Residence Card and My Number Card in One: The Specified Residence Card, From June 2026
From June 14, 2026, you can receive a “specified residence card” (特定在留カード) that adds My Number Card functions to your residence card. Switching is optional, and you can also keep the two cards separate. This article covers where and when you can apply, when there is no fee, how long it takes to receive the card, the expiry of your electronic certificate, and other points worth knowing before you switch.
Many foreign nationals who live in Japan mid- to long-term carry two cards: a residence card and a My Number Card. Residence card procedures are handled at a Regional Immigration Services Bureau (地方出入国在留管理局), while My Number Card procedures are handled at a municipal counter. Until now, when you renewed your period of stay, after receiving a new residence card at immigration you also had to go to your municipality to update your My Number Card information.
To combine these two procedures, the “specified residence card,” which adds My Number Card functions to the residence card, was introduced. What follows is based on ISA guidance pages and Q&As, and on the text of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (入管法), summarizing the situation as of September 2026. Whether a fee applies in your case, or which procedures you can apply for at the same time, is not determined by this article. Please confirm at the immigration office or municipal counter where you apply.
The Basis: the 2024 Amendment to the Immigration Control Act
The specified residence card was established by the “Act Partially Amending the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act and Other Acts” (Act No. 59 of Reiwa 6 [2024]), which passed the Diet on June 14, 2024 and was promulgated on the 21st of the same month. Except for some provisions, it took effect on June 14, 2026. Applications began being accepted at immigration offices on the next business day, Monday, June 15.
Article 19-15-2 of the amended Immigration Control Act defines a specified residence card as “a residence card that has been given the functions of an individual number card (My Number Card).” According to the ISA, a specified residence card is deemed to be a My Number Card under the My Number law, so a single card serves both roles. Because it remains a residence card, the obligation to carry it at all times still applies.
Not Mandatory — You Can Keep the Two Cards Separate
Switching to a specified residence card is optional. The ISA explains that “just as obtaining a My Number Card is optional, obtaining a specified residence card is also optional,” and that you can continue to hold a residence card and a My Number Card as two separate cards.
From June 14, 2026, the format of the residence card itself also changed. People who do not want a specified residence card are issued a residence card in the new format. Residence cards issued on or before June 13, 2026 can continue to be used until the end of their validity period, so no procedure is needed to switch to the new format.
Who Can Apply, Where, and When
Only mid- to long-term residents recorded in the Basic Resident Register (that is, people who have completed resident registration) can apply. When you enter Japan at an airport, you cannot receive a specified residence card; an ordinary residence card is issued. For more on resident registration, see Words That Come Up in Japan’s Resident Registration, and for status-of-residence procedures for people who evacuated from Ukraine, see Status-of-Residence Procedures for People Who Evacuated.
There is no way to apply for a specified residence card by itself; it is applied for “at the same time” as one of the following procedures.
| Procedure applied for at the same time | Where to apply |
|---|---|
| Application to renew period of stay, application to change status of residence (where you remain a mid- to long-term resident), or application for permission for permanent residence | The Regional Immigration Services Bureau with jurisdiction over your address |
| Application to renew the validity period of a residence card, notification of a change to an item other than address, application for reissuance due to damage, or application for reissuance by request for exchange | The Regional Immigration Services Bureau with jurisdiction over your address |
| Notification of address after new landing, notification of address in connection with a change of status of residence, or notification of a change of address (such as a moving-in notification) | The counter of the municipality where you live |
If you only want to exchange your current residence card for a specified residence card, guidance says to apply together with an “application for reissuance of a residence card by request for exchange” at a Regional Immigration Services Bureau.
When There Is No Fee, and When There Is
According to the ISA, if you receive a specified residence card the first time you carry out one of the procedures above on or after June 14, 2026, there is, in principle, no fee. In other words, for someone holding a residence card issued on or before June 13, 2026 who switches at their next renewal or similar opportunity, it is, in principle, free. For someone who has already received a specified residence card and continues to receive one at their next procedure as well, no fee is, in principle, required either (with some exceptions).
On the other hand, a fee may be required in cases such as switching to a specified residence card after having already received a residence card in the new format. There are two kinds of fee.
- Fee paid to the Immigration Services Agency: 1,900 yen (in revenue stamps; 2,600 yen for “direct delivery,” where you apply at a municipal counter and receive the card by mail)
- Fee paid to the Japan Agency for Local Authority Information Systems (地方公共団体情報システム機構, J-LIS): 600 yen (800 yen if you also receive an electronic certificate)
Which fee applies for which procedure is divided in detail according to the type of card you have and the combination of procedures being carried out at the same time. Guidance states that the handling of some combinations will change from October 1, 2026, so check the table on the guidance page before applying.
It Takes Time to Receive the Card
A specified residence card cannot be received the same day. The ISA states that issuance takes about 10 days longer than for an ordinary residence card, and that, even at the fastest, it takes around 2 weeks from application to issuance.
In addition, because of how the issuing process works, the electronic certificate on your current My Number Card expires about a week before you receive your specified residence card. During that time, this may affect things such as using your My Number Card as health insurance ID (“My Number Health Insurance Card,” マイナ保険証). If you have a hospital visit planned around that time, it is worth keeping this in mind. Preparing for a hospital visit is covered in Before You Go to the Hospital in Japan.
