All foreigners residing over three months in Japan must register their place of Residence at their local City/Ward Office (within 14 days of moving-in.)

• Passport
• Residence Card (Not required if the card was not issued at an airport)

All foreigners who change the address in Japan must submit a “Notification of Change of Address” to the local City/Ward office to register the new address within 14 days from the date of moving in. Also, you should submit a “ Change of Address “ to the post office so that the post office may forward a mail and a parcel to your new address in Japan for one year.

• Passport
• Residence Card
• Notification Card for Individual Numbers or Individual Number Card
• National Health Insurance Card (enrollee only)
• Move-out Notification (in case move-in Kyoto City from outside of Kyoto City)

*For foreign nationals membership: When entering Japan with family, the certificate for family relationship issued by the government offices in a home country and its Japanese translation sentence of the contents (The address of the translator and the name are also written clearly.) may be requested.

Foreign nationals who stay in Japan for more than three months and who are not enrolled in the public health insurance plan provided by their employer are required to enroll in the National Health Insurance system. Once enrolled, a health insurance certificate is issued. The card must be shown whenever treatment is received at a hospital or a clinic. Card holders only need to pay 30 % of medical expenses.

Notes:

• You may enroll in the insurance even if your length of stay is three months or less (except for those with a temporary visitor visa). Please contact the local City/Ward office for more details.
• After December 2, 2024, instead of a health insurance certificate, a new type of card called “Shikaku-Kakuninsho”(資格確認書) is issued to persons who newly enroll in the National Health Insurance system. A health insurance card issued before December 2, 2024 can be used until their expiry date.
• Once you have obtained a My Number Card and register it as your Health Insurance Certificate, it can be used as your Health Insurance Certificate.

Applications	The local City/Ward Office
Required Items	Passport Residence Card
Payment of Health Insurance Premium	The annual premium is paid ten (monthly) installments from June to March. Calculation of the annual premium is based on the applicant’s previous year’s income in Japan. Once the insurance premium is set, it does not change no matter how many times a policy holder receives medical treatment during the year. You may pay a premium at the local city/ward office, a bank, a post office and a convenience store.

All people aged between 20 and 59 who are resident in Japan, including foreign nationals holding a resident card, are required to enroll in the public pension system. The public pension system comprises the National Pension System and the Employees’ Pension Insurance System.

Inquiries and applications for the National Pension System should be made at the City/Ward Office. Inquiries and applications for the Employees’ Pension Insurance System should be made via the general/personnel affairs staff of the applicant’s department of affiliation.

Persons experiencing financial difficulty may be eligible for a postponement or waiver of pension payments. Applications for a postponement or waiver of payments can be made at the City/Ward Office.

In order to prevent people from paying pension premiums in both their home country and Japan, and to enable people to receive benefits for contributions made in both countries, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Walfare has concluded social security agreements with an increasing number of foreign countries. We recommend that you check your own country’s pension system to confirm the correct procedures.

Non-Japanese nationals who have been paying into the Japan Pension Service can reclaim a portion of their payments if they cease residing in Japan. The repayment must be claimed within two years of their departure from Japan or their submission of a “notification of moving” to the City/Ward Office.

Claimants must fulfill the following conditions:

• They must not have Japanese nationality.
• They must have left Japan or have submitted a “notification of moving.”
• They must have paid into the Japan Pension Service for at least six months.
• They must not already have received any pension payments.
• The application for the lump-sum payment must be made within two years of their withdrawal from the pension system.

Since October 2015, the individual numbers called as “My Number” system has started. The individual number will be issued for all foreigners residing over three months in Japan and registered their place of residence. The local municipal offices will send an Individual Number Notice for Individual Numbers for the entire household via simple registered mail. Please be sure to keep your number securely during stay in Japan. You can obtain a My Number Card if you apply for one. Once registered as your Health Insurance Certificate, your My Number Card can be used as your Health Insurance Certificate. Click here for more details.