For the Mid-to-Long Term Residents

When to report	Applicant	Report Deadline	Items to Bring
When you newly arrive in Japan	Yourself	Within 14 days after you take up your residence	・Residence Card(In case your residence card has not been issued, please bring your passport)
When you move to Kyoto City from another city When you change your address within Kyoto City	Yourself	Within 14 days after the change	・Residence Card ・Individual Number Card ・Move Out Certificate (Tenshutsu Shomeisho) If you already have used your Individual Number Card for moving out procedures at the city office of your previous residence, the certificate is not necessary
When you move out of Kyoto City	Yourself	Until the day you move out of Kyoto	・Residence Card ・Individual Number Card (card holders only)
When your resident card gets dirty or damaged When you need to extend your period of stay	It is necessary to apply at the Immigration Office, please contact them directly for more details.

＊Mid-to-long Term Residents are non-Japanese nationals who stay in Japan for mid to long term on the basis of their status of residence stipulated under the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act.

＊They are those who do not fall under any of the following categories.

• ① Persons granted permission to stay in Japan 3 months or less
• ② Persons granted "Temporary Visitor" status
• ③ Persons granted "Diplomat" or "Official" status
• ④ Persons recognized by the Ministry of Justice ordinance as equivalent to foreign nationals in categories ①-③
• ⑤ Special Permanent Residents
• ⑥ Persons with no residence status

Special Permanent Residents

When to report	Applicant	Report Deadline	Items to Bring
When you move to Kyoto City from another city When you change your address within Kyoto City	Yourself	Within 14 days after you take up your residence	・Special Permanent Resident Certificate ・Individual Number Card or Notification Card ・Certificate of Move Out Certificate(Tenshutsu Shomeisho) If you already have used your Individual Number Card for moving out procedures at the city office of your previous residence, the certificate is not necessary
When you move out of Kyoto	Yourself	Until the day you move out of Kyoto	・Special Permanent Resident Certificate ・Individual Number Card or Notification Card (card holders only)
Any other change such as name, gender, nationality written on the certificate other than address	Yourself	Within 14 days of the change	・1 Photo (if you are under 16, a photo is not necessary) ・Any official document that proves the change. ・Passport (if any) ・Special Permanent Resident Certificate
When your Special Permanent Resident Certificate gets dirty or damaged	Yourself		・1 Photo (if you are under 16, a photo is not necessary) ・Passport (if any)
When you have lost your Special Permanent Resident Certificate	Yourself	Within 14 days of realizing the loss	・1 Photo (if you are under 16, a photo is not necessary) ・An official document that proves the loss of your Special Permanent Resident Certificate ・Passport (if any)
Regular renewal	Yourself	①To update the period of validity, renewal should be completed before the 7th birthday after the last renewal or the first application. ② For any change other than renewal of period of validity should be completed after the change and before the 7th birthday ③ By the age of 16 years old	・1 Photo (if you are under 16, a photo is not necessary) ・Special Permanent Resident Certificate * Passport (if any)

About procedure

• ・You must report all the changes by yourself; however, if you are under 16 years old, one of your family members or a guardian can do it on your behalf. For more details please consult your local ward office, ward branch office or sub branch office.
• ・Your Residence Card is issued on your arrival in Japan at the following airports: Narita, Haneda, Chubu, Kansai, New Chitose, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka Airport. If you arrive at another airport or port, your Residence Card will be sent to you by post after you finish registering your address to your local ward office. For further information, inquire at the Immigration Services Agency.

For further information, inquire at the Immigration Services Agency.

Immigration Services Agency

• ・A new resident card will be issued when your period of stay is extended or when your status of residence has changed. For further information, inquire at the Immigration Services Agency.
• ・A Special Permanent Resident Certificate will be issued in 2-3 weeks after you have submitted the application at the ward office, ward branch office or sub branch office.
• ・Photos must be 4cm x 3cm and should display the applicant’s face from head to chest, facing forward, without a hat or cap. Both monochrome and color photos are acceptable. Photos are not necessary for applicants under 16.

If you need a Copy of your Certificate of Residence (Jyuminhyo no Utsushi)

Apply for it at the Citizen Service Section of your local ward office, ward branch office or sub branch office. The copy of your Certificate of Residence can be obtained by yourself, a family member of the same household as well as by another person who has a letter of attorney signed by yourself.

When you return to your country

You must return your Residence Card when you complete the embarkation procedure at the departing airport. If you leave Japan with a Special Re-entry Permit, you do not need to return your Residence Card. Notes: The New Residency Management System began in July of 2012. Due to starting the new system, the Alien Registration System was abolished. In the new system, a Special Permanent Resident Certificate is issued for the Special Permanent Residents and a Residence Card is issued to other foreign residents. For further information on the new system, visit the website of the Immigration Services Agency.

