Residence card and My Number in Tokyo for Americans

Think of the residence card as your green card and your My Number as your Social Security number, rolled into a life where nothing works until you've visited the ward office.

The short version

If you land at Narita or Haneda on a mid- to long-term visa, immigration hands you a residence card (zairyu card) right at the airport [1].
You must register your address at your ward or city office within 14 days of settling on a place to live [1]. Leave it for 90 days without good reason and your status of residence can be revoked [2].
After you register, a My Number notice arrives by mail. The plastic My Number card is optional but free the first time, and it now doubles as your health insurance card [3][4].
Every move inside Japan means another 14-day trip to the ward office, and every visa extension means updating your My Number card too [3][5].
Since June 14, 2026, you can choose a combined Specified Residence Card that merges the two, but only through an immigration procedure [6][7].

Step 1: the residence card at the airport

When you land on a work, study, spouse or other mid- to long-term status, the immigration officer stamps your passport and gives you a residence card on the spot at seven airports: Narita, Haneda, Chubu, Kansai, New Chitose, Hiroshima and Fukuoka [1]. Land somewhere else and the card is mailed to you after you register your address [1].

The card shows your name, photo, status of residence and period of stay. A few rules come with it:

Carry it. Anyone 16 or older must carry the card at all times [1]. The State Department also reminds Americans that you must have your passport or residence card on you, or you can be taken in for questioning [8].
Don't write on the back. The ward office fills in your address there. Toshima City's guide specifically tells residents not to write anything on the reverse themselves [5].
Lost card? Report it to the police first, then apply for a new one at the regional immigration office within 14 days of noticing it's gone [1][5].
Leaving for good? Hand it to the immigration officer at the airport on your way out [1]. For a trip home, you can come back within one year (or by the end of your period of stay, if sooner) without a re-entry permit, as long as you have your card and a valid passport [1].

Tourists and other short-term visitors don't get a residence card. If you came in visa-free on your US passport, none of this applies until you change status.

Step 2: the ward office within 14 days

Tokyo is divided into 23 special wards (plus cities further west), and each has its own office. This is your DMV, county clerk and Social Security office in one building. The law gives you 14 days after your residence is determined to file your moving-in notification there [1].

Bring:

your residence card
your passport
your lease or address details
for family members, documents proving the relationship, such as a marriage or birth certificate in the original with a Japanese translation [5]

The clerk prints your address on the back of your card and enters you in the resident register. Many wards handle National Health Insurance and National Pension sign-up at the same visit if you aren't covered through an employer, so set aside a morning.

The 90-day backstop

The 14-day rule comes with a much harsher backstop. Under the Immigration Control Act, the Minister of Justice may revoke the status of a mid- to long-term resident who fails to report an address within 90 days of arriving or moving, unless there's a justifiable reason [2]. Immigration's own examples of good reasons include losing housing after a sudden layoff, fleeing domestic violence, or being abroad on a valid re-entry permit [2]. "I was busy" isn't on the list.

Step 3: your My Number and the My Number card

A few weeks after you register, the ward mails you a notice with your 12-digit Individual Number, known as My Number [5]. Make sure your name is on the mailbox, or it may bounce. You'll be asked for this number by your employer, your bank, the tax office and the pension system, much the way everything back in the States wants your SSN. Toshima City advises keeping it somewhere safe to prevent leaks [5].

The My Number card is a separate step. It's a photo ID with a chip, and you apply by mail or online with a photo. Your first card is free [3]. When it's ready, the ward notifies you, you book a visit, pick it up in person and set your PINs [3].

Why get the card

Since December 2, 2024, Japan has stopped issuing traditional health insurance cards and uses the My Number card as the default health insurance card [4]. If you register it for that use, you tap it at clinics with card readers [4]. If you don't, your insurer gives you a separate card-type eligibility certificate instead [4]. Either way you're covered, but the My Number card is also handy for online government services and for ordering official certificates at convenience store copiers.

The expiry trap for foreign residents

For foreign residents, the My Number card expires when your period of stay expires [3]. Permanent residents are the exception [3]. So when immigration approves your visa extension, you also have to go back to the ward office and extend the card's validity before the old period runs out [3]. Separately, the card's electronic certificate expires on your fifth birthday after issuance and needs renewing [4].

Item	Where you get it	Deadline or validity
Residence card	Airport immigration (7 airports) or by mail [1]	Tied to your period of stay [1]
Moving-in notification	Ward or city office	Within 14 days of settling [1]
My Number notice	Mailed after registration	Permanent number [5]
My Number card	Apply by mail or online; pick up at ward [3]	Ends with your period of stay [3]
Card's electronic certificate	Renewed at the ward	Fifth birthday after issuance [4]
Lost residence card	Police, then immigration	Reapply within 14 days [1]

The new Specified Residence Card

From June 14, 2026, Japan began offering a Specified Residence Card, which combines the residence card and the My Number card into one [6]. It's entirely optional, and your existing cards stay valid until they expire [6][7].

You can't get it at the airport. You apply in person at an immigration office as part of another procedure, such as extending your stay, changing status, applying for permanent residence, or replacing a lost card [7]. The benefit is one card and fewer separate trips to immigration and the ward office when things change [6]. Your period of stay is stored on the chip rather than printed on the face [6].

Moving inside Tokyo, or leaving Japan

Moved apartments? Here's the order:

Moving to a different ward or city: file a moving-out notification at your old ward (Toshima lets you start about two weeks before you move) and collect the Change of Address Certificate [5]. If you have a My Number card, it can stand in for the certificate [5].
Within 14 days of moving in, file at your new ward with your residence card and My Number card [5].
Moving within the same ward: just file the change within 14 days [5].
Tell your employer, bank and health insurer. Some visa categories also have their own 14-day notice to immigration when your employer or school changes [1].

When you leave Japan for good, file a moving-out notification with your ward, close out National Health Insurance and pension, and turn in your residence card at the airport [1]. Japanese pension refunds have their own two-year clock; see our guide to the pension lump-sum withdrawal below.

The American side

Japan doesn't replace any of your US paperwork. Keep your US passport valid, since your residence card is tied to it. Register with the State Department's STEP program so the US Embassy in Tokyo can reach you in an earthquake or other emergency. And don't confuse your My Number with your SSN: Japanese banks may ask for both, because US citizens are reportable under FATCA. For the inside scoop on which ward offices have English help, ask in our community group for Americans in Japan.

Your residence card and My Number in Tokyo: the first two weeks