Moving From Japan to the Netherlands: Japan-Side Paperwork Checklist

Most guides to moving to the Netherlands start at the Dutch border: the residence permit, registering at the town hall, the BSN (citizen service number), the bank account and health insurance. But the country you leave also has a list, and some items on it cannot be repaired once you have gone.

This guide covers the Japan side. It follows the order in which things happen: before you leave, after you arrive, and when you go back for a visit or for good. The Japanese rules are explained step by step, and each section also names the question to ask if you are leaving any other country. If you are from somewhere else, read the Japanese parts as a worked example and use the home-country section near the end as your own checklist.

We checked the official pages of the municipalities, the Japan Pension Service, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Tax Agency and the My Number card site on 1 November 2026. Where a rule is set by the municipality and varies, we say so.

Main sources for this guide

• My Number Card General Site (J-LIS), "Using the My Number card abroad" and "Procedures for the card issued to people leaving Japan"
• Japan Pension Service: "Voluntary enrolment" (updated 1 July 2024), "Voluntary coverage system", "Procedures when family members live abroad" (updated 6 October 2026), "Lump-sum withdrawal payment" (updated 1 April 2026)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Online Residence Notice (ORRnet)
• National Tax Agency Tax Answers No. 1920, 1923 and 1478 (law as of 1 April 2026)
• Official pages of Yokohama, Suginami, Edogawa and Bunkyo on move-out notices, pension, health insurance and resident tax

What you will learn	The short answer
When to file the move-out notice	If you will be away a year or more, or emigrating. It can be filed before you move
My Number card	File the continued-use request with the notice, by the day before move-out
National Pension	Compulsory coverage ends. Japanese nationals may join voluntarily
Residence notice	Required for stays of three months or more. File from 90 days before arrival
Visits home	Registering an address in Japan can restart compulsory pension coverage

1. The big picture: before you leave, after you arrive, when you return

Japanese procedures fall into two groups: those that must be done before departure, and those that can be fixed later. Most of the heavy ones belong to the first group.

Which steps belong to which stage

The table sorts the items covered in this guide by when you do them. Skip the rows that do not apply to you.

Stage	Step	Where	Section
Before leaving	Overseas move-out notice	Municipal office	3
Before leaving	My Number card continued use	Municipal office	4
Before leaving	National Pension: end of coverage, voluntary enrolment	Municipal office, pension office	5
Before leaving	Municipal health insurance withdrawal	Municipal office	7
Before leaving	Tax representative	Municipal office, tax office	6
Before leaving	Banks, brokerage accounts, cards	Each provider	9
After arriving	Residence notice	MOFA ORRnet	8
Returning	Move-in notice, pension and insurance restart	Municipal office	10

Most of the rows sit in the first stage. After arrival, the main job is the residence notice plus change notices when your address or plans change.

Figure 1: the order of procedures

The figure shows the same sequence in three boxes.

The first box is the heaviest. Plan one visit to the municipal office where you settle as much as possible, and prepare the list of questions beforehand.

2. Decide first: when does your Japanese address end?

Everything else depends on the date on which you stop having an address in Japan. Registration, pension, insurance and tax all follow from it.

Three months, one year, two years

Several time limits appear in the Japanese rules. They are different tests, and mixing them up causes missed filings.

Number	What it decides	Source
3 months or more	Duty to file a residence notice (Japanese nationals)	MOFA ORRnet (Passport Act, Article 16)
1 year or more	When a move-out notice is expected	Edogawa Ward
1 year or more planned	Presumed non-resident for income tax	National Tax Agency No. 1920
Within 2 years	Deadline for a lump-sum pension withdrawal (non-Japanese)	Japan Pension Service

The residence notice starts at three months and the move-out notice at roughly one year. Someone posted to the Netherlands for four months should file the first but normally not the second.

Figure 2: the same idea in months

The bars put each limit on one scale in months. They are separate tests, not deadlines on one form.

What happens if you leave your registration in place

Edogawa Ward says that without a move-out notice, municipal health insurance premiums continue while you are abroad. Resident tax can also still apply if you remain registered.

Some people keep a Japanese address for a short posting abroad, expecting to return. If you are emigrating to the Netherlands, plan on the move-out route. If you are unsure how long you will stay, tell the counter your expected dates and ask.

