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Residence-Card Surrender at the Airport

To surrender your residence card in Japan means handing it to the immigration officer at your departure airport when you leave permanently. Get the departure-card choice right and the handoff takes minutes; get it wrong and you either lose a status you meant to keep or keep a status you meant to close.12

Confirm current details with official sources

Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the Immigration Services Agency site. This article is general information, not legal, tax, or immigration advice; for your specific case, consult a licensed immigration lawyer or gyoseishoshi.

Overview​

Permanent departure and temporary travel use opposite procedures at the same counter. A mid- to long-term resident who leaves without re-entry permission loses the effect of the card at departure and must return it there.1 A holder who leaves with special re-entry permission or a formal re-entry permit keeps the card and the underlying status during the permission validity, subject to the period-of-stay cap.32

This procedure is uniform nationwide. It is a national immigration step run by the Immigration Services Agency, not a ward-office procedure with local variants. The same rule applies whether you fly from Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka, or another international port.

Leaving without either permission counts as relinquishing the held 在留資格 (zairyū shikaku, "status of residence"). A later return then requires a new visa and status application from scratch, which can take considerable time.4

Where and When Surrender Happens​

Surrender is a departure-day step only. There is no separate pre-visit to complete it earlier.

Departure-side immigration counter​

Hand the card to the immigration officer at departure examination at your port of departure.1 In practice this is the passport-control counter on the departure side, after security screening and before boarding. No separate application form sits on your side for this handoff; the mailed-return form is a different channel for post-departure cases.1

Which airports and ports qualify​

Any designated 出入国港 (shutsunyūkoku minato/kuukou, "port of entry or departure") qualifies. That includes Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu Centrair, and Fukuoka, plus other international airports and seaports that conduct departure examination.1

Your departure airport does not need to match your entry airport. The card issued to you on entry at one of the major airports is returnable at any departure port when you leave permanently.1

Domestic connection rule​

On an itinerary with a domestic leg before the international leg, surrender at the international departure airport. Only the international departure produces the departure confirmation that closes residence; the domestic leg does not clear you out of Japan.1

What Happens at the Counter​

The mechanic is short and verbal. Your statement to the officer matters as much as the card itself.

What to present and say​

Present your valid passport and your 在留カード (zairyū kādo, "residence card"), with your boarding pass available.12 Tell the officer clearly that you are leaving permanently and not departing under re-entry permission. Do not tick the re-entry intent box on the re-entry ED card.24

The chart above captures the single decision that controls the outcome. The ED-card tick plus your statement to the officer records the departure type.2

Hole-punch and memento​

The immigration office voids the returned card by punching a hole in it. On request, the officer hands the punched invalidated card back to you.5

Ask for the punched card if you want it

Officers routinely return the voided card when asked, and resident guides treat it as a keepsake of a closed chapter. Ask at the counter rather than assuming it will be offered.

Visible handling can vary by airport and shift, so ask directly if keeping the memento matters to you. Practitioner and resident guides note the variation; the ISA rule itself states only the port-of-departure return duty.51

Keep the punched card for later paperwork​

Keep the punched card after surrender. Resident guides describe it as proof of completed residency closure that later filings may ask about, including the pension lump-sum withdrawal claim.6 Treat the pension use as guides describe it rather than as a settled ISA rule. IMS confirms the card is returned on request but does not name the pension use.5

Store it with your passport and departure records until post-departure filings are done.

If You Plan to Return: Keep the Card​

If you plan to return, do not surrender. Two permission paths keep the card alive, and the right one depends on how long you will stay away.

Special re-entry permission up to one year​

A resident holding a valid passport and residence card may depart under みなし再入国許可 (minashi sainyūkoku kyoka, "special re-entry permission (deemed re-entry)") without obtaining a formal permit. Holders with a 3-month-or-less period and Temporary Visitor status are excluded.2

Validity runs one year from the departure date. If your 在留期間 (zairyū kikan, "period of stay") expires earlier, the expiry date controls and you must return before it.2 Special permanent residents use a two-year window under the same framework.2

The one-year clock stops at your period of stay

A special re-entry departure does not extend your stay expiry. Check the earlier of the one-year date and your residence-card expiry before you book a late return.

To use it, tick the re-entry intent box on the 再入国EDカード (sainyūkoku ED kādo, "re-entry embarkation/disembarkation card") and tell the officer you depart under special re-entry permission.2 It cannot be extended from outside Japan.

