The step-by-step plan for Japan

This is the mildest non-EU corridor on the site: the 2009 treaty saves your AOW — the single person's rate too — and adds up your pension time. But there's no treaty route for healthcare, the protective assessment asks for security here, and the tax treaty has a clause that hangs on your transfers.

1. 3.1Healthcare: no treaty route — the Japanese system awaitsarrange the connection before the day of departure
2. 3.2AOW and pension: the treaty does the heavy liftingan afternoon of finding out; decide on voluntary insurance
3. 3.3The tax office: providing security, and the remittance clausewith pension or substantial-shareholding assets: with an adviser
4. 3.4Benefits and child benefit: here it stops — there something startsan hour, partly by phone
5. 3.5Deregister at the municipalitypossible from 5 days before departure, up to and including the day of departure
6. 3.6DigiD, bank and your vote: keep the lines with the Netherlandsan afternoon
7. 3.7Driving licences: renew the Dutch one, get the international onea week
8. 3.8Partner comes along without a job of their ownonly if this applies to you
9. 3.9Living partly in the Netherlands: the eight-month ruleonly if this applies to you
10. 3.10The house in the Netherlands: sell, let or keeponly if this applies to you
11. 3.11Children who stay in the Netherlands: DUO, healthcare and the houseonly if this applies to you
12. 3.12Cancel what stops: job, rent, energy, subscriptions and schoolstart three months before departure; most notice periods are one month
13. 3.13Stay reachable: DigiD, your phone number, your bank and your postarrange it before you leave; afterwards it takes weeks
14. 3.14Student debt, remote work or your own business: what moves with youreport it before you leave; the consequences run for years

The Japanese border is generous to your household goods — tax-free, with one form in duplicate — and strict on the calendar: your freight must arrive within six months after you, medicines above a month's supply require a permit in advance, and the pet flies on a clock that already started in phase 2.

1. 4.1The household goods: across the border free, with one formquotes 3-4 weeks ahead; sea freight 6-8 weeks
2. 4.2Medicines: one month free, above that paperwork in advanceapplication at least 2 weeks before departure
3. 4.3The day of travel: land at a card airportthe journey itself; the COE clock sets the latest date
4. 4.4The pet: the AQS notification and the flightonly if this applies to you
5. 4.5The car: sell it at homeonly if this applies to you

The residence card you get as a gift at landing; after that every registration is the key to the next, with one hard clock: fourteen days for the municipal registration. Whoever keeps the order — municipality, phone, bank, house — is sorted in weeks where others wander for months.

1. 5.1The landing: your card, and straight away that one permissionthe day of arrival itself
2. 5.2Within fourteen days: the municipal roundone well-prepared morning
3. 5.3Phone, bank and the six-month rulephone a day; bank 1-2 weeks
4. 5.4Housing: reikin, the guarantor and the UR routesearching and signing, 2-6 weeks
5. 5.5Exchange your driving licence — well within your first yearJAF translation 5-10 working days; the exchange a day
6. 5.6School and childcare: choose the system, not just the schoolonly if this applies to you
7. 5.7Live with the clocks of your statusreading step