Immigration Services Agency.

If you enrol in the National Health Insurance System

• ・In principle, when you visit a hospital or see a doctor for treatment, you will pay 30% of the total medical costs. (for those aged 70 -74, the payment will be 20% or 30% of the cost depending on their income) The cost for newborns to preschool age children will be 20%. Some medical treatments are not covered by this insurance, in such cases, you will have to pay the full amount.
• ・When an insured person gives birth to a child, they will receive a lump-sum payment for childrearing.
• ・When an insured person dies, a lump-sum payment for funeral is paid to their family.

Other payments and benefits are also available; please inquire at your local ward office or branch office. (For residents in the Keihoku area, please inquire at the Health and Welfare Section No.1 at Keihoku Sub Branch Office.)

How to enroll in the National Health Insurance System

Foreign residents, who registered their address as part of Resident Register (Juminhyo), must enroll for National Health Insurance. However, foreign residents, who have not registered their address as part of the Resident Register and have a status of residence that permits them to stay 3 months or less, do not have to enroll; however, if based on your purpose for visiting Japan and other conditions you expect to stay more than three months, then you must join the National Health Insurance System. Applications are accepted at the National Health Insurance and Pension Section of your ward office or branch office. (For residents in the Keihoku area, please inquire at the Health & Welfare Section No.1 at Keihoku Sub Branch Office.) You must take your passport and resident card or your special permanent resident certificate, personal seal (if none, a signature is acceptable) and a document showing that your stay in Japan will be more than 3 months (such as Student ID card or your study plan at university). You need to apply within 14 days from the date of taking up residence in Japan (this is not the date you arrived in Japan) or within 14 days of the date your company insurance was terminated. Please be careful if you apply late, as you will be liable for insurance premiums starting from the month you took residence.

National Health Insurance Card

When joining National Health Insurance, a card will be issued to each member. Be sure to bring your health insurance card with you and present it at the reception desk when you visit any medical institution for treatment.

About insurance premiums

Annual insurance costs are calculated based on the total income of the insured, and by the number of people in the household. People between the ages of 40 and 65 must pay an additional premium for Long-term Care Insurance (kaigo hoken) For your first year in Japan, you are charged the minimum premium because you earned no money during the previous fiscal year in Japan. From your second year in Japan, you are charged based on your income earne d during your first year. If your salary or income is less than a certain amount or if you have no income, you may be eligible for “Legal premium exemption plan”which gives you a reduction of 20%, 50% or 70% off your premium. (You must submit an income declaration) Your annual premium is divided in 10 installments starting from June, which is the month when city and prefectural residency taxes are calculated, to March of the next year. Your ward office, branch office or Keihoku branch office will send you payment slips, please pay them before the due date at most banks, post offices, convenience stores. If you would like to pay by bank transfer, you can sign up for automatic payment with your bank. With this method, you will not have to remember to pay your insurance fees and can save time by not having to go to a bank or a post office to pay each time. We recommend you use this payment method because it is convenient and reliable. If you do not pay your insurance premium, your insurance benefits might be suspended and you may have to pay the total cost of your medical expenses.

The following must be reported

Please report the following cases to the Public Health and Welfare Department at your ward office or branch office (or if you live in the Keihoku area, to the person in charge of Public Health and Welfare at the Keihoku Branch Office) within 14 days from the date of the occurrence:

• (1) When you change your address within Kyoto City.
• (2) If you move to Kyoto from other cities, you must report your new address to your new ward office or branch office within 14 days of moving in (Those living in the Keihoku area, please report to the person in charge of Public Health and Welfare at the Keihoku Branch Office) When you move out of Kyoto City, you must return your National Health Insurance Card and report your change of residence to the ward office or branch office where you lived.
• (3) When you enroll in employee insurance at your workplace
• (4) When you start receiving public assistance, a child is born, or when the head of the household has changed or has died
• (5) When you lose, or damage your insurance card, etc.

＊If you withdraw from National Health Insurance in the middle of a fiscal year, your insurance premium amount during the period from the beginning of the fiscal year to the previous month of your withdrawal will be recalculated. Please make sure to pay the difference if any.

Who is not eligible for National Health Insurance?

• (1) Persons who do not have residence status (zairyu shikaku)
• (2) Persons who are not entitled to receive a resident card (except those whose status of residence is entertainer, technical intern training, dependent, designated activities or official, and their stay in Japan is expected to exceed three months)
• (4) Persons who are covered by other health insurance systems as well as the dependen.
• (5) Persons who receive public assistance
• (6) Persons who are covered by the Advanced Age Healthcare System

How to enroll in the National Pension System

Applications for the National Pension System are accepted at ward offices and branch offices. If you have enrolled in Kosei Nenkin Hoken at your workplace, it is not necessary to apply for the National Pension System (your company will apply on your behalf).