Formal re-entry permit up to five years​

If you will re-enter after more than one year while your period of stay still allows it, obtain a formal 再入国許可 (sainyūkoku kyoka, "re-entry permission (formal permit)") before departure. Apply at the regional immigration bureau with jurisdiction over your residence.3

Validity is set within your current period of stay, up to five years for most holders and up to six years for special permanent residents.3

ItemAmountAs ofNotes
Formal re-entry permit, single, counter4,000 yen2026-09-083Revenue stamp, paid at the bureau
Formal re-entry permit, multiple, counter7,000 yen2026-09-083Revenue stamp, paid at the bureau
Formal re-entry permit, single, online3,500 yen2026-09-083Online filing rate
Formal re-entry permit, multiple, online6,500 yen2026-09-083Online filing rate

Formal re-entry permit fees run 4,000 yen single and 7,000 yen multiple at the counter (as of 2026-09-08; confirm current figures with the Immigration Services Agency).3 Online rates are 3,500 yen single and 6,500 yen multiple (as of 2026-09-08).3

How the ED card choice controls the outcome​

The ED-card tick plus your oral statement decides whether departure is recorded as a re-entry departure or a permanent departure.24 Tick re-entry intent and state re-entry when you mean to keep status. Leave it unticked and state permanent departure when you mean to close it.

A temporary departure during a pending extension or change application can still use the special re-entry process.4

If Plans Change After You Decide​

Be definitive before you reach the counter. Each direction has a clean recovery, but neither is convenient.

Surrender then return requires a new visa from scratch​

Once status is relinquished by departure without permission, a later return needs a fresh visa application. Where a Certificate of Eligibility cycle applies, review is measured in weeks, so do not plan a quick turnaround.4

If you used deemed re-entry and then decide not to return, report the card return when you next apply for a Certificate of Eligibility.5

Keep but not return lapses status automatically​

A holder who departs with re-entry permission but does not re-enter within its validity loses the card effect. The card must then be returned within 14 days of the lapse date.1

The same 14-day duty covers card expiry and loss of mid- to long-term resident status generally.1 A holder who cannot explain a prior non-return may face delayed screening on a later application.5

Permanent residents risk the most from drift

Keeping the card and missing the window ends the status you meant to preserve. A standard permanent resident gets the same one-year special re-entry window as other holders, so a longer absence needs a formal permit arranged before departure.

Mailed return when airport surrender was missed​

If you left without surrendering, mail the lapsed card to the Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau Odaiba Branch: 9th floor, Tokyo Port Joint Government Building, 2-7-11 Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0064.1 Mark the envelope to show a residence-card return and enclose the reference form titled Return of Residence Card plus a document proving the reason for return.1

Do not mail the card before departure while you are still in Japan. The mailed channel is for post-departure or post-lapse return; mailing early leaves you without valid identification if a flight is delayed.1

Failure to return within the stated period can draw a criminal fine of up to 200,000 yen under the Immigration Control Act penal provisions.7 The ISA return page states a fine may apply without naming the amount.1

Good to know​

Do not mail the card before your flight​

Mail the card only after you have left or after the lapse date. The card is your valid identification until departure confirmation, and a delay or reroute after early mailing leaves you in Japan without it. The ISA mailed channel expects the reference form and reason proof, which fits a post-departure return.1

Ticking the wrong ED card box is the costliest five seconds​

The re-entry intent tick plus your statement records the departure type. The wrong box surrenders a status meant to be kept or preserves a status meant to be closed.24 Slow down at the ED card, confirm the box matches your spoken statement, and confirm with the officer if the form layout is unfamiliar.

Permanent residents face the highest stakes​

Standard permanent residence uses the same one-year special re-entry window as other statuses. Only special permanent residents get two years.2

A planned absence beyond the window needs a formal permit obtained before departure, valid within the period of stay up to five years, or six for special permanent residents.3 Practitioner guidance treats this counter as the fastest place to lose permanent status by mistake.5

Surrender is immediate, other lapse cases get 14 days​

Permanent departure without re-entry permission returns the card immediately at the port.1 Expiry, loss of mid- to long-term status, and failure to re-enter within re-entry validity return the card within 14 days of the lapse date.1 Do not apply the 14-day window to a permanent departure; the port handoff is the deadline.

See also​

References​

Footnotes​

  1. 出入国在留管理庁. 「在留カード等の返納」. https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/procedures/nyuukokukanri10_00020.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16 ↩17 ↩18

  2. 出入国在留管理庁. 「みなし再入国許可（入管法第26条の2）」. https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/immigration/procedures/minashisainyukoku_00001.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12

  3. 出入国在留管理庁. 「再入国許可申請」. https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/immigration/procedures/16-5.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  4. Chiba University International Support Desk. "Leaving Japan and Re-entry." https://www.chiba-u.ac.jp/international/isd/en/visa/permission.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  5. IMS Legal Professional Corporation. "Return of Residence Card." Published 2025-06-04. https://imsvisa.support/en/2025/06/04/return-of-residence-card/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  6. GaijinPot Blog. "Everything You Need to Do Before Leaving Japan." Published 2024-11-28. https://blog.gaijinpot.com/everything-you-need-to-do-before-leaving-japan/ ↩

  7. Japanese Law Translation (Ministry of Justice). Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, Articles 19-14, 19-15, 26, 26-2, 71-5. https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3546/en ↩