Newcomers · 転入届 · マイナンバー · 国民健康保険
Your first 30 days in Japan: a checklist for newcomers
A step-by-step checklist for your first month in Japan: what to do in which week, with deadlines and documents — address registration, health insurance and pension, My Number, a bank account, a phone. And a separate block for people who came to work: papers for your employer, insurance from day one and your first salary.
Checked against the websites of the Immigration Services Agency, the Digital Agency, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the National Tax Agency and city offices on October 7, 2026 · Take-home pay calculator · Social insurance
In short
Your first month in six lines
Week 1 — urgent
Documents and registration
Nothing else works without your address registration: the bank, insurance and phone all ask for a certificate of residence (住民票, jūminhyō). Under the Immigration Control Act, if you do not notify your address within 90 days of landing, your status of residence can be revoked.
- Days 1–7 · Moving-in notification at the city officeGo to the city or ward office (市役所 / 区役所) with your passport and residence card and fill in the moving-in notification (転入届). On the spot you can get a certificate of residence; your My Number is assigned and the Individual Number Notice (個人番号通知書) comes by registered mail about 2–3 weeks later. The registration is free. Health insurance and pension are usually handled in the same visit (health insurance in Japan).
- Days 1–7 · Your residence cardThe residence card (在留カード, zairyū kādo) is issued at the immigration counter of 10 airports (Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka and others). When you register, the city office writes your address on the back. Carry the card at all times — the police may ask for it. If you landed at another airport, the card is sent by mail after you register your address.
- Days 7–30 · Applying for a My Number CardAfter registering you can apply for the plastic My Number Card (マイナンバーカード) — online or at the city office. It is free and optional, and it is used for taxes, health insurance, banks and medical care. It normally takes about a month. People who have just moved to Japan from abroad can ask for express issuance if they apply within 30 days of registering — in Shinjuku, for example, it takes about a week.
One card instead of two. Since June 14, 2026 the residence card and the My Number Card can be combined into one, the special residence card (特定在留カード). It is optional; it is not issued at the airport, only at the city office or an immigration office together with another procedure.
Week 2 — money
Bank account, seal, cards
Opening a bank account is often the hardest step for newcomers. Some banks want you to have lived in Japan for 6 months or more; Japan Post Bank is usually the easiest place to start.
- Days 8–14 · A personal seal (印鑑, inkan)A seal with your family name is still asked for by some banks and offices, though more and more accept a signature. Seal shops (ハンコ屋) make one for ¥3,000–10,000 in 1–7 days. Registering it at the city office (印鑑登録) is usually free.
- Days 8–14 · Opening a bank accountGood options for newcomers: Japan Post Bank (ゆうちょ銀行) — often opens accounts soon after you register, with no minimum stay; SBI Shinsei Bank — support in English; SMBC Prestia — for higher salaries. The big banks (MUFG, Mizuho, SMBC) often ask for 6 months or more in Japan — check with the bank. Under the Ministry of Finance foreign exchange rules, a foreign national who works at an office in Japan is a resident from the first day, others after 6 months; until then a bank may restrict, for example, international transfers.
- Days 8–14 · Your cash cardThe debit cash card (キャッシュカード) arrives by mail 1–2 weeks after you open the account. A credit card (クレジットカード) usually comes only after 6 months or more and a steady salary — that is normal. Until then: cash and an IC transport card (Suica, PASMO) for payments.
Week 3 — phone and insurance
Phone, internet, health care
All of these depend on your address registration and a Japanese bank card. Without them you can get only a prepaid phone plan (プリペイド).
- Days 15–21 · Mobile phoneLow-cost carriers popular with foreign residents: Rakuten Mobile (about ¥1,078–3,278 a month, unlimited data at the top), IIJmio (about ¥850–2,000), povo (from ¥0 plus paid top-ups). The big carriers (docomo, SoftBank, au) cost more but cover rural areas better. Prices change often — check before you sign.
- Days 15–21 · Home internetFiber (光回線, hikari) costs about ¥4,000–6,000 a month; installation takes 2–4 weeks. If you work remotely, keep an unlimited mobile plan as a backup.
