What Is the Specified Residence Card? Merging Your Residence Card and My Number Card (Launched June 14, 2026)

On June 14, 2026 (Reiwa 8), Japan launched the Specified Residence Card (特定在留カード), a single card that combines the residence card and the My Number Card. On the same day, the residence card format itself changed, with revisions to what is printed on the card and to how validity periods are calculated. This article sets out what the Specified Residence Card is, how to apply, and the practical points that are easiest to overlook, following the information published by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan.

Reference: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, “Application for Issuance of a Specified Residence Card” / “[Important] Applications for a Specified Residence Card Do Not Support Online Filing! (as of June, Reiwa 8)” / “[Important] How to Confirm the Period of Stay on New-Format Residence Cards (as of June 23, Reiwa 8)“

What the Specified Residence Card Is

A Specified Residence Card is a residence card to which measures have been applied to add the functions of a My Number Card. For special permanent residents, there is an equivalent document, the Specified Special Permanent Resident Certificate (特定特別永住者証明書); together the two are referred to as “Specified Residence Cards, etc.” The legal basis is Article 19-15-2, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Immigration Control Act).

Until now, a foreign national holding a My Number Card had to visit a municipal office separately to update the information on the My Number Card after receiving a residence-related permission or filing a notification at a Regional Immigration Services Bureau. When you are issued a Specified Residence Card, the latest information is also recorded in the My Number Card functions, so that separate trip to the municipal office is no longer necessary. That is the main benefit.

A Specified Residence Card can also be used as a My Number health insurance card and a My Number driver’s license. Note, however, that if you hold a My Number driver’s license and are issued a Specified Residence Card, your license information is not carried over. To keep using it, you must have the license information recorded onto the new card at a driver’s license center, paying the recording fee.

For the basics of residence cards and residence status, see What Is a Residence Status? The Basics Explained.

When Things Change

Item	Date
Specified Residence Cards enter operation	Sunday, June 14, 2026 (Reiwa 8)
Regional Immigration Services Bureaus begin accepting applications	Monday, June 15, 2026 (Reiwa 8) — the next business day
Residence cards switch to the new format	June 14, 2026 (Reiwa 8)
Updated Residence Card Reader application scheduled for release	Around September 2026 (Reiwa 8)

Municipal counters are expected to follow the same schedule, but the Agency asks that you confirm opening days with each municipality.

Who Is Eligible, and Why It Is Optional

Those eligible to apply are mid- to long-term residents and special permanent residents recorded in the Basic Resident Register. The point most often misunderstood is that obtaining the card is not mandatory.

Just as obtaining a My Number Card is optional, obtaining a Specified Residence Card is also optional, and you may continue to hold a residence card and a My Number Card as two separate cards. If you do not wish to obtain one, you will be issued a residence card in the new format.

Residence cards in the current format remain valid after issuance of the new format begins. There is no need to go out of your way to swap the card you already hold. Also, because a Specified Residence Card is itself a residence card, the obligation to carry it at all times applies exactly as before.

How to Apply, Fees, and Required Documents

Where and When You Can Apply

An application for a Specified Residence Card cannot be filed on its own. It must be filed together with another procedure.

Procedure filed at the same time	Where to file
Extension of period of stay, change of status of residence, permanent residence permission	Regional Immigration Services Bureau or Office
Renewal of the residence card validity period; reissuance due to damage or by request for exchange	Regional Immigration Services Bureau or Office
Notification of changes to card items other than place of residence	Regional Immigration Services Bureau with jurisdiction over your address
Notification of place of residence after new landing; notification of change of address	The relevant counter of your municipality

If you only want to swap your current residence card for a Specified Residence Card, file an application for reissuance of the residence card by request for exchange at a Regional Immigration Services Bureau, together with the application for the Specified Residence Card. Note also that you cannot receive a Specified Residence Card at the airport on new landing; airports continue to issue ordinary residence cards.

[Important] Online Applications Are Not Supported

As of June, Reiwa 8, the Immigration Services Agency gives the following warning.

Applications for issuance of a Specified Residence Card do not support online filing for the time being. Accordingly, you cannot apply for a Specified Residence Card when you file residence-related applications online. If you wish to obtain a Specified Residence Card, you must come to the office, file your residence application at the counter, and receive the card at the counter.

In other words, whether you want a Specified Residence Card determines how you must file the underlying residence application itself — online or in person. Weigh this against the convenience of the online system. Conditions for using online filing are explained in Online Applications for the Engineer Visa: Eligibility, Steps, and Cautions.

Required Documents and Fees

In addition to the documents for the procedure filed at the same time, you need the application form for issuance of a Specified Residence Card, a PIN setting request form, and one photograph. You must also present your passport (or a written explanation if you cannot present it) and your residence card. Four PINs must be set. Where a representative or an authorized agent files the application, the applicant must seal the PIN form so that the representative or agent cannot see the PINs.

No fee is charged when you receive the card at your first procedure on or after June 14, 2026. After that, a fee may apply to certain procedures such as exchange by request. Where a fee applies, the fee payable to the Immigration Services Agency is 1,900 yen (2,600 yen where the card is mailed directly to your address), and the fee payable to the Japan Agency for Local Authority Information Systems (J-LIS) is 600 yen (800 yen where an electronic certificate is issued).

Three Practical Pitfalls

1. Issuance Takes Time

A Specified Residence Card takes at minimum around two weeks from application to issuance, and about 10 days longer than an ordinary residence card. Same-day issuance is not possible.

