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First Steps in Japan as a Student: Residence Card, Address Registration and Health Insurance

Your first two weeks in Japan come with a clear deadline: within 14 days of settling on where you live, you must register that address at your city or ward office, bringing your residence card. National Health Insurance is handled at the same office and also has a 14-day notification rule. Do both in one trip and the hardest part of arrival paperwork is over.

At the airport: your residence card

How you receive your residence card (在留カード) depends on where you land.

  • Ten major airports: at New Chitose, Sendai, Narita, Haneda, Chubu, Kansai, Kobe, Hiroshima, Fukuoka and Naha, immigration stamps your passport and hands mid- to long-term residents their card on the spot.
  • Other ports of entry: your passport is stamped with a note that the card will be issued later. After you register your address at the city office, the card is in principle mailed to that address by the regional immigration bureau.

The card shows your name, date of birth, sex, nationality or region, address, status of residence and whether you may work. Keep it safe: you will need it for almost every step below. If you plan to work part-time, note that new students can also apply for work permission at the port of entry; that process is covered in a separate article.

Within 14 days: register your address

Under immigration law, a new mid- to long-term resident must report their address to the municipality within 14 days of the day they establish it. A few practical points:

  • One visit covers two systems. Foreign mid- to long-term residents are part of Japan's resident register. When you file the normal moving-in notice (転入届) at the city office and show your residence card, it also counts as your immigration address report. No separate immigration form is needed.
  • What to bring. Your residence card, or your passport if it carries the "card issued later" note.
  • Cost. There is no fee.
  • Someone else filing for you. In principle you go yourself, but a relative aged 16 or over who lives with you, or a person you authorize with a letter of attorney, can file in certain cases.
  • When you move again. The same 14-day rule applies each time you change address, counted from the day you move, at the office of your new municipality.

Note that the clock starts from the day you set your address, not from your arrival date, so try to register soon after you move into the place where you will actually live.

National Health Insurance

According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), anyone with an address in Japan joins National Health Insurance (国民健康保険) unless they fall into an excluded group, such as people covered by another health insurance plan or their dependents, people on public assistance, people in the late-stage elderly system, and foreign nationals on short-term stays.

  • Deadline: when you become insured, and later when you leave the scheme, you must submit the paperwork to your municipality's NHI desk within 14 days.
  • Documents: these differ between municipalities, so check your city or ward website, or ask at the counter right after your address registration.
  • What it covers: from school age up to 69, the patient normally pays 30% of medical costs at the clinic, with insurance covering the rest.
  • Leaving Japan: because the 14-day rule also covers leaving the scheme, add a visit to the NHI desk to your move-out list.

National Pension

According to the Japan Pension Service, everyone living in Japan aged 20 to 59 must belong to the public pension system, whatever their nationality. If you are not covered by an employer's pension plan (or as the dependent of someone who is), that means the National Pension (国民年金), and you enroll at the city or ward office for your address. If paying premiums is hard because your income is low, students can apply for the Special Payment System for Students (学生納付特例); once approved, you do not have to pay premiums for that period. Ask about it on the same visit.

A simple first-visit checklist

  • Residence card, or passport with the "card issued later" note
  • Your full address in Japanese, exactly as written on your housing contract
  • Your passport, in case the office asks for it
  • Any items your school tells you the local office usually requests

If you begin in a furnished monthly apartment while you search for long-term housing, remember that moving to another ward or city later means a new 14-day notification at the new office. Check with the office how your NHI enrollment carries over when you move.

Where to get help

For questions about residence procedures, ISA runs the Immigration Services Agency general information center (0570-013904, weekdays 8:30 to 17:15). For health insurance and pension details, the NHI and pension counters at your city or ward office are the right place to ask.

Sources

This article was created by OHAYO Stay based on the sources above (edited, reorganized and translated). It is not an official publication. Facts are summarized in our own words; see the linked pages for the official details.

Rules and dates can change. Always confirm with the official source before you apply.