Guide to Living in Hiroshima Chapter 7 Major Registry Services / Status of Residence

2 Administrative Procedures for Daily LifeThe following are the major legal procedures required in the daily lives of foreign residents inJapan.
(1) Moving-in Notification
Foreign nationals who have newly entered Japan with a legal status of residence as medium
to long-term residents (those who have been issued a Residence Card at the airport or havereceived a stamp stating "A Residence Card will be issued later" in their passport) are required
to make a Moving-in Notification to the municipal office of their residence, taking theirResidence Card (their passport for those who have not been issued a Residence Card at theairport, or their Residence Card and passport for those with the status of residence of“Designated Activities”) within 14 days from the date that they moved in the relevantmunicipality.
< Procedures >For detailed procedures, please consult the municipal government office.
(2) Moving-out Notification
Under the Basic Resident Registration System, when foreign nationals move out to anothermunicipality, they are required to make a Moving-out Notification to the municipal office of
their present address and a Moving-in Notification to the municipal office of their new address.
Even if they move out abroad, they are required to submit a Moving-out Notification.
< Procedures >For detailed procedures, please consult the municipal government office.
(3) Marriage
To have a marriage legally recognized in Japan, a Marriage Notification must be submitted toand accepted by the municipal government office.
< Procedures >In addition to a Marriage Notification, the following documents must be submitted together.
For detailed procedures, please consult the municipal government office.
A
Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage
Foreign nationals who wish to marry and submit a Marriage Notification in Japan arerequired to submit a document issued by their national government that proves they
fulfill the requirements for marriage (Certificate of Legal Capacity to ContractMarriage).
For foreign nationals who come from a country that does not issue a Certificate ofLegal Capacity to Contract Marriage, they are required to submit a substitute for suchcertificate.

76暮らしの手引き広島 第７章 主な届出・在留資格

BWitness
Any adult who knows that the relevant person will marry may serve as a witness. Thewitness is required to enter his/her name, address, and nationality (legal domicile if
he/she is a Japanese national) in the witness column of the Marriage Notification, andaffix his/her personal seal (sign his/her name if he/she is a foreign national).

◆Points to note◆① Change in the Japanese family name due to international marriage
If a Japanese national changes his/her family name, he/she must obtain permission from afamily court, in principle. However, if a Japanese national marries a foreign national, he/she isallowed to use his/her spouse’s family name as legally registered in the spouse’s home country
by submitting a notification to the municipal government without obtaining permission from afamily court within six months from the date of submission of a Marriage Notification.
If you have changed your name, you are required to submit a Notification of a Change of an
Item on the Residence Card to the Hiroshima Regional Immigration Bureau/Branch Officewithin 14 days from the date of the change. The necessary documents are as follows: Residence
Card, portrait photo, passport including your name after the change, and marriage certificate.
② Registration of marriage in home country
A foreign national who wishes to register his/her marriage in his/her home country is required
to submit a marriage notification to the relevant agency (embassy or consulate) of his/hercountry. For details, please contact the relevant agency of your country.
③ Other
For details regarding any other issues related to marriage notification or a change innationality due to marriage, please contact the relevant agency (embassy or consulate) of yourcountry or the municipal government office in Japan.
If you have changed your nationality, you are required to submit a Notification of a Changeof an Item on the Residence Card to the Hiroshima Regional Immigration Bureau/Branch Officewithin 14 days from the date of the change. The necessary documents are as follows: Residence
Card, portrait photo, passport issued by the country of your new nationality, and a document
proving that you have lost your former nationality.
Contact

Municipal government office
Relevant agency (embassy or consulate) of your home country77Guide to Living in Hiroshima Chapter 7 Major Registry Services / Status of Residence(4) Divorce
I Married couples when both spouses are foreign nationals
AIf both spouses have the same nationality
Only if the laws of their home country permit divorce by mutual consent, the spouses
are allowed to obtain divorce by mutual consent. If a married couple of foreign
nationals wish to obtain divorce by mutual consent in Japan, they are required tosubmit a Certificate Verifying That Divorce by Mutual Consent Based on the Japanese
System Is Permitted by Laws of Home Country and other documents, in principle.
Regarding how to obtain this certificate or inquiry about whether the laws of yourhome country permit divorce by mutual consent, please contact an embassy orconsulate of your home country.