If you are not Japanese: the equivalent question is whether your country treats you as a resident while abroad, and for how long. Ask the authorities of your home country, not only the Dutch ones.

3. The overseas move-out notice: when, where and what to bring

The overseas move-out notice (kokugai tenshutsu todoke) is filed with the municipality where you are registered. It is the anchor for the other procedures.

Timing and counter

Yokohama's guidance says the notice can be filed before you move. The person leaving, the head of the household, a member of the same household, or an agent with a power of attorney can file it. In Yokohama it must be filed at the ward office where you are registered.

Because some procedures must be done together with the notice, do not leave it to the last day. Some municipalities publish a crowding forecast calendar for the counter, as Yokohama does.

What to bring

Details vary by municipality. Yokohama lists the following.

Item	Note
Address change form	From the counter or the e-application service
Photo ID	My Number card, driving licence or passport
My Number card	Bring it if you hold one
Power of attorney	If an agent goes, written by you

The My Number card matters most, because the continued-use request cannot be processed without it.

Questions to ask at the same visit

Use the visit to settle everything that is handled in the same building. The table can be printed and taken along.

Topic	What to ask
My Number card	I want to request continued use abroad
National Pension	Do I end coverage here, and where do I apply for voluntary enrolment?
Municipal health insurance	Can I withdraw on the same day?
Resident tax	Do I need a tax representative?
Overseas voting	Can I apply for departure registration here? (election commission)
Seal registration	Does it lapse automatically?
Child allowance, care insurance	Anything that applies to my household?

Yokohama's page says seal registration lapses automatically on the move-out date.

4. My Number card: continued use must be requested before you leave

Since 27 May 2024 Japanese nationals can keep using their My Number card after moving abroad. The condition is that the procedure is completed before departure.

How the continued-use procedure works

According to the My Number Card General Site (J-LIS), the steps are:

1. When filing the move-out notice, hand in the card and the "request for continued use abroad" form.
2. The municipality writes the move-out date on the card face and changes the address data on the chip.
3. The municipality issues the electronic certificates for people leaving Japan.
4. You get the card back and keep using it abroad.

The deadline is the day before the planned move-out date. Yokohama also says Japanese nationals need to do this by the day before departure, together with the notice, and that a household member can do it for you.

If you skip it

J-LIS says that if the procedure is not done by the day before, the card expires on the planned move-out date. You would then have to apply for a new card after leaving. People who left Japan on or after 5 October 2015 can apply for the card for people living abroad.

Continue or not

Continued use is optional. The table compares the two paths.

Point	Continue	Do not continue
Before leaving	Hand in the request with the notice	Nothing to file; the card expires
Abroad	Usable for Japanese online procedures, where supported	No card
On return	Card procedures at the move-in notice	New issue may be needed
Watch out	Card expires if you never file a move-in notice	Re-issue takes effort

If you expect to use Japanese online services in future, continuing is the lower-effort choice. J-LIS lists a dedicated 24-hour paid phone line for suspending a lost card.

If a family member goes for you

Yokohama notes that when another household member files, the move-out notice invalidates the signature certificate. To keep it, the member needs to submit a sealed document that includes your PIN and a power of attorney. This is a municipal practice, so phone first.

If you are not Japanese: Yokohama says foreign residents must return their My Number card when leaving Japan. Check the same point in your own country if your national ID or tax number is tied to residence.

5. National Pension: ending coverage, voluntary enrolment and withdrawal payments

Pension answers depend on your category. First confirm whether you are Category 1, 2 or 3.

Category 1 (self-employed, students, unemployed)

Suginami Ward says that filing the overseas move-out notice ends the duty to pay into the National Pension, and you complete the loss-of-coverage procedure at the ward office.

If you prepaid premiums, the part after your departure date is in principle refunded. The notice comes from the pension office, so you need to give a contact address abroad when you do the procedure.

Voluntary enrolment

Japanese nationals aged 20 to under 65 who live abroad can enrol voluntarily. The Japan Pension Service describes the procedure as follows.

