Residence Card (在留カード) in Japan: A Complete Guide for Expats

The Residence Card (在留カード) is the most important identity document for foreign nationals living in Japan. It's required for virtually every major procedure — opening a bank account, renting an apartment, starting a job. This guide covers everything from getting your card for the first time, to reading what's on it, to renewing it before it expires and replacing it if it's lost.

What Is the Residence Card?

The Residence Card (在留カード) is an official identity document issued by the Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁) to foreign nationals residing in Japan. It records the holder's basic personal information and immigration status.

Who Needs a Residence Card?

The following foreign nationals must hold a Residence Card:

• Mid- to long-term residents staying for more than 3 months
• Includes: work visa holders, student visa holders, working holiday participants, family stay (家族滞在), permanent residents (永住者), and others

The following do not need a Residence Card:

• Short-term stay (tourism, business — typically 90 days or less)
• Diplomatic and official status

Reading Your Residence Card

Front of the Card

⚠️ Cards issued on or after 14 June 2026 no longer print your period of stay, the type of permission, the date of permission or the date of issue on the face. Those details sit in the card's IC chip and are read by the official 在留カード等読取アプリ. Your status of residence, its expiry date, your address and your work status are all still printed.

Work Permission Field Explained

The exact Japanese wording differs slightly between cards, so read the meaning rather than matching characters. Working holiday participants hold 特定活動 with a 指定書 that permits work — they are not subject to the student 28-hour cap and do not need 資格外活動許可. Working outside your permitted scope is a ground for cancelling your status of residence, so if the field is unclear, ask the bureau that issued the card.

The 2026 Changes: New Card Format and 特定在留カード

Two changes took effect on 14 June 2026, and they affect what your card looks like and how many cards you carry.

The current card format

If your card was issued on or after 14 June 2026, it uses the new format. The face no longer shows your period of stay, the type of permission granted, the date of that permission or the date of issue — those are stored in the IC chip and displayed by the official 在留カード等読取アプリ (available for iOS and Android). Photos are now printed for everyone aged 1 and over, where the older cards only carried photos from age 16.

Card renewal, address changes and status changes are unaffected: submit the same documents at the same counters.

特定在留カード: residence card and My Number Card in one

If you are a mid- to long-term resident recorded in the Basic Resident Register, you can apply for a 特定在留カード — a Residence Card with My Number Card functions built in. Special Permanent Residents have the equivalent option with the 特定特別永住者証明書. For most people the point is obvious: one card instead of two.

You do not make a special trip for it. You apply at the same time as one of these procedures:

Fees. The first switch is free if you hold a card issued on or before 13 June 2026 and take the option at your first procedure after that date, and keeping the 特定在留カード at later procedures is normally free too. In other cases there is an immigration fee of ¥1,900 (¥2,600 if the card is mailed to you) plus a separate fee to J-LIS for the My Number functions. The exceptions are long, so check the Immigration Services Agency page before you apply.

Nothing is mandatory here. A card issued before 14 June 2026 stays valid, and you can keep using your existing Residence Card and My Number Card separately for as long as you like.

Getting Your Residence Card for the First Time

Major Airports (Card Issued on Arrival)

Ten airports issue the card at the immigration counter, at the same time as your landing permission stamp:

New Chitose, Sendai, Narita, Haneda, Chubu (Centrair), Kansai, Kobe, Hiroshima, Fukuoka and Naha.

1. Present your passport and visa at the immigration counter
2. The officer confirms your status and stamps your passport
3. Your Residence Card is handed over at the airport
4. Check it before you leave the counter — name, status of residence and expiry date

Other Ports of Entry

Arrive anywhere else — Niigata, Takamatsu, Kagoshima, a ferry port — and the officer stamps your passport and writes that the Residence Card will be issued later (在留カード後日交付).

1. Register your address at the municipal office within 14 days of settling at a fixed address, bringing the passport with the 後日交付 note
2. The immigration bureau then mails the card to your registered address — you do not collect it from the ward office, and you are not sent to an immigration bureau counter

If you need to open a bank account or sign anything official before the card arrives, explain the situation and show the passport stamp; most offices understand the sequence, but some will ask you to wait.

Updating Your Address When You Move

When Must You Update?

• Within 14 days of moving into a new address, you must file a move-in registration (転入届) at the new ward office
• The office will stamp your new address on the back of your Residence Card
• If moving within the same municipality, file an intra-city move notice (転居届) instead

Update Process

1. Go to the ward office at your new address
2. Bring: Residence Card + Passport
3. Fill in the move-in notification (転入届) form
4. Staff record your new address on the back of your Residence Card
5. Your resident registration and card are updated in one step

Consequences of not updating: Failure to update within 14 days may be treated as a violation of the Immigration Control Act. Repeat or serious violations may affect your residence status renewal.

Other Notifications You Owe Within 14 Days

Address changes are the best-known duty, but the Immigration Control Act imposes others that catch people out.

Change of Employer or Contracting Organisation (所属機関変更届)

If you hold a work-related status — Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, 技能実習, 特定技能, Intra-company Transferee and several others — you must notify the immigration bureau within 14 days of any of the following:

• changing employer or contracting organisation
• a change in your job title or duties that affects whether the activity still matches your status
• your employer going bankrupt, dissolving, or ending your contract
• moving to a new office location of the same employer (for some statuses)

The form is the 所属機関変更届出書, it can be filed at the regional bureau or online through the 在留申請オンラインシステム, and it is free. One exception is worth remembering: if you changed jobs by first obtaining a permission to change status of residence, no separate notification is needed — the new status already records the new employer.

