Renewing your period of stay online: the Online Residence Application System (2026)

This page is general information from official sources. It is not legal advice, and it does not say whether your application will be approved. For your own case, ask the Kumamoto Immigration Office or the Immigration Information Center.

If your period of stay ends soon and you cannot take a weekday off to go to the immigration office, you may be able to apply from home. This guide explains the Immigration Services Agency’s online system: who can use it, what you need, the fees from October 1, 2026, and how you get your new card in Kumamoto.

In short

You can apply online to extend your stay or change your status if you are a mid- to long-term resident aged 15 or older with a My Number Card.
You cannot apply online on the last day of your stay, after it has ended, or while you are outside Japan. Go to the immigration office instead.
From October 1, 2026, the fee depends on the period you are granted. For online applications, you pay at a convenience store or by bank payment, not with revenue stamps.
If you were in, or lived in, Kumamoto City, Kikuyo Town or Ozu Town on July 28, 2026, and your period of stay was due to end by January 26, 2027, it now ends on January 27, 2027 (section 2.2).
You cannot ask for a Specified Residence Card with an online application.

Checked with official pages on September 27, 2026.

1. Can I use the online system?

1.1 Who can apply online?

Official rule (Japan)

The Online Residence Application System (在留申請オンラインシステム) is run by the Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁). You can use it for yourself if you are a mid- to long-term resident (中長期在留者). You cannot use it if you are under 15, or if you are not a mid- to long-term resident, for example with Temporary Visitor status or a period of stay of 3 months or less.

A parent or other legal representative can apply for you. A spouse, child or parent can apply in principle only when the applicant is under 16 or cannot apply because of illness or a similar reason. Employers, lawyers and administrative scriveners (行政書士) can also use the system if they are approved.

1.2 Which applications can I make online?

Official rule (Japan)

As a foreign national applying for yourself, you can apply online for:

an extension of your period of stay (在留期間更新許可申請),
a change of status of residence (在留資格変更許可申請),
permission to acquire a status of residence (在留資格取得許可申請),
a certificate of authorized employment (就労資格証明書), and
a re-entry permit or permission to work outside your status, together with one of the first three.

You cannot apply online for permanent residence or for residence card procedures, such as renewing the card’s validity. Some statuses are not covered. Check the agency’s list of statuses you can apply for online (PDF, Japanese).

1.3 What do I need before I start?

Official rule (Japan)

A My Number Card (マイナンバーカード) with both electronic certificates on it: the signature certificate and the user certificate. If you do not have a card yet, see Moving to Kumamoto: a checklist (section 2.2).
Your residence card.
A computer with internet access. The agency recommends Microsoft Edge and says the system is not guaranteed to work in a phone or tablet browser.
A smartphone with the Mynaportal app (マイナポータル), to read your My Number Card. A family member’s phone is fine, but you must use your own card.

There is no charge to register or to use the system.

2. When can I apply?

2.1 How early and how late?

Official rule (Japan)

According to the agency, you can apply to extend your stay up to the day it ends. If your period of stay is 6 months or longer, you can apply from 3 months before it ends. The online system takes applications 24 hours a day, except during maintenance. The date you apply online is your application date.

Important

You cannot apply online on the last day of your period of stay, or after it has ended. On the last day, go to the immigration office for your address. If your stay has already ended, go to the office quickly and ask what to do.

You also cannot apply online on the same day you register a new address at a city or town office; apply from the next day. You cannot apply online from outside Japan. The system blocks foreign IP addresses, so you cannot log in with one even from inside Japan.

The agency has announced maintenance from 20:00 on Wednesday, September 30, 2026 to 3:00 on Thursday, October 1, 2026. You cannot apply during that time.

2.2 Did the July 2026 earthquake change my deadline?

Official rule (Japan) + Kumamoto Prefecture

After the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake (令和8年熊本地震) on July 28, 2026, the agency extended some periods of stay. If your period of stay ends by January 26, 2027, and on July 28, 2026 you were in, or lived in, an area where the Disaster Relief Act applies, it now ends on January 27, 2027. The same applies to the validity of residence cards. Kumamoto Prefecture says the Act applies to Kikuyo Town and Ozu Town, and Kumamoto City applied it to the whole city.

Re-entry permits and permissions to work outside your status are not extended. Also, if you could not apply in time because of the earthquake, the agency says it will handle your case individually. You can apply at the office for the place you are staying now if you had to move. Ask the Kumamoto Immigration Office about your own case.

3. How do I apply online?

3.1 What are the steps?

Official rule (Japan)

Register as a user. On the system’s login screen, choose New Registration (新規登録) and enter your email address. Open the link in the email within 24 hours, choose “Foreign national (applicant)” (外国人本人) and get your user ID.
Make a request to use the system (利用申出). Read your My Number Card with the Mynaportal app. If there is no problem, a confirmation email usually arrives within a few minutes.
Fill in the application. Attach a photo of your face and the documents for your status of residence as PDF files. For some statuses, such as Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services (技術・人文知識・国際業務) and Dependent (家族滞在), you also attach a form filled in by your employer or by the family member who supports you.
Keep the email with your application number. Its first characters show the bureau that received it. 福オン means the Fukuoka Regional Immigration Services Bureau, which covers Kumamoto Prefecture.
Wait for the email that says the review is finished. Then pay the fee and receive your new residence card (sections 4 and 5).

