I don't know if this subject fits in here
But the main reason I applied for the Monbukagakusho Scholarship is because I wanted to live in Japan.
However, due to my super-bad nationality (guess what is it!), it's very hard for me to have a stable life anywhere in the world. In addition to that, I'm always scared of having to go back to my country.
That's why, I had an eye on naturalization since I applied. Although I know the general regulations, but I don't know how hard/easy it is to get that nationality if you are not a European/American (I can see that people here think that Westerners are gods!).
And I have a question that I didn't have a solid answer for it yet:
Is the period of my residence in Japan DURING the scholarship considered when accounting for the minimum requirement of staying in Japan at least 5 years?

I'm assuming middle eastern.

I'm half middle eastern but 'luckily' I look more of my other half than I do Iranian and I am safe from a lot of discrimination for it.

hehehe
nobody could EVER guess my nationality from the first time
most of the time they consider me an Italian/Latino
and due to my somewhat good English, Japanese people always think that I'm an American :S

Then I'm assuming they treat you like a God in Japan, as per your first post. =p

not really,
coz i (almost) never lie about my nationality

Cuban?

You will not get citizenship in five years even if you're the blondest most blue eyed American ever. It's a challenge to even get permanent residency in five years as said Aryan even if you're married.

For citizenship, plan on at least ten continuous years in country, married to a citizen, with a stable job, decent savings, all taxes fully paid up and no criminal record (in any country you've ever lived in).

You are also required to lose your citizenship from your former country (I'm guessing Palestinian), though many illegally keep it.

Contrary to your post, very few Americans or Europeans naturalize. The majority are Chinese, Korean, Brazilian, South-east Asians, etc. Being non-white non-English-speaking is the norm for naturalized citizens.

Anyways, to directly answer your question, yes your time as a student counts as long as you directly change to your next visa without any time in between. If you are ever without a visa (such as if it expires when you go back home or if you leave the country without buying a re-entry permit) then the counter resets to zero. A tourist visa/visa waiver does not count.

vileru Wrote:Cuban?

nope!
think of the 2nd worst middle eastern country...l

I wish there was Earth citizenship passport for those who want to denounce any identity to a home country and travel freely.

I was not thinking about getting it in five years
I already know that it takes 8-10 years
As for westerners, although I don't think that a lot of them are applying for Japanese nationality, since they already have a comparable one, but I really believe that they have a MUCH higher success rate than me...

Jarvik7 Wrote:You will not get citizenship in five years even if you're the blondest most blue eyed American ever. It's a challenge to even get permanent residency in five years as said Aryan even if you're married.

For citizenship, plan on at least ten continuous years in country, married to a citizen, with a stable job, decent savings, all taxes fully paid up and no criminal record (in any country you've ever lived in).

You are also required to lose your citizenship from your former country (I'm guessing Palestinian), though many illegally keep it.

Contrary to your post, very few Americans or Europeans naturalize. The majority are Chinese, Korean, Brazilian, South-east Asians, etc. Being non-white non-English-speaking is the norm for naturalized citizens.

Anyways, to directly answer your question, yes your time as a student counts as long as you directly change to your next visa without any time in between. If you are ever without a visa (such as if it expires when you go back home or if you leave the country without buying a re-entry permit) then the counter resets to zero. A tourist visa/visa waiver does not count.

bodhisamaya Wrote:I wish there was Earth citizenship passport for those who want to denounce any identity to a home country and travel freely.

It will always be a wish

I think that would be a lot like refugee status.

It is not easy for refugees to travel and work in any country they wish, even with a sponsor, financial support, and birth documentation. It took years and tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and expenses to get permission for the current Buddhist resident lama living in Maui, Hawaii.

What has happened with the European Union is a positive step to this one day being reality, if the experiment works.

I'm not a refugee
I'm just an unfortunate Iraqi citizen :'(

According to the Wikipedia there requirements are:
* Continuous residence in Japan for five years or more
* At least 21 years old and otherwise legally competent
* History of good behavior generally, and no past history of seditious behavior
* Sufficient capital or skills, either personally or within family, to support oneself
* Stateless or willing to renounce foreign citizenship

Found this blog post about someone who's done it: http://www.turning-japanese.info/2011/04...h-jet.html. If you've been there 5 years you may as well apply if that's what you want, the process takes a while. Generally the way these applications work is the case officer has to a list of things to check for your application to be valid, if all the boxes are ticked your application is approved.

@fifo_thekid, just work really hard at improving your Japanese, and find a decent job. From what I understand obtaining Japanese citizenship is very difficult. A permanent resident would be a better avenue to seek.

Permanent residency doesn't solve his problem since it can be revoked and him deported at any time.

This is a fairly detailed account of the process: http://www.debito.org/residentspage.html#naturalization

Jarvik7 Wrote:Permanent residency doesn't solve his problem since it can be revoked and him deported at any time.

If he commits a crime or other probable cause, just like with a visa. However, they could revoke his citizenship if it was found based on fraud.

At least in the US, a citizen (even a naturalized one) cannot lose their citizenship as a punishment for any crime. (The only way a citizen can lose citizenship is by voluntarily renouncing it, or by doing a small number of things that are considered to be tacit renunciations of citizenship, like serving in a foreign military.) I don't know if Japan works the same way.

Oniichan Wrote:This is a fairly detailed account of the process: http://www.debito.org/residentspage.html#naturalization

I know about that
But my main concern is: are college scholarship years accounted for?

fifo_thekid Wrote:I know about that
But my main concern is: are college scholarship years accounted for?

Quote:The Minister of Justice shall not permit the naturalization of an alien unless he or she fulfills all of the following conditions:
(1) that he or she has domiciled in Japan for five years or more consecutively;

Japanese Nationality Law

I think it would count as long as you don't go home afterwards.

Most European countries only count work visa, spousal, dependant etc and exclude student and holiday visas. I can't seen to find any mention of that in Japan, just that you must be a resident. I would guess that any temporary visitor (ie: holiday visa) time doesn't count, but other visa time does since they all grant some sort of residence status.

I think you'll just have to do make that initial consultation appointment at your local immigration bureau or whatever it was and they'll be able to tell you whether you make the minimum requirements to apply or not.

Also you can apply for citizenship again if they refuse it initially, and you don't lose your current status if they refuse either.

I think travis is right. According to tokyoimmigration.jp:

1.Duration of Stay

You are required to have a valid visa from the Immigration Bureau of Japan at the time of application and have been living in Japan for at least 5 years. The time spent on College Student or Pre-college Student visa cannot be counted in this 5-year period.

pudding cat Wrote:I think travis is right. According to tokyoimmigration.jp:

1.Duration of Stay

You are required to have a valid visa from the Immigration Bureau of Japan at the time of application and have been living in Japan for at least 5 years. The time spent on College Student or Pre-college Student visa cannot be counted in this 5-year period.

Hi. The tokyoimmigration.jp site is unfortunately incorrect -- but its heart is in the right place as someone straight out of school will likely fail the "able to (financially) support him/herself for the foreseeable" requirement. More info here:

http://www.turning-japanese.info/2012/03...ation.html