Item	Detail
Form	National Pension insured person notification (application)
Where, if leaving soon	Your municipal office
How to pay	A relative in Japan pays on your behalf, or automatic debit from a Japanese account
Additional premium	Can be paid
Exemptions, deferrals, student special payment	Cannot be applied for
Future benefit	Basic old-age pension by paid months. Months without payment do not count

Voluntary enrolment assumes a Japanese bank account or a domestic helper. The "domestic helper" is a relative in Japan who handles the procedure and payment for you.

Who cannot enrol, and why timing matters

The Japan Pension Service says those who cannot join voluntarily include people already drawing an early old-age pension, people with 480 or more paid months between ages 20 and 60, and people enrolled in the employees' pension or mutual aid systems.

Enrolment takes effect from the month of application and cannot be backdated. Suginami says it applies from the day after move-out, and that if you apply by the planned move-out date, already-paid premiums may be credited. Doing it before you leave is the safest route.

Figure 3: Category 1 steps before leaving

If you do not join, those months are simply unpaid months in the Japanese system. That can affect your future benefit and the 10-year qualifying period. Decide with your total pension picture in mind, including the Dutch AOW (see our AOW guide).

Categories 2 and 3 (employees and dependent spouses)

Suginami tells Category 2 and 3 people to ask their own or their spouse's employer rather than the ward office.

Since 1 April 2020, dependants, including Category 3 insured persons, must live in Japan, with exceptions. The Japan Pension Service (updated 6 October 2026) says students abroad and family members accompanying an overseas posting can still be recognised by filing a notice.

Situation	Main point
Spouse accompanying a posting	Visa, posting order and proof of residence abroad support the exception
Studying abroad	Visa and enrolment certificate support the exception
Working or settling abroad	Not covered by the exception; dependant status can end
Returning to Japan	Notify that the exception no longer applies

If you will work in the Netherlands yourself, the exception may not apply. That is decided case by case, so tell the employer and the pension office your purpose.

Lump-sum withdrawal payment for non-Japanese leavers

If you are a foreign national leaving Japan, the Japan Pension Service (updated 1 April 2026) lists these conditions: you do not hold Japanese nationality, you have left Japan, you have not reached the 10-year qualifying period for an old-age pension, and you have never had a right to a disability pension.

The claim must be made within two years of ceasing to have an address in Japan, and you need at least six months of paid premiums. The months counted are capped at 60 when your last payment was in April 2021 or later. For the National Pension, a last payment in April 2026 to March 2027 with 60 or more months gives 537,600 yen.

Taking the lump sum means those months no longer count as pension periods. Japan and the Netherlands have a social security agreement (signed 21 February 2008, in force from 1 March 2009). How the agreement treats your periods and whether it affects a claim is explained by the Japan Pension Service and its offices, so ask before you claim.

6. Resident tax and income tax: 1 January and the tax representative

Tax is where timing makes the largest financial difference. The test is again where you lived on a particular date.

Resident tax follows 1 January

Bunkyo Ward explains that resident tax is charged by the municipality where you lived on 1 January, on the previous year's income.

When you leave	What follows	Action
By 31 December	No address in Japan on the next 1 January	Generally no bill for the following year; confirm locally
On or after 2 January	A bill for that year can still arrive	Register a tax representative

The first row is our reading of the 1 January rule, not a municipal statement, so check it with your own tax division.

What a tax representative does

Bunkyo defines the tax representative (nozei kanrinin) as a person who receives the tax notices and pays on your behalf. If you leave on or after 2 January, it asks you to register one in advance.

Note that this Bunkyo page was last updated on 4 January 2023, so check the current form and deadline with your own municipality. If your resident tax is deducted from salary, ask your employer too.

Income tax and year-end adjustment

National Tax Agency Tax Answer No. 1920 (law as of 1 April 2026) says that someone who goes abroad for a year or more, unless a shorter stay is clear, is in principle presumed to be a non-resident for income tax. Employees settle tax at the final salary payment through year-end adjustment.

If you earn over 20 million yen in salary or have other income that requires a tax return, and you leave without registering a tax representative, you must file an interim final return by the time you leave. The representative notification form is described in No. 1923.

If you hold 100 million yen or more in securities

Tax Answer No. 1478 explains that people holding securities and similar assets worth 100 million yen or more at the time of departure can be subject to exit taxation. Registering a tax representative changes the filing timing. This affects few people, but if it might apply to you, see a tax adviser before you leave.

