The core idea: four questions on the front, a logbook on the back
Come to live in Japan on a work, study or family status for more than three months and immigration gives you a zairyū kādo (在留カード), literally a 'stay card'. You must carry it at all times; failing to have it when an officer asks can bring a fine of up to 200,000 yen.
Read the front as four answers in a fixed order: who you are, where you live, what you may do in Japan, and until when. The back is a logbook of what has changed since. On an ordinary residence card the front is never corrected by hand, so when the two sides disagree, the back is newer. Here is a phone-shop clerk checking your identity before a contract.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 在留カードはお持ちですか。 | Zairyū kādo wa omochi desu ka. | Do you have your residence card with you? |
| 在留カードを確認させていただけますか。 | Zairyū kādo o kakunin sasete itadakemasu ka. | May I check your residence card? |
| 表と裏のコピーを取らせていただきます。 | Omote to ura no kopī o torasete itadakimasu. | We'll take a copy of the front and the back. |
| はい、どうぞ。 | Hai, dōzo. | Yes, here you are. |
| 今の住所は裏に書いてあります。 | Ima no jūsho wa ura ni kaite arimasu. | My current address is written on the back. |
Who you are and where you live: the fields at the top
Shimei (氏名), your name, is printed in capital roman letters, family name first, as in your passport; people whose names use kanji can ask for them to be added. Shimei is literally 'clan name and given name', which is why the family name leads. Seinengappi (生年月日), literally 'birth year, month, day', uses the Western calendar here, not the era years of many forms. Kokuseki, chiiki (国籍・地域) is nationality or region, since a few places are not listed as countries.
Jūkyochi (住居地) is your address when the card was made. Below it come the rows that decide what you may do, then the dates. The diagram shows the design issued from 14 June 2026, grouped by question.
| Field | Reading | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| 氏名 | shimei | Your name in roman capitals, family name first |
| 生年月日 | seinengappi | Date of birth, in the Western calendar |
| 性別 | seibetsu | Sex |
| 国籍・地域 | kokuseki, chiiki | Nationality or region |
| 住居地 | jūkyochi | Your address when the card was issued |
| 在留資格 | zairyū shikaku | Status of residence: why you are here |
| 就労制限の有無 | shūrō seigen no umu | Whether, and how far, you may work |
| 在留期間満了日 | zairyū kikan manryōbi | The last day of your permitted stay |
| 番号 | bangō | Card number: two letters, eight digits, two letters |
| このカードは〜まで有効です | kono kādo wa ... made yūkō desu | How long the card itself is valid |
What you may do: status of residence and the work line
Zairyū shikaku (在留資格), status of residence, names the activity you were admitted for: ryūgaku (留学) for students, kazoku taizai (家族滞在) for dependants, gijutsu, jinbun chishiki, kokusai gyōmu (技術・人文知識・国際業務) for most office jobs, eijūsha (永住者) for permanent residents. The status is the reason you are here; the work line is its consequence.
Shūrō seigen no umu (就労制限の有無) is literally 'work restriction, present or absent', since umu (有無) means having and not having. A student sees shūrō fuka, no work permitted, which is not the end of the story: turn the card over. A café manager interviewing you for a part-time job might ask the following.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 在留資格は何ですか。 | Zairyū shikaku wa nan desu ka. | What's your status of residence? |
| 留学です。 | Ryūgaku desu. | Student. |
| 資格外活動の許可はありますか。 | Shikakugai katsudō no kyoka wa arimasu ka. | Do you have permission to work outside your status? |
| はい、カードの裏に書いてあります。 | Hai, kādo no ura ni kaite arimasu. | Yes, it's written on the back of the card. |
| 週28時間まで働けます。 | Shū nijūhachi-jikan made hatarakemasu. | I can work up to 28 hours a week. |
| Entry on the card | Reading | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 就労制限なし | shūrō seigen nashi | No restriction: any lawful job |
| 在留資格に基づく就労活動のみ可 | zairyū shikaku ni motozuku shūrō katsudō nomi ka | Only work that fits your status |
| 指定書により指定された就労活動のみ可 | shiteisho ni yori shitei sareta shūrō katsudō nomi ka | Only the work named on a separate designation document |
| 就労不可 | shūrō fuka | No work, unless the back shows permission |
Until when: two dates that are easy to confuse
Zairyū kikan manryōbi (在留期間満了日) is the last day of your permitted stay; manryō is literally 'full and finished'. The line kono kādo wa ... made yūkō desu, this card is valid until, is the life of the plastic. For most people the two dates match, because the card expires with the permission it proves. Permanent residents have no end date of stay, but their card still expires: from 14 June 2026, on the tenth birthday after issue, or the fifth for under-18s, where older cards ran seven years.