- Days 15–30 · Health insurance and pensionIf you work for a company, it enrolls you in Health Insurance (健康保険, kenkō hoken) and Employees’ Pension Insurance (厚生年金, kōsei nenkin); premiums come out of your pay. Freelancers, students and employees whose employer does not enroll them (for example, part-timers below the hours threshold, or staff of some small unincorporated businesses) join National Health Insurance (国民健康保険) at the city office within 14 days of registering their address; premiums are charged from the month you moved in. At the same visit residents aged 20 to 59 join National Pension (国民年金). More: health insurance in Japan.
No more paper health insurance cards. New cards (保険証) have not been issued since December 2, 2024. At the doctor you show your My Number Card registered as a health insurance card (マイナ保険証, maina hokenshō) or the Health Insurance Eligibility Certificate (資格確認書, shikaku kakuninsho) — it is sent free, without an application, to people who don’t use the My Number Card for insurance. More: health insurance in Japan.
Week 4 — settling in
Housing, garbage, taxes, work culture
By the end of the first month the focus moves to the long term: a permanent home, everyday routines, how taxes work and how people work together.
- Days 22–30 · A long-term apartmentIf you are in company housing or a share house, start looking for a permanent place. Moving in costs key money (礼金, reikin, a gift to the landlord, 1–2 months’ rent, not returned), a deposit (敷金, shikikin, 1–2 months, returned minus repairs) and the agency fee. Plan for 4–5 months’ rent up front. Search on SUUMO or LIFULL HOME’S, or with agencies that work with foreign tenants.
- Days 22–30 · Sorting garbageEvery city has its own rules: burnable (燃えるゴミ, usually twice a week), non-burnable (燃えないゴミ, once or twice a month), plastics, PET bottles and cans separately. The city office gives you the collection calendar, often in English. Wrongly sorted bags are left behind.
- Days 22–30 · Taxes in your first yearIncome tax (所得税, shotokuzei) is deducted from your pay from the start. Resident tax (住民税, jūminzei) is ¥0 in your first year, because it is based on last year’s income, when you were not in Japan. From the second year it adds roughly ¥10,000–25,000 a month — the “second-year surprise”. More: resident tax.
- Days 22–30 · Work cultureHō-ren-sō (報・連・相) — report, inform, consult — is the core of working with your boss. Being late is not accepted. Drinking parties with colleagues (飲み会, nomikai) are a common part of team life.
If you came to work
Your first week at the company
Your employer enrolls you in insurance and handles your taxes, but some of the paperwork depends on you. What to do in the first days:
- Check your working conditionsThe company must give you your conditions in writing (notice of working conditions, 労働条件通知書, rōdō jōken tsūchisho): contract term, place and work, hours, days off, pay and payday, rules for leaving. Compare it with what you were promised. If the conditions turn out different, you may end the contract at once, and if you moved for this job and return home within 14 days, the employer pays your travel. More: your employment contract.
- Give your My NumberYour employer asks for it for tax and insurance documents. It is on the Individual Number Notice that arrives after you register your address; if you don’t have it yet, tell HR.
- Hand in the dependents formThe Application for (Change in) Exemption for Dependents of Employment Income Earner (扶養控除等申告書, the dependents form) is due before your first pay. With it, tax is withheld at the standard rates (甲欄, kō-ran): nothing on monthly pay under ¥105,000 after premiums. Without it, a higher rate (乙欄, otsu-ran) applies. You also list dependents on it — spouse, children, parents abroad (relatives abroad).
- Give an account for your salarySalary goes to a bank account only with your consent; until you have one, tell your employer. It must be paid in full, at least once a month, on a fixed day. With your consent part of it can go to a payment app approved by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare — but you cannot be forced.
- Insurance from day oneCompany Health Insurance and Employees’ Pension Insurance start on the day you start work (Health Insurance Act, Article 35; Employees’ Pension Insurance Act, Article 13). The employer reports you within 5 days. Your insurer sends a notice of your insurance details (資格情報のお知らせ, shown together with the My Number health insurance card) or the Eligibility Certificate. If you had already joined National Health Insurance, leave it at the city office within 14 days.
- Your passport and card stay with youYour employer must not keep your passport or residence card: the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare guidelines for employers of foreign workers say so.
