Before you start

A Certificate of Eligibility obtained by your employer or sponsor before the visa application, for most work statuses
A visa issued by a Japanese embassy or consulate
A passport valid well beyond the intended stay
An address in Osaka, which you generally need before you can register

Step-by-step

1
Receive your residence card at the airport
For medium and long-term stays the zairyū card is issued on landing at major airports including Kansai. Check the details on it immediately — name spelling, status of residence and period of stay — because corrections are far easier at the counter than afterwards.
In personWho: YouOn arrival
2
Register your address at the ward office within fourteen days
Take your residence card and passport to the ward office covering your address. Your address is written on the back of the card. This produces the jūminhyō residence certificate and starts your My Number. Fourteen days is a legal deadline, not a guideline.
In personWho: YouWithin 14 days of moving in
3
Enrol in health insurance and pension at the same visit
If your employer runs shakai hoken they handle it. If not, enrol in National Health Insurance and the National Pension at the ward office while you are there — both are compulsory and doing them in the same appointment saves a second trip.
In personWho: YouSame visit
4
Apply for the My Number card, not just the number
The number arrives by post; the physical card is applied for separately. It is increasingly used as identification, for online tax filing, and now functions as a health insurance card. Getting it early removes friction from a lot of later procedures.
OnlineWho: You
5
Carry the residence card at all times
Japanese law requires foreign residents to carry the card, and police may ask to see it. This is routine rather than adversarial, but not having it is an offence. Keep it on you rather than at home with your passport.
In personWho: You
6
Report every move within fourteen days
Changing address means notifying the new ward office within fourteen days, which updates the card. The same deadline applies to changes of employer for some statuses, reported to immigration. These deadlines are enforced and missing them can affect a renewal.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport with the visa
Certificate of Eligibility, if issued
Residence card
Proof of your Osaka address
Employment contract, for status-related procedures
Passport photographs to Japanese specification

Things most newcomers don’t know

The fourteen-day ward registration is the keystone, and it is a legal deadline.

Health insurance, most bank accounts, phone contracts and your My Number all depend on being registered as a resident of your ward. The card you received at the airport does not do this by itself. Fourteen days is written into the law rather than being a recommendation, and newcomers routinely treat it as an errand to get to eventually while four separate things sit blocked behind it.

Source: Immigration Services Agency

The Highly Skilled Professional points system is worth checking before you settle for a standard status.

Japan runs a points-based system scoring education, income, age and Japanese ability, and clearing the threshold brings a five-year period of stay, faster permanent residence — as little as one to three years rather than ten — and easier family arrangements. A great many eligible people never calculate their score because their employer applied for an ordinary work status by default. It is worth ten minutes with the official points table.

Source: Immigration Services Agency

You must carry the residence card, and this is enforced.

Japanese law requires foreign residents to carry the zairyū card at all times, and police checks do happen — more often near stations and on bicycles. It is not adversarial and the interaction is short if you have the card. Leaving it at home with your passport, which is the instinct from many countries, is the mistake.

Source: Immigration Services Agency

Japan's digital nomad status is deliberately narrow and does not make you a resident.

The route introduced in 2024 permits a six-month stay for remote workers meeting a high income threshold, but it does not confer resident status — you do not register at a ward office, you cannot enrol in National Health Insurance, and private cover is required. It is a long visit, not a move. Anyone planning to actually settle needs a work status with a sponsor.

Source: Immigration Services Agency

Common mistakes to avoid

Missing the fourteen-day ward registration deadline and blocking everything behind it.
Leaving the residence card at home rather than carrying it.
Accepting a standard work status without checking your Highly Skilled Professional score.
Not reporting a change of address or employer within the required period.
Treating the digital nomad route as a path to residence, which it is not.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.