Left Your Job and Haven't Found a New One: 入管 Notification, the 3-Month Rule, Health Insurance, Pension and Unemployment Benefits

After leaving a job (dismissal, end of contract, company bankruptcy or resignation) without yet having found the next one, you have to deal with the immigration notification, the switch of health insurance and pension, unemployment benefits and taxes all at once. People with a work-type 在留資格 must also be aware that "3 consecutive months without engaging in the activities of the 在留資格" can lead to cancellation of the 在留資格. This article organizes the procedures to do after leaving a job, for foreign residents in Japan who are job hunting after leaving their job to check for themselves. Procedures differ by 市区町村 and by health insurance; where 新宿区 and 協会けんぽ are used as examples, follow the explanations that apply to you.

Key points

• Within 14 days (immigration): people with 技人国 (技術・人文知識・国際業務), 特定技能, 経営・管理 and similar statuses must submit the 「所属機関に関する届出」 within 14 days from the day they leave the job; after signing a contract with a new employer, notify again within 14 days.
• 3 months: not engaging in the activities of the 在留資格 for 3 or more consecutive months without a justifiable reason (6 months for 高度専門職２号) is a ground for cancellation of the 在留資格; people carrying out concrete job-hunting activities may be regarded as having a justifiable reason.
• Health insurance: 任意継続 (within 20 days from the date of losing eligibility) or 国民健康保険 (within 14 days); you may also become a dependent (被扶養者) of a family member.
• Pension: join 国民年金 Category 1 within 14 days after leaving the job; if you cannot afford the contributions, you can apply for the 「失業等による特例免除」.
• Unemployment benefits: apply at the ハローワーク for the 雇用保険 基本手当; the benefit period is in principle 1 year from the day after leaving the job.
• Tax: the remaining 住民税 is switched to payment by yourself; if you left in the middle of the year and have not taken a new job, you may get a refund by filing a 確定申告 the following year.

Timeline

When	Procedure	Office	Deadline / notes
Within 14 days after leaving the job	所属機関に関する届出	出入国在留管理庁 (electronic notification / counter / mail)	Work-type 在留資格; no fee
Within 14 days after leaving the job	Enroll in 国民健康保険	市区町村	If you choose 任意継続, within 20 days from the date of losing eligibility
Within 14 days after leaving the job	Enroll in 国民年金 Category 1	市区町村	If you cannot afford it, you can apply for exemption or 納付猶予
As soon as possible after leaving the job	雇用保険 基本手当	ハローワーク with jurisdiction over your address	Benefit period is in principle 1 year from the day after leaving the job
After leaving the job	住民税 (普通徴収)	納税通知書 sent by the 市区町村	Pay by the due dates
3 months after leaving the job	Period without activity reaches the ground for cancellation	—	6 months for 高度専門職２号; justifiable reasons are judged case by case
Within 5 years from January 1 of the following year	還付申告	税務署 with jurisdiction	If you left in the middle of the year and did not take a new job that year
Within 14 days after signing with a new employer	所属機関に関する届出 (new employer)	出入国在留管理庁	—

Immigration: 所属機関に関する届出 (within 14 days)

• Within 14 days from the day you leave the job (the contract with the 契約機関 ends, or you leave the 活動機関), you yourself must notify the 出入国在留管理庁.
• People with 技人国, 高度専門職１号イ・ロ, 特定技能 and similar statuses submit the 「所属（契約）機関に関する届出」 (use 参考様式1の4 for contract termination); people with 経営・管理, 技能実習, 高度専門職１号ハ and similar statuses submit the 「所属（活動）機関に関する届出」.
• You can submit through the 電子届出システム, at the counter or by mail, with no fee. Later, when you sign a contract with a new employer, you must notify again within 14 days from the date of signing.

在留資格: the 3-month period

• People with a 在留資格 in 入管法 Appended Table 1 (技人国, 特定技能, 技能実習, 経営・管理, etc.) who do not engage in the activities of that status for 3 or more consecutive months without a justifiable reason (6 months for 高度専門職２号) fall under a ground for cancellation of the 在留資格 (入管法第22条の4).
• The 出入国在留管理庁 gives this example: if, after leaving the job, you are recognized as carrying out concrete job-hunting activities, such as visiting companies to find a new employer, this may be regarded as a 「正当な理由」 and the 在留資格 is not cancelled; however, whether there is a justifiable reason is judged case by case.
• When a 在留資格 is cancelled, a departure preparation period of up to 30 days is in principle designated.
• When moving to a new employer, for whether the job content fits your current 在留資格 and similar points, see the guide "Notifications after changing jobs".

