Marriage Requirements for Japanese Citizens Planning a Civil Wedding in Italy
The Japanese citizens willing to get married in Italy need to visit their local municipality in Japan to request their Kosekitohon, which is essentially a document that certifies the family register.
There are two types of Kosekitohon; you will roughly need 3 copies of the less expensive one (about 500 yen per copy) and 2 copies of the more expensive one (around 900 yen each).
We will arrange an appointment for you at the Japanese Consulate.
During this specific phase, the Japanese citizen may need to personally visit the Japanese Embassy in Rome or the Japanese Consulate in Milan, where they will need to present the passport and the Kosekitohon.
The certificate of no impediment to marriage (nulla osta) will be issued on the same day.
Legalization of the Japanese Nulla Osta
The Nulla Osta that will be issued by the Japanese embassy in Rome or Milan must be authenticated by the competent Prefettura.
As your local legal consultants, we can handle this process on your behalf, so you don’t need to attend the appointment.
Once the nulla osta has been legalized, you’ll be ready for the next step: the civil wedding at the Municipality you’ve chosen
How Does a Civil Wedding Work at the Town Hall selected by the couple?
Once we have gathered your nulla osta, duly legalized, you will be ready for the first meeting at the town hall.
Please note that if one of the two parties is a resident of any municipality in Italy, the procedure differs, and marriage banns must be published (please read our post about pubblicazioni di matrimonio).
If you are a foreigner who is not a resident in Italy, you will follow the standard procedure.
We will book, on your behalf, the declaration confirming the absence of impediments due to kinship, affinity, adoption, or affiliation under Article 87, numbers 1, 2, and 4 of the Civil Code, as well as any other impediments under Articles 85, 86, and 88 of the same code.
At this appointment, no witnesses are required, but an interpreter is mandatory if either of you needs assistance understanding Italian properly.
Generally, the day after—or a few days later, depending on the town hall’s availability—you can get married in the selected room, in the presence of the Mayor, two witnesses, and an interpreter (if needed).
Marriage Declaration in Japan
After getting married in Italy, it’s necessary to declare it in Japan.
As your legal consultants in Italy, we will submit a request to present the marriage declaration within 3 days from the marriage date at the Japanese Embassy, specifically at the Consulate General of Japan or the Japanese civil registry office in Italy.
If you wish to change your surname, you’ll need to submit a declaration within 6 months from the marriage date.
We will be your Family Lawyers Italy
Due to our experience in law firms and the foreign offices of the Italian public administration, we gained significant expertise in Consular affairs, and we are trained to solve the most complicated procedures such as:
- Marriage Nulla osta process, legalization procedure, Court hearings for the refusal of the town hall when documents are missing, legal translation, apostille procedure, emergency procedure for legalization.
- Immigration law services and consular support for non-EU citizens applying for a Schengen visa.
- Family reunification and family cohesion.
- Same-sex couples that want to celebrate a civil union in Italy when in their country the union is forbidden.
- Couples from countries where divorce is not allowed.
- Italians living abroad registered at A.I.R.E. who need to recover their documents to start the marriage banns in the Italian Consulate.
- Assistance for people from countries that do not issue a nulla osta.
- American and Australian couples who need assistance with the “atto notorio” in an Italian Court or the Italian Consulate in the USA or Australia.
- People with refugee status who have requested asylum in Italy.
- International divorce cases, including recognition and enforcement of foreign divorce decrees in Italy, legal support for binational couples facing jurisdictional challenges, and assistance in cases involving different legal systems.
