---
title: "Japan Residence Card Pickup and 14-Day Address Registration"
country: japan
service: "zairyu-card-pickup-and-90-day-address-registration"
category: identification
difficulty: moderate
estimated_time: "Same-day issuance at one of the eight designated airports, followed by a same-day municipal counter visit within 14 days of moving in"
cost_range: Free for the initial residence card and the first address registration; 住民票 extracts cost about ¥300 per copy where needed
last_verified: 2026-05-22
canonical: https://publicservices.guide/japan/zairyu-card-pickup-and-90-day-address-registration/
status: current
confidence: low
tags:
  - identification
  - "residence-card"
  - "zairyu-kado"
  - "address-registration"
  - "jukyochi-todokede"
  - "immigration-services-agency"
  - "municipal-registration"
  - "new-arrival"
sources:
  - https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/procedures/nyuukokukanri10_00021.html
  - https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/procedures/whatzairyu_00001.html
  - https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/tokutei.html
  - https://www.studyinjapan.go.jp/en/planning/immigration-procedures/
  - https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_sosiki/jichi_gyousei/c-gyousei/zairyu/english/move-in_move-out.html
  - https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3624/en
  - https://www.city.yokohama.lg.jp/lang/residents/en/notifications/default.html
  - https://www.city.minato.tokyo.jp/easyjp/en/moving/residentregistration/moving.html
---

# Japan Residence Card Pickup and 14-Day Address Registration

**Country:** 🇯🇵 Japan  
**Last verified:** 2026-05-22  
**Estimated time:** Same-day issuance at one of the eight designated airports, followed by a same-day municipal counter visit within 14 days of moving in  
**Cost:** Free for the initial residence card and the first address registration; 住民票 extracts cost about ¥300 per copy where needed

## Required documents

- **Passport** *(旅券 (Ryoken — Passport))*
  - Required: Original passport carrying the status-of-residence visa stamp affixed by a Japanese consulate or embassy abroad, or the in-country status-change record where the resident converted from a short-term status.
  - Cost: Already issued
  - _Note:_ Carried to both the immigration counter at the port of entry and the municipal counter for address registration. If the residence card was not issued at the airport, the passport must show the notation 在留カードを後日交付する.
- **Residence Card** *(在留カード (Zairyū Kādo — Residence Card))*
  - Required: Issued by an immigration inspector at one of the eight designated airports (New Chitose, Narita, Haneda, Chubu, Kansai, Kobe, Hiroshima, Fukuoka). At all other ports, a passport notation is affixed and the card is mailed after municipal address registration.
  - Cost: No fee disclosed by the Immigration Services Agency for the initial card issued at landing
  - _Note:_ The address field is left blank at the airport and is stamped on the reverse by the municipal clerk after registration. Article 23 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act requires the card to be carried at all times while in Japan.
- **Residence-Address Notification Form** *(住居地届出書 (Jūkyochi Todokede-sho))*
  - Required: Submitted at the 市区町村 (shi-ku-chō-son — city / ward / town / village) office of the new address. Available at the municipal counter and downloadable from the Immigration Services Agency website as PDF or Excel.
  - Cost: Free
  - _Note:_ Major Tokyo wards (Shinjuku, Shibuya, Minato), Yokohama, and similar designated cities publish English-language guidance for the form. Smaller towns may provide a Japanese-only form.
- **Certificate of Eligibility** *(在留資格認定証明書 (Zairyū Shikaku Nintei Shōmeisho))*
  - Required: Required for most non-tourist statuses of residence. Issued in advance by a regional immigration bureau in Japan, then presented to the Japanese consulate during visa issuance abroad. Surrendered with the visa at the port of entry.
  - Cost: Already issued
  - _Note:_ Holders of statuses that do not require this certificate (for example, in-country status changes from a short-term visa) skip this row. The status-of-residence visa stamp in the passport is sufficient at the immigration counter.
- **Family-relation documents (when registering a household)** *(戸籍書類 (Koseki Shorui — Family Register Documents))*
  - Required: Marriage certificate, birth certificates of children, and any other family-relationship documents for residents registering a household on a single 住民票. Certified Japanese translations of any non-Japanese documents are required by Minato and several other wards.
  - Cost: Translation fees vary by translator or agency
  - _Note:_ If a proxy submits on the principal's behalf, the principal carries a copy of the residence card while the proxy holds the original at the counter.