Leaving Japan Temporarily: みなし再入国

If you leave Japan with a valid passport and Residence Card and return within one year, you do not need a re-entry permit — the automatic "deemed re-entry" (みなし再入国) system covers you. Special permanent residents get two years.

If you plan to be away longer than a year, or your period of stay will end while you are outside Japan, you need an actual re-entry permit (再入国許可) before you leave: ¥4,000 for a single entry, ¥7,000 for multiple entries, cheaper if applied for online.

Penalties for Late Notification

The 住居地届出 (address) duty carries a fine of up to ¥200,000 under the Immigration Control Act, on top of the much smaller 過料 for a late move-in notice under the 住民基本台帳法. Missing notifications also count against you when your next application is reviewed, which is the practical reason to file them promptly rather than the size of the fine.

Renewing Your Residence Period (Visa Renewal)

When Is Renewal Required?

If you want to continue living in Japan after your residence period expires, you must apply for a residence period renewal application (在留期間更新許可申請).

Recommended timing: Start preparing documents 2–3 months before expiry; the application window opens 3 months before the expiry date.

Do Not Confuse Period of Stay With Card Validity

These are two different dates, and missing the second one is a common mistake:

For everyone else the card is renewed automatically as part of the residence period renewal: you hand in the old card and receive a new one with the new expiry date.

How long is a card valid?

The 10-year figure is one of the changes introduced with the new card format: the card is now valid until your tenth birthday after issue — the same rule that applies to Japanese residents — rather than the old seven-year ceiling.

Renewal Application Process

Step 1: Confirm Required Documents (Varies by Visa Type)

Common documents for work visa (技術・人文知識・国際業務) renewal:

Step 2: Visit the Regional Immigration Services Bureau

Bureau locations by region:

• Tokyo: Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau (Shinagawa)
• Osaka: Osaka Regional Immigration Services Bureau
• Nagoya: Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau
• Fukuoka: Fukuoka Regional Immigration Services Bureau

Step 3: Submit Application and Wait for Review

• When you submit, staff will add a sticker to the back of your Residence Card indicating your application is under review
• Review period: the Immigration Services Agency's standard processing time is two weeks to one month
• When approved, you'll receive a notice to collect your renewed card and pay the fee — see the fee table below

How Much the Fee Costs (and the October 2026 Revision)

Until 30 September 2026 the fee was a flat ¥6,000 at the counter or ¥5,500 online. From 1 October 2026 it depends on how long a period of stay is granted:

Permanent residence is priced separately, and rose from ¥10,000 to ¥200,000 on the same date. Two details matter in practice: applications received on or before 30 September 2026 keep the old fee even if the decision comes later, and online applications from 1 October must be paid through convenience-store or bank payment — revenue stamps are no longer accepted online, and a small transaction fee is added. Reduced or waived fees are available for people in financial difficulty; the bureau has a dedicated page for the guidelines. At the counter, payment remains in revenue stamps.

If Your Period Expires While the Application Is Pending

Filing before your period of stay ends keeps you in Japan legally while the application is reviewed. For the first two months you are treated as still holding your previous status of residence, so you can keep doing the same work. Beyond two months, or if the application is still undecided, what you may do depends on your status — check with the immigration bureau before taking on work that may not be covered.

Residence Card vs. My Number Card: When to Use Each

Both are different cards serving different purposes — foreign nationals can and should hold both:

Since 14 June 2026 you can combine the two: a 特定在留カード carries My Number Card functions as well as your residence information. Until you have one, keep both — the My Number Card is still what you use for tax filing, My Number health insurance and マイナポータル. Apply for your My Number Card at the municipal office after your resident registration, and switch to a 特定在留カード at your next immigration procedure if you prefer one card.

Replacing a Lost Residence Card

Immediate Steps

1. File a police report: Go to the nearest police box (交番) or police station and file a lost property report (紛失届)
2. Get your report number: The police will give you a report acceptance number (受理番号) — you'll need this for the reissue application
3. Notify the immigration bureau: Within 14 days of losing your card, visit the nearest Regional Immigration Services Bureau to apply for a card reissue (在留カード再交付)

Documents for Reissue

• Passport (valid)
• Police report acceptance number
• One photo, 4×3 cm, taken within the last three months
• No fee — the reissue of a lost card is free

If more than 14 days have passed since you noticed the loss, bring a written explanation of the delay as well.

Until the New Card Arrives

In many cases the reissued card is handed over the same day. If it is issued later, you will be given an application receipt (申請受付票) to carry with your passport, and you will need both when you collect the card. Your passport covers you for identity checks and travel in the meantime, but carry the receipt too — the legal duty to carry a Residence Card has not gone away.

Final Takeaway

Almost every administrative task in Japan — a bank account, a phone contract, a rental application — starts with the Residence Card.

Three habits prevent most problems:

• Carry it. Not a photo, not a photocopy. The real card, with your passport if you are leaving the country.
• Watch the expiry date. Applications for renewal can be filed from three months before it expires — and note that the renewal fee changed on 1 October 2026, from a flat ¥6,000 (¥5,500 online) to a scale running from ¥10,000 to ¥75,000 depending on the period of stay you are granted.
• Update your address within 14 days of any move, at the municipal office — not at immigration.

Keep those three habits and the card stays valid, current, and accepted everywhere.