MAR. 2012

No.75

LIVING GUIDE MORIOKA

MORIOKA INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ASSOCIATIONe-mail〒 020-8531 MORIOKA-SHI WAKAZONO-CHO 2-18
TEL 019-626-7524

moriintl@nifty.com

http://www.e-morioka.com/~moriintl/top.html

A new residency management system will start on July 9, 2012.
A new residency management system aims to keep necessary information seamlessly for managing theresidency of foreign nationals, and ensure further convenience for those foreign nationals who
are residing legally in Japan. What exactly is the new residency management system?

＜ Four major changes of the new residency management system ＞
The new residency management system will be applied to all foreign nationals residing legally inJapan for the mid- to long-term. Another new system will be applied to special permanent residents.

① "A resident card" will be issued in place of an alien registration certificate
Under the age of 16
Until the foreign national's
16th birthday
Expiration date of thePersons other
Expiration date of period of stay or the foreign
than permanent
the period of stay national's 16th birthday,
residents
whichever comes earlier of・A resident card will be issued to mid- to long-term
residents when granted permission pertaining toresidence, such as landing permission, permission
for change of resident status and permission forextension of the period of stay.
・The resident card has a "valid period".

Permanent
residents

Aged 16 or over
7 years from thedate of issuance② The period of stay will be extended to a
maximum of 5 years

Major resident status
Employment status

・By changing the maximum period of stay to "5years," the period of stay set for each resident
status will be modified as shown below.

"Student"Period of stay (Those in bold are new)
5 years, 3 years, 1 year, 3 months
4 years and 3 months, 4 years, 3years and 3 months, 3 years, 2 years
and 3 months, 2 years, 1 year and 3months, 1 year, 6 months, 3 months"Spouse or Child ofJapanese National""Spouse 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, 6 months
or Child of Permanent③ The re-entry permit system will be changed - A special re-entry system will be introduced ・Foreign nationals in possession of a valid passport and resident card who exit and subsequently want
to re-enter Japan within 1 year of their departure from Japan will, in principle, not be required toapply for a re-entry permit. This is called "a special re-entry permit."
・If you depart with a usual re-entry permit, the upper limit of the valid period for the re-entry
permit will be extended from 3 years to 5 years.

④ The alien registration system will be abolished・"The alien registration certificate" will be deemed, for a certain period, equivalent to the resident
card after the start of the new residency management system. Therefore, mid- to long term residentsare asked to keep their alien registration certificates until a resident card is issued.
・If you are a permanent resident, you will be required to apply for a resident card, in principle,within 3 years from the start of the new residency management system.
If you are a foreign national other than a permanent resident, you will generally receive yourresident card when granted permission for an extension of the period of stay or other permission after
the start of the new system.
For detailed information, please refer to thewebsite of Immigration Bureau of Japan (availablein Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish andPortuguese)

URL ⇒ http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/newinniact_1/

Choose yourlanguage
ref:website of Immigration Bureau of Japan

Ｑ．After the start of the new system, where can I takenecessary procedures?
Ａ．Concerning the place of residence, please notify thecity office of Morioka, and concerning other changes
or examination of resident status, please visit theMorioka branch of Sendai Immigration Bureau.

Please take note of the following procedures which will start on July 9, 2012.
＜ Procedures at the city office of Morioka ＞● The Alien Registration Law will be abolishedand foreign residents (mid- to long termresidents) will be subject to the Basic Resident
Registration Law
・ A d e s c r i p t i o n c e r t i fi c a t e o f t h e A l i e n
Registration card will be replaced with aresident record.
・Multinational households (family composed ofJapanese and non-Japanese individuals) will beable to get a certificate of residence (a copy of
the resident record, "jyuumin-hyou") listing allmembers of the household.
・Morioka City will send Provisional Resident
Records to the foreign nationals residing inMorioka City in May, 2012 so that they canconfirm or correct their resident records.

● Notification (Change) of place of residence▽ Moving-in & out of Morioka City
A mid- to long term resident who has changed
his/her place of residence is asked to notify
the new residence within 14 days of moving.
When you are moving out of Morioka city,
visit the city offi ce of Morioka and request
for issuing your moving-out certificate at thechange-of-address desk in advance.
＜ What to bring ＞
When moving-in, moving-out or change of address
within Morioka- Your resident card
At new resident city/town office- Your resident card and moving-out certificate☆ Where to call・Morioka City Office, Resident Registration Division(1st floor) Phone:019-651-4111(ext. 2129 or 2133)
・Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) Telephone counseling services for foreigners
in foreign languages (until March 30, 2012)
Phone: 0570-066-630, (For IP telephone or PHS user: 048-610-8779）☆ Change-of-address desk
Morioka City Office- Resident Registration Division, Tamayama Branch OfficeTax and Resident Division, Other offices of Morioka City

＜ Procedures at the Morioka branch of Sendai
Immigration Bureau ＞● When you file any of the following notifications orapplications, please be sure to take your passport,
photo and resident card with you.
▽ notifi cation of a change of name, date of birth,gender, nationality or region▽ application for renewal of the validity period of theresident card
▽ application for re-issuance of a resident card
● When changes have been made to the matters requiredfor your resident status, please bring your residentcard. If you notify Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau bymail, please enclose a copy of your resident card.
● Examination of resident status
A new resident card will be issued to a mid- to longterm resident when a renewed period of stay, permission
to change his/her resident status or a permanent
resident permit is granted, or acquisition of resident
status is admitted.

The Morioka branchof Sendai Immigration
BureauPhone: 019-621-1206(The Second Morioka
Joint Government
Building, 6th floor)

Morioka
StationaiinaMALIOS

Shizukuishi RiverMorioka International Relations Association
will hold a briefing session on the newresidency management system.The person
in charge will explain and answer yourquestions.
Time: April 28, 2012 Saturday 13:30 ～ 15:00
Place: Plaza Odette, The 3rd Floor Main Conference
Room
Capacity:50 seat (first-come-first-served basis)