I wrote the following article about online applications for the status of residence for foreigners living in Japan.
I’m introducing the flow of online applications for residence status renewal and receipt of residence cards by mail.
- Receive a Review Email
- The Flow To Mailing
- Prepare documents for mailing
- Purchase revenue stamps at the post office counter
- Affix a revenue stamp on the fee payment slip at the entry table
- Pay two postage costs as simple registered mail at the counter
- 4th letter: [Residence application online system] Notice regarding sending of residence card and work eligibility certificate
- Inquiries after application
- Finally
Receive a Review Email
After applying online, I received four emails this time below;
1st Letter:【在留申請オンラインシステム】申請受付完了のお知らせ
= [Residence application online system] Notification of application acceptance completion
2nd Letter: 【在留申請オンラインシステム】申請受付番号のお知らせ
= [Residence Application Online System] Notice of Application Reception Number
3rd letter: 【在留申請オンラインシステム】申請受付番号のお知らせ
= [Online residence application system] Notice regarding Examination completed
4th letter: 【在留申請オンラインシステム】在留カード・就労資格証明書送付に関するお知らせ
= [Residence application online system] Notice regarding the delivery of residence card and certificate of eligibility for employment
* I submitted it in Japanese so these may be different texts.
First Letter: [Residence application online system] Notice of completion of application acceptance
The first email says “Receipt Completed” and is a confirmation email that your application has been received.
Save all emails until you receive your residence card.
2nd letter: [Residence application online system] Notice of application reception number
The second is an email that says “reception number“.
It is a little similar to the first letter, but the first letter has a temporary receipt number, and the second letter has the actual application receipt number (○オン×××××××). It is written
Be sure to check the application receipt number, as it will be used in later steps.
3rd letter: [Online residence application system] Notice regarding completion of the examination
It may take more than a month depending on the number of people and the submission of additional documents, so please wait until you receive the completion email.
This time, it took about two weeks to receive the review completion email.
The Flow To Mailing
Please note that this is a little time-consuming.
I summarized the flow until mailing it to Immigration.
I will explain the following item.
- HOMEPrepare documents for mailing
- POST OFFICEPurchase revenue stamps at the post office counter
- POST OFFICEAffix a revenue stamp on the fee payment slip at the entry table
- POST OFFICEGo to the counter again;
– Have a “simple registered mail stamp” affixed to the mailed envelope and the other for sending from Immigration
– Pay the stamp fee - POST OFFICEGet a Receipt For The envelope you sent this time
Prepare documents for mailing
The post office will send the necessary documents by simple registered mail within 14 days after receiving the screening completion email.
*Simple registered mail will be explained later.
Required items
The mailing documents differ depending on the content of the application, so be sure to check the contents of the email carefully.
○Application for change of status of residence/application for extension of the period of stay;
・Envelope for the delivery of the new residence card
・Fee payment form
・The residence card currently held by the applicant (original)
・Certificate of designation currently held by the applicant (Applicable person only)
○Application for certificate of authorized employment:
・Envelope for the delivery of the certificate of authorized employment
・Fee payment form
・A copy of the applicant’s residence card/Special Permanent Resident Certificate (when not in possession of a residence card, etc., a copy of the bio page of the passport
Envelope sent for Immigration
We will need an envelope to send the documents.
Since we submitted Visa for extending the period of stay in Japan, it is OK to use an envelope containing three items:
- An envelope sent the residence card by Immigration
- A Fee payment form
- A new residence card
I used “120mm x 235mm size envelopes.
This size is often used for application forms and invoices.
Since mailing costs are determined by size and weight, this envelope is recommended because it is cheap and just the right size.
Since we will be mailing important documents, we recommend a sturdy, opaque envelope if possible.
The address is written in the body of the email, so please write it exactly as written.
English is also OK.
Take it unsealed to the post office.
This is because the post office needs to deal with the sending envelope and the fee payment slip, which will be explained next.
Envelope for the delivery of the new residence card
This envelope refers to the envelope for Immigration to send us the new residence card, not the one we mailed earlier.
Write the address and destination (applicant’s name) registered on the online application site on the envelope.
Write the application receipt number (○オン×××××××) on the back.
Also, the Immigration Bureau won’t mail us the envelope unless we put a stamp on it.
Because the postage varies depending on the size and weight, take both envelopes unstamped and unsealed to the post office.
Fee Payment Form
It does not accept bank transfers or cash payments for visa fees.
Purchase a revenue stamp, roughly the size of a stamp that says “I paid for an official certificate”, and paste it on the payment slip.
I’m sure you’re wondering, “What is a revenue stamp!?“,
but it’s a long story, so I won’t explain it this time.
If you’re interested, check it out.