An even easier trap to miss is the gap in your electronic certificate. Because of how the card is produced, the electronic certificate for the My Number Card functions on your existing My Number Card or Specified Residence Card expires roughly one week before you receive the new Specified Residence Card. That expiry may affect use of your My Number health insurance card. If you apply during a period when you are attending hospital appointments or visiting a pharmacy regularly, this can cause unexpected inconvenience.

2. Validity Runs Only to Your Original Period of Stay

This is the point that demands the most attention.

For Specified Residence Cards as well, the expiry date of the My Number Card functions is the expiry date of the original period of stay. Please complete the procedure to change the validity period of the My Number Card functions at your municipal office before your original period of stay expires.

If your original period of stay passes while an extension application is still under screening, you enter what is known as the grace period. If you have not completed the change-of-validity procedure at your municipal office by then, the user certification electronic certificate expires and you may no longer be able to use the card as a My Number health insurance card. Assuming that “filing the extension application is enough” can leave you unable to use it as health insurance. For cautions on the extension application itself, see A Checklist to Avoid Denial When Renewing Your Engineer Visa.

3. Applying Does Not Guarantee You Will Receive One

Even if you apply, an ordinary residence card may be issued instead depending on individual circumstances. The Immigration Services Agency gives two main examples.

• Where your name changes after the application is filed
• Where you apply for a Specified Residence Card together with a change of status of residence or an extension of period of stay, and fewer than one month remains until the end of the grace period at the time screening concludes

The second example matters greatly in practice. If you file the application together with an extension request only at the very end of your period of stay, there may not be enough days left when screening concludes, and you will end up with an ordinary residence card. If you genuinely want the Specified Residence Card, we recommend avoiding the final stretch before expiry and applying with time to spare.

Note also that even after you have been issued one, you must apply again each time you file a subsequent residence application or a procedure arising from expiry of the validity period. If you do not apply, an ordinary residence card will be issued next time.

The New Residence Card Format, Changed at the Same Time

Alongside the introduction of the Specified Residence Card, residence cards and Special Permanent Resident Certificates that are not “specified” also switched to a new format.

Four Items Removed from the Face of the Card

In the new format, four items previously printed on the face of the card — the period of stay, the type of permission, the date of permission, and the date of issuance — are no longer printed, and are recorded only on the card’s IC chip.

This is where the impact on corporate HR staff is greatest. As of June 23, Reiwa 8, the Immigration Services Agency advises that new-format residence cards issued on or after June 14 do not carry period-of-stay information on the face of the card, and that reading the card with the Residence Card Reader application does not display the period of stay either. Where you need to confirm a period of stay, you are asked to check the period of stay recorded on the person’s certificate of residence (住民票). An updated version of the reader application capable of displaying the period of stay, the type of permission, and the date of permission is scheduled for release around September, Reiwa 8.

Changes to Validity Period and Photographs

Item	Issued on or before June 13, 2026	Issued on or after June 14, 2026
Validity of residence cards for Permanent Residents and Highly Skilled Professional (ii)	Seven years from the date of issuance (for those under 16, until the day before their 16th birthday)	Until the 10th birthday following the date of issuance (for those under 18, the 5th birthday)
Display of the photograph	Displayed only for those aged 16 and over	Also displayed for those aged 1 to under 16

The validity change applies to Permanent Residents and Highly Skilled Professional (ii) holders, whose period of stay is indefinite. For mid- to long-term residents with a fixed period of stay, the validity of the residence card continues to run to the expiry of the period of stay, unchanged. For each of these statuses, see Guide to Applying for Permanent Residence: Requirements, Processing Time, Documents and Complete Guide to the Highly Skilled Professional Visa: Points Calculation and Preferential Treatment.

As for photographs, even where a person under 16 filed an application before June 14, 2026, a photograph will be requested if the card is issued on or after that date, or is expected to be. Families planning procedures for children should be careful not to forget to prepare a photograph.

How to Prepare in Practice

Who you are	What to prepare
Someone who wants a Specified Residence Card	Plan your schedule on the basis of filing residence applications at the counter. Avoid the final stretch before expiry. Watch for the electronic certificate gap around issuance
Someone with an extension of period of stay coming up	Complete the change-of-validity procedure for the My Number Card functions at your municipal office before entering the grace period
Someone keeping two separate cards	No procedure is required. Your current-format residence card remains valid
A company employing foreign nationals	The new format does not print the period of stay. For now, switch to confirming the period of stay via the certificate of residence
A family with young children	Children aged 1 to under 16 now need a photograph. Prepare one for any application where the card will be issued on or after June 14

Summary

The Specified Residence Card is designed to reduce the administrative burden, and whether to obtain one is entirely your choice. There is no disadvantage in continuing to carry two separate cards. On the other hand, the fact that online filing is unavailable, that issuance takes about 10 days longer than usual, and that the My Number Card functions are valid only until your original period of stay expires can all lead to wasted effort and inconvenience if you apply without knowing them.

In particular, if you have an extension of period of stay or a change of status of residence coming up, the timing of your application may mean the Specified Residence Card is not issued at all. Please compare the expiry date of your period of stay against your filing schedule before deciding.

How Our Office Can Help

For consultations on residence cards, Specified Residence Cards, and all residence procedures, please turn to Kaneko Hidetaka Administrative Scrivener Office.

• 98% approval rate track record
• Languages: Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, English
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• Nationwide service centered on Chiba and Tokyo (online consultations available)

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