Health insurance: three options

1. 任意継続 (rules of 協会けんぽ): you must have been insured for 2 or more consecutive months up to the day before losing eligibility, and submit the application form to the 協会けんぽ branch of your address within 20 days from the date of losing eligibility (the day after the retirement date) (if the 20th falls on a weekend or holiday, it moves to the next business day; if mailed, it must arrive by then); up to 2 years, and because you pay the portion previously borne by the former employer, the premium is about 2 times that at the time of leaving (with an upper limit).
2. 国民健康保険: people who have an address in Japan and do not belong to other health insurance are insured persons, and must submit the enrollment notification to the 市区町村 within 14 days. For example, 新宿区 requires the 健康保険の資格喪失証明書, and for late submissions, premiums must be paid retroactively to the month eligibility arose (differs by 市区町村).
3. If the conditions are met, becoming a dependent (被扶養者) under a family member's health insurance.

For a 特定受給資格者 or 特定理由離職者 who left due to 倒産 or dismissal, the 国民健康保険 premium is calculated on 30/100 of the previous year's salary income (during unemployment, until the end of the following fiscal year).

Pension: 国民年金 Category 1 (within 14 days)

• People aged 20 to under 60 residing in Japan who leave the 厚生年金 (and do not become a dependent of a spouse) become Category 1 insured persons of the 国民年金, and must submit the 「国民年金被保険者関係届書（申出書）」 to the 市区町村 of their address within 14 days from the day after the retirement date, bringing the 基礎年金番号通知書 or similar, or the マイナンバーカード; a 離職票 or similar that proves the date of losing eligibility may be needed.
• A spouse who was previously a Category 3 dependent must also switch to Category 1.
• If the premiums are hard to pay, you can apply for exemption or 納付猶予; when applying because of unemployment, the 「失業等による特例免除」 applies, which does not look at your own income of the previous year, and requires attaching a copy of the 離職票 or the 雇用保険受給資格者証 or similar.
• You can apply retroactively for the period back to 2 years and 1 month before the time of application; for periods that go unpaid because no procedure was done, the half of the 老齢基礎年金 that corresponds to the national treasury share is also not received.

Unemployment benefits: 雇用保険 基本手当

• Conditions: the total period as an insured person of the 雇用保険 within the 2 years before leaving the job is 12 months or more (for a 特定受給資格者 or 特定理由離職者, 6 months or more within the 1 year before leaving the job), and you are willing and able to work but are unemployed.
• Flow: receive the 「雇用保険被保険者離職票（－１、２）」 issued by the company → go to the ハローワーク with jurisdiction over your address, complete the 「求職の申込み」 and submit the 離職票 and other documents → eligibility decision → attend the briefing session → in principle, a 失業認定 once every 4 weeks.
• Identity check: in principle, bring your マイナンバーカード to the benefit procedure; without one, bring a document confirming your individual number and an identity document (the current leaflet lists 「運転免許証、運転経歴証明書、官公署が発行した身分証明書・資格証明書（写真付き）など」). A 2016 厚生労働省 leaflet explicitly listed the 在留カード as an identity document; the current leaflet does not name it, so check with the ハローワーク with jurisdiction in advance.
• The 7 days after the job application are the 「待期」 and are not paid; for people who left for their own reasons on or after April 1, 2025, in principle there is also a 1-month payment restriction after the waiting period (3 months for a second or later resignation for own reasons without justifiable reason within 5 years, or dismissal for serious misconduct).
• The benefit period is in principle 1 year from the day after leaving the job; after it expires, remaining days cannot be received even if there are any.

Tax: 住民税 and 還付申告

• Individual 住民税 is levied on the previous year's income, based on your address on January 1. While you are employed, the company withholds it from your wages (特別徴収); when you no longer receive wages after leaving, except where it is deducted in a lump sum at the time of leaving, the remaining tax is switched to 普通徴収 and you pay it yourself according to the 納税通知書 sent by the 市区町村 (for example 新宿区; differs by 市区町村). If you had income in the year you left, it will still be taxed on that income in the following fiscal year.
• If you left in the middle of the year and have not taken a new job that year, you cannot receive the 年末調整, and income tax and the special reconstruction income tax may have been overpaid; you can get it refunded by filing a 確定申告 (還付申告) with the 税務署 with jurisdiction within 5 years from January 1 of the year after you left.
• If you take a new job in the same year, in principle the new employer combines the wages from the former employer in the 年末調整. The company must issue the 「給与所得の源泉徴収票」 within 1 month after the retirement date; please keep it safe.

Common misconceptions

• "I'll report everything together once I find a new job": leaving the job itself must be notified within 14 days, and you notify again after signing with a new employer.
• "My 在留期限 is still long, so it doesn't matter that I have no job": not engaging in the activities of the 在留資格 for 3 or more consecutive months without a justifiable reason is a ground for cancellation.
• "My insurance automatically changes to 国保 after I leave": you must go to the 市区町村 yourself within 14 days to enroll (or choose 任意継続).
• "No income means no 住民税": 住民税 is levied on the previous year's income, so you will still receive a 納税通知書 after leaving the job.