Since I will explain how to purchase and attach revenue stamps later, the fee payment form, and fill in the necessary information.
Permission to extend the period of stay/permission to change the status of residence: 4,000 yen
Issuance of work qualification certificate: 1,200 yen
Certificate of designation currently held by the applicant
The designation is not for everyone, and only if the status of residence is “Highly Skilled Professional”, “Specified Skilled Worker”, or “Specified Activities”, the designation will be removed from the passport and sent. increase.
Don’t mail your passport.
Purchase revenue stamps at the post office counter
When you have your documents ready for mailing, let’s go to the post office.
To find the nearest post office, check here I can do it.
Purchase the Revenue Stamp mentioned earlier at the post office counter.
You can buy it at convenience stores, but most convenience stores only have revenue stamps of 200 yen.
Therefore, if you purchase 4,000 yen, you will have to attach 20 revenue stamps to the fee payment slip, so I don’t recommend it.
It is smarter to buy the required amount of revenue stamps at the post office.
In addition, revenue stamps are cash payments only and do not support credit cards or pay-based payments.
Affix a revenue stamp on the fee payment slip at the entry table
Once you purchase a revenue stamp, paste it on the fee payment form at the entry table in the post office.
There is a wet sponge on the writing table, so press the white side of the revenue stamp against the sponge to moisten it.
Affix it to the place where it is written as “stamp” on the fee payment slip (red frame in the image) while it is damp.
If there are multiple revenue stamps, it is okay for them to protrude from the frame, so paste the revenue stamps so that they do not overlap.

Pay two postage costs as simple registered mail at the counter
Once the revenue stamps pasted on the fee payment slip have dried, seal the documents other than the envelope. in the mailing envelope.
Go to the post office again with the mailing envelope and the sending envelope.
Please tell the officer below;
“I would like to put simple registered mail stamps on two envelopes. One is for return.”
Once you pay the postage, you can borrow the glue on the spot.
Finally, you are done when you receive a receipt by registered mail.
How postage is determined?
Postage is the size of the envelope. and weight.
Small size envelopes (standard size mail) are 84 yen for 25g or less and 94 yen for 50g or less.
In the case of renewal of status of residence this time, the mailing envelope was 94 yen because there were many documents, and the sending (return) envelope was 84 yen because there were only two residence cards.
What is simplified registered mail?
Simple registered mail, “かんいかきとめ – kan i kakitome,” is a service that can be tracked, unlike regular letters and postcards.
In the unlikely event that the contents are damaged during mailing or the mail itself is lost, up to 50,000 yen will be compensated.
You will need to add +320 yen to the regular postage.
As a result, the postage for this time is as follows.
Mailing Envelope
[Ordinary mail] 94 yen stamp + [Simple registered mail] 320 yen stamp = 414 yen
Sending Envelope from Immigration
[Ordinary mail] 84 yen stamp + [Simple registered mail] 320 yen stamp = 404 yen
For those who are worried about the weight of the mailing envelope, the postage of 94 yen (50g or less) may be acceptable.
We will measure the weight on the spot, so if you are interested, talk to the person at the counter and buy a stamp.
Method of payment
Many stores accept cash, credit cards, and Pay as payment for stamps and postage.
Some stores only accept cash, so If you want to pay with something other than cash, look for stores that accept cashless from here or ask at the store counter.
4th letter: [Residence application online system] Notice regarding sending of residence card and work eligibility certificate
3-business days after mailing, you will receive an email with the subject line “[Residence Application Online System] Notice Regarding Delivery of Resident Card/Certificate of Eligibility for Employment.”
Two days after receiving the email, I received my residence card safely.
Including weekends and holidays, it takes about 1 week from the time you mail it to the time you receive your residence card.
Inquiries after application
If you want to contact us about your application, please Contact the Regional Immigration Office.
When inquiring, you will need your application receipt number (listed in the second email).
“●オン” in the application reception number corresponds to one of the following.
札オン:Sapporo Immigration Bureau
仙オン:Sendai Immigration Bureau
東オン:Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau
横オン:Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau Yokohama Branch Office
名オン:Nagoya Immigration Bureau
阪オン:Osaka Immigration Bureau
神オン:Osaka Regional Immigration Bureau Kobe Branch Office
広オン:Hiroshima Immigration Bureau
高オン:Takamatsu Immigration Bureau
福オン:Fukuoka Immigration Bureau
那オン:Fukuoka Immigration Bureau Naha Branch Office
Finally
How was it?
This time, I explained how to receive the mail when applying online for a renewal of status of residence.
If you have an environment where you can apply online, you don’t have to go to the immigration office.
We hope this will be helpful for those who apply online.
Thank you for reading to the end!