Red Tape Rescue
Service: Red Tape Rescue
- We Handle City Hall for You
Overview:
As an international student in Japan, you will be faced with a large number of government red tape requirements. These requirements can be complex and time-consuming, and they can be difficult to navigate if you are not familiar with the Japanese language or culture, and sometimes even if you are!
Why it's important to get it right:
Making sure your resident registration and other official documents are in order is essential for living and studying in Japan. Without the proper documentation, you may not be able to get a job, find housing, or get health insurance.
We can help you with:
- Moving in or out of Japan: We help you with the necessary paperwork and procedures for moving in or out of Japan, including changing your address, registering with your local ward office, and obtaining a new residence card.
- National Health insurance: We help you enroll in Japanese national health insurance or a private health insurance plan.
- “My Number”: We can help you apply for a My Number card, which is a national identification number required for many government services.
- National pension: We help you enroll in the Japanese national pension system.
- Document retrieval: We help you obtain various documents from Japanese government agencies, such as your passport, visa, or academic transcripts.
- Taxation: We can help you with your Japanese tax obligations, including filing your annual income tax return.
- General inquiries: We help get you answers to your questions about Japanese government red tape and regulations.
Cost:
US $100 per topic / issue
Benefits:
- Peace of mind knowing that your resident registration and other official documents are in order.
- Avoid the hassle and confusion of dealing with Japanese bureaucracy on your own.
- Save time and money by having someone help you with the process.
Can't I take care of this myself?
The short answer is "some people do BUT..."
For a more detailed explanation of why having professional support can make all the difference:
Why Shouldn't I Just Do This On My Own?
Cancellation Policy:
- Cancellations after eight days from the date of application will not be refunded.
- There will be no refund if the service is provided within eight days.
Request for cancellations:
- Please contact us as soon as possible if you need to cancel your application.
- If you cancel your application due to a force majeure event, such as a natural disaster or an infectious disease (such as COVID-19), we may be able to waive the cancellation fee if you contact us early.
Real Students, Real Problems.
".. anything with official documents"
Q. After first moving to Japan, was there something that was unexpectedly difficult?
A. Setting up a bank account or anything with official documents
“I didn't understand the procedures”
Q. What was the hardest thing about moving to Japan?
A. The hardest thing for me when I moved to Japan was the government offices. Most of the people there don't speak English, so I didn't understand the procedures or the words they were using. It was EXTREMELY stressful.
“… the amount of paperwork”
Q. What was the hardest thing about moving to Japan?
A. A really hard thing for me was the amount of paperwork. I had to fill out so many forms, all in Japanese. It was really tedious.
No English Examples
Q. What was the hardest thing about moving to Japan?
A. Most of the time they didn’t have English examples on how to fill out the forms. I had to figure out how to do them on my own, which took a lot of time.
The Long, Slow, Lines
Q. What was the hardest thing about moving to Japan?
A. It took sooooo long. Waiting in Lines, waiting at the city hall, going from one window then having to go to another.
JST surveyed real Japanese language students about the issues they faced before and after coming to Japan, and designed our services to make sure immersive language students in Japan never face the hard parts alone.
Do I really need help with this?
Living in Japan as a foreign national can be a bureaucratic nightmare. There are many official government registration tasks that need to be done in Japanese, on time, and correctly, or you could risk losing the ability to get a Japanese student visa or other resident status on time, as well as work, find housing, and have health insurance.
The first step is to register yourself and your address in Japan at a local government office within 14 days of arrival. Unsurprisingly, students coming to Japan to learn Japanese don't generally start out with great Japanese language abilities. They still need to go to the government offices and navigate the lengthy and often difficult official resident registration process on their own, hoping that the agency worker speaks some English.
Official Japanese government documents are generally only in Japanese, and there aren't always English speaking staff available to help you register accurately. Make a mistake, and you risk not being able to go on to the next steps in getting your student visa or legal Japanese residency.
This is where our service comes in. Our staff will take the time to go with you to make sure your registration and legal and official documents are in order. We will translate any necessary documents and answer any questions you may have. We will also make sure that your registration and other documents are completed correctly and submitted on time.
Here are some of the benefits of hiring us to help:
- Peace of mind knowing that your resident registration and other official documents are in order
- Avoid the hassle and confusion of dealing with Japanese bureaucracy on your own
- Save time and money by having someone help you with the process
- Increase your chances of success in obtaining a Japanese student visa or other resident status
Why can't you just do this for me instead of going with me?
If someone offers to do this for you, be careful, because that's just not possible. In Japan, there are strict privacy and personal information laws that prevent us from registering official documents on your behalf.
So, what do we do?
We do the next best thing: we go with you to make sure you understand all the questions and forms, and to translate and guide you.
The Japanese certificate of residence (juminhyo) is required by all residents, both Japanese and foreign.
It's not free, and it's not easy to fill out. You'll need to use the information on your residence card, but knowing exactly what information to include and what to exclude requires a deep understanding of the requirements. If you make a mistake, you'll have to go back and stand in line again, and pay again to fix the document. But without a correctly filled out and registered juminhyo, you won't be able to get legal work in Japan or find housing.
All of these processes are based on very specific Japanese laws, but that doesn't mean every case is the same.
What's right for one person in their specific circumstances may not be right for you. So, taking a chance on Googling information or reading a thread on Reddit or a Japanese language school's website and thinking you're all set to go may be asking for trouble.
That's why we believe the only way to prevent the bureaucratic pitfalls so often faced by language students in Japan is to have a native Japanese speaker with you, literally by your side, through the entire process.
We have extensive experience helping non-Japanese people move to Japan to study Japanese, and we know what it takes to get things done right.
