Part of our Living in Tokyo with Kids guide. Last reviewed: October 2026.
Relocating a family internationally is really several parallel projects — visas, schooling, housing, healthcare — that all have to land around the same date. Get the order wrong and you end up waiting on one piece of paperwork that blocks three others. This checklist sets out the sequence that causes the least backtracking for families moving to Tokyo, from the first visa paperwork to the end of your first month.
Rules and deadlines below are correct as of our last review, but ward-level details (application windows, forms, office hours) change and vary between wards. Treat this as a planning framework and confirm specifics with the relevant office.
3–12 months out: visas and school waitlists
Start your dependent visa paperwork and your school applications at the same time, because both can take months and both gate everything else.
- Certificate of Eligibility (COE). For most families, the working parent’s employer (or the working parent) files a COE application for each family member with the Immigration Services Agency. Standard processing is generally one to three months, though it varies by visa category and time of year. Once issued, a COE is valid for three months, so your family needs to enter Japan within that window.
- International school applications. The most sought-after international schools in Tokyo run waiting lists at popular grade levels. If a Tokyo posting is even likely, contact schools early, ask how their waitlist works, and apply to more than one.
- Japanese public school or daycare instead? Public elementary school enrollment runs through your ward office after you register your address, and licensed daycare (hoikuen) applications follow ward-level deadlines — so neither can be locked in from overseas in the same way.
2–3 months out: housing search
Don’t sign a lease sight unseen if you can avoid it — but if you must, work backward from your shortlisted schools’ realistic commute radius before you look at listings. Family-sized apartments in the most popular wards (Minato, Meguro, Setagaya) move quickly.
- Upfront costs are high. Expect to pay a deposit, often key money, an agency fee, a guarantor company fee and the first month’s rent at signing. Many families budget the equivalent of several months’ rent for move-in costs.
- Guarantor companies. Most landlords require you to use a rental guarantee company. Have your employment contract, income proof and passport ready.
- Corporate leases and relocation agents. If your employer offers a corporate lease or relocation support, use it — it removes the guarantor step and many of the language hurdles.
- Check the daycare picture before you sign. If you’ll need licensed daycare, ask the ward (or check its website) how competitive admissions are in that area. Two apartments ten minutes apart can sit in very different situations for daycare.
Before you fly: what to pack in your carry-on
- Passports and the original COE for every family member (plus the visas issued from them)
- Marriage and birth certificates, with translations if they’re not in English or Japanese
- Children’s vaccination records and any ongoing medical records or prescriptions
- School reports and records for school-age children
- Your lease or temporary accommodation details, which you’ll need for address registration
Arriving at Narita or Haneda with a valid visa and COE, each family member should be issued a Residence Card at the airport. Keep these safe — you need them for almost everything that follows.
First 14 days after arrival: the paperwork sprint
This is the part that surprises a lot of newly arrived families: Japan gives you a hard 14-day deadline to register your address at your local ward office once you’ve moved into your home. Bring every family member’s Residence Card and passport, and file the move-in notification (tennyu todoke) in person. This single visit unlocks almost everything else.
At the same visit, plan to handle:
- National Health Insurance (if you’re not covered by an employer’s health insurance) and National Pension for adults aged 20–59 who aren’t enrolled through work
- The child medical subsidy certificate — a separate application from insurance
- Child allowance (jido teate) — apply within 15 days of moving in, or you can lose months of payments
- The ward’s childcare guide if you’ll need hoikuen or yochien
- My Number — each registered resident is assigned an individual number, and you can apply for the My Number card, which several online services (including Tokyo’s 018 Support application) rely on
Weeks 2–6: healthcare and childcare enrollment
Once you’re registered at the ward office, enroll in National Health Insurance if it’s not provided through an employer, and ask specifically about child medical subsidy certificates — Tokyo’s wards cover children’s medical co-payments well beyond the national default, but you have to apply for the certificate; it isn’t automatic.
- Find a pediatrician before you need one. Register with an English-speaking pediatrician if language is a concern, and bring vaccination records to the first visit so the clinic can map your child onto Japan’s routine schedule.
- Daycare timing. Licensed daycare admissions typically start on the 1st of a month, and the main application window for April entry usually runs in October–November of the year before. A mid-year move often means a gap in care to plan around.
- Tokyo 018 Support. Tokyo pays 5,000 yen per month for each resident child aged 0–18, with no income limit. You apply through the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (largely online), not the ward.
A realistic sequencing checklist
- File the Certificate of Eligibility and dependent visa application (as early as possible)
- Apply to shortlisted schools in parallel — don’t wait for the visa to clear first
- Search housing against your school shortlist’s commute radius
- Register your address at the ward office within 14 days of moving in
- At the same visit: health insurance, pension, child medical subsidy certificate, child allowance
- Apply for hoikuen/yochien if needed, aware of Tokyo’s admission-date rules
- Register with a pediatrician and apply for Tokyo 018 Support
Common mistakes we see
- Treating the ward office as a one-item errand. Families who only register their address end up making three or four extra trips for insurance, subsidies and allowances.
- Missing the 15-day child allowance window. Payments generally start the month after you apply, so a late application can cost you months of allowance.
- Signing a lease before checking school commutes. Tokyo trains are excellent, but a 50-minute school run with two transfers wears thin quickly with young kids.
- Assuming daycare can start immediately. In competitive wards, a mid-year licensed daycare place is far from guaranteed. Have a backup plan.
FAQ
How long before moving should we start?
If your timeline allows, start at least six months out. The COE alone can take up to three months, and international school waitlists can be longer than that.
Can we register our address while living in a hotel or short-stay apartment?
Generally, the 14-day clock starts when you move into the place you’ll actually live. Some serviced apartments can be registered as an address; hotels usually can’t. Ask your ward office if you’re unsure.
Do we need to speak Japanese to get through the ward office?
It helps, but it isn’t essential. Wards with large international populations often have multilingual support or interpretation services, and many forms are available in English. Bring a checklist of everything you want to ask about.
Sources and official information
- Immigration Services Agency of Japan — Dependent status of residence
- Tokyo Metropolitan Government — 018 Support (English information)
- Children and Families Agency — child allowance and childcare policy
- Your ward office’s website (English pages are available for most central wards)
TokyoParents is not a substitute for official advice. See our editorial policy for how we research and update guides.
