Baby born in Japan to foreign parents: birth registration, residence status and passport

If your baby is born in Japan and you are both foreigners, the baby is not Japanese and needs its own papers. As of October 2026, you register the birth at your city office within 14 days, counting the day of birth. If the baby will stay in Japan more than 60 days, you apply to immigration for the baby’s status of residence (在留資格) within 30 days of the birth. That application is free. The baby’s passport comes from your own embassy, not from Japan.

What do foreign parents have to do after a baby is born in Japan?

Five steps, in this order. The first two have strict deadlines.

Child allowance (児童手当) is a separate claim at the city office, with its own short deadline. See child allowance for foreigners.

How do I register a birth in Japan as a foreigner?

You file a birth registration (出生届) at a city or ward office. Hiroshima City says the deadline is 14 days from the birth, and Sendai City counts the day of birth as day 1. Foreign parents file it the same way.

Who files: the father or mother first. If they can’t, a person living with them, then the doctor or midwife (Hiroshima City). Where: the office for the place of birth or the place where the filer is.

What to bring, per Hiroshima City:

• the birth registration form
• your maternal and child health handbook (母子健康手帳)
• your National Health Insurance number, if you are in National Health Insurance

When you then ask for the certificate of acceptance, bring ID such as your residence card (在留カード).

The form and Hiroshima’s guidance are in Japanese. Bring someone who can help you fill it in if you need to.

What is the 出生届受理証明書 and why do I need it?

The certificate of acceptance of birth registration (出生届受理証明書) proves the city accepted your filing. A baby of two foreign parents has no Japanese family register (戸籍), so this certificate is the Japanese proof of birth.

• Immigration asks for it: Hiroshima City lists it, with a copy of your certificate of residence (住民票), for the baby’s status application.
• Your embassy may ask for it to register the birth and issue a passport.

Ask for it at the office where you filed. In Yokohama only the filer or a proxy with a power of attorney can request it, only at the ward office where the birth was filed, for ¥350 a copy. Get two or more at once.

How do I get a visa for my newborn baby in Japan?

A baby born in Japan has not passed through landing at an airport, so the baby has no status at birth. The Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁) lets such a person stay up to 60 days without a status. To stay longer, you file an application for permission to acquire status of residence (在留資格取得許可申請) within 30 days of the birth.

The baby gets a status that matches yours:

• Parents on a work or student status: usually Dependent (家族滞在). The ISA list asks for proof of birth, the passport, proof of the family relationship, a copy of the supporting parent’s residence card, the parent’s employment certificate, and resident tax and tax payment certificates.
• A parent with permanent residency: Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident (永住者の配偶者等), which covers a child born in Japan to a permanent resident. The list adds a letter of guarantee (身元保証書) and a household certificate of residence.
• A parent with special permanent residency (特別永住者): apply for special permanent residence at the city office within 60 days, per Sendai and Hiroshima City.

No photo is needed if the baby is under 1 on the day the residence card is issued. Both ISA lists ask you to show the baby’s passport, and ISA says the bureau may ask for more or fewer documents. If the embassy hasn’t issued the passport by your deadline, ask the bureau or the Immigration Information Center (0570-013904) before the 30 days run out. Don’t wait.

What if we leave Japan within 60 days?

The ISA application is only for babies who will stay more than 60 days. If your baby leaves Japan within 60 days of the birth, it is not required. You still register the birth within 14 days, and the baby still needs a passport to travel.

What the baby needs to come back to Japan later depends on the baby’s nationality and your plans. We found no official page that covers it. Ask the Immigration Information Center or your embassy before you book.

How do I get a passport for a baby born in Japan?

From your own country, not from Japan. ISA tells foreign parents to report the birth to their home country through its embassy or consulate in Japan, and to get the baby’s passport at the same time.

Each embassy sets its own forms, fees and processing time. Ask which Japanese documents it needs, such as the certificate of acceptance. Call the embassy in the first week: if the passport takes longer than 30 days, you need to know before the immigration deadline.

Does a baby born in Japan get Japanese citizenship?

No, Japan has no birthright citizenship. The Ministry of Justice (法務省) lists three ways to be Japanese at birth under Article 2 of the Nationality Act (国籍法):

1. a parent is a Japanese national at the time of the birth
2. the father died before the birth and was Japanese when he died
3. the baby is born in Japan and both parents are unknown or stateless

So a baby of two foreign parents gets no Japanese nationality; any nationality comes from the parents’ countries’ laws, which your embassy can explain. If one parent is Japanese, the baby is Japanese from birth and needs no status of residence. “Parent” here means a legal parent at the time of birth: if the parents are not married and only the father is Japanese, the child is Japanese at birth only if he acknowledged the baby before the birth (胎児認知), per the Ministry of Justice. Such a child may also hold the other parent’s nationality, and since April 2022 a dual national must choose by age 20. See Japanese nationality and dual citizenship for children.

How do I add my baby to health insurance?

Which route depends on your own insurance.

• National Health Insurance (国民健康保険): Chiba City says to file within 14 days of the birth. Bring ID and your maternal and child health handbook. This doesn’t apply if the baby becomes a dependent in other insurance. See National Health Insurance for foreigners.
• Company health insurance (健康保険): tell your employer. The Japan Pension Service (日本年金機構) says the employer files the dependent form (被扶養者（異動）届) within 5 days of the event. A dependent must, in principle, have an address on the Japanese resident register.

Childbirth payments, such as the childbirth lump-sum grant (出産育児一時金), are explained in the child allowance guide.

Does my baby get a My Number?

Yes. Kitakyushu City says foreign residents on the resident register get a My Number (マイナンバー), and a person born in Japan is assigned one when first entered on the register. The notice (個人番号通知書) comes by registered mail that the post office won’t forward. See My Number card for foreigners.

More guides: giving birth in Japan · daycare (保育園) · Dependent visa · maternity and childcare leave