Verifying the IC Chip with the Residence Card Reader App | Status Checks for Employers of Foreign Nationals

When hiring a foreign national, does your company finish the check by simply glancing at the residence card and taking a photocopy? Sophisticated forgeries cannot be detected by eye alone, and allowing someone to work without proper verification can expose the employer to the crime of promoting illegal work. This article draws on primary sources to explain how to read the IC chip using the Residence Card Reader Application distributed free of charge by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, how to use the lapse information inquiry, and what to check and record at the time of hiring and at renewal.

Sources: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, “Residence Card Reader Application / Lapse Information Inquiry Support Page”; “[Important] How to confirm the period of stay for new-format residence cards (as of June 23, 2026)”; “Application for issuance of the Specified Residence Card”; “Publication of the residence card specifications”; e-Gov Law Search, “Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act” and “Act on Comprehensively Advancing Labor Measures”; Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “Notification of Employment Status of Foreign Nationals”

Why visual inspection alone is no longer enough

Residence cards carry several anti-forgery features: a silver hologram whose lettering inverts between black and white when the viewing angle changes by 90 degrees, printing that makes the “MOJ” design move in 3D or shift colour when the card is tilted, and a “MOJMOJ…” watermark that appears when strong light is shone through the card in a dark place. These are important clues, but sophisticated forgeries imitate them.

Moreover, the new-format residence card issued from June 14, 2026 (Reiwa 8) no longer prints “period of stay”, “type of permission” or “date of permission” on the card face. The items that remain on the face are: name, date of birth, sex, nationality/region, address, status of residence, expiry date of the period of stay, residence card number, expiry date of the card’s validity, presence or absence of work restrictions, and permission for activities outside the status qualification.

Key point: The “expiry date of the period of stay” is still shown on the new-format card, but the period of stay itself — “5 years”, “3 years” and so on — has disappeared from the card face. More information is now invisible to the naked eye, which makes reading the IC chip more important than before.

Forgery and alteration of residence cards and special permanent resident certificates is addressed by Article 73-3 of the Immigration Control Act, which provides that a person who, for the purpose of use, forges or alters a residence card, or the electromagnetic record of a residence card that is displayed and used as a residence card, shall be punished by imprisonment for between one and ten years. The same applies to those who use, provide or receive forged cards. For the basics of the residence card, see also What is a Status of Residence? Understanding the Basics.

What is the Residence Card Reader Application?

Since December 25, 2020 (Reiwa 2), the Immigration Services Agency has distributed free of charge the “Residence Card Reader Application”, which reads the contents of the IC chip in residence cards and special permanent resident certificates and confirms that the information has not been forged or altered. The application displays the information recorded in the IC chip on screen so that it can be compared against the printed card face, making it easy to detect forgery or alteration.

The Agency has also published the specifications for reading the IC chip, anticipating identity verification by private companies such as financial institutions and mobile carriers. The stated aim is that reliable verification by private companies will prevent fraudulent transactions and help protect law-abiding foreign nationals.

Supported operating systems and where to get the app

Device	Supported OS	Where to download
PC	Windows 11 (ARM, x64)	Microsoft Store
PC	macOS 13 or later (Mac with Apple M1 chip or later)	Mac App Store
Smartphone	Android 12.0 or later	Google Play
Smartphone	iOS 16.0 or later	App Store

On a PC you need a contactless IC card reader/writer that supports extended APDU. The support page lists verified readers including NTT Communications “uTrust4701F”, Sony “RC-S300” and I-O DATA “USB-NFC4”. On a smartphone you need an NFC Type B compatible device. User manuals for each OS version are also published on the same page.

Caution: Always use the latest version. The new-format residence cards issued from June 14, 2026 cannot be read by older versions of the app.

Items not yet displayed for new-format cards

According to the support page, the items removed from the face of the new-format card — “period of stay”, “type of permission” and “date of permission” — were also not displayed by the reader application as of June 23, 2026. The Agency states that a revised version capable of displaying these items is scheduled for release around September 2026 (Reiwa 8). Until then, if you need to confirm the period of stay itself, you must check the period of stay recorded on the resident record (juminhyo).

Note also that the Specified Residence Card carries My Number Card functionality, so information such as the period of stay can also be read using the Digital Agency’s “in-person verification app” (iOS version only as of June 2026).