Pension Premiums

You must pay the premiums after you have enrolled in the National Pension System. You can make payments at post offices, banks, or convenience stores. Payment can also be made by bank transfer. If you enroll in Kosei Nenkin, the premium is deducted directly from your salary.

For those with financial difficulties

If you have difficulty in paying the premium, because you have no or low income, your premium may be reduced to half or you might be eligible for an exemption. Students can defer payment of their premiums with the “Student Special Payment System” or Gakusei Nofu Tokurei Seido (some specialty schools may not qualify for this program).

Receiving a pension

National pension is received when you reach a certain age or become disabled. Also, when an insured person passes away, some money is paid to their family. Pensions are classified into the following categories:

• (1) Basic Pension for the Elderly (Rourei Kiso Nenkin)：Financial support for the elderly
• (2) Basic Disability Pension (Shogai Kiso Nenkin)：Financial support for people who have become disabled due to accident or illness
• (3) Basic Pension for the Surviving Family (Izoku Kiso Nenkin)：Financial support for the family members’ of the deceased
• (4) Widow’s Pension (kafu nenkin)
• (5) Lump sum death benefit (shibo ichiji kin)

When you return to your country

Both the National Pension System and Kosei Nenkin Hoken System adopt a lump-sum refund payment system. If return home country before the required 10 years have passed, you are eligible to receive a lump-sum return (dattai ichiji-kin). If you already paid your premiums for more than 10 years, you may receive your pension benefits after returning home. In order to receive the lump-sum money, you must meet all of the following conditions.

• (1) You do not have Japanese citizenship
• (2) You no longer live or have an address in Japan (persons who have left Japan)
• (3) You have paid premiums for the National Pension System or Kosei Nenkin System for more than six months
• (4) You have never qualified to receive pension benefits in the past.
• (5) You have submitted an application to receive the lump-sum money within two years from the day you withdrew from the pension system.

What is needed for the application

• (1) An Application form for the lump-sum payment “Dattai-ichijikin Saitei Seikyu-Sho”. Before you leave Japan you can receive the application form at a Pension Office or the form can also be downloaded from

  the Japan Pension Service or Nihon Nenkin Kiko website.

• (2) Pension book (if you do not have one, you must have all the necessary information filled out on your application form)
• (3) A photocopy of your passport
• (4) A photocopy of your bankbook

＊For further information please inquire at a Pension Office near you.

Japan Pension Service

The application must be sent to the following address

Gaikoku Gyomu Group, Japan Pension Service

5-24 Takaido Nishi 3-chome, Suginami-ku, Tokyo 168-8505

Marriage

There are two ways you can be married in Japan: the first is according to the procedures for your country of citizenship and the second is according to the procedures for Japan. If you choose the procedures for your country, please inquire for further details with your embassy or consulate. If you choose the procedures for Japan, then you must register your marriage or complete the Konin Todoke at the ward office where your address is registered.

Submitting your Notification of Marriage (Konin Todoke)

＊If both you and the person you are marrying to are not Japanese, item (3) is not necessary.

(1)Place to complete registration

Find your local ward office, ward branch office and sub branch office of your area.

(2)Necessary items for foreign nationals

・Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage（Konin Yoken Gubi Shomeisho）issued by your embassy or consulate
・Passport (Depending on the information in the certificate, additional documents may be necessary)

(3)Necessary items for Japanese Citizens

・A copy of your Family Register (Koseki Tohon) (If your marriage registration is to be made in Kyoto City and the Registered Domicile (Honseki) of your family is in Kyoto City, the copy is not necessary)

• ＊2 witnesses who are legally adults aged 20 years or older must sign and/or put their seals on the Notification of Marriage (Konin Todoke).
• ＊There some cases where your Notification of Marriage cannot be accepted nor registered on submission; therefore, please consult your local ward office, branch office, or sub branch office in advance.
• ＊If you are a non-Japanese national, you must report your marriage to your country after you finish registering your marriage in Japan. Please inquire at your embassy or consulate about the necessary documents and procedures.
• ＊If your status of residence is to be changed after marriage, please inquire at the Immigration Services Agency.

Osaka Regional Immigration Bureau, Kyoto Branch Office

TEL：075-752-5997

Divorce

You need to submit Notification of Divorce (Rikon Todoke) at your ward office, branch office or sub branch office. If a married couple has different nationalities, the law of the country where they reside will be applied to divorce proceedings. For example, if your country does not recognize a divorce by mutual consent (Kyogi Rikon) and you are married to a Japanese while living in Japan, a divorce by mutual consent is allowed according to a Japanese law. However, if the couple has registered their marriage in another country, they also need to follow the legal proceedings of that country.