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Topic: How many days to register a residence permit — and does a new address or a new job have to be reported?

What does Japan require?

Everyday topic

Japan's long-term residence document is the Residence Card (在留カード), issued by the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency to "mid- to long-term residents." Article 23 of the Immigration Control Act requires the card to be carried at all times; carrying the Residence Card removes the separate obligation to carry a passport. After receiving the card and settling on an address, a foreigner must report that address (住居地) to the municipal office within 14 days (Article 19-7(1)); if the address later changes, the new municipal office must be notified within 14 days of the move (Article 19-9(1)). Japan has no separate "work permit" card — whether a person may work is built into the residence status itself, shown on the card as 就労の可否 (permission to work); a separate written Certificate of Authorized Employment (就労資格証明書) can be requested but is optional (Article 19-2). Holders of a work-related residence status who quit or are dismissed must notify the Immigration Services Agency of the change within 14 days (Article 19-16); failing to report, or reporting falsely, carries penalties and can disadvantage future visa applications.

What is this topic?

Taiwan's Alien Resident Certificate, issued by the National Immigration Agency, must be applied for within 30 days of entry, and an address change reported within the same 30-day window — miss it and the Immigration Act sets a fine of NT$2,000–10,000.

Japan's Residence Card runs on a tighter clock: 14 days, whether it's the first address registration or notifying a change of employer, both fixed by the Immigration Control Act.

Mainland China gives registered residence-permit changes 10 days (Exit-Entry Administration Law, Article 33), and staying somewhere other than a hotel only 24 hours (Article 39).

The United States has no national residence-registration office at all, but a registered alien's change of address is still bound by federal law — 8 U.S.C. § 1305 — to the same 10-day window, in writing.

India runs on visa category rather than a single residence card: an Employment or Student visa valid over 180 days must be registered with the FRRO within 14 days of arrival.

Indonesia caps an address change at 14 days, with the sponsor jointly responsible for reporting it.

Brazil is the most generous: a temporary-visa holder has 90 days to register with the Federal Police.

On whether the work permit and the residence permit are the same document, the seven countries split two ways: Taiwan, China, and Indonesia issue two documents from two agencies; Japan builds work eligibility directly into the residence status itself; and in the United States, the Green Card is itself the proof of work authorization.

Sources and dates

Dates follow local time zones, calendars, and official notices. Check the source when a date is estimated or locally variable.