When reading IC chip data, please also note that the Act on the Protection of Personal Information requires the purpose of use to be notified or publicly announced.

Confirming the validity of a card number with the lapse information inquiry

The Immigration Services Agency publishes online the numbers of residence cards and special permanent resident certificates that have lapsed. By entering the card number and the expiry date of the card’s validity, you can confirm whether that number has lapsed.

• Inquiry URL (changed as of January 5, 2026): https://lapse-immi.moj.go.jp/html/top.html
• Since November 14, 2025 (Reiwa 7), the lapse information inquiry can also be used from within the Residence Card Reader Application
• The service is unavailable for approximately three hours daily, from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., for data updates
• Since January 5, 2026, access from overseas IP addresses and via VPN or proxy is restricted

Important: The Immigration Services Agency expressly states that because forgeries using genuine card numbers exist, the inquiry result does not fully prove the validity of the card itself. The lapse information inquiry, the reader application and a check of the card’s anti-forgery features should be used in combination.

When a card is reissued after loss or newly issued, the number changes and the previous number lapses. Even where “not valid” is displayed, a card issued the same day may show the same result because of a delay in the data update, so the correct response is to verify the facts rather than to conclude immediately that the card is forged.

The Specified Residence Card and its impact on verification practice

From June 14, 2026 (Reiwa 8), operation began of the “Specified Residence Card”, which allows a residence card to be integrated with the My Number Card.

Item	Details
Start of operation	June 14, 2026 (Reiwa 8)
Eligible persons	Mid- to long-term residents or special permanent residents recorded in the Basic Resident Register
Obtaining the card	Voluntary (holding both a residence card and a My Number Card remains possible)
Application method	Online application is not supported; application and collection must be made at a counter
Time until issuance	At least around two weeks from application to issuance

The validity period also requires attention. The expiry date of the My Number Card functionality runs only until the original expiry date of the period of stay, and a change-of-validity procedure must be completed at the municipal office before expiry. In addition, the electronic certificate on any My Number Card already held will lapse roughly one week before the Specified Residence Card is issued.

For employers, this means several card formats will circulate side by side. Whether the employee presents an old-format residence card, a new-format card or a Specified Residence Card, verification must be equally reliable — which makes standardising an IC chip reading procedure the practical answer.

Promoting illegal work — “I didn’t know” is no defence

Article 73-2(1) of the Immigration Control Act provides that a person falling under any of the following shall be punished by imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to three million yen, or both.

1. A person who, in connection with business activities, has caused a foreign national to engage in illegal work
2. A person who has placed a foreign national under their control in order to cause them to engage in illegal work
3. A person who, as a business, has acted as a broker for the above conduct

For employers, paragraph 2 is decisive.

Article 73-2(2) of the Immigration Control Act (summary): A person who has engaged in conduct falling under any item of the preceding paragraph cannot escape punishment on the ground that they did not know: (i) that the foreign national’s activity was an income-generating business activity or a remunerated activity not falling within their status of residence; (ii) that the foreign national had not obtained permission for activities outside the status qualification; or (iii) that the foreign national was an overstayer or similar. This does not apply, however, where there was no negligence.

In other words, a plea of ignorance is in principle unavailable, and exemption applies only where the absence of negligence is established. Conversely, adopting IC chip verification and the lapse information inquiry as a fixed procedure and retaining the results provides the foundation for demonstrating that there was no negligence. On the risk of revocation under the statutory scheme, see Revocation Risks for the Engineer Visa | The Status Revocation System and Prevention.

What to check at hiring and at renewal

Item to check	Where to look	Practical point
Expiry date of the card’s validity	Card face / IC chip	The deadline for the card itself — different from the expiry of the period of stay
Expiry date of the period of stay	Card face / IC chip	Confirm whether renewal is needed two to three months in advance
Status of residence	Card face / IC chip	Judge whether the duties actually assigned fall within the status
Presence or absence of work restrictions	Card face / IC chip	Shows whether work is permitted and within what scope
Permission for activities outside the status qualification	Card face / IC chip	Essential where holders of “Student” or “Dependent” status work
Validity of the card number	Lapse information inquiry	Enter the number and the expiry date of validity
Match between IC chip and card face	Reader application	Any discrepancy warrants suspicion of forgery and an inquiry to the regional immigration bureau

Scope of permission for activities outside the status qualification

Permission for activities outside the status qualification is based on Article 19 of the Immigration Control Act. The comprehensive permission granted to holders of the “Student” status is conditioned on no more than 28 hours per week (during long school vacation periods, no more than 8 hours per day). Comprehensive permission for “Student”, “Dependent” and similar statuses is granted on condition that work does not exceed 28 hours per week and that the workplace does not operate adult entertainment businesses.