## Costs

- **Residence card issuance at the port of entry:** 0 JPY — No fee is disclosed on the Immigration Services Agency page that defines the residence card. Cards issued at the eight designated airports are handed over during immigration inspection.
- **Initial address registration at the municipality:** 0 JPY — No fee is disclosed on the procedural pages of Shinjuku, Shibuya, Minato (Tokyo), or Yokohama City. The clerk records the address in the 住民基本台帳 (Jūmin Kihon Daichō — Basic Resident Register) at no charge.
- **住民票 (Jūminhyō — Certificate of Residence) extract per copy:** 300 JPY — Indicative figure published by Yokohama and matching practice across Tokyo wards. Each copy is typically ¥300. The first-time registration itself does not require requesting an extract; copies are purchased downstream when needed for a bank account, mobile contract, or similar.
- **Residence card reissuance — loss or damage:** 0 JPY — Indicative figure for reissuance after loss or damage as published by the Immigration Services Agency reissuance procedural page.
- **Residence card exchange — voluntary:** 1600 JPY — Indicative figure for the voluntary exchange procedure as published by the Immigration Services Agency procedural page. The first card issued at the airport is free; this fee applies only to a later exchange request.

## Steps

### 1. At the airport — receive the residence card on the spot or accept a passport notation

- (Applicant) Present passport with the status-of-residence visa, the disembarkation card, and the 在留資格認定証明書 (Zairyū Shikaku Nintei Shōmeisho — Certificate of Eligibility) where applicable to the immigration inspector
- (Immigration Services Agency inspector) Affix the landing permission seal in the passport and, at one of the eight designated airports — New Chitose, Narita, Haneda, Chubu, Kansai, Kobe, Hiroshima, or Fukuoka — print and laminate the residence card on the spot
- (Immigration Services Agency inspector) At any other port — regional airport or seaport — affix a passport notation 在留カードを後日交付する indicating the residence card will be mailed after municipal address registration
- (Applicant) Confirm the address field on the card is left blank — the address is added by the municipality

> **Tip:** The card carries a chip and visible data fields including name, date of birth, gender, nationality or region, status of residence, work-authorisation status, validity period, and card number. Article 23 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act requires the card to be carried at all times while in Japan.

_Links:_
- [Immigration Services Agency — What is a Residence Card?](https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/procedures/whatzairyu_00001.html)
- [Study in Japan — Immigration and Student Visas](https://www.studyinjapan.go.jp/en/planning/immigration-procedures/)

### 2. After arrival — establish a Japanese address and start the 14-day clock

- (Applicant) Sign a residential lease, move into employer-provided housing, or take up residence with a relative or sponsor
- (Applicant) Confirm the move-in date — the 14-day clock under Article 19-7 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act starts on the date you actually establish residence, not the date you landed in Japan
- (Applicant) Note that hotels and serviced-apartment short-term stays do not satisfy the residence test; some municipalities reject a hotel address outright

> **If this fails:** Trying to register from a hotel or temporary accommodation typically fails at the counter. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications page on move-in and move-out states the clock starts on the day of taking up the new residence; arriving early and waiting for permanent accommodation does not by itself create a missed deadline.

### 3. After arrival — visit the 市区町村 office of the new address within 14 days

- (Applicant) Identify the 区役所 (Kuyakusho — ward office) for Tokyo's 23 special wards, or the 市役所 (Shiyakusho — city office) / town office / village office for ordinary municipalities of the address
- (Applicant) Take a queue ticket at the 戸籍住民課 (Koseki Jūmin-ka — Family and Resident Affairs Division) or equivalent counter unit named for the municipality (for example, the Counter Services Subsection in Minato, the Residents and Family Registration Division in Shibuya, the family registry division of the new ward in Yokohama)
- (Applicant) Check ward office hours — Yokohama: Monday–Friday 08:45–17:00 closed Saturday/Sunday/holidays and 29 December – 3 January; Shibuya: 08:30–17:00 with the same closed-day pattern
- (Applicant) Build in time for a translator or English-speaking support where the municipal counter has limited foreign-language coverage

> **Tip:** Major Tokyo wards (Shinjuku, Shibuya, Minato), Yokohama, Osaka, and similar designated cities publish English-language living guides covering the counter visit. Smaller towns may rely on bilingual signage and a Japanese-only form — bring a Japanese-speaking contact if you are unsure of the procedure.