B

If spouses have different nationalities
When both spouses are recognized as having habitual residence in Japan, they may
obtain divorce by mutual consent.

II Married couples when either spouse is a Japanese national
If either spouse is a Japanese national and has habitual residence in Japan, the couple
concerned is allowed to obtain divorce by mutual consent. After the divorce is granted inJapan, it is necessary to notify this fact to an embassy or consulate of the country of theforeign spouse in order to have the divorce registered in his/her home country. For detailed
procedures for divorce by mutual consent, please contact the municipal government office.
* Please note that even if the divorce is granted in Japan, it may not always be recognized asvalid in the relevant foreign country. (e.g.: Even if a married couple of South Koreannationality residing in Japan has obtained divorce by mutual consent in Japan, the divorce
accepted by the Japanese municipal government will not be recognized as valid in SouthKorea.)

III If a spouse with foreign nationality resides in Japan with a status of residence of “Spouse orChild of Japanese National,” “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident,” or “Dependent”
It is necessary to submit a notification of termination of the marital relationship to theImmigration Services Agency of Japan within 14 days of the divorce.

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暮らしの手引き広島 第７章 主な届出・在留資格(5) Birth
The birth of any child born in Japan must be registered at the municipal office of theresidence of the parents within 14 days of birth.
< Procedures >To register a birth, a Birth Notification and other documents must be submitted to themunicipal government office either in the birthplace of the child or of the residence of theperson who notifies the birth. It is also necessary to apply for the acquisition of a status ofresidence for the child.
◆Status of residence◆
A newborn child may reside in Japan without acquiring a status of residence for up to 60 days
from the date of birth. If the child is scheduled to remain in Japan for a longer period than theprescribed time limit, it is necessary to apply for permission to acquire a status of residence forthe child at the Hiroshima Regional Immigration Bureau/Branch Office within 30 days from thedate of birth to obtain a status of residence.
◆Points to note◆① Maternal and Child Health Handbook
A Maternal and Child Health Handbook is issued to an expectant mother who has registered her
pregnancy at a health center in Hiroshima, Kure, or Fukuyama Cities or the municipal government
office. This handbook is used to record the progress of pregnancy, the growth of the baby, andvaccination data to facilitate the health management of the mother and the baby. It also includes
medical exam tickets for health checkups and other related exams.
For infant medical exams and vaccinations, scheduled times, locations, and notification
methods vary depending on the municipality. For details, please contact the municipal office ofyour residence.
② Subsidy for childbirth expenses
A lump-sum allowance for childbirth and nursing is granted to those who have taken out asocial insurance policy or the National Health Insurance Policy. The relevant persons need tosubmit an application to the company where they work or the municipal government office.
③ Children’s allowance
A children’s allowance is granted to those who are raising a child from 0 years old until the ageof finishing junior high school (the first March 31 after becoming 15 years old). For more
information, please contact the municipal office of your residence. The children’s allowance ispaid from the month following the month when your claim is approved.
④ Child-rearing allowance
A child-rearing allowance is granted to a child whose parents are divorced, as well as a father,mother or guardian who is supporting a child whose father or mother has died or is missing. For
more information, please contact the municipal office of your residence.
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Guide to Living in Hiroshima Chapter 7 Major Registry Services / Status of Residence◆Systems for parentage acknowledgment for a child and for an unborn child◆
Parentage acknowledgement means that for a couple that is not legally married, theblood-related father or mother of the child acknowledges that he or she is the father or mother ofthe child (although the mother-child relationship is made obvious by the fact of childbirth).
However, if voluntary acknowledgement of paternity cannot be obtained due to the death of
the blood-related father before the birth of the child or other reasons, the child may be subject toinconvenience or disadvantages caused thereby. Accordingly, the parentage acknowledgement
system for an unborn child has been established so that the father-child relationship can belegally formed through birth (or to protect the father-child relationship) by having the father
acknowledge an unborn child as his own.
Since the father-child relationship between the unborn child and the blood-related father islegally formed under the parentage acknowledgment system for an unborn child, the rights toseek compensation, inherit a property, receive a bequest and other rights are secured for theunborn child.
If the parents of the unborn child have different nationalities, the parentage acknowledgement
for the unborn child may have an influence on the nationality that the unborn child will acquire
after birth, because legal paternity is established for the unborn child under the parentage
acknowledgment system for an unborn child. If a Japanese man recognizes an unborn child
whose mother is a foreign national as his own, the unborn child will acquire Japanese nationality
at birth according to the provisions of the Nationality Act.
The governing law for parentage acknowledgement stipulates that parentage
acknowledgement shall be made in accordance with the laws of the home country of a person
who recognizes a child as his/her own at the time of birth or after birth, or the laws of the homecounty of the child at the time of acknowledgment. In the case of parentage acknowledgment foran unborn child, “the home country of the child” shall be read as “the home country of themother of the unborn child.”
In the case of parentage acknowledgement made in accordance with the laws of the homecountry of the father of a child, if the laws of the home country of the mother of the child at thetime of acknowledgment require the consent or agreement of a third party, the condition must befulfilled.
For details of parentage acknowledgement for a child/unborn child, please contact themunicipal government office.

