Should You Change Your Address When Moving Into a Monthly Apartment?

When you move from one address to another, it’s required by law that you notify local authorities and update your certificate of residence (juminhyo). However, the rules are a little different when it comes to monthly apartments, as most tenants use them as short-term temporary housing.

Here we’ll explain the do’s and don’ts regarding your certificate of residence, as well as helpful tips about changing your address for your credit cards, postal mail, etc.

You Can’t Change Your Certificate of Residence When Renting a Monthly Apartment

Generally speaking, you can’t change the address on your certificate of residence when moving into a monthly apartment. Article 22 of the Basic Resident Registration Act requires one to update their registered address within fourteen days of moving, but monthly apartments are an exception to this rule. This is because most tenants only use the homes for a short period of time.

If, however, your contract exceeds a year, you will be subject to the said act and should be able to register your new address.

Temporarily Have Your Mail Forwarded to Your New Address

You can have postal mail that has been sent to your previous address transferred to your new one by notifying the post office that you’ve moved. Application forms are managed by the post office and not the government, so they don’t require any official documents to be updated.

You can apply for the service at the post office, on the internet, or by phone. While a certificate of residence is not required, they may visit your old or new address to confirm you’ve relocated.

The redirection service is valid for a year starting on the day of submission, so when you move out of your monthly apartment, you’ll have to submit a new form again. Be advised that mail marked as “No Transfer Needed (Tenso Fuyo)” is not subject to this service and will be returned to the sender.

 

Changing Your Address on Your Credit Card and Driver’s License

If you’re only basing yourself in a monthly apartment for a few days, it’s not a big deal, but if you’re planning to stay longer than a month, you might want to change the address on your credit card, driver’s license, etc.

Some credit card companies will send you various important letters by post. For example, if you usually pay your credit card bills at a convenience store, these will be sent to your registered address. In such cases, you might want to notify your credit card company about your relocation, even if you’ve applied for a mail transfer service at the post office.

You may also want to change the address on your driver’s license and passport, just in case. These updates will require documents that can prove that you’ve moved (such as bills or postmarked mail sent to your new address).
If changing the registered address of something doesn’t require a certificate of residence, it doesn’t matter whether you’re renting a monthly apartment or a regular one, so you can go ahead and update it if needed.

You Can’t Change Your Address If It Requires an Updated Certificate of Residence (Juminhyo)

Again, when moving into a monthly apartment, you can only change your address for things that don’t require a certificate of residence submission.

Be advised that updating your address for your National Health Insurance (Kokumin Kenko Hoken) requires a new certificate of residence. However, the Employees’ Health & Pension Insurance (Shakai Hoken) does not.

In Conclusion

• Generally speaking, you can’t change the address on your certificate of residence when moving into a monthly apartment. However, if you plan on residing there for more than a year, you will need to notify local authorities.
• Notify the post office to temporarily have your mail forwarded to your new address.
• You can change your address for documents that don’t require an updated certificate of residence.
• You cannot change your address for documents that do.

When renting a monthly apartment, the address on your certificate of residence usually can’t be changed, give that your stay is a short one. If your stay is longer than a year, you’ll need to notify your local city office.

Forwarding services offered by the post office can be applied for without an updated certificate of residence. Documents like your driver’s license and credit card can be easily changed as well. But if something does require submission, such as the National Health Insurance does, you won’t be able to register a new address.