Hello Everyone! Today I will write about the process I went through to change my surname when I got married four months ago. I have been dragging my feet on the matter, but due to Covid-19 and the birth of my first child next month, I felt like I should finally start the process. As mentioned before, due to Covid-19, procedures have differed slightly from before, so please inquire directly with your closest embassy on their policies.

For some background information, I am an American citizen, residing in Japan, and I am married to a Japanese national. I was changing my surname due to marriage. My closest embassy is the Tokyo U.S. Embassy, and that is the embassy I will be referring to in the rest of the blog post. 

STEP 1: CHANGE YOUR NAME IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

In order to change your name in Japan, you must first change your name in your home country. In the case of American citizens, this means your first step is to change your name on your American passport. Therefore, please visit your nearest embassy's website and read over their procedures. In the case of the Tokyo Embassy, you will be visiting the "Applying for a U.S. Passport" and then following the link to "Change or Correct Passports". You can click on this link here!

My passport was more than one year old, and therefore, I needed to apply for a passport renewal. If your passport is less than one year year, you will follow a slightly different procedure. Once you have determined the age of your passport, in this case, more than one year old, please visit the page the passport renewals (age 16 and up), which can be found here!

Once at this page, you will then determine how you want to renew your passport. Prior to Covid-19, you could easily schedule an appointment and renew in person, but due to the current pandemic, they have improved their through the mail renewal system, and that's the option I chose. Please check the requirements to see if you qualify to renew through mail!! You must answer "yes" to all of the requirements to be able to renew through mail. If you cannot answer "yes" to all of the requirements, you will have to find a way to do the renewal in person

STEP 2: GATHER NECESSARY DOCUMENTS TO SEND TO THE EMBASSY

Once you are sure you are eligible to renew through mail, it is time to gather and fill out the necessary documents that you will need to send to the embassy. 

YOU WILL NEED:

• DS-82 APPLICATION 
• You can find the PDF version here or you can fill out the application online here!
• The most important thing is that you sign and date it! *Also, make sure you completely fill out #11 (include your new surname). I didn't, but the embassy called me to confirm.
• Use black ink.

• 5x5CM PHOTOGRAPH
• For more information on the requirements, please follow this link here!
• This size is not available at most of those ID "photo-booths" you find near train stations in Japan, so you will need to select one of the bigger photo sizes offered and just cut it down to size by yourself. That's what I did, and it was accepted by the embassy.

• NAME CHANGE DOCUMENT  (Original + 1 photocopy)
• In my case, it was my marriage certificate. You can obtain your marriage certificate at the ward office you submitted your marriage application. The document is called a konin todoke juri shomeisho/婚姻届受理証明書 . There are two versions that you can receive. One is the big one that cost around 1,400 yen, and there is also the A4 size one that cost about 300 yen. Submit the original and a copy.

• NAME CHANGE DOCUMENT TRANSLATION
• You must provide a translation of your "konin todoke juri shomeisho". The embassy provides templates for you to follow. You will use this template if you have the A4 sized certificate. 
• Your translation does not need to be done by a professional service, nor does it need it to be notarized. Therefore, you, a friend, or your husband can do it.
• I put my domicile as America, left the issuance # blank, The Title and Name field is the mayor of the city that accepted your marriage.

• PASSPORT
• You must send along your passport in the package. I recommend taking a picture or scanning it beforehand to have it with you in the case of an emergency.

• APPLICATION FEE RECEIPT
• Since my passport was issued more than a year ago, I needed to pay the renewal fee of 110$. Fortunately, the US Embassy can now accept online payment. Therefore, please follow this link to pay for your renewal. I used my Japanese VISA credit card with no issues.
• Once you've paid, please print out the "confirmation of payment" e-mail that you will receive in your inbox. Include it in your package.

• LETTER PACK ENVELOPE
• You are required to mail your packet in a Letter Pack Envelope. You are also required to include a Letter Pack Envelope that will be used to receive your new passport. Therefore, you need to buy TWO envelopes.
• There are two kinds, "light" and "plus". Letter Pack Light (blue) includes tracking, but it does not require a signature. Letter Pack Plus (red) includes tracking and also requires a signature. Due to the sensitive nature of the package, I bought two Letter Pack Plus envelopes.
• You can buy them at any convenience store. They are available in the aisle.
• You must fill out the "From" field on the envelope you use to mail. You must also fill out the "To" field on self-addressed envelope. 
• You can peel off the barcode to track the envelope you sent. However, you can only take a picture of the barcode on your self-addressed envelope to track when it has been mailed back to you.
• You can bend the self-addressed envelope.
• Do not send the packet to the US. Send it to your nearest embassy!
• You can drop your finished package in any Japan Post postbox. You do not have to go to the post office.