If you are not Japanese: the same question applies in your country. Many countries tax by residence, domicile or citizenship, and they have different exit rules. Ask your tax authority whether you remain a resident and whether a final return is required.

7. Municipal health insurance and the switch to Dutch cover

Japanese public health insurance and Dutch health insurance have to be joined up without a gap in the way that your situation requires.

Withdraw from municipal insurance after the notice

Edogawa Ward (updated 1 April 2026) says that after the move-out notice you must file a withdrawal from National Health Insurance. If your registration stays, premiums continue while you are abroad. Typical items to bring are documents showing the My Number of the head of household and the leaver, and ID.

Employees and dependants

Employees are covered through the employer's health insurance, so the employer handles the procedure. A dependent spouse faces the same domestic-residence test as in the pension section.

In the Netherlands, residents must hold health insurance, which we explain in our guide to switching Dutch health insurance.

Visits home

After the move-out, you are no longer in Japan's municipal scheme, so you generally cannot use a Japanese insurance card on a visit. Check what travel insurance or your Dutch policy covers abroad. This is our general reading, not a statement from a municipality, so check your own policy.

If you are not Japanese: ask whether your home public insurance continues, pauses or ends, and what premium or reporting duty remains. Some countries keep charging a residence-based contribution.

8. The residence notice: filing with Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

After the pre-departure steps, the main Japanese task on arrival is the residence notice for Japanese nationals.

What the rule says

According to the Online Residence Notice (ORRnet) site, Article 16 of the Passport Act requires Japanese nationals who settle or stay abroad for three months or longer to file one. People moving from Japan can file from 90 days before arrival, and the address and phone number can be left undecided. Required items are name, date of birth, passport details, email address, address and phone number in the host country, occupation, period of stay and an emergency contact.

Notice	Who files it
Residence notice	People newly staying abroad three months or more
Change notice	People whose registered details change
Return or move-out notice	People who have decided to return, have returned, or are leaving the consular district

When your address changes, file a change notice. When you go home, file the return notice.

Why it is worth filing early

ORRnet says registered people receive safety information from the embassy by email, and that the data is used when the embassy checks on people's safety after incidents or disasters. It is also used for consular services such as overseas voter registration and for online passport and certificate applications.

Overseas voting is separate

Japanese nationals abroad can vote in national elections through the overseas voting system. There are two ways to register, one before you leave and one after you arrive. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications describes them as follows.

Route	When and where	Key condition
Registration at departure	After filing the move-out notice and before the planned move-out date, at the election commission of your last municipality in Japan	Three months or more at the last address, among other points
Registration at a diplomatic mission	After arrival, at the mission covering your area	Registered once it is confirmed you have lived in the area for three months

The departure route is handled at the same time as the move-out notice, by the municipal election commission. The mission route can be applied for before three months have passed, but registration happens only after the three months are confirmed.

You need an overseas voter card to vote. Ask about the departure route at the move-out counter so you do not need a second trip. Check the latest details on the MIC overseas voting page and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs guide.

9. Japanese bank accounts, brokerage accounts and cards

Money-related handling differs by institution. We looked at one bank's published guidance as an example and list questions for the rest.

One bank's published rules

Sony Bank's guidance says that when you move abroad you report the overseas address change after logging in and register a contact address in Japan, where mail is sent. NISA accounts generally have to be closed, with a departure form submitted before leaving, and a specific account stays open only if the continuation form is filed by the departure date. Remittances and transfers cannot be requested from abroad.

Questions to ask each provider

Topic	What to ask
Address change	Is an overseas address change required, and by when?
Contact address	Can a relative in Japan be registered for mail?
Login security	Do the token or app work abroad?
Investments and NISA	What must I file before leaving? Closed or kept?
Tax number	Must I report my Dutch tax number later?

Sony Bank also warns that reset codes are mailed to the domestic contact address, so forgotten passwords are hard to recover from abroad.

Cards and phones

Whether a credit card or phone plan can be kept depends on each company's terms. We could not confirm a rule from an official source, so we do not state one. One general warning: SMS codes sent to a Japanese number are often used for bank and card logins. Check before leaving that you can still receive them.

