What to Do If You Lose Your Residence Card in Japan

2026年5月5日

What to Do If You Lose Your Residence Card in Japan

If you lose your residence card in Japan, report it to the police first and apply for a replacement at your Regional Immigration Services Office within 14 days after you notice the loss. Do not wait to see if it turns up later.

This guide is for mid-to-long-term foreign residents in Japan who have a residence card. It matters if your card was lost, stolen, destroyed, or left behind somewhere and you no longer have it in your possession.

Go to a police box or police station and file a lost property or theft report.
Keep the report number or other proof of the report.
Apply for reissuance at the immigration office that handles your area.
If you later find the old card after getting a new one, return the old card within 14 days.

TOC

The basic rule

Japan’s Immigration Services Agency says you must apply for reissuance within 14 days from the day you became aware of the loss. If you learned about the loss while you were outside Japan, the 14-day count starts from your first entry back into Japan.

That deadline matters because the residence card is not just a visa-related document. It is also the ID many people use for city hall procedures, contracts, work paperwork, and daily life in Japan.

ここがポイント: The urgent step is not “search for a few days.” It is “file a police report, then apply for a replacement within 14 days.”

Step 1: Report the loss to the police

Start with the police, especially if the card may have been stolen or dropped in public.

In practice, this usually means going to a nearby police station or koban and filing a lost property report. If theft is involved, tell the police that clearly so the report matches what happened.

You should keep:

The lost property report number or theft report number
Any receipt or confirmation the police give you
The date and place where you think the card was lost

This matters because immigration asks for material that proves the reason you no longer have the card. The official ISA checklist says a written statement is required, and for loss or theft, a police report number is needed.

If you may have lost it on a train, in a shop, or at an airport

Do not stop at the police report.

Transport operators, airlines, and shops sometimes keep lost property for a short time before it reaches the police. That means you should also contact the place where you probably left it.

A practical order is:

Ask the station, store, hotel, school, or employer reception desk where you last used it.
File the police report anyway.
Move on to the immigration reissuance step instead of waiting.

Step 2: Apply for reissuance at immigration

The replacement application is handled by a Regional Immigration Services Office. The official English guidebook says to apply there within 14 days after the loss is found.

What you usually need

According to the Immigration Services Agency, the main documents are:

Your passport, or a status-of-residence certificate if applicable
One photo that meets the official size standard
The application form for reissuance of a residence card
Documents proving the loss, theft, destruction, or other reason
A written statement about the loss or theft

Important details:

Children under 16 do not need to submit a photo for this application.
For loss or theft, the police report number is required in the statement.
ISA may ask for extra supporting documents depending on the case.

How much does it cost?

For reissuance due to loss, theft, or similar reasons, the official ISA page says there is no fee.

That is useful because many residents assume every immigration procedure comes with a revenue stamp or handling charge. This one does not.

Who can apply

In most cases, the applicant is the card holder.

There are limited exceptions for family members, legal representatives, or approved immigration application agents. ISA also says being busy with work or school is not enough by itself to skip appearing in person.

That catches people off guard. If you plan to ask someone else to handle it, check first whether your case fits the official proxy rules.

What to do while you are waiting for the new card

Losing a residence card can affect ordinary life quickly because the card is often used as ID.

You may need it for:

Employment paperwork
Banking or mobile phone procedures
Apartment or guarantor company checks
City hall procedures
Picking up registered mail or verified deliveries

The official government guidebook also says people aged 16 and over are expected to carry their residence card at all times. That is one reason you should not delay the replacement process.

If you have an urgent procedure coming up, keep a copy of your police report and any application paperwork you receive from immigration, then ask the school, employer, bank, or landlord what temporary proof they will accept. Their internal rules can differ.

Common mistakes to avoid

A lost residence card case is usually straightforward. The trouble comes from delay and incomplete paperwork.

Waiting too long because “it may turn up”

This is the most common mistake. You can still keep looking for the card, but the 14-day deadline does not pause while you search.

Going to immigration without a police report number

ISA’s procedure page says the written statement for loss or theft needs the police report number. Going without it can slow the process.

Assuming any office can handle it

Use the Regional Immigration Services Office that handles residence procedures for your area. Do not assume an airport counter will handle the same application.

Forgetting the old card if it is found later

If you receive a new residence card and then find the old one, you must return the old card within 14 days from the day you found it.

Cases where the rule may differ

Some points depend on your status and situation.

If you are outside Japan when you notice the loss

ISA says the application period runs from your first entry into Japan after you learned about the loss. That is an important exception for residents who discover the problem during travel.

If you are a special permanent resident

This guide is about the standard residence card for mid-to-long-term residents. Special permanent residents use a different certificate and a different reissuance procedure, so check the separate official page before acting.

If your card was damaged, not lost

A different reissuance procedure applies when the card is badly damaged, defaced, or the IC chip is broken. Do not use the loss procedure if the card is still physically with you.

Latest update to watch

As of April 23, 2026, the loss-and-reissuance rule itself still requires application within 14 days.

At the same time, ISA says new-format residence cards and cards with added My Number card functions are scheduled to be introduced from June 14, 2026. If you apply close to that date or later, the appearance and printed details of replacement cards may differ from older cards.

That does not change the immediate action you need to take after a loss. But it is a good reason to check the latest ISA instructions before your visit, especially if your local office updates photo or form guidance around the rollout.

Quick checklist

Before you leave home for immigration, make sure you have:

Passport
Completed reissuance application form
Photo that meets the official specification, if required for your age
Police report number or related proof of loss or theft
Any written statement or supporting document for the reason the card was lost

Final takeaway

If your residence card is missing, treat it as a same-day task. File the police report, prepare the immigration application, and work from the 14-day deadline, not from the hope that the card will come back on its own.

If the card later turns up after reissuance, return the old one promptly. That last step is easy to miss, and it is one of the details that immigration specifically calls out.

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