2025-07-11

Foreign nationals who are admitted to stay in Japan are basically issued a resident card. However, this resident card has an expiration date, so if you wish to continue to reside in Japan, you must go through the renewal procedure. Here, we will explain the renewal procedure using a spouse visa holder as an example.

What is a Residence Card?

A resident card is issued to foreign nationals who intend to stay in Japan for a medium- to long-term period (3 months or longer). The card is issued to foreign nationals who apply for landing permission, permission for change of status of residence, permission for extension of period of stay, etc., and after examination, the card is issued as proof of each permission.

The card also serves to certify the legality of the status of residence and period of stay in Japan by the Minister of Justice. The card also includes the name, date of birth, gender, nationality/region, place of residence (Japanese address), applicable status of residence, period of stay, and employment status of the foreign national who has been granted permission to stay in Japan.

Spousal Status

Spousal status is a status of residence that a foreigner can obtain when married to a Japanese national, also known as a “spouse visa.

However, the “Spouse Visa” is not required to be issued to a foreign national. The exact term for “Spouse Visa” is “Status of Residence: Spouse or Child of Japanese National”. This is because the “Spouse” is followed by “etc.” and this status of residence includes not only foreigners married to Japanese nationals, but also foreigners who are the biological children or specially adopted children of Japanese nationals.

To renew the “Spouse Visa”, an application must be made to the Immigration Bureau with jurisdiction over the applicant’s place of residence three months prior to the expiration of the period of stay.

The documents required for the renewal procedure are as follows
① Application form for permission to extend the period of stay (1 copy)
② Photograph (1 copy)
③ Family register (certificate of all items) of spouse (Japanese) (1 copy)
④ Documents proving the cost of stay in Japan
　(1) Certificate of taxation (or tax exemption) of residence tax for the latest one year of the person who will pay the applicant’s accommodation expenses and
Tax payment certificate (showing total income and tax payment status for one year) (one copy of each) (1)
　(2) If the above (1) cannot be used to prove the cost of the stay, the following documents should be submitted
　　a) Copy of a bankbook (as appropriate)
　　b) Certificate of expected employment or letter of offer of employment (issued by a Japanese company) (as appropriate)
　　c) Similar documents to the above (as appropriate)
⑤ Spouse’s (Japanese national’s) personal reference (1 copy)
⑥ Copy of residence card showing all members of spouse’s (Japanese national’s) household (1 copy)
⑦ Passport (to be presented)
⑧ Residence card (to be presented)

Renewal Procedure for Residence Card

The expiration date of the residence card is usually the same as the expiration date of the period of stay. If you do not renew your resident card and it expires, your resident card will become invalid. In other words, it means that your status of residence has expired.

Renewal of the resident card, like the procedure for renewal of status of residence, can be done three months prior to the expiration of the period of stay. In principle, the person himself/herself is eligible to apply, but in the case of a minor or an adult guardian, his/her legal representative may apply. In addition, an agent of the applicant such as an administrative scrivener can also apply on behalf of the applicant.

The examination period for renewal is about two weeks to one month. After receiving the notification of permission, the applicant should go to the Immigration Bureau at the designated date and time after confirming the information on the notification. Then, submit the notice and necessary documents to proceed with the renewal procedure.

After checking the submitted documents, if there are no deficiencies, you will receive a new resident card. It is possible. The issuance fee is 4,000 yen, which is to be paid by revenue stamps.

Summary

The expiration date of the resident card is basically the same as the period of stay for the status of residence. Therefore, the renewal procedure for the resident card should be carried out in parallel with the renewal procedure for the status of residence.