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暮らしの手引き広島 第７章 主な届出・在留資格(6) Death
In the case of death, a Death Notification must be submitted to the municipal government office
by a relative or other person who lived with the deceased, or the landlord of the deceased, withinseven days after the death is known.
< Procedures >A Death Notification must be submitted with a death certificate and include the nationalityof the deceased. For detailed procedures, please consult the municipal government office.
① Burial / Cremation
If the body of the deceased is to buried or cremated in Japan, a Burial/Cremation Permit must
be obtained. If the body of the deceased is to be returned to his/her home country, please consult
an embassy or consulate of the home country.
② Funerals
If the deceased was covered by the National Health Insurance or the medical insurance forthe elderly aged 75 or over, a funeral allowance shall be granted regardless of his/her nationality
if a funeral is held. In such case, please submit an application to the municipal government
office.
If the deceased possesses an A-bomb Victim’s Handbook, a funeral allowance shall begranted to the person who arranges the funeral. For more information, please contact themunicipal government office.

Contact

Municipal government office③ Death allowance
If the deceased who had been enrolled in the National Pension Plan and had paid insurance
premiums for three years or more dies without receiving any pension, a death allowance shallbe granted to the family of the deceased. Since there are some requirements concerning thescope of eligible family members, please contact a branch office of the Japan Pension Service.
Contact

Branch office of the Japan Pension Service④ Termination of marital status
The spouse of a person who resides in Japan with a status of residence of “Spouse or Child ofJapanese National,” “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident,” or “Dependent” dies, therelevant person must submit a notification of the termination of marital status to theImmigration Services Agency of Japan within 14 days of said death.

81Guide to Living in Hiroshima Chapter 7 Major Registry Services / Status of Residence⑤ Residence Card / Special Permanent Resident Certificate
The Residence Card or Special Permanent Resident Certificate of the deceased must be
surrendered by bringing it to the Hiroshima Regional Immigration Bureau/Branch Office orsending it by mail to the following office.
If the return of the Residence Card or Special Permanent Resident Certificate of the deceased
is desired, the person who is obligated to surrender the card or certificate must bring it to theHiroshima Regional Immigration Bureau/Branch Office.
< Office to which the card or certificate should be mailed >Odaiba Office, Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau
Tokyo Port Joint Government Bldg. 9F, 2-7-11 Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0064* Please clearly write “Surrender of Residence Card etc.” on the front side of anenvelope.

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