KYOTO CITY INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION

Ⅱ Starting a New Life

2. Procedures at a Ward Office

2-1 Foreign Residents Registration

If you remain in Japanfor over 90 days, you must register for a Certificate of Foreign Residents Registrationwhich serves as your personal identification. By Law, you are required to keep your Certificate (registration card) with you at all times.

See the list of “Ward and Branch Offices”

Notification	Applicant	Application Period	Items to Bring
Registration	Person Affected	Within 90 days of arriving in Japan (If registering a birth, with 60 days of the birth)	Passport, 2 photographs
Change of address, resident status, length of residence, etc.	Person Affected	Within 14 days of the change	Passport, Certificate of Foreign Residents Registration
Damage to Certificate	Person Affected		Passport, 2 photographs, Certificate of Foreign Residents Registration
Periodic Renewal of Status	Person Affected	①Your fifth birthday after you first registered. (However, if you are a permanent resident or have special permanent residency (tokubetsu eijushikaku), the seventh birthday after you first registered.) ②The fifth birthday after your most recent renewal. (However, if you are a permanent resident or have special permanent residency (tokubetsu eijushikaku), the seventh birthday after you first registered.	Passport, 2 photographs, Certificate of Foreign Residents Registration
		③16th birthday ① to ③ must be done within 30 days.
Loss of Certificate of Foreign Residents Registration. First, inform the police. Next, go to the ward or branch office to pick up an application for a new registration card.	Person Affected	Within 14 days of loss.	Passport, 2 photographs, Additionally, depending on the circumstances of the loss, a Fire Certificate (Kasai Shomei), or Certificate of Theft (Tounan Todoke) may be required

＊ Your Certificate of Foreign Residents Registration will be available at the place of registration, about 14 days after you have applied.

＊Photographs must be 4.5x3.5 cm in size, and taken from the waist up, full-face, front view, without a hat. Color and black and white photographs are both acceptable.

◆When Certification of Information Recorded on Foreign Residents Registration is Required

Certificates are available at your ward office, branch office, or Certificate Issuance Corner. Certificates can be procured not only by the actual applicant, but also any family members living with the applicant, or a representative with power of attorney.

◆Leaving JapanPermanently

When leaving Japanpermanently, you must return your registration certificate to the immigration officer at the point of your departure. If you have received a re-entry permit, it is not necessary to return the card.

2-2 National Health Insurance

National Health Insurance (kokumin kenko hoken) is a public health insurance system for the self-employed, farmers, the retired and those who are not covered by another insurance system. Those who do not join an insurance scheme available through a place of employment or those not receiving social welfare must join this system.Those who do not join an insurance system may have to pay the full amount of medical costs incurred. Those who withdraw from the insurance offered at their place of employment should apply to join the National Health Insurance.

◆If you join the National Health Insurance system

(1) You will pay 30% of costs when seeing a doctor. (The cost of items not covered by insurance must be borne by the individual.)

(2) When a child is born to an insured person, that person may receive a lump sum payment after birth for child rearing expenses.

(3) At death, payments for funeral expenses may be received. Other payments and benefits are also available. Inquire at your city, ward, townor village office.

◆How to join the system

Those foreign nationals who have registered as foreign residents and have stayed in Japanin accordance with the immigration law for more than 1 year may enter the system. Those who have stayed in Japan for less than 1 year but out of consideration for their purpose for entering the country are considered as having stayed over 1 year can also join the system.

Applications should be made at the city, ward, town or village office where one’s foreign resident registration was made. The items required are: “Certificate of Foreign Residents Registration” or toroku genpyo kisai jiko shomei sho, seal (if none, a signature will do), and documentation proving you have stayed in Japan over 1 year such as a passport, school/college identification card, study project, etc.

◆National Health Insurance Card

One National Health Insurance Card is issued per family. When seeking medical treatment, bring the insurance card to the hospital or clinic and show it at the reception desk. If members of the family live separately, an extra copy of the National Health Insurance Card can be issued.

◆About insurance premiums

The annual insurance payment is calculated on the insured individual’s annual income (municipal tax valuation) and the number of people in the family as one unit. People over 40 years old and under 65 years old must also pay an additional premium for Nursing Care Insurance (kaigo hoken).

