Before you start

A Certificate of Eligibility obtained by your employer, university or sponsor, for most statuses
A visa issued by a Japanese embassy or consulate
A passport valid well beyond the intended stay
An address in Kyoto, which you generally need before you can register

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 Kansai. Check the details immediately — name spelling, status of residence and period of stay — because 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
Kyoto has eleven wards and you must go to the one covering your address, not the central city hall. Take your residence card and passport. This produces the jūminhyō 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 — including most students and many researchers on fellowships — enrol in National Health Insurance and the National Pension at the ward office while you are there.
In personWho: YouSame visit
4
Use your university or employer's international office
Kyoto's universities and larger employers run international support offices that will accompany you to the ward office or at least give you the exact document list. Given how much of the city's foreign population arrives through those institutions, this support is unusually well developed here and it is worth using.
Via employerWho: 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 a health insurance card.
OnlineWho: You
6
Carry the residence card and report every move
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. Both are enforced.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport with the visa
Certificate of Eligibility, if issued
Residence card
Proof of your Kyoto address
Employment contract or university enrolment documents
Passport photographs to Japanese specification

Things most newcomers don’t know

The fourteen-day ward registration is the keystone, and Kyoto has eleven wards.

Health insurance, bank accounts, phone contracts and your My Number all depend on being registered as a resident of the correct ward — and Kyoto's ward boundaries do not map neatly onto how people describe the city. Going to the wrong office wastes a day. Check which ward your address falls in before you set out, and note that fourteen days is written into the law rather than being advisory.

Source: Kyoto City

The academic route into Kyoto comes with support most cities do not offer.

A large share of Kyoto's foreign residents arrive through its universities and research institutes, which run international offices experienced at exactly these procedures. They will often provide the document checklist, translate forms, and in some cases send someone with you. Anyone arriving through a university or a research fellowship should ask before attempting the ward office alone.

Source: community-reported

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

Japan scores education, income, age, research output and Japanese ability, and clearing the threshold brings a five-year period of stay, faster permanent residence — as little as one to three years rather than ten — and easier family arrangements. Academic publications and doctorates score well, which makes researchers in Kyoto unusually likely to qualify and unusually likely never to have checked.

Source: Immigration Services Agency

You must carry the residence card, and this is enforced.

Japanese law requires foreign residents to carry the zairyū card at all times, and police checks do happen — more often near stations and on bicycles, and Kyoto is a city where almost everyone cycles. It is not adversarial and the interaction is short if you have the card.

Source: Immigration Services Agency

Common mistakes to avoid

Going to the wrong ward office in a city with eleven of them.
Missing the fourteen-day registration deadline and blocking everything behind it.
Not using a university or employer international office that would have handled the checklist.
Accepting a standard work status without checking your Highly Skilled Professional score.
Leaving the residence card at home rather than carrying it.

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