Job Discussion Forums

[thomthom]

I left Tokyo at the end of March when my visa expired, but I (rather stupidly) forgot to inform them at my local city bureau. I wasn't sure I would be returning to Japan, but now my new visa is being processed and it looks like I'll probably be back around August. I was up-to-date when I left but I realise if I go back I will probably have 5-6 months' worth of unpaid health bills to pay.

Questions:

(A) Would it be possible for a friend/colleague to go to the city hall on my behalf and inform them that I in fact left Japan in March? If so, what evidence/details would they need?

(B) If not, could I at least get a colleague to PAY the health bills for me so that I'm not 6 months late?

(C) In general, are there actually any extra penalties if you do end up paying these things late? (Or is it just a case of paying 6 months' worth of bills in one go)

[dove]

I left Japan in June 2013 with unpaid local tax bills and insurance bills. I made a trip back in December just to pay up(karma and guilt). The tax bill grew by about 20,000 yen due to penalties. Regarding the health insurance, the clerk asked to see my passport to look at the immigration stamps to prove that I left. I was then just charged one month of back payments.

I am not sure, but I bet if you sent a friend a copy of your documents and the exit stamps from your passport and your friend went to the city hall, they would take the money. The clerk was shocked that I came back to pay because so many foreigners leave without paying. Of course, you could pay when you come back but the tax debt will accrue penalties.

[thomthom]

By the time I left I hadn't received a city tax bill yet -- it was my first year in Japan and they're quarterly, right?. So those bills DO accrue penalties for late payment? And health bills do not?

I think I'll make a photocopy of my passport and cards for my friend to take, to see if they can take me off the books..