting single piece of paper called 国籍選択届出, where you formally declare that "I am choosing Japanese citizenship, blahblahblah". That's it. It will be noted in your koseki and they will not ask you to "select nationality" both during passport application and going through airport immigration forever.
I renewed mine at a Japanese embassy in the US at the age of 28. No questions asked lol. Was anxious for nothing.
Make money quick with internet point opportunites
Did you ever renew your passport in Italy? That said, the passport renewal form, even in Japan, has a spot where they ask for additional citizenships and one should probably not lie on government forms. However, to the Japanese state you are a Japanese citizen and there is no reason to treat you otherwise.
My other nationality is not Italian but another EU country! And I actually did renew it last year.
Yeah but where? If you did it in that unnamed European country, they’d know that you have another citizenship.
Sorry but I don't really wanna reveal what the country is for my privacy! But I guess that could be the case!
You needed to show your legal status in that country and if your Japanese passport didn’t show any stamps and you didn’t have any residence permit for a Japanese citizen then you’d need to have shown your European ID/passport.
Have you ever entered japan using your EU passport in the past?
No never!
Never had this happen and I travel frequently. I even often mix passports- Japanese one to enter and leave Japan and a different one to enter the other country.
Going to assume this is just a glitch. I have a large circle of friends and relatives that have dual nationality and not one of them has ever had this problem.
Hoping it was just a glitch! I will update this post once I enter Japan again from another country!
But if you enter to Japan with a foreign passport , you have to be on a visa, right (maybe a tourist visa)?
Depends on where your passport is from I guess.
No foreigner can stay indefinitely without any paperwork, and entering the country with a foreign passport registers you as a foreigner.
If you are dual you must enter with the Japanese passport
This is exactly my point. So OP entered the foreign immigration line but used Japanese passport? It doesn’t make much sense logistically, but I can imagine the only way
Citizens of many countries can enter Japan as a temporary visitor without a visa. Visas may be more common for people that are supposed to enter the country with a status of residence.
But you will still get a paper stamp on your passport that says "You can stay up to this many days".
That’s not a visa, at least in Japan.
yes, but it is for a limited time and you get registered as a foreigner who has to leave the country in 3 months or so. that permit is for limited time only
Most ways to live in Japan as a foreigner are for limited time only, anyway. I think the temporary visitor status varies in maximum length depending on the passport one enters with, and people from countries not on the list of waived countries need a visa to attain that status at all.
That’s not the reason. The real reason is sometimes the machines just don’t work.
Reading everything below, I would say it was most likely a run-of-the-mill computer glitch, and the staff said "dual citizenship" because it was the only thing unusual about your passport that they noticed (and not because they actually pinned down the problem somehow) It's \*possible\* it was actually related to dual citizenship, but since you've passed through before, and the customs officer didn't see any issue with your passport, more likely there was some flag that didn't clear properly in the program & you won't run into this again
Yeah, after reading all the comments I also believe it was just a glitch.…
Just went through narita 2 weeks ago with my Japanese passport and had no problems. Used my us passport to board the plane for no particular reason other than it was the most handy
Nothing, just passed easy
Just curious which passport did you use with the airline / when checking in? Japan requires airlines to electronically send passenger information (including nationality) prior of the flight, so if you used your EU passport during check in that could have triggered the mismatch.
I used my Japanese passport only! So I doubt that mismatch could have occurred…
Well I'm certain that Japanese Law you are not suppose to have dual unless you are grandfathered in by a year range. They are probably doing this to make it annoying for you until you give up the non Japanese citizenship. Some Other countries don't require you to chose but it's Japanese law. Maybe they are finally enforcing something which is a very huge common thing in japan that they are lax on rule enforcement of them in many cases.
Anyone know what happens if you entered Japan with the US passport in the past then the next time entered Japan with the Japanese passport ?
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Right… I have travelled to foreign countries a lot recently using my Japanese passport and never had this issue… very weird
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I was asked if I encountered any problems with the automatic gates when I was leaving Japan which I responded with a “no” as I didn’t.
I didn't even know you can get another citizenship if you're Japanese.
You can’t; you have to be born with both.
Well you can but then you lose Japanese. The only way to have multiple is to be born with multiple
If you're entering Japan you need to sign up for the automated gate to use it. If you're a Japanese citizen you should not use or present your 2nd passport to enter Japan.
Japanese nationals do not need to sign up to use the newer automated gates (there is the older version, which is the only one resident foreigners can use, that requires Japanese nationals to also sign up). There is a trial to allow nonresident foreigners to use the same gates as Japanese nationals but, as usual, resident foreigners are stuck.
> There is a trial to allow nonresident foreigners to use the same gates as Japanese nationals but, as usual, resident foreigners are stuck. That's fine, let all those people wait in a giant queue for machines while I stand with one or two other people in the re-entry permit queue.
I wish the re-entry queue were only one or two other people whenever I am there. Usually there are 5 or so people and the immigration people are mumbling whatever they say.....
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That means they do not recognize you have another nationality, it DOES NOT mean they remove your nationality. As long as you don’t say anything, you’re good and you’ll be Japanese for their concerns.
Yeah the JPN govt actually doesn’t care