Since there is no income prior to your first year in Japan, you will be charged the minimum rate during the first year. From the second year, you will be charged according to your income.

Annual insurance payments are decided according to your municipal tax and are paid in 10 installments from June to March the following year. An insurance payment bill will be sent from the city, ward, town or village office. Payment should be made by the due date at a bank or post office. If the appropriate application is made, payments can be made automatically by your bank and transferred from your bank account.
Since joining a public health insurance system is compulsory, you must join either the health insurance system at your place of employment or the National Health Insurance system. Although you are allowed to apply for National Health Insurance at any time, you will also be asked to pay either for the period starting from the day you completed alien registration to the day you became insured, or for a period specified by the relevant law.

In cases of disaster, unemployment, bankruptcy, or other such event, when it becomes difficult to pay insurance premiums, it may be possible to receive a remission from payment. If insurance premiums are not paid, the total cost of medical expenses may have to be borne and benefits may be suspended.

◆The following must be reported
The following should be reported within 14 days:

(1) A change of address (When you have moved within the city, ward, town or village)

(2) Moving into or out a city, ward, town or village

When moving out of the city, ward, town or village where you have lived, bring your National Health Insurance Card to the public office where you are registered and report your intended date of departure before you move. Within 14 days after your move, report your move to the public office in the city, ward, town or village of your new residence.

(3) When you join your workplace health insurance system

(4) When a child is born, when the head of the family (householder) changes, or when there is a death

(5) When the insurance card is soiled, etc.

(6) When withdrawing from (leaving) the system

You cannot withdraw from the National Health Insurance except for the following reasons: entering the social insurance system, moving from your city, ward, town or village. If you withdraw from the National Health Insurance during the fiscal year, insurance premiums will be recalculated and must be paid accordingly.

◆People who cannot join the National Health Insurance

(1) People who have not registered as foreign residents

(2) People who do not have a status of residence (zairyu shikaku)

(3) People on short stays (in Japan)

(4) People who have already joined another health insurance system

(5) People receiving social welfare

2-3 National Pension

The National Pension Scheme is a system whereby everybody receives a common “basic pension” (kiso nenkin). It provides income security in old age, in the event you acquire a disability or in the event of your death. Everyone including foreign nationals between 20 and 59 years old must join the National Pension Scheme. People who have joined the Employee’s Pension Scheme or a Providential Society’s Scheme are also members of the National Pension Scheme. If you have been enrolled for 25 years or more, you will be eligible to receive benefits starting at 65 years of age.

◆How to join the scheme

To join the National Pension Scheme, you should apply at a city, ward, town or village office. It is not necessary to apply if you have already joined an Employees’ Pension Insurance Scheme or a Providential Society’s Scheme. (The procedures for joining will be completed by the company.)

◆Insurance premiums

If you join the National Pension Scheme, you will have to pay insurance premiums. Premium bill payments should be made at a post office or bank. Bank transfer payments are also possible. People who have joined the Employees’ Pension Scheme or a Providential Society’s Scheme will have their premiums deducted from their salaries or bonuses.

◆When it is difficult to pay premiums

For people with no income, or people whose income is so low that premium payment is difficult, you can apply to be made fully exempt from paying or exempt from paying half of the premium cost. Students can also have payments suspended according to the Student Special Payment System (gakusei nofu tokurei seido). Students of some special schools (vocational, language, dressmaking, etc.) are not eligible.

◆Receiving a pension

National pensions will be paid out when a person becomes old, disabled, or when the insured person dies. Below are the different kinds of pensions.
(1) Basic Old-Age Pension (rorei kiso nenkin)
(2) Basic Disability Pension (shogai kiso nenkin)
(3) Basic Survivors Pension (izoku kiso nenkin)
(4) Widow’s Pension (kafu nenkin)
(5) Lump-Sum Death Payment (shibo ichiji kin)
(6) Old-Age Welfare Pension (rorei fukushi nenkin)

There are conditions regarding receiving each kind of pension. An application must be made in order to receive a pension.

◆Returning home (lump-sum refund payment system)

There is a lump-sum refund payment system for people when they withdraw from the National Pension Scheme or Employees’ Pension Scheme. All non-Japanese persons leaving Japanwithin 25 years of enrolling in a pension scheme are eligible to apply for the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment.