_Links:_
- [Yokohama City — Procedures for when moving house](https://www.city.yokohama.lg.jp/lang/residents/en/notifications/default.html)
- [Minato City Living Guide — Moving](https://www.city.minato.tokyo.jp/easyjp/en/moving/residentregistration/moving.html)

### 4. After arrival — submit the residence-address notification form and supporting documents

- (Applicant) Hand over the 住居地届出書 (Jūkyochi Todokede-sho — residence-address notification form), the residence card (or passport bearing the 在留カードを後日交付する notation), and the passport itself
- (Applicant) Submit family-member documentation when registering a household — marriage certificate, children's birth certificates, and certified Japanese translations of any non-Japanese documents (Minato requires certified translations explicitly)
- (Municipal clerk) Record the address in the 住民基本台帳 (Jūmin Kihon Daichō — Basic Resident Register) under the 住民基本台帳法 (Jūmin Kihon Daichō Hō — Basic Resident Registration Act)
- (Municipal clerk) Confirm the single counter act discharges both the municipal registration and the Immigration Services Agency notification owed under Article 19-7 — verbatim 下記の住居地の届出を行ったものとみなされます (deemed to have completed the residence address notification)

> **If this fails:** If a proxy submits on the principal's behalf, the principal must carry a copy of the residence card while the proxy holds the original at the counter. Missing the residence card or the annotated passport blocks completion; rebook for the next available slot within the 14-day window.

### 5. After arrival — receive the address-stamped residence card and the 住民票 record

- (Municipal clerk) Print or stamp the registered address on the reverse side of the residence card and return the card to the applicant
- (Municipal clerk) Create a 住民票 (Jūminhyō — Certificate of Residence) record with the resident's name, address, date of birth, sex, nationality, status of residence, and period of stay
- (Applicant) Verify the address printed on the back of the residence card and the 住民票 entry are correct before leaving the counter
- (Applicant) Where the card was not issued at the airport, expect the Immigration Services Agency to mail the residence card to the registered address — no published target window applies; resident-orientation literature reports one to two weeks anecdotally

> **Tip:** From this moment, the residence card is fully usable as government-issued photo identification — banks, telecom carriers, and employers accept it as primary identification.

### 6. After arrival — optional integrated card path once the new format is in operation

- (Applicant) Decide whether to apply for the 特定在留カード (Tokutei Zairyū Kādo — Specified Residence Card), an optional card format that combines residence-card and マイナンバーカード (My Number Card) functions on a single chip-bearing card once the Immigration Services Agency launches operations (see the optional-route item for the exact force-date)
- (Applicant) Where applying, hold both a standard residence card and a My Number Card before filing — the application is accepted at a regional immigration bureau or during a municipal address registration
- (Immigration Services Agency) Issue the Specified Residence Card approximately 10 days longer than a standard residence card
- (Applicant) Otherwise continue with the standard residence card and a separate My Number Card — the Immigration Services Agency confirms this remains a valid path indefinitely

> **Tip:** The Immigration Services Agency states the voluntary character in plain Japanese on its launch page: 特定在留カード等の取得も任意であり (Tokutei Zairyū Kādo-tō no shutoku mo nin'i de ari — acquisition of the Specified Residence Card is also voluntary). Standard residence card holders are under no obligation to switch.

_Links:_
- [Immigration Services Agency — Specified Residence Card launch announcement](https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/tokutei.html)

### 7. After arrival — receive the Individual Number Notification Letter

- (Municipality / national mailing system) Mail the Individual Number Notification Letter to the registered address roughly two to three weeks after address registration
- (Applicant) Store the letter — it carries the My Number assigned to the resident and is needed for the separate My Number Card application
- (Applicant) Treat obtaining the physical My Number Card as a distinct procedure documented in the partner guide on My Number application and tax linkage

> **If this fails:** If the Notification Letter does not arrive within roughly three weeks, contact the municipal counter that handled the address registration. A reissued letter or in-person collection at the counter may be available depending on the municipality.

## FAQ

### Is the residence card free at the airport?

Yes. The initial residence card is issued at the port of entry at no charge. No fee is disclosed on the Immigration Services Agency page that defines the card. If you arrive via one of the eight designated airports, the inspector affixes the landing permission seal in your passport and prints the card on the spot. If you arrive via any other port, the card is mailed to your registered Japanese address after you complete municipal address registration — also at no fee.

### Does the 14-day clock start when I land in Japan or when I move in?

When you move in. The clock starts on the date you actually establish residence at a Japanese address — not on the date you land. Hotels and short-term accommodation do not start the clock; the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications page on move-in and move-out for foreign residents states this in plain terms. Plan your housing carefully: if you arrive several days before moving into permanent accommodation, the 14-day window opens on your move-in date.

