What this document is
Proof that you and the invitee are related within the third degree.
What it must show
- Parent: YOUR birth certificate showing your parents' names, or a household register stating the relationship
- Spouse: the marriage certificate
- Child: the child's birth certificate
- Sibling: BOTH birth certificates, showing the same parents
- Grandparent · grandchild · aunt/uncle: a chain of certificates through the person in between
- ⚠️ If the guarantor is a son-/daughter-in-law or brother-/sister-in-law: also submit THEIR marriage certificate — the relationship only connects through their spouse
- ⚠️ A birth certificate must at least show the parents' YEAR OF BIRTH (or their age at registration) — without it the Embassy cannot trace the relationship
- ⚠️ Every document must be NOTARISED. Plain photocopies are rejected
- Documents issued abroad are valid for 6 months from the date of issue
Notes
This document does NOT need a Japanese translation, unlike an Immigration filing. But it MUST be notarised — this is the most common reason packets are returned, because people bring a plain photocopy to save time.