Lump-sum Withdrawal Payments are granted in principle on request to persons who meet all of the following conditions:

＊Persons who do not possess Japanese citizenship

＊Persons who do not have a place of residence in Japan (have already left Japan)

＊Persons who paid the National Pension premium or the Employees’ Pension Insurance premium for 6 months or more

＊Persons who have never qualified for pension benefits

＊Persons who file a claim within 2 years from the day of withdrawing from any pension scheme.

The Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment can be calculated using the following table (as of April 1, 2006)

Unit: month	Enrolled period Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment
	Employees’ Pension Insurance	National Pension
6-12	A net level monthly premium ×0.5	\41,580
12-18	A net level monthly premium ×1.0	\83,160
18-24	A net level monthly premium ×1.5	\124,740
24-30	A net level monthly premium ×2.0	\166,320
30-36	A net level monthly premium ×2.5	\207,900
36 or over	A net level monthly premium ×3.0	\249,480

＊20% income tax is imposed on the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment for the Employees’ Pension Insurance. When you submit a final income tax return for the year, if there has been a total tax overpayment, you will be refunded the excess)

See “Filing an Income Tax Return”

＊The Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment will be paid in your home country’s local currency. A remittance charge from Japanis not required, however, a handling fee when depositing in an overseas bank may be charged.

◆Necessary documents to file for the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment

＊Claim form (available from the Social Insurance Agency or the National Pension Section of the municipal office nearest you)

＊Pension Book (if you don’t have one, any necessary items must be filled in on the claim form)

＊A photocopy of your passport

＊A document verifying your bank details in your home country (bank name, branch, address and your account number in your name)

◆Send the above documents to the following address:

The Social Insurance Agency Office (03-3334-2111

5-24 Takaido-Nishi 3-Chome, Suginami-Ku, Tokyo 168-8505

2-4 Marriage and Divorce Registration

When you get married in Japanit is usual to have your marriage registered (kon’in todoke).

◆Foreign National and Japanese Citizen

If a person of foreign nationality marries a Japanese citizen, they must register their marriage by submitting the following documents to the Ward office or the Branch office of the area where they reside:

＊A certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage issued by the foreign partner's embassy.

＊Registration of Marriage (the application form is available at the Ward Office) signed and sealed by two witnesses over 20 years of age.

＊The foreign partner's Certificate of Foreign Residents Registration,

＊The foreign partner's passport or a document which certifies his/ her nationality, and a copy of the Japanese partner's Family Register (koseki tohon) unless it is kept at the Ward Office of residence.

＊To change status of residence due to marriage, it is recommended to consult at the Immigration Bureau.

OsakaRegional Immigration Bureau, KyotoBranch Office

(Osaka Nyukoku Kanrikyoku Kyoto Shuccho-sho) (752-5997

◆Foreign Nationals

If two foreign nationals marry, they are not under any legal obligation to register their marriage in Japan. However, it is recommended that they hand in a Marriage Certificate issued by the Consulate of their country to the Ward office.

Consult the consulate of your home country/ the ward office or branch office in your area

◆When you get divorced

It is necessary to notify your Ward Office. In the case of a couple with different nationalities, the law of the country in which they reside applies tothe divorce proceedings. For example, divorce by mutual consent would be recognized legally if the couple resides in Japan, even if one partner's nation does not recognize such a form of divorce. However, if the couple registered their marriage in another country, they have to follow the legal proceedings of that country.

Consult the consulate of your home country / “ward and branch office” in your area

2-5 Birth Registration

Your child will be issued a Birth Certificate when he or she is born.

Application Period You must apply for a Birth Certificate within 14 days of the child’s birth.

Location The Ward or Branch Office of your residence

※The child’sForeign Residents Registration must be completed within 60 days of the child’s birth.

2-6 Death Registration

Report the death of someone you know within 7 days of the person’s passing.

Necessary Documents Death Certificate, Seal

Location The Ward or Branch Office of deseased person's registered domicile or the Office in your area.

◆When the deceased is not a Japanese citizen

The deceased’s Certificate of Foreign Residents Registration must be returned to the Ward or Branch Office of his/ her registered domicile or the Office in your area. The Embassy or Consulate of the deceased person's home country should also be notified.

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