New Arrivals
Upon arrival at Hitotsubashi University, there are a number of necessary procedures you must complete in order to become a full-time international student as well as a foreign resident legally. Finding a place to live and obtaining a residential address are of primary importance. The next and most fundamental procedure is to complete the Alien/Foreign Resident Registration. Without this Registration, it is impossible to complete the subsequent procedures both on campus and off campus. Most of the following procedures require photographs (4.5cm by 3.5cm). Thus, newly arrived students should prepare 6 to 7 photos.
Off Campus
- (1) Alien/Foreign Resident Registration
- (2) National Health Insurance
- (3) Pension Plan Exemption
- (4) Opening Bank Account
1. Passport 2. Residence Card 3. Student ID 4.Alien/Foreign Registration Application Form
Students can request exemption from pension payments. You can apply for this when you do procedure of signing up for national health insurance. Please do not forget to bring your student card, residence ID and your passport for applying for it. It may take a few months until you are notified of your approval for exemption. If you apply for this, you do not need to pay for exemption even you would receive the payment slip.
On Campus
Off Campus
(1) Alien/Foreign Resident Registration
All foreigners staying in Japan for over 90 days must complete the Alien/Foreign Resident Registration procedure at a city hall in the area where they reside.
The following documents are to be submitted:
- Passport
- 2 recent photos (4.5 cm by 3.5 cm, color as well as black and white are accepted, but snapshots are not allowed)
- Alien/Foreign Resident Registration Application Form
Upon registration, a Temporary Registration Certificate is issued, and then it takes about 2 weeks to receive an Alien/Foreign Resident Registration Card in exchange of the Temporary Registration Certificate. You are advised to ask for a Certificate of Completion of Alien/Foreign Resident Registration at the time of application and present it whenever necessary, e.g. opening a bank account, until you receive your Alien/Foreign Resident Registration Card.
*Those who have names in Kanji can register your name in Kanji. The others, register in Katakana or alphabet.
All family members who accompany you must also complete the Alien/Foreign Resident Registration (No photographs are needed for children under 16 years old). On completion of the Alien/Foreign Resident Registration, you receive a handbook, which is published in English, Chinese, and Korean, for foreign residents living in either Kunitachi or Kodaira.
Kunitachi City Hall
phone 042-576-2111
Website
Kodaira City Hall
phone 042-346-9520
Website
In case you extend the period of your stay in Japan at the Immigration Office or change your address, you must apply for changes to your Alien/Foreign Resident Registration at a city hall in the area you reside within 14 days from the date in which the changes occurred. You should contact your local city hall and ask what kinds of documents you need to submit in order to apply for the change of your registration since necessary documents vary depending on your particular situation.
Once you have been registered, you are required to carry your Alien/Foreign Registration Card at all times until you hand your Card in to an immigration officer at the airport when you leave Japan after completing your study in the country. You should present your Card when requested by a police or government officer. You may be subjected to an investigation if you do not carry your Card and are stopped by a police officer. You must report the loss or theft of your Card to the nearest police box immediately upon discovering the loss or theft. Afterwards, an application for the card replacement should be made at the city hall where your card was issued within 14 days from the date of the loss or theft. You will be required to submit the same documents at the city hall that you submitted when you first applied for an Alien/Foreign Resident Registration.
(2) National Health Insurance
An international student, who has completed the above Alien/Foreign Resident Registration must join the Japan National Health Insurance scheme. Subscribers to the Insurance scheme pay 30 percent of the medical expenses at a clinic/hospital for any medical and dental treatments covered by the Insurance. Do not forget to bring your Insurance Card when you go to the hospital.
Insurance premiums vary by the amount of your annual income earned in the previous year and the city you reside in. Therefore, when applying for National Health Insurance at your local city hall office, you should fill out a form called 'Kari-shinkoku-sho' for the discount of your premium if you had no or little income earned in the previous year. In the case of Kunitachi City, the annual premium of National Health Insurance is approximately 10,000 yen after the Kari-shinkoku-sho has been approved. The Insurance premium and period of its payment are annually sent by post. It is important that you do not fail to pay your premium during the payment period. You will be required to pay your delinquent charge if you let your premium elapse.
When you change your address, you must adjust your National Health Insurance account and return your Insurance Card to the city hall of your previous residence. You should go to the city hall of your new residence to obtain a new Insurance Card. That is, join the National Health Insurance program again.
(3) Opening Bank Account
For those who need a bank account for receiving scholarship money and such, you can do so with a Japan Post Bank account or other bank accounts. (Major banks near Kunitachi Campus include: 1) Japan Post Bank, 2) Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, etc.)
The following documents are necessary to open a bank account:
- Passport
- Residence Card (Make sure your address is stamped on the back)
- Student ID
- Personal seal (foreign residents can use their signatures instead)
When opening your account, you should apply for an ATM card as well. ATM card can be used at ATMs at convenience stores and other locations. If this is the first time you are staying in Japan, you may not be able to use your ATM card for bank transfers or withdrawing cash for the first 6 months.
<Note>
1)Only those who will stay in Japan for longer than 6 months are eligible to open a Japanese bank account.
2)The process to open an account may take up to an hour.
3)It is important to make note of which seal (or signature) you used when opening your account.
4)International students who wish to open a JP Post Bank account should do so at the central post office of each town.
On Campus
(1) University Enrollment Procedures
Degree-seeking and exchange graduate students, research students, and Japanese studies students must duly complete enrollment procedures at the graduate school's offices respectively according to the school's Enrollment Guide. Two photographs (4cm by 3cm) and a Certificate of Completion of Alien/Foreign Resident Registration (an Alien/Foreign Resident Registration Card is not accepted) are needed to complete the procedure. Those students, who completed the procedure, will receive a student ID at the graduate school's office. Degree-seeking and exchange undergraduate students should receive a student ID at the Academic Affairs Division (Kyomu-ka).
(2) Library Registration
Newly enrolled students can use the University Library with their plastic student ID. On the other hand, Center Students are required to obtain a Library Card separately since they do not have a plastic student ID. For the application, you should go to the Circulation Counter of the Library's Main Building (Honkan) with your student ID. The Library Cards are issued from 9:00 to 17:00 on weekdays.