10. Visits home: should you re-register your address?

After you move, trips back are likely. The hardest question is whether to re-register your address in Japan.

What registering changes

The Japan Pension Service says that even if you register an address in Japan for a short time, you are a compulsory insured person for that period and must file the procedure. If you asked for the additional premium or debit payment as a voluntary member, you must request them again when you restart compulsory coverage.

Situation	Thinking
Days to weeks	The default is not to re-register
A few months	Ask the office about pension, insurance and tax before deciding
Moving back	File a move-in notice and restart pension and insurance

The first two rows are our general reading of the rules, not municipal statements. Registering affects pension, health insurance and resident tax together, so ask first.

File the return notice

When you decide to go home, file a return or move-out notice in ORRnet. The same applies when you leave the consular district. J-LIS also says that a card for people living abroad expires if you do not complete the card procedure after filing a move-in notice.

11. What changes by situation

Situation	Pension	Health insurance	Tax and other
Single employee	Ask the employer; employee pension treatment may change	Employer's scheme	Year-end adjustment, tax representative if needed
Self-employed (Category 1) with Japanese work	End coverage; consider voluntary enrolment	Withdraw from municipal insurance	Tax representative and a tax return
Spouse of a posted employee (Category 3)	Exception notice via the employer	Ask the employer about dependant status	Registration and My Number steps

Employees and Category 3 spouses should ask the employer first. It is usually the shortest path.

An employee

A company sending you to the Netherlands is different from a local hire in the Netherlands. In the posting case, the Japan–Netherlands social security agreement may apply. The Japan Pension Service lists an application for a certificate for people temporarily posted from Japan to the Netherlands. Ask your employer which case you are.

A freelancer or business owner

If income or rental income stays in Japan, your Japanese tax position changes once you are a non-resident; Tax Answer No. 1926 covers rental income and similar cases. Talk to a tax office or adviser early and decide who your tax representative will be before departure.

12. Common mistakes and what not to do

Some mistakes are hard to undo. This table sums up the main ones.

Do not	Why
Leave without the My Number continued-use request	The card expires and a new one is needed
Leave your registration in place	Insurance premiums may keep running
Think about voluntary pension enrolment later	Enrolment cannot be backdated
Re-register your address on a visit without asking	Compulsory pension coverage restarts
Leave on or after 2 January without a tax representative	Tax notices may go unanswered
Skip the residence notice	Weaker safety support and consular services

Each of these can be avoided by asking before departure. The two least recoverable are the card procedure and voluntary pension enrolment.

13. Joining up with the Dutch side

The Japanese and Dutch procedures run at separate counters, but they touch at a few points.

What to do first in the Netherlands

After you arrive, you register with the municipality (gemeente) and receive a BSN. How to register and get a BSN is covered in a separate guide. After registration you can open a Dutch bank account and take out health insurance. The Government of the Netherlands has a hub for immigration to the Netherlands.

Documents from Japan

Which Japanese documents the Dutch side asks for depends on your permit and municipality, so we do not list them here. Some are easier to obtain while you are still in Japan, such as a copy of your resident record. Check what the Dutch side wants, then obtain it before you leave.

Two pension systems

Working in the Netherlands connects you to the AOW system, explained in our AOW guide. Whether to keep paying into the Japanese system depends on how long you will stay and your expected pension. There is no single right answer.

14. A checklist for any home country

The Japanese rules above are one worked example. If you come from somewhere else, ask the same questions of your own authorities.

Area	Question for your home country
Registration	Must I deregister or report my departure? Is there a length-of-absence threshold?
Tax residency	Do I remain a tax resident? Is a final return or exit tax due?
Tax representative	Can I appoint someone to receive notices?
Pension	Does my coverage end, continue or become voluntary? Can I claim a refund of contributions?
Health insurance	Does cover end? Do contributions continue?
Bank and cards	Do accounts, cards and logins work from abroad? Do they need a home address?
Voting	Can I vote from abroad, and how do I register?
Documents	Which certificates are easier to get before I leave?
ID and tax number	Does my national ID expire when I leave?
Returning	What happens to each of these if I register again for a visit?

The table is a prompt for questions, not a statement of the rules in any particular country. Your own tax office, pension body, municipality or embassy has the answers.

15. Timed checklist

Print this and tick off items as you go.

