After Getting Married To a Japanese, Maiden Name No More, Hello Married Name
Since I got my zairyu card in January 2019, I was so eager and excited to use my husband's last name. First, you need to change your passport from maiden name to your married name. Remember, the name on your passport will be the same name on your identification cards and documents in Japan. So, if you came to Japan with your maiden name, definitely the documents and IDs such as the residence card, bank account, my number card, national health insurance card and etc. will be in your single name. That simply means, after you changed your name on your passport, you also need to change everything. Sadly, yes!
I highly encourage you to have an online appointment for your passport renewal at the Philippine embassy. Yes, it's possible to walk-in, however, you need to wait in line for a few hours, maybe. But if you have an appointment, you will be the first in line even if there are many people (walk-in) waiting for their turn. I spent like 20 minutes at the Philippine embassy from the verification of the requirements, payment and data capture. Here's the link to the online passport application .
My appointment schedule was on March 22, 2019, so the date of issue on my passport is March 23, 2019. Unfortunately, I received my passport on April 16, 2019. According to the PH embassy, it may take from 1-2 months before you can receive your passport.
Once you got your new passport, you can go to the city hall where you registered your marriage to change your name on your husband's Koseki Tohon. Don't forget to bring your old passport with you. The process of changing your name will take a week. Also, you need Koseki Tohon for the notification of a change in an item on the residence card, but it's okay if your maiden name is still used on the Koseki Tohon. It's like hitting two birds with one stone, going to the city hall to request for Koseki Tohon (for the notification of a change in an item on the residence card) and changing your name from maiden to married name on your husband's Koseki Tohon.
I went to the Immigration in Shinagawa on April 22nd to have my name on my residence card changed. You need to notify the immigration within 14 days after the change has been made (passport date of issue), if you failed to do it within the allotted time, they will ask you to write an explanation. My husband simply wrote that I received my passport on April 16, 2019. See this link for the list of documents needed.
On your new zairyu card, your address will be written in front of the card, so you don't need to go to the city hall where you live to have your address written at the back. However, when you move, you need to register your new address and that's the time when you will have the new address written at the back of your card.
So now, you're done with your passport, Koseki Tohon and residence card. You can now change your name on your bank account as well as the national health insurance card. In my case, since I'm just working as a part-timer, I'm covered with my husband's fuyou, he needs to inform his company about my change of name and they will send a new national health insurance card. Also, I informed my company about the change of my name by providing a photocopy of my zairyu card and passport.
application form, old zairyuu card, new passport, & queue number.