You Cannot Receive It Through Online Application
Applying for issuance of a specified residence card is not supported by the Online Residence Application System. If you want a specified residence card, you need to apply for your renewal of period of stay or other procedure at an immigration counter, and receive the card there in person.
From October 1, 2026, fees for renewing period of stay and changing status of residence will be revised to amounts based on the period of stay granted. After the revision, the amount differs between counter and online applications; for example, where a 1-year period of stay is granted, the fee is 33,000 yen at the counter and 27,000 yen online (a separate payment-processing fee also applies online). Applications accepted by September 30, 2026 remain at the pre-revision amount (6,000 yen at the counter) even if permission is granted on or after October 1. This difference is also something to weigh when deciding whether to apply at the counter for a specified residence card. There is also a system for reducing the fee for people in financial difficulty or similar circumstances, and the ISA has published guidelines on who qualifies.
You Apply Again at Every Renewal
If you want to keep holding a specified residence card, you need to apply for issuance of a specified residence card again each time you carry out a procedure that involves issuing a residence card, such as renewing your period of stay or changing your status of residence. If you do not apply, an ordinary residence card is issued.
Even if you apply, a specified residence card is not always issued. Guidance states that an ordinary residence card may be issued instead in cases such as your name changing after applying, you moving between applying at a municipal counter and receiving the card, or the special period (特例期間) having less than a month left when the review finishes.
The Expiry of Your Period of Stay and Your My Number Card Functions
While you are waiting for a review after applying to renew your period of stay, you can remain in Japan for a certain period (the “special period”) even after your original period of stay has passed. However, the validity of your specified residence card’s My Number Card functions runs only until the expiry date of your original period of stay.
If the expiry date approaches while your review is still ongoing, and you do not complete a procedure at your municipality to change the validity period of the My Number Card functions before that date, your electronic certificate may expire, and you may no longer be able to use it as a My Number Health Insurance Card. This is a point to watch for even if you hold a separate My Number Card.
The Front of the Card Has Also Changed
The front of a specified residence card and of the new-format residence card shows: name, date of birth, sex, nationality/region, address, status of residence, expiry date of period of stay, residence card number, expiry date of the card’s validity, whether work is restricted, and whether permission for activity outside the status of residence has been granted. Items that used to appear on the front — “period of stay,” “type of permission,” “date of permission,” and “date of issuance” — are now recorded only on the card’s IC chip. The back of a specified residence card shows the My Number.
In addition, on residence cards issued on or after June 14, 2026, a photograph is now shown even for children aged 1 to under 16. The validity period of residence cards for Permanent Resident and Highly Skilled Professional (ii) has changed to run until the 10th birthday after the date of issuance (the 5th birthday for those under 18).
Other Points to Note
- If you lose your specified residence card, you need to both temporarily suspend use of the My Number Card and follow the procedure for a lost residence card (reporting to the police and applying for reissuance at immigration). On reissuance, an ordinary residence card is issued first.
- If you hold a “My Number driver’s license” (マイナ免許証), which records your driver’s license information on your My Number Card, and you apply for a specified residence card, the license information is not carried over to the new card. To keep using it, you need to complete a recording procedure and pay a fee at a driver’s license center or similar office.
- The ISA’s published leaflets on the specified residence card come in a bilingual Japanese-English edition and a Plain Japanese (やさしい日本語) edition.
Sources and article record
Sources and references
- 特定在留カード交付申請についてlegal basis, who can apply, table of application timing and location, fee table and its notes, required documents, points to note, Q&A 1-1–6-3, leaflet languages
Published by 出入国在留管理庁 · Checked: 2026-09-24 - 在留カードとマイナンバーカードの一体化Q&Apurpose of the system, that it is optional, treatment of pre-enforcement residence cards, front-of-card items, validity period, photographs
Published by 出入国在留管理庁 · Checked: 2026-09-24 - 令和６年入管法等改正についてAct No. 59 of Reiwa 6, passed June 14, 2024 and promulgated June 21; took effect June 14, 2026 except for some provisions
Published by 出入国在留管理庁 · Checked: 2026-09-24 - 改正法の概要integration of the My Number Card and the residence card
Published by 出入国在留管理庁 · Checked: 2026-09-24 - 出入国管理及び難民認定法Article 19-15-2. Amendment history confirms the June 14, 2026 effective date of Act No. 59 of Reiwa 6
Published by e-Gov法令検索（デジタル庁） · Checked: 2026-09-24 - 令和８年１０月１日付け在留許可手数料の額の改定等についてtiming of the revision, treatment of applications accepted by September 30, fee reduction and exemption
Published by 出入国在留管理庁 · Checked: 2026-09-24 - リーフレット「2026年10月1日から外国人の在留手続に関する手数料が改定されます」pre-revision fees of 6,000 and 5,500 yen; 1-year period counter fee 33,000 yen, online 27,000 yen, and the payment-processing fee
Published by 出入国在留管理庁 · Checked: 2026-09-24
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