You can attach up to 20 files at a time, 25 MB in total. Files with a password, or with printing or copying blocked, cannot be checked. The agency’s user manual in English (PDF) shows each screen.

3.2 What if my period of stay ends while I wait?

Official rule (Japan)

If you apply before your stay ends, you can stay while the application is checked. This is called the special period (特例期間). It lasts until the decision, or until two months after your period of stay ends, whichever is earlier.

With a counter application, the back of your residence card is marked to show that you applied. Online applications do not get this mark, so carry the email with your application number together with your residence card. If you need a mark on your card, for example to open a bank account, ask the office that received your application.

Your My Number Card is valid only until your period of stay ends. If you do not extend the card at your city or town office before that date, you cannot send documents through the online system during the special period.

4. How much does it cost, and how do I pay?

4.1 What is the fee?

Official rule (Japan)

You pay the fee only if your application is approved. Applications received by Wednesday, September 30, 2026 pay the old fee, even if the decision comes on or after October 1. The old fee for an extension or a change of status is ¥5,500 online and ¥6,000 at a counter.

For applications received on or after October 1, 2026, the fee depends on the period of stay you are granted:

Period granted	At a counter (revenue stamps)	Online, including the payment fee
3 months or less	¥10,000	¥10,330
Over 3 months, up to 6 months	¥18,000	¥15,330
Over 6 months, less than 1 year	¥25,000	¥21,330
1 year	¥33,000	¥27,330
Over 1 year, less than 3 years	¥48,000	¥42,330
3 years or more, less than 5 years	¥64,000	¥56,550
5 years or more	¥75,000	¥65,550

The online amounts are the fee plus a payment fee of ¥330 or ¥550. A reduced fee is possible for people in serious financial hardship, but the online system does not handle reductions. To ask for one, apply at a counter.

4.2 How do I pay online?

Official rule (Japan)

For online applications made on or after October 1, 2026, you pay at a convenience store or by bank payment. With internet banking, you can pay without cash. Credit cards and QR code payments are not accepted, and revenue stamps cannot be used. After the email that says the review is finished, a payment email with the amount and a link arrives. No paper payment slip is sent.

If your online application was received by September 30, 2026, you still pay the old fee with revenue stamps, even if the decision comes later. If you receive your card by post, stick the stamps on the fee payment form and send it with the other documents.

Important

The agency says payment emails come only from addresses ending in @service-dgft.com. An email from any other address asking you to pay is a scam. Do not open its links or pay.

5. How do I get my new residence card?

5.1 By post or at the counter?

Official rule (Japan)

When you apply, you choose how to receive the card: by post or at the immigration office counter. You cannot choose post in some cases, for example if you also apply for a re-entry permit, or if you are granted 3 months or less.

To receive it by post, follow the email after the review. You send the documents it lists by simple registered mail (簡易書留) or Letter Pack to the agency’s Odaiba office in Tokyo. Do not send your My Number Card or passport. The new card takes effect when it is delivered to you.

Note

As of September 2026, the agency says cards sent by post are taking some time to arrive. If you want the card sooner, it recommends choosing the counter. You can change to the counter while your application shows “申請完了” (application complete) or “審査中” (under review).

Without a residence card in your hand, you cannot leave Japan on a special re-entry permit (みなし再入国許可). Keep this in mind if you plan to travel while waiting for a card by post.

5.2 Where do I collect it?

Official rule (Japan)

At the counter, show the email about the finished review (or a copy) and hand in the documents it lists. Go to the immigration office named in the email. If you want to collect the card at a different office from the one that received your application, the agency asks you to contact it first. If you are not sure where to go, ask the Kumamoto Office of the Fukuoka Regional Immigration Services Bureau (福岡出入国在留管理局熊本出張所), in the Kumamoto Second Joint Government Building, 3-1-53 Oe, Chuo Ward, Kumamoto City. Google Maps. Phone: 096-362-1721.

6. Where can I get help?

Official rule (Japan)

For questions about using the system, call the online system help desk (在留申請オンラインシステムヘルプデスク) at 050-3786-3053, Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 17:00, except holidays and December 29 to January 3. The agency’s page does not say which languages the help desk uses. For questions about your application, call the immigration office for your address.

For general questions in English and other languages, the Immigration Information Center (外国人在留総合インフォメーションセンター) takes calls from anywhere in Japan at 0570-013904, 8:30 to 17:15 on weekdays. It lists English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Nepali, Thai, Burmese and Sinhala.

7. Common questions

Can I leave Japan after I apply online?

Yes, but the agency says you must come back within two months of the end of your period of stay and receive the permission. You cannot receive your card while you are outside Japan.

Can I get a Specified Residence Card with an online application?

No, not for now. If you want one, apply at the counter. See Specified Residence Card (2026).

The registration email has not arrived. What should I do?

Check that your email accepts messages from “@rasens-immi.moj.go.jp”. If nothing arrives after a day, contact the help desk.

I cannot send the documents within 14 days of the email about the finished review. What should I do?

Contact the agency’s Odaiba office (東京出入国在留管理局オンライン審査第二部門おだいば分室) at 03-3599-1068.

Can I change how I receive the card after I apply?

Yes, until the immigration office finishes its review. After that, you get an email saying it cannot be changed.

Next steps

Renewing your period of stay online: the Online Residence Application System (2026)