With a stay of six months or more, you can apply for an extension from three months before the expiry date. If no decision arrives in time, you may stay on your current status until the decision or two months after the expiry, whichever comes first. A colleague asks about your plans.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 在留期間はいつまでですか。 | Zairyū kikan wa itsu made desu ka. | Until when is your period of stay? |
| 2030年1月1日までです。 | Nisen-sanjū-nen ichigatsu tsuitachi made desu. | Until 1 January 2030. |
| 来月、更新の申請に行きます。 | Raigetsu, kōshin no shinsei ni ikimasu. | Next month I'm going to apply for an extension. |
| 今、更新の申請中です。 | Ima, kōshin no shinseichū desu. | My extension application is in progress. |
The back: three columns for what changed
Each area on the back is written by a different office, which makes them easy to remember. At the top, the jūkyochi kisairan (住居地記載欄), address column, has two headings: todokede nengappi (届出年月日), the date you reported, and jūkyochi, the address. The ward office adds a line at each move, so your current address is the lowest line in use.
Bottom left, the shikakugai katsudō kyokaran (資格外活動許可欄) is literally the 'permission for activities outside your status' box, filled in by immigration. Bottom right, the zairyū kikan kōshin-tō kyoka shinseiran (在留期間更新等許可申請欄) gets a note such as zairyū kikan kōshin kyoka shinseichū, extension application in progress, when you apply at an immigration counter; online applications are not marked. It explains why a printed expiry date may have passed while you are still legal. At the bank, a clerk turns your card over.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 裏面も拝見してよろしいですか。 | Rimen mo haiken shite yoroshii desu ka. | May I see the back as well? |
| ご住所は裏面の方ですね。 | Gojūsho wa rimen no hō desu ne. | Your address is the one on the back, isn't it? |
| はい、先月引っ越しました。 | Hai, sengetsu hikkoshimashita. | Yes, I moved last month. |
| 一番下の住所が今の住所です。 | Ichiban shita no jūsho ga ima no jūsho desu. | The address at the bottom is my current one. |
Beyond the basics: the June 2026 redesign and the Specified Residence Card
Cards issued from 14 June 2026 have a new design, and four items left the face. They are now kept only in the IC chip, which immigration's free reader app can display with the holder's consent. Older cards stay valid until their own expiry, so you will see both designs for years.
| Item | Reading | Before 14 June 2026 | From 14 June 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 在留期間 | zairyū kikan | Printed, for example 3 years | In the chip only |
| 許可の種類 | kyoka no shurui | Printed | In the chip only |
| 許可年月日 | kyoka nengappi | Printed | In the chip only |
| 交付年月日 | kōfu nengappi | Printed | In the chip; the reader app does not show it |
| 顔写真 | kao shashin | Shown from age 16 | Shown from age 1 |
| 永住者のカード | eijūsha no kādo | Valid 7 years from issue | Valid until the 10th birthday after issue |
The same day brought the tokutei zairyū kādo (特定在留カード), the Specified Residence Card: a residence card that is also your My Number card. It is optional, requested alongside another procedure such as an extension, takes about ten days longer than an ordinary card, and is never issued at the airport. Its front has a tsuikiran (追記欄), additions box, for later changes, and your 12-digit My Number is printed on the back.
At the ward office when you move
Although immigration issues the card, you report a new address to the municipal office within 14 days of moving in. A move inside the same city or ward is a tenkyo todoke (転居届), change-of-residence notice. A move elsewhere takes a tenshutsu todoke (転出届), moving-out notice, at the old office, then a tennyū todoke (転入届), moving-in notice, at the new one. Filing it with your card counts as your report to immigration.
Bring your My Number card too, since its address is updated as well. Speak plain polite Japanese; the clerk will answer in humble keigo. The wider routine of the city office is covered in a separate guide.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 引っ越したので、住所変更の手続きをしたいです。 | Hikkoshita node, jūsho henkō no tetsuzuki o shitai desu. | I've moved, so I'd like to change my address. |
| 転入届を出しに来ました。 | Tennyū todoke o dashi ni kimashita. | I've come to file a moving-in notice. |
| 同じ区の中で引っ越しました。 | Onaji ku no naka de hikkoshimashita. | I moved within the same ward. |
| 在留カードとマイナンバーカードをお預かりします。 | Zairyū kādo to mainanbā kādo o oazukari shimasu. | I'll hold on to your residence card and My Number card for a moment. |
| 転出証明書はお持ちですか。 | Tenshutsu shōmeisho wa omochi desu ka. | Do you have your moving-out certificate? |
| カードの裏に新しい住所を記載しました。 | Kādo no ura ni atarashii jūsho o kisai shimashita. | We've written the new address on the back of the card. |
| ご確認ください。 | Gokakunin kudasai. | Please check it. |
Common mistakes when reading the card
- Giving the front address after a move. The front of an ordinary card is never corrected. Copy the lowest line of the address column instead.
- Reading shūrō fuka as 'I may never work'. People read one side only. Check the permission box on the back and stay within its hours.
- Looking for 3年 on a new card and assuming something is missing. The length of stay left the face in June 2026; the expiry date is still printed, and that is what matters.
- Taking an address change to immigration. The card comes from immigration, so it seems logical, but addresses go to the city or ward office. Other changes, such as a new name or nationality, do go to immigration.
- Confusing the two dates on a permanent resident's card. Only the card expires, and it must be renewed at immigration before the printed date.