Your employer reports your hiring to Hello Work itself. You notify immigration within 14 days when a contract ends or you sign a new one — see changing jobs.
Your first salary
How much you take home
Example: Tokyo, ¥300,000 a month for a full month, under 40, no dependents, 2026 rates.
| Line | First year | From the second year |
|---|---|---|
| Salary | ¥300,000 | ¥300,000 |
| Health Insurance (4.925%) and child and childcare support contribution (0.115%) | −¥15,120 | −¥15,120 |
| Employees’ Pension Insurance (9.15%) | −¥27,450 | −¥27,450 |
| Employment Insurance (0.5%) | −¥1,500 | −¥1,500 |
| Income tax (standard rates, no dependents) | −¥6,340 | −¥6,340 |
| Resident tax | ¥0 | −¥12,500 |
| Take-home pay | ¥249,590 (83%) | ¥237,090 (79%) |
Premiums are based on the standard monthly remuneration (標準報酬月額), income tax on the withholding table; the figures are rounded. Second-year resident tax assumes the same salary all last year. Premiums are deducted for the previous month, so your first payslip may have no health insurance and pension lines. How to read it: reading a payslip; your own numbers: take-home pay calculator.
Resident tax is paid by people who had an address in Japan on January 1, on last year’s income. Arrive in 2026, and your first resident tax is deducted from June 2027. In December your employer settles the year’s income tax (year-end adjustment).
Deadlines
Deadlines and what happens if you miss them
| What | When | If you miss it |
|---|---|---|
| Address registration (転入届) | 14 days after you move in | a breach of the law; no bank account or insurance without it |
| Address registration after landing | 90 days | your status of residence can be revoked |
| National Health Insurance (if you have no company insurance) | 14 days | premiums are charged back; treatment before you join is at full cost |
| Express My Number Card for new arrivals | apply within 30 days of registering | the normal time: about a month or more |
| Dependents form (扶養控除等申告書) | before your first pay | tax is withheld at the higher rate |
| Leaving National Health Insurance after joining company insurance | 14 days | treatment paid by National Health Insurance after you joined company insurance must be repaid |
| Notification to immigration when a contract ends or a new one starts | 14 days | a fine of up to ¥200,000 |
Linked to your visa.
- Residence card — always with you; your address is written on the back when you register.
- 90 days without an address after landing, with no good reason, is a ground for revoking your status.
- Work within your status. If you do not do the activities of your status for 3 months or more without a good reason, your status can be revoked.
- Premiums and taxes on time. Cities are due to share National Health Insurance payment data with immigration from June 2027 (planned); then, with unpaid premiums an extension or change of status will in principle be refused unless the debt is paid or there is a payment plan. More: taxes and your visa.
Free help in English
If you have a family
Spouse, children, parents: what changes
A dependent for tax and a dependent for health insurance are two different things with different income limits. All the rules for families: Family and dependents.
What next
Your next step
FAQ
Questions from newcomers
Can’t find your question? Write to us — a real person replies.
Study → Find a job → Work → Taxes → PR or leave
From student to working in Japan — and where you are on the way
Sources
Where this information comes from
Rates, limits and deadlines on this page were checked against the official websites of the Immigration Services Agency, the Digital Agency, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and city offices on October 7, 2026. Amounts are in Japanese yen. When a rule changes we update the page and the date above.
- Immigration Services Agency — notification of your place of residence by new mid- to long-term residents (Japanese)
- Immigration Services Agency — revocation if no address is notified within 90 days of landing (PDF, English)
- Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications — Basic Resident Registration System for foreign residents (English)
- Inagi City — Notification of Moving In for people arriving from abroad (English)
- Individual Number Card — FAQ (English)
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare — My Number Card as Health Insurance Certificate and the Eligibility Certificate (PDF, English)
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare — Telephone Consultation Service for Foreign Workers (PDF)
- Immigration Services Agency — Foreign Residents Support Center (FRESC)
Results and examples are estimates, not your employer’s payroll. The amounts on your payslip and in your resident tax notice are the ones that count. For a complex case, talk to a licensed tax accountant (税理士) or a Labor and Social Security Attorney (社会保険労務士, sharōshi).
