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英国人用 の 婚姻についての案内

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INFORMATION FOR BRITISH NATIONALS WISHING TO MARRY IN JAPAN Thank you for your enquiry about British Nationals wishing to marry in Japan. 1)　Marriages in Japan can only take place at a local Ward Office or City Office in accordance with the requirements of Japanese law. 　The Japanese marriage officer will require the British party to furnish a "Certificate of No Impediment" or CNI (in Japanese "yoken gubi shomeisho") issued by a Consular Officer. 　Before or after this you may also have a ceremony in a church, chapel, temple or shrine, but such a ceremony has no legal meaning in Japan. 2)　To obtain this CNI, the British party must attend in person by appointment at a British Consular Office and produce the following documents to the Consular Officer: a)　Passport; b)　Where applicable, evidence of the termination of any previous marriage (i.e. divorce decree or death certificate of former spouse). 　　In the case of divorce it must be the original decree absolute bearing the High Court seal; c)　Parental consent if under the age of 18, or whatever is the age of consent for the country concerned (e.g. 21 for those from Hong Kong). 3)　In some cases the Japanese authorities may require additional documents e.g. your birth certificate. 　It is advisable for you to contact the ward office in the area where you wish your marriage to be registered. 　They will be able to confirm the exact documents which they require. 4)　For marriages which take place in the eastern half of Japan, you should enquire at the British Embassy, Tokyo. For marriages in the western half of the country you will need to apply to the British Consulate in Osaka. 　The British Consulate in Osaka's contact details are: British Consulate-General, Epson Osaka Building 19F, 3-5-1 Bakuro-machi, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0059. Tel: 06-6281-1616, Fax: 06-6281-1731, E-mail: bcgosaka@fco.gov.uk 5)　Once the British party can produce the documents mentioned in paragraph 2, one of the parties to the marriage should complete the enclosed questionnaire and return it to us by fax or mail, together with copies of the documents requested. 　After receipt of the completed questionnaire, if the British national has resided in the Consular district for at least 21 consecutive days, an appointment can then be arranged with the Consular Section. 　During this appointment the British citizen gives Notice of Marriage to the Consular Officer and makes a declaration on oath of capacity to marry. 　A copy of the Notice of Marriage is then displayed on the Consular notice-board for a period of 15 clear days. 　If no impediment is shown to exist, a certificate to this effect is given in English and Japanese. Where both parties are British nationals, one Notice of Marriage will be posted, but each party must obtain separate Certificates of No Impediment. 6)　Although the Certificate of No Impediment has no expiry date, the Japanese Ward/City Office will normally only accept one within 3 months of date of issue (as they do with the Japanese Family Register or koseki-tohon). 7)　Where one party to the marriage is not a British national, that person must produce evidence of freedom to marry by reason of being single or any previous marriage having been dissolved by divorce or death of the former spouse. 　In the case of a Japanese national, this evidence will usually be contained in a recently-certified copy of the family register (koseki-tohon). 　Those of other nationalities must be ready to produce equivalent certified copies of whatever documents testify to place and date of birth and freedom to marry. 8)　The Consular Officer has an obligation to ensure, as far as possible, not only that the British partner is free to marry but that the circumstances of the proposed spouse will not invalidate the marriage. 9)　At the Ward or City Office, the couple submit a notice of "Intention to Marry" and the Marriage Officer issues a "Certificate of Acceptance of Notification of Marriage." 　This, in effect, is the legal marriage certificate. 　The certificate comes in two sizes. 　We recommend that you ask for 2 copies of the larger certificate. 10)　Consular Fees amounting to the Yen equivalent of £35 are payable at the time of giving notice and £35 when the CNI is issued. 　　　 At the current exchange rate £35.00 is \　為替相場によって変わります　　This is subject to exchange rate fluctuations however and may change at short notice. 　 　　The fee should be paid in Japanese Yen, cash only. We cannot accept other currencies. 11)　Where the British party is normally resident in the United Kingdom the Notice of Marriage may be given to the Registrar for the district in which the party resides. 　After the notice has been posted for the prescribed period the Registrar will issue a "Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage." 　On production of this document to a British Consular Officer in Japan, the Officer will be able to issue the certificate in Japanese required by the Japanese authorities. 12)　Where a British national resides in a third country, i.e. not Japan or the UK, he or she may be able to give notice of marriage in that country to a British Consular Officer. 　The consequent Notice of Marriage will be endorsed "No Impediment Shown" and sent to the Consular Officer at Tokyo or Osaka. 　The Consular Officer in Japan will then be able to immediately give his own CNI, in English and Japanese, for production to the Japanese authorities. 　This avoids the necessity of establishing a 3-week residence in Japan before giving notice in this country. 13)　There is a provision for you to have your Japanese marriage certificate deposited in the records of the General Register Office (GRO) in the United Kingdom. 　There is no legal obligation for you to do this. 　Whether you do so or not will not affect the validity of your marriage in English law. 　However, you may find it useful since it means that, once the certificate is deposited, you can obtain an officially certified English-language version of your marriage lines at any time, upon application and payment of the appropriate fee to the GRO. 　There are two important points you should bear in mind: a)　the Japanese certificate comes in two sizes, but the GRO only accepts the larger version. 　　This is usually on beige cartridge paper (a reduced example is attached) and; b)　we have to send the original certificate and this will not be returned to you. 　　You should therefore ask for two copies if you wish to keep one for yourselves. 　　We charge the Yen equivalent of £20 for transmission of the documents to the GRO. 　　At the current exchange rate £20.00 is \　為替相場によって変わります　 　 　　This is subject to exchange rate fluctuations however and may change at short notice. 　　The fee should be paid in Japanese Yen, cash only. We cannot accept other currencies. 　　The GRO will send you notification of safe receipt - only then will you be able to apply to the GRO for a certified copy or copies. 14)　Citizens of Commonwealth countries other than the United Kingdom, which maintain separate consular representation in Japan, must apply to their own Consular Officers for these certificates. 15)　British nationals marrying Japanese women should be aware that under the Japanese Family Registration Law the wife can open her own family register (if she has not already done so) and change her surname on the register to that of her husband. 　She must do this within six months of marriage. 　Although changing her name is optional it may avoid problems in the future - for instance if the couple have children. 　If the wife does not change her surname on the Family Register any children will be shown as having her maiden surname and not that of the Father. 　You may wish to consult the Ministry of Justice (Civil Affairs Division) for further clarification. 　The website address of the Ministry of Justice is: www.moj.go.jp 16)　Please note that if you would like to receive the processed CNI by post, postal stamps to the value of \400 should be submitted on the day of the interview. 　The reason we ask applicants to do this is it is a cumbersome, time consuming procedure to arrange a refund. 　If later on you prefer to collect the CNI in person, we will of course return the postal stamps to you. British Consulate-General Consular Section Epson Osaka Bldg 19F 5-1 Backuro-machi 3-chome Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0059 Tel. +816 6281 1616 Fax. +816 6281 1731 E-mail: bcgosaka@fco.gov.uk Website: www.uknow.or.jp