JAPANLIFE GUIDE
Emergency
Family, Childcare, and School/Check soonRequired

What to Do After a Child Is Born in Japan

Handle the 14-day birth notification, the 30-day residence-status application when required, health insurance, child allowance, and home-country registration in order.

Procedure at a glance

Who this is for
Foreign-national families with a child born in Japan
Deadline
Birth notification within 14 days; status acquisition within 30 days when applicable

Do this todayGet the birth certificate and confirm the child's name spelling

If the deadline is near or passedIf 14 or 30 days have passed, or 60 days is near, gather birth proof, birth date, and parents' cards and passports, and contact both municipality and immigration today.

Where to goMunicipality, insurer, immigration office, and embassy or consulate

childbirthbirth notificationstatus acquisition
Official information checked: 2026-07-18Review status: Reviewed

Step-by-step guide

Follow these steps

Progress: 0/4 completed

1Confirm your case and deadlineFile the birth notification / Enroll the child in health insurance

What to do

  1. 1Count from the birth date and file the birth notification within 14 days with an eligible municipality, then obtain a certificate or other proof of acceptance
  2. 2Choose the child's health insurer through a parent's employer or municipality, submit its required birth evidence, and confirm coverage start and how to use it

Check before you start

  • Get the birth certificate and confirm the child's name spelling
  • Ask the municipality about the birth-notification counter, documents, and related applications
  • Confirm nationality, intended stay, and passport process with immigration and your embassy

When the deadline starts

  • File the birth notification within 14 days including the birth date. If a foreign-national child will stay over 60 days, apply for status acquisition within 30 days of birth; this is separate.

If the deadline is near or passed

  • If 14 or 30 days have passed, or 60 days is near, gather birth proof, birth date, and parents' cards and passports, and contact both municipality and immigration today.

Urgent contact

  • For missed deadlines, contact the municipal registration desk and immigration the same day. For an ill child, prioritize medical care or 119 over paperwork.
2Prepare the office and documentsApply for benefits and checkups / Handle home-country registration and passport

What to do

  1. 1At your municipality separately confirm child allowance, medical subsidy, checkups, and vaccination, and prepare each deadline, insurance details, and payment account
  2. 2List the parents' nationality and marital status, ask the embassy about home-country birth registration and passport, and track it separately from Japan's notification

Basic items to bring

  • Birth notification and medical birth certificate
  • Parents' residence cards, passports, and ID
  • Maternal and Child Health Handbook
  • Marriage, parentage, or name evidence when requested
  • Address, household, insurance, and bank details
  • Documents required by the embassy and immigration

Fees

  • Birth notification and status-acquisition filing are generally free. Certificates, passport, home-country registration, and translation may cost extra.

Online options

  • Birth notification, status acquisition, insurance, allowance, home-country registration, and passport are separate. Check online coverage with each authority.

If you cannot go

  • Confirm eligible filers, which parent attends, authorization, and parentage, marriage, or nationality documents separately with the municipality, immigration, and embassy.

If documents are missing

  • If a document is missing, do not guess or substitute it. Tell the office its exact name and ask whether you can consult first, submit it later, and where to obtain it.
3File or applyAcquire status of residence / Compare records across offices

What to do

  1. 1If the child will stay in Japan beyond 60 days and status acquisition applies, apply to immigration within 30 days of birth and save the receipt
  2. 2Compare name, birth date, and nationality across municipal, insurance, benefit, immigration, home-country, and passport records and report differences to the issuer

Time to completion

  • The municipality accepts the birth notification, while registration, insurance, and child allowance are handled separately. Ask immigration about the status-acquisition result date.
4Confirm completion and the next deadlineShare certificates and deadlines

What to do

  1. 1Share all references and next result, checkup, and vaccination dates; if 14 or 30 days passed, contact the municipality and immigration today with the actual birth date

Confirm at completion

  • Birth and required status filings were completed on time with receipts saved
  • Insurance, benefits, home-country registration, and next deadlines are organized

What you receive

  • Verify separately: birth acceptance, resident registration, health insurance, allowance and medical subsidy, status/card, home-country registration, and passport.

Check before leaving

  • Before leaving, check your name, address, covered period, and procedure type, then ask about the next deadline and contact method.

Records to keep

  • Keep the reference number, filing date, office, copies of submitted documents, and next contact date. Save confirmation screens and emails for online filings.

Next action

  • Because home-country steps depend on parents' nationality and marital status, ask the embassy, then follow municipal infant checkup, vaccination, and childcare guidance.

Confirm with the official office

  • This page cannot determine the latest form, appointment and hours, municipality-specific additions, individual review, or same-day handling. Confirm these immediately before filing.
  • Parents' nationality/status, marriage, child's stay, insurance, municipality

These are date-counting aids. Follow the responsible authority for the trigger date, holidays, and individual exceptions.

Important cautions
  • Requirements vary by nationality, marriage status, and intended stay
  • Birth notification and status acquisition are separate procedures
  • Benefits, medical subsidies, and insurance rules vary by municipality and insurer
Find where to go

Useful Japanese phrases

After-birth counter

子どもが生まれました。出生届と在留資格の手続きを確認したいです。

Kodomo ga umaremashita. Shussho todoke to zairyu shikaku no tetsuzuki o kakunin shitai desu.

My child was born. I would like to confirm the birth notification and residence-status procedures.

What to Do After a Child Is Born in Japan

この件について相談したいです。必要なものと次に行く場所を教えてください。

Kono ken ni tsuite sodan shitai desu. Hitsuyo na mono to tsugi ni iku basho o oshiete kudasai.

I would like to ask about this issue. Please tell me what I need and where I should go next.

Useful next guides

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What to prepare when getting a residence record at your municipality.

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