Job docs · Residence & ID

Application materials

Residence (card & status)

The residence card and status are high-privacy material — this page covers information and pitfalls only, collecting nothing and generating no original by default. On the right is Iwate Prefecture's public specimen of the 2019 old-style card (CC BY 4.0), shown only to convey the rough layout; immigration began issuing the new style on 2026-06-14, and the new card no longer prints 在留期間 / 許可の種類 / 許可年月日. Click a field annotation on the left and the matching field highlights with its caution. It is not a real card and cannot be submitted — for procedures, rely on immigration's official pages.

Pick a material

Residence is high-privacy material — information and pitfalls first; other materials link to their own pages.

Next step

Handle status changes, post-offer steps, and onboarding in the dedicated tool. You can also copy the checklist or print this page.

Open offer / residence / onboarding tool

Sample field annotations

Click a field to highlight it on the official specimen image and see the sensitive caution.

Click a field annotation on the left and its sensitive caution appears here.

Field-label font size

SAMPLE · public official specimen, not a real card, not submittable

Residence card official specimen (not a real person) from Wikimedia Commons, carrying its own 見本/SAMPLE watermark — Wikimedia · File:Japanese Residence Card Sample.jpgPublic material from a government body · Document year: 2019Old style. Immigration began issuing the new-style residence card on 2026-06-14; the new card no longer prints 在留期間 / 許可の種類 / 許可年月日. This 2019 image is only for grasping the rough layout — check immigration's official pages for the current form.Iwate Prefecture / Government Standard Terms of Use Ver2.0 / CC BY 4.0

The image on the right is Iwate Prefecture's public specimen of the 2019 old-style residence card (CC BY 4.0), shown only to help you recognize which fields the card carries and their cautions; the current form is the new style issued from 2026-06-14 — verify against immigration's official pages. It is not a real card, cannot be submitted, and does not represent your own status. The site collects no card number, passport number, or expiry, and generates nothing usable as a real document.

Pitfall quick-ref

Timing of extension/change, keeping the number private, work permission — cross-field points gathered as a read-only reference; procedures per immigration's official pages.

Extension / change timing: Both extending your period and changing "student→work" status take review time — don't leave it to the expiry day. After an offer, confirm the change documents early (offer letter, employment contract, expected graduation) and back-count from immigration's queue.
Right stage, controlled channel, minimum scope: Never place the card or passport number in an ES, email, chat, generic input box, or an uploaded screenshot; this site does not ask for or collect them. But do cooperate with a legitimate check: immigration's validity lookup needs BOTH the number and the expiry date, and the official page states the result does not prove the card itself is valid — so it alone cannot confirm authenticity or work eligibility. An employer will normally, with your consent, inspect the physical card and check status, work restriction and outside-status permission, using the reader app where needed.
New-style card (from 2026): Immigration began issuing new-style residence cards on 2026-06-14. The new card no longer prints 在留期間 / 許可の種類 / 許可年月日 — that is by design, not an omission. Older versions of the reader app cannot read the new card and must be updated; per the official notice, showing those three items in the app is planned for around September 2026. Verify against immigration's official pages.
Work-permission stamp: Part-time work or paid internships on student status usually need the back-side work permission (typically within 28 hours/week during term; up to 8 hours/day during the school's long vacation periods (guideline) — per immigration's official rules [要確認]; summer internships often bump into this, so don't apply the term-time cap to long vacations). Having an offer ≠ being able to work; formal employment runs on a work status — don't take a full-time role on student status.
Address notification: Within 14 days of moving, notify the municipal office; the card's back is updated. Most easily missed after relocating for job-hunting; a mismatched address slows later residence and onboarding steps.
Submit only when needed: Residence information is usually needed at late-stage selection, after an offer, or at onboarding — not at application. Don't upload high-privacy material to a tool that doesn't need it; when a company asks, submit only the necessary scope.

Official primary sources (ISA)

For all procedures, deadlines, and permissions, rely on the Immigration Services Agency's official pages.

System information on this page was checked on 2026-08-11 (the new-style residence card has been issued since 2026-06-14). After any change, rely on immigration's official pages.