Moving house or leaving Japan: the paperwork

Quick answer

• Moving to another city: file 転出届 at the old office, then 転入届 at the new one.
• Moving inside the same city: file 転居届.
• Leaving Japan for good: file 転出届.

Moving within Japan

Move	Form	Where	When
To another city	転出届 (tenshutsu todoke), moving out	Old city office	Before you move
To another city	転入届 (tennyū todoke), moving in	New city office	Within 14 days of moving in
Same city	転居届 (tenkyo todoke), change of address	City office

Steps for another city

1. Go to the old city office. File 転出届.
2. Move.
3. Within 14 days, go to the new city office. File 転入届.
4. Bring your residence card (在留カード) and passport.
5. Check that the new address is on the back of your card.

Watch out

• Reporting your address at the city office also counts as reporting it to immigration.

Leaving Japan for good

1. Report moving out (転出届) at the city office.
2. Remember the pension lump-sum withdrawal (脱退一時金). You may be able to claim it. The claim must be made within 2 years after leaving Japan.
3. Ask your office about health insurance and other items.

Leaving for a short time

This is different from leaving for good. See our guide on the residence card and immigration for the special re-entry permit.

This guide is general information. Rules can change and your city may differ; check with your city or ward office and the Immigration Services Agency of Japan.