There are some procedures that need to be completed before you leave Japan. See below for information about university procedures, procedures outside of the university and procedures for the day you leave. Make sure you do not skip any procedures by starting your preparation in an orderly manner.
*See page 46 of the Guidebook for International Students.

If there is anything you do not understand, please check with the International Exchange Division.

 

Examples of required procedures

• Notify your supervisor of the date you will return to your country.
• Check the required procedures with the International Exchange Division and your college and so on.
• Make requests for the issue of results transcripts and course completion certificates in plenty of time.
• Notify the university of your contact details once you have returned to your country (address, telephone number, e-mail address, etc.)
• Return your student ID card.
• Once your date to return to your country and your flight details have been decided, you must report this to the Educational Affairs Director at your college.

Complete the require procedures for the applicable items.
Use the following as a reference to make progress with the procedures.
It should be noted that there are some cases in which an application from the person in question is required, depending on the procedure. In such cases, it is not possible for someone else such as a friend or acquaintance to undertake these procedures on your behalf. Please make sure that you complete the procedures yourself before leaving Japan.

 

Examples of required procedures

Housing:
notification of departure to the owner of the property/management company, etc. (Check the notification period in your contract.)

【International House for Overseas Students】
Submit a notification of departure to the International Exchange Division at least one month in advance. Make sure to pay your board and maintenance fees up to the month of departure.
*For details see ‘Information on leaving the International House of Foreign Students’ distributed by the International Exchange Division.

【Apartments】
Contact the owner or management company of your apartment 1 – 2 months before your date of departure (depends on the terms of your contract). If you do not contact them in time, you may have to pay extra rent. Make sure to contact them as soon as possible.
*Clean your apartment thoroughly and have it inspected by the owner / management company on the day you leave.
*You may be charged for repairs or cleaning depending on the state of your apartment or the terms of your contract. Please try to return your apartment in the same state as it was when you moved in.

 

Banking:
Close your bank account, stop your cash and credit cards, stop automatic payments

Take your bank book, cash card and official stamp to the bank in person and complete the necessary procedures. Make sure to stop automatic payments and so on, if you have them.
*As a rule, banks are only open on weekdays (Mon – Fri, closed on national holidays) until 3pm. Post offices are open until 4pm.

 

City Hall:
Notification to leave the country, procedure to withdraw from national health insurance, return of insurance card, settling unpaid insurance fees

A few days before you leave, you need to complete the leaving procedures at City Hall. (You will need your passport and resident card). You also need to withdraw from national health insurance, return your insurance card and pay any outstanding insurance fees.
*Please be aware that if you do not complete the withdrawal procedure, you will continue to be invoiced for national health insurance fees.

 

Cancelling usage contracts:
utilities (electricity, gas, water), telephone, NHK licence, mobile phone

Notify the electricity, gas and water companies of your departure date (date of return to your country) and settle any outstanding payments. Don’t forget to cancel your landline, mobile phone and internet services.
*If, for some unavoidable reason, you cannot complete all payments before leaving Japan, please ask a friend to make the payments on your behalf.

 

Disposing of unwanted items:
Check with City Hall and so on.

Dispose of unwanted items according to the local regulations for burnable, non-burnable and large items and make sure not to leave anything in your apartment when you leave. Make sure to clean out the refrigerator and do not leave anything in it.

 

Shipping your belongings:
Arrange to send you belongings back to your own country before you leave Japan.

【Post Office】
There are three ways to send packages: air, sea and land (SAL) and sea. Air mail is fast but fairly expensive. Sea mail is cheap compared to air mail but it can take several months to arrive. SAL is comparatively cheap and is useful if you want to ship your belongings fairly rapidly. Please enquire at your local post office for more details or check the website below.

Support for international students – easy navigation of international mail (Japan Post)　
http://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/ems/ryugaku/

【Removal companies】
You can also send your belongings in an overseas removal with a removal company. Yamato Transport International TA-Q-BIN

http://www.kuronekoyamato.co.jp/kokusaitakkyubin/kokusaitakkyubin.html

 

Forwarding your post

If required, you can have your post forwarded to an acquaintance in Japan (for 1 year). You must apply for this service in person.

 

Your embassy

Make sure to notify your embassy that you have completed your studies and returned home to your country of origin.

 

Notification of the Accepting Organization

Before you leave, you must fill in the Notification of the Accepting Organization and submit it to the Immigration Bureau.
You can use either the Electronic Notification System, deliver it to the Immigration Bureau yourself or post it to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau.

【Postal address】
Notification Reception, Resident Management Information
Department, Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau, 5-5-3- Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8255

*Write 届出書在中 (Contains Notification) in red on the front of the envelope.
*If sending by post, please enclose a copy of your resident card.

Return your resident card

When you leave Japan, you must return your resident card to immigration personnel at the airport.