Two months to one month before leaving

• Found the municipal counter and date for the overseas move-out notice
• Listed the items to settle at the same visit: My Number card, pension, insurance, tax
• Confirmed my pension category (1, 2 or 3)
• Decided on voluntary pension enrolment and who my domestic helper is
• Asked my employer, or my spouse's, about insurance, pension and tax
• Asked each bank, broker and card issuer what they require when I move abroad
• Decided who my tax representative will be

Two weeks before leaving

• Decided whether to apply for overseas voter registration at departure
• Filed the move-out notice and requested My Number card continued use
• Ended or arranged my pension coverage
• Withdrew from municipal health insurance
• Registered the tax representative, if needed
• Obtained documents the Dutch side may ask for
• Checked that SMS codes, tokens and apps work abroad

After arriving

• Filed the residence notice in ORRnet
• Filed a change notice once my address was fixed
• Updated my address with banks and cards
• Considered overseas voter registration

Visiting or returning

• Asked the office what re-registering would trigger
• Filed the return notice in ORRnet when going home for good
• Checked the card procedure on return
• Asked the tax office about ending the tax representative

16. Summary

The main points on the Japanese side are these.

• A move-out notice is expected for a year or more abroad. Leaving your registration in place can keep insurance premiums running.
• The My Number card continued-use request goes in with the notice, by the day before the planned move-out date.
• Category 1 pension coverage ends. Japanese nationals can join voluntarily, and doing it before leaving is safest.
• Resident tax follows 1 January, and leaving on or after 2 January calls for a tax representative.
• A residence notice is required for stays of three months or more, and can be filed from 90 days before arrival.
• Re-registering your address on a visit can restart compulsory pension coverage, so ask first.

Each answer depends on your situation. When in doubt, ask your municipal office, the pension office, your tax office, or the Embassy of Japan in the Netherlands.

Sources we used

Japan Pension Service

• Voluntary enrolment procedure: counters, payment methods, treatment of visits (updated 1 July 2024)
• Voluntary coverage system: who can and cannot join, no exemptions
• Procedures when family members live abroad: the domestic-residence test and exceptions (updated 6 October 2026)
• Lump-sum withdrawal payment: conditions, deadline and example amount (updated 1 April 2026)
• Country information: the Netherlands: signing and entry-into-force dates of the agreement (updated 3 October 2022)
• Moving abroad or returning: entry point for pension procedures when moving

My Number card and residence notice

• Using the My Number card abroad (J-LIS): continued-use procedure and expiry conditions
• Card procedures for people leaving Japan (J-LIS): name changes, PINs, expiry, loss reporting
• Online Residence Notice, ORRnet (MOFA): duty to file, 90 days before arrival, change and return notices
• Overseas voting (MIC): the two registration routes, timing and the three-month condition
• Overseas voter registration at departure (MOFA): flow for departure registration (page not readable from our environment)
• Embassy of Japan in the Netherlands: official consular site (not readable from our environment)

Tax

• Tax Answer No. 1920 (NTA): non-resident presumption, year-end adjustment, interim final return (law as of 1 April 2026)
• Tax Answer No. 1923 (NTA): tax representative notification
• Tax Answer No. 1926 (NTA): non-residents with rental income or other Japan-source income (law as of 1 April 2026)
• Tax Answer No. 1478 (NTA): exit taxation for holdings of 100 million yen or more
• Bunkyo Ward: tax representative: 1 January test and tax representative (updated 4 January 2023)

Municipalities, a bank and the Dutch government

• Yokohama: move-out notice at the counter: timing, documents, My Number card, seal registration (updated 17 March 2025)
• Suginami: National Pension for people moving abroad: Category 1 loss of coverage, refunds, voluntary enrolment (updated 29 December 2025)
• Edogawa: National Health Insurance when living abroad: withdrawal and the one-year guide (updated 1 April 2026)
• Sony Bank: moving abroad: one bank's published steps
• Immigration to the Netherlands (Government of the Netherlands): the Dutch government's entry point

All pages were checked on 1 November 2026, except the two Ministry of Foreign Affairs voting and embassy pages noted above, which our environment could not open. Rules and forms change by municipality and year, so confirm with the current official page and counter before acting.