Before you start

A Certificate of Eligibility obtained by your employer or sponsor before the visa application, for most work statuses
A visa issued by a Japanese embassy or consulate
A passport valid well beyond the intended stay
For the startup route, a business plan submitted to and accepted by Fukuoka City

Step-by-step

1
Receive your residence card at the airport
For medium and long-term stays the zairyū card is issued on landing at major airports including Fukuoka. Check the name spelling, status of residence and period of stay immediately — corrections are far easier at the counter than afterwards.
In personWho: YouOn arrival
2
Register your address at the correct ward office within fourteen days
Fukuoka has seven wards and you must register at the one covering your address. Take your residence card and passport. This produces the jūminhyō residence certificate and starts your My Number. Fourteen days is a legal deadline.
In personWho: YouWithin 14 days of moving in
3
Enrol in health insurance and pension at the same visit
If your employer runs shakai hoken they handle it. If not, enrol in National Health Insurance and the National Pension at the ward office while you are there. Both are compulsory and one appointment saves a second trip.
In personWho: YouSame visit
4
If you are founding something, go to Startup Café Fukuoka before anything else
The city runs a free support centre with English-capable staff that handles the startup visa application, incorporation, and the introductions that go with it. It is a public service rather than an accelerator taking equity, and going there first will save you weeks.
In personWho: You
5
Apply for the My Number card, not just the number
The number arrives by post; the physical card is applied for separately. It is increasingly used as identification, for online tax filing, and now functions as your health insurance card.
OnlineWho: You
6
Carry the residence card, and report every move within fourteen days
Japanese law requires foreign residents to carry the card at all times. Changing address means notifying the new ward office within fourteen days, which updates the card. These deadlines are enforced and missing them can affect a renewal.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport with the visa
Certificate of Eligibility, if issued
Residence card
Proof of your Fukuoka address
Business plan, for the startup route
Passport photographs to Japanese specification

Things most newcomers don’t know

Fukuoka's startup visa removes the requirement that blocks most first-time founders.

An ordinary Business Manager status requires capital at a set threshold and a physical office already secured — conditions that are difficult to meet from outside Japan before you have any legal presence in it. As a designated National Strategic Special Zone, Fukuoka City can grant a preparatory status that gives you a defined window inside Japan to actually meet them. It is the only route of its kind in the country and it is the single strongest reason to choose this city over Tokyo or Osaka if you are building something.

Source: Fukuoka City

The fourteen-day ward registration is the keystone, and Fukuoka has seven wards.

Health insurance, most bank accounts, phone contracts and your My Number all depend on being registered as a resident of the specific ward your address sits in. The card issued at the airport does not do this by itself. Registering at the wrong ward office means being sent to the right one, which is a wasted morning against a legal deadline.

Source: Immigration Services Agency

The Highly Skilled Professional points system is worth checking before accepting a standard status.

Japan scores education, income, age and Japanese ability, and clearing the threshold brings a five-year period of stay, permanent residence in as little as one to three years rather than ten, and easier family arrangements. Many eligible people never calculate their score because an employer applied for an ordinary work status by default.

Source: Immigration Services Agency

Japan's digital nomad status does not make you a resident anywhere, including here.

The 2024 route permits a six-month stay for remote workers above a high income threshold, but confers no resident status — no ward registration, no National Health Insurance, private cover required. It is a long visit rather than a move, and it does not lead anywhere. Anyone intending to settle needs a work status with a sponsor, or the startup route.

Source: Immigration Services Agency

Common mistakes to avoid

Missing the fourteen-day ward registration deadline and blocking everything behind it.
Registering at the wrong one of Fukuoka's seven ward offices.
Founding a company here without ever contacting Startup Café Fukuoka, which is free.
Accepting a standard work status without checking your Highly Skilled Professional score.
Treating the digital nomad route as a path to residence, which it is not.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.