Residence card
A Residence card (在留カード, zairyū ka-do) is a card that all foreign residents of Japan with a status of residence (except for Temporary Visitor) must carry at all times.
Period of Stay and Period of Validity
These are usually the same, except for people with Permanent Residency or Highly Skilled Professional Type 2 status that have no expiration of stay. In this case, the period of stay is listed as asterisks, and the card is valid for 7 years, after which it must be renewed.
For people with no period of stay, some IT systems in Japan require a date for this field even though there is technically none. In this case it is usually acceptable to use the period of validity of the card instead.
Plans to combine with My Number Card
In 2020, plans were announced to allow for the issuance of a "Special Residence Card" that also has the features of the My Number card. A detailed schedule has not been released. These plans include scope to increase the renewal period to from 7 to 10 years for permanent residents, in line with the renewal period of the My Number card.
See the ISA FAQ.
Public Card Reader App
The Immigration Services Agency has released a publicly available app that is capable of verifying the data written on residence cards.
See also
- Status of residence
- What is a residence card? - Immigration Services Agency Machine translated from Japanese.
