【Need to bring】Passport, Residence Card

Register as a resident at the Residence Department（市民課）, which is located on the 1st floor of city hall (099-216-1221).

・Tell the staff at the counter that you are an international student and show verifying documents such as passport and residence card.

• If you already have a residence card, your address will be added to the card, and you can get it back on the same day.

• If you do not have a residence card yet, you will receive one by mail at a later date.

・After you are finished registering as a resident, get the documents necessary for signing up for the National Health Insurance and then move to the counter of the National Health Insurance Department.

✅Notes

・Resident registration must be submitted within 14 days after coming to Japan. If the student does not register for residency within 14 days, the student will become an illegal resident.

・In some cases, it has taken several weeks for residence cards to arrive. In this case procedures such as a bank account will be significantly delayed.

【Things to bring】Passport, Residence card

Sign up for National Health Insurance at the National Health Department（国民健康保険課）,which is located on the 1st floor of City Hall.（099-216-1228）

・Foreigners staying for 3 months or more must sign up for National Health Insurance.

・Tell the staff at the counter that you are an international student and want to sign up for National Health Insurance. After you have finished filling out the paperwork, please submit the necessary documents or cards.

・After you have finished signing up for the National Insurance, you will receive a certificate of qualification.

(If it's crowded, it may take a long time to get a National Health Insurance Card. In that case, we recommend to get it by mail.)

✅Notes

・If you join the National Health Insurance plan, the amount you pay personally for medical expenses will be 30% (same as Japanese). (One month of insurance costs about 1,500 yen) 

Please make sure you pay the insurance fee every month. 

There are two ways you can pay the fee:

1. Automatic withdrawals from your bank account 

2. At the convenience store, use a payment slip you get in the mail.

・Insurance premiums are determined by the income of the previous year, so if you do not declare your income to the Municipal Tax Division from mid-February to mid-March, the insurance premium for the next year will increase. (The International Student Office of the university will contact all international students) 

・When returning to their country, students should go to the National Health Insurance Department to return their certificate of qualification. (This can be done within the 2 weeks before they return to their country) 

⚠️In the case of a traffic accident（Or any other case where there is an injured party/victim）do not use your insurance card. This is because if you are the victim, then the perpetrator will pay for the expenses. Be sure to ask for contact information from other party (perpetrator, victim) and contact the faculty and staff to ask them to help.

【Things to bring】Passport, Student ID Card

Join the national pension at the National Pension Department (国民年金課), which is located on the 1st floor of City Hall. (099-216-1224) 

・Even foreigners are obligated to join if they are 20 years old or older. 

・However, most international students do not need to pay due to the "Student Payment Plan". (Payment is not required even if a payment slip is sent.)

・Receive and fill out the exemption / payment deferment application form at the counter. After that, submit a copy of your passport （Only the pages of the name and visa are necessary） 

・Procedures differ depending on the enrollment classification of international students. MEXT and full-time students need to show their Student ID or Certificate of enrollment.

✅ Write using a black pen.

     Write your name as it appears on the residence card or passport. 

Address and phone number of International residence hall↓

890-0056

鹿児島市下荒田４丁目 50-20 国際交流会館　号館　号室

Phone Number：099-252-7551