Your visa is approved and you’ve landed (how the engineer visa works). Now comes the part nobody prepares you for: a chain of paperwork where each step needs the one before it.
Do it in the wrong order and you’ll spend weeks stuck — you can’t rent without a phone number, can’t get a phone without an address, can’t register an address until you’ve been to the city office.
Here’s the order that works, plus two things that surprise almost everyone: the six-month bank rule and the tax bill that arrives in your second year.
A note on sources: I’m an engineer, not an administrative specialist. Everything here comes from official sources, linked below. Rules and local practice vary by city — your employer’s HR and your local city office are the final word.
The order to do things in
Day 0 Airport: get your residence card
Day 1-14 City office: register your address (法律上の期限)
→ residence certificate, health insurance, pension
Day 3-14 Phone (SIM) — needs your residence card
Day 7-30 Bank account — needs address, often a phone number
Day 7-30 Apartment — needs all of the above
Week 3-4 My Number card arrives by post; driving licence if you need oneStep 1 — At the airport: your residence card
If you land at Narita, Haneda, Chubu, Kansai, New Chitose, Hiroshima or Fukuoka, you get your residence card (在留カード) on the spot. At other airports, it’s mailed to you after you register your address.
This card is your identity in Japan. Carry it at all times — you’re legally required to. You’ll need it for every step below.
Step 2 — Within 14 days: the city office
Go to the city or ward office (市役所 / 区役所) for the area where you live, and file a move-in notification (転入届).
- Deadline: within 14 days of settling on your address
- Bring: your residence card (or passport, if the card is coming by post). Family members joining you need documents proving the relationship, with Japanese translations
- Your address is written on the back of your residence card
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications — resident registration for foreign residents
While you’re there, handle these in the same visit:
| What | Details |
|---|---|
| Residence certificate (住民票) | A printed copy proves your address. Banks and phone shops often ask for one. Get two or three copies |
| My Number (マイナンバー) | Your 12-digit ID number is issued once you’re registered, and arrives by post. You can apply for the physical card too |
| Health insurance | If your employer enrolls you in company health insurance (健康保険), you’re covered. If not, you must join the municipal National Health Insurance (国民健康保険) here. It isn’t optional |
| Pension | Same logic: employees are enrolled via the company (厚生年金); otherwise you register for the National Pension (国民年金) |
Tip: Ask your employer which of these they handle. Most companies do health insurance and pension for you. The address registration is always yours to do.
Step 3 — Phone before bank
A Japanese phone number is required by almost everything else, and banks and landlords treat a foreign number as a red flag.
- You need your residence card; many shops also want a residence certificate
- Big carriers (docomo, au, SoftBank) have long contracts and Japanese-heavy paperwork. Budget carriers (MVNOs) are usually faster, and several support English
- Some plans require a Japanese bank account or credit card for payment — if so, look for one that accepts a credit card from home, or a prepaid plan, until your account is open
Step 4 — The bank account, and the six-month rule
Here’s the one that catches people out.
Under Japan’s Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act, a foreign national who has been in Japan less than six months can be treated as a non-resident (非居住者). Non-residents generally can’t open an ordinary account — only a restricted “non-resident yen account,” which limits what you can do and doesn’t support overseas transfers. (Aeon Bank’s explanation for foreign customers)
In practice, it depends on the bank and on your documents:
- Banks that see a work contract and employer letter often open an account before six months, because you’re clearly here to live and work
- Japan Post Bank (ゆうちょ銀行) and some online banks are commonly easier for new arrivals
- Your employer may have a designated bank that handles their staff routinely — always ask HR first. This is the fastest path
Bring: residence card, residence certificate, passport, phone number, and your inkan seal if you have one (some banks still ask; a signature is often accepted).
Step 5 — The apartment
Renting in Japan is its own article, but two things matter in month one:
- Upfront costs are large. Deposit (敷金), “key money” (礼金, non-refundable), agency fee and the first month’s rent add up to several months of rent
- You’ll likely need a guarantor company (保証会社), which charges a fee and runs a check. Your employer’s support — or simply having the job contract — makes this much easier. (How solid that support is depends a lot on what kind of company you joined.)
Many companies provide temporary housing for the first weeks. Ask before you arrive.
The surprise in year two: resident tax
Japan has two taxes on income: national income tax, and resident tax (住民税), paid to your city.
Resident tax is charged by the city where you live on 1 January, based on the previous year’s income. So:
- Year one: you weren’t in Japan on 1 January, so you pay no resident tax
- Year two: the bill arrives for year one’s income — and it keeps coming
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications — individual inhabitant tax for foreign residents
For employees, the company usually starts deducting it from your salary each June. Your take-home pay drops, without your salary changing. People who budget around their first-year take-home get a shock. Plan for roughly a tenth of your income once it starts, and ask HR when your deductions will begin.
Checklist for month one
- [ ] Residence card in hand, carried at all times
- [ ] Move-in notification at the city office — within 14 days
- [ ] Residence certificate (住民票), two or three copies
- [ ] My Number received; card applied for if you want it
- [ ] Health insurance and pension confirmed (company or municipal)
- [ ] Japanese phone number
- [ ] Bank account — ask your employer’s HR first
- [ ] Apartment, or a plan for when temporary housing ends
- [ ] Note in your calendar: resident tax starts in June of your second year
This article is general information based on the official sources linked above, as of September 2026, not legal or tax advice. Procedures vary by municipality and by bank; confirm with your employer and your local city office.
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