Pitfall: Where a person holds several part-time jobs, the 28-hour weekly limit is assessed on the combined total across all workplaces. Even if the hours at your company are under 28, exceeding the limit in combination with another employer can constitute illegal work. We recommend confirming and recording other workplaces and hours at the time of hiring.

Handling a pending extension of period of stay

It is not unusual for the expiry date to pass while a renewal is still under examination. Under Article 20(6) (applied mutatis mutandis to extensions of period of stay by Article 21(4)), where the application was filed before the expiry date, the person may continue to reside under the previous status until the disposition is made, or until the end of the day on which two months have passed from the previous expiry date, whichever comes first.

The pending application is noted on the residence card. The lapse information inquiry will also show that the number has not lapsed, confirming that an application is under examination. The treatment differs if no disposition is issued within two months, so deadline management is indispensable.

Relationship with the notification of employment status of foreign nationals

Alongside IC chip verification, the notification to Hello Work must not be forgotten. Article 28(1) of the Act on Comprehensively Advancing Labor Measures requires an employer who newly hires a foreign national, or whose foreign employee separates from employment, to confirm the person’s name, status of residence, period of stay and other prescribed matters and then notify the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare. The duty to verify is therefore built into the duty to notify.

Category	On hiring	On separation
Persons insured under employment insurance	By the 10th of the following month	Within 10 days from the day after separation
Persons not insured under employment insurance	By the last day of the following month	By the last day of the following month

• Covered persons: foreign workers other than those with “Diplomat” or “Official” status and special permanent residents
• Method of verification: the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare instructs employers to “ask the foreign worker to present their residence card or passport and confirm the matters to be notified”
• Penalty: failure to notify, or a false notification, is subject to a fine of up to 300,000 yen (Article 40(1)(ii) of the Act; under Article 40(2), the fine is also imposed on the corporation)

How to prepare in practice

1. Document the verification procedure. Write the three steps — visual inspection of the card face, comparison of the IC chip against the face using the reader app, and the lapse information inquiry — into your hiring manual.
2. Keep verification records. Record the date, the person who checked, the method and the result. Retaining evidence that the app display matched the card face supports an argument that there was no negligence.
3. Provide the equipment. For PC-based operation, supply an extended-APDU IC card reader/writer; for smartphone-based operation, an NFC Type B compatible device.
4. Keep the app up to date. New-format cards cannot be read by older versions. Update promptly once the revised version scheduled for around September 2026 is released.
5. Manage deadlines. Enter the expiry date of the period of stay in your calendar and confirm the need for renewal two to three months ahead. On notifications and the certificate of authorised employment when taking on a mid-career hire, see Procedures When Changing Jobs on an Engineer Visa.
6. Check the fit between status and duties. Even a genuine card does not help if the duties fall outside the status of residence. On what is expected of the employer, see Requirements and Cautions for Companies Hiring Engineer Visa Holders; on obligations when hosting Specified Skilled Workers, see Obligations of Accepting Organisations for Specified Skilled Workers.

Summary

Verification of the residence card is shifting from “looking” to “reading”. The Immigration Services Agency has distributed the Residence Card Reader Application free of charge since December 25, 2020, and since November 14, 2025 the lapse information inquiry can be run from within the app. With the new-format card and the Specified Residence Card in circulation from June 14, 2026, more information is invisible on the card face, and digital verification via the IC chip has effectively become the standard.

The crime of promoting illegal work cannot be avoided by pleading ignorance (Article 73-2(2) of the Immigration Control Act). Setting a verification procedure and keeping records is the most reliable and the least expensive way to protect your company from a penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to three million yen.

How Our Office Can Help

For building a compliance framework for employing foreign nationals, establishing status verification procedures, and managing period-of-stay deadlines, please rely on the Kaneko Hidetaka Administrative Scrivener Office.

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