### What if I arrived through a regional airport that isn't on the eight-airport list?

The inspector stamps your passport with the notation 在留カードを後日交付する (residence card to be issued at a later date). You then have 14 days from establishing residence to register your address at the municipal counter. The Immigration Services Agency issues your residence card after registration and mails it to that address. Bring the annotated passport instead of the residence card to the municipal counter.

### Do I have to apply for the new 特定在留カード (Specified Residence Card) from 14 June 2026?

No. Acquisition is voluntary. The Immigration Services Agency states the launch date and the voluntary character in plain language: 2026年（令和8年）6月14日（日）から特定在留カード等の運用が開始される (operations of the Specified Residence Card and related variants begin from Sunday 14 June 2026) and 特定在留カード等の取得も任意であり (acquisition is also voluntary). The standard residence card path remains a valid choice indefinitely. Issuance of the Specified Residence Card also takes approximately 10 days longer than a standard card.

### What happens if I miss the 14-day deadline?

Article 71 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act sets the maximum penalty at imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to ¥200,000. In practice, prosecution for a missed 14-day deadline is uncommon — administrative remedies are typically pursued first, and some municipalities accept a late registration accompanied by a 遅延理由書 (Chien Riyū-sho — Statement of Reasons for Delay). This mechanism is informal and at the counter's discretion; it does not waive the statutory penalty. A separate Article 22-4 trigger applies once an address has been left unregistered for more than 90 days: the Minister of Justice may revoke the status of residence.

### Can I register a friend's address while I look for my own place?

Only if you have actually moved in and intend to reside there. The legal test is whether residence has been established, not how long you intend to stay. Some wards will register an address based on a lease or sponsor letter; others require utility-bill-style proof. A hotel address does not satisfy the residence test.

### Do I have to carry the residence card all the time?

Yes. Article 23 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act imposes a carry-and-present obligation. Police, immigration officers, and coast guard officials may request to see the card; non-presentation can trigger a penalty. Keep the card on your person rather than leaving it at home — even short errands fall within the obligation.

### My family came with me — can we all register together?

Yes. The municipality registers an entire household on a single 住民票 (Jūminhyō — Certificate of Residence). Bring the residence card or annotated passport of every household member, your marriage certificate, your children's birth certificates, and certified Japanese translations of any non-Japanese documents. Minato and several other Tokyo wards require certified translations explicitly; smaller municipalities may accept simpler translations.

### What is the difference between 特定在留カード and 特定技能?

Two unrelated things that share the prefix 特定 (Tokutei — Specified). 特定在留カード (Tokutei Zairyū Kādo) is the optional integrated card format launching 14 June 2026. 特定技能 (Tokutei Ginō) is a separate status-of-residence category for skilled labour. The wording overlap causes confusion in resident-facing material; check the surrounding context to be sure which one a document refers to.

### When does the My Number notification arrive?

Roughly two to three weeks after address registration, the Individual Number Notification Letter arrives by mail at your registered address. The older 通知カード (Tsūchi Kādo — Notification Card) was phased out in May 2020 and replaced by the Notification Letter plus a separate My Number Card application path. Obtaining the physical My Number Card itself is a distinct procedure documented in the partner guide on My Number application.

