I'm writing this in case it is useful for any Japanese / Spanish couple wishing to get married. When we decided to get married we really didn't know what to do where to go or wether there would be any problem to get married. The good news is that we didn't find any problem but the bad news is that you need to get some extra documents that aren't neccessary if you both are Spanish.
First of all I want to explain that we decided to get married in Spain. I suppose the process is basicly the same in Japan, but I really don't know, anway the result is the same: you get married :-))
1- Call the Civil Registry (Registro Civil) and tell them you want to get married. They will tell you the date and time when you can go with your couple to do the pre-marriage document (in some cities it might take up to three months to find a free day).
2- Documents. For both: Fill in the documents you get at the civil registry when you ask for an appoinment to do the pre-marriage document. For the Spanish: ID; copy of the ID; residence certificate (padrón); birth certificate (partida de nacimiento). For the Japanese: birth certificate; residence certificate; Certificate stating that you are single; Embassy certificate stating the necessity of publishing announcement in the country of origin; Passport; Copy of passport. If you get the birth, single and residence certificate in Japan they will have to be translated by an approved translator (traductor jurado). But you can also get them in Spanish at the Japanese embassy in Madrid or Gran Canaria and save lots of money. The other certificate you have to get at the embassy, the one that says that in Japan is not neccessary to publish any announcement before getting married, they will have it ready for you in one day probably.
3- The day you have the appointment at the civil registry bring all the documents and if any of you can't speak spanish you will also have to hire an approved translator (traductor jurado) which charged me 60Euros per our. Don't worry, there will be no personal questions, the judge will just check the documents, copy the information in the computer and make you sign lots of documents. If everything it's OK you'll have finished in less than one our and you'll get a document that says you can get married. In the end the end the judge will call the witness (can be any friends or relative of you) and he/she will have to sign and say you are not relatives.
4- I think that's all! Just make sure you check where you want to get married, because the judge will ask you at wich Town Hall (ayuntamiento) or Civil Registry you want to get married. You should check it because in some city halls they have queue of more than one year and that document you got is valid just for one year. So it means you have one year to get married.
5- Now Get Married, go to the Japanese Embassy with the marriage certificate so that the marriage is valid in both Spain and Japan. And most important of all be happy, enjoy your life together and give each other lots of love.
GOOD LUCK
Next step: How to get residence visa and work visa
1- Now you are already a married couple and you want a residence and work visa for your Japanese wife or husband. You will have to go to the "oficina de extranjería" of your city. There, they will ask you for: a valid passport, 2 ID shape pictures, marriage certificate "certificado de matrimonio", ID of the Spanish husband/wife, if the Japanese is already registered as an inhabitant in the city council "padrón" it'll be useful but it's not neccessary when it's the first time you get the residence visa, certify of the Japanese government with your criminal records "certificado de antecedentes penales legalizado y traducido", oficial medical certify.
2- I haven't gone through this process yet, but I will add any comments that I find useful when we finish it.
3- As I wrote before, don't forget to give each other lots of love. You will need it and you will need to support each other on this great adventure of an international marriage.
Can you stay?