## Sources

- [Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁) — Initial Address Registration Post-Entry](https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/procedures/nyuukokukanri10_00021.html) — accessed 2026-05-22 — _T1_ — Procedural anchor for the 14-day rule: the mid-to-long-term resident must notify the municipality of their residence within 14 days of establishing it. The Immigration Services Agency states this in Japanese as 住居地を定めた日から１４日以内 (within 14 days from the date you establish your residence). The municipal counter visit is legally treated as also discharging the notification obligation owed to the Immigration Services Agency under Article 19-7 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act: 下記の住居地の届出を行ったものとみなされます (deemed to have completed the residence address notification). If the residence card was not issued at the port of entry, the passport bearing the notation 在留カードを後日交付する (residence card to be issued at a later date) is presented instead.
- [Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁) — What is a Residence Card?](https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/procedures/whatzairyu_00001.html) — accessed 2026-05-22 — _T1_ — Defines the residence card recipient population and card data fields. The card is issued to mid-to-long-term residents granted a status of residence allowing a stay longer than three months on the basis of a Certificate of Eligibility (在留資格認定証明書, Zairyū Shikaku Nintei Shōmeisho) issued in advance by a regional immigration bureau and surrendered with the visa at the port of entry. The card carries the holder's name, date of birth, gender, nationality or region, address, status of residence, work-authorisation status, validity period, and card number. No fee is disclosed on this page for the initial residence card issued at the port of entry.
- [Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁) — Specified Residence Card / Operations Begin 14 June 2026](https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/tokutei.html) — accessed 2026-05-22 — _T1_ — Optional integrated card path launching 14 June 2026 — the 特定在留カード (Tokutei Zairyū Kādo — Specified Residence Card) combines residence-card and マイナンバーカード (My Number Card) functions on a single chip-bearing card. The Immigration Services Agency announcement page states 2026年（令和8年）6月14日（日）から特定在留カード等の運用が開始される (operations of the Specified Residence Card and related variants begin from Sunday 14 June 2026); 特定在留カード等の取得も任意であり (acquisition is also voluntary); 通常の在留カードに比べて、交付までは１０日ほど長くかかります (issuance takes approximately 10 days longer than a standard residence card). From the same launch date, the facial-photograph threshold is lowered from age 16 to age 1 for both standard and specified residence cards.
- [Study in Japan Official Website (MEXT-aligned) — Immigration and Student Visas](https://www.studyinjapan.go.jp/en/planning/immigration-procedures/) — accessed 2026-05-22 — _T1_ — Designated-airport list at which the residence card is issued on the spot: New Chitose, Narita, Haneda, Chubu, Kansai, Kobe, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka. The Study in Japan portal states that when entering Japan via one of these airports, during the immigration process a Landing Permission stamp will be affixed in the passport and the traveller will be issued a residence card. After determining where they will live in Japan, the traveller brings the residence card to the municipal office administering the address within 14 days to register as a resident. Arrival via any other port (regional airport or seaport) means the card is mailed after municipal registration.
- [Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (総務省) — Move-in / Move-out Procedure for Foreign Residents](https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_sosiki/jichi_gyousei/c-gyousei/zairyu/english/move-in_move-out.html) — accessed 2026-05-22 — _T1_ — Establishes the start of the 14-day clock and the framing of municipal registration. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications page states that medium to long-term residents must take their Residence Card (or passport for those who were not issued a Residence Card at the airport, etc.) and submit a move-in notification to the municipality of their residence within fourteen days of taking up their new residence. The clock starts on the date of establishing residence, not on the date of arrival in Japan.
- [Japanese Law Translation — Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act](https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3624/en) — accessed 2026-05-22 — _T1_ — Statutory anchors: Article 19-7 (notification of place of residence following a new landing) sets the 14-day notification rule; Article 19-9 (notification of change of the place of residence) extends the rule to subsequent moves between municipalities; Article 22-4 (revocation of status of residence) lists failure to notify the place of residence within the statutory deadline as a revocation ground, with the 90-day non-registration threshold; Article 23 (carry-and-present obligation) requires the residence card to be carried and presented to immigration officers, police, or coast guard officials; Article 71 (penalties) caps the maximum penalty for notification failure at imprisonment up to one year or a fine up to ¥200,000. Reference version: Act No. 63 of 2019, translated 31 March 2020.
- [Yokohama City (横浜市) — Procedures for When Moving House](https://www.city.yokohama.lg.jp/lang/residents/en/notifications/default.html) — accessed 2026-05-22 — _T1_ — Representative ward-level procedural page (last updated 1 March 2025). Deadline: within 14 days of the day of moving in. Where to submit: family registry division of the ward office of the ward you have moved to. Required: resident card or Special Permanent Resident Card, plus passport. Yokohama publishes an inter-ward exception: residents moving from one ward of Yokohama to another do not file a separate move-out notification — only the move-in notification at the new ward is required. Ward office hours: Monday–Friday 08:45–17:00; closed Saturday/Sunday/holidays and 29 December – 3 January.
- [Minato City Living Guide (港区) — Moving](https://www.city.minato.tokyo.jp/easyjp/en/moving/residentregistration/moving.html) — accessed 2026-05-22 — _T1_ — Representative Tokyo ward procedural page (last updated 28 March 2024). Submit a resident registration form within 14 days of moving into Minato City. Required: passports and residence cards of all your household members who are moving into Minato City. Family-relation documents (marriage certificate, birth certificates) and certified Japanese translations are required when registering household members on a single 住民票 (Certificate of Residence). Counter Services Subsection, Residents Support Section at each Regional City Office handles the registration.

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Verification pending — see the canonical page for the latest trust state.
Canonical: https://publicservices.guide/japan/zairyu-card-pickup-and-90-day-address-registration/