Unpaid health insurance or pension may block visa renewals

The government’s January 2026 plan for foreign residents says ISA will receive health insurance and National Pension payment data from other agencies from March 2027 onward. For health insurance, it aims for ISA to be able to check payments electronically on every status of residence from June 2027, and to consider using that in screening and to prompt people to pay. The health minister gave the same June 2027 date in November 2025.

A progress report for the end of June 2026 says city systems are due to be ready by June 2027, and ISA’s own system by March 2027. The official texts we’ve read say these records will be used in screening, but they don’t say what happens if you’ve missed payments or how much would count.

What already happens

• ISA already checks both tax and social insurance payments for Permanent Resident, Specified Skilled Worker and Highly Skilled Professional (ii) applications.
• ISA’s renewal guideline says large or long-running unpaid amounts, such as health insurance premiums, can count against you in serious cases.
• As of June 2025, 68 municipalities were passing National Health Insurance arrears to ISA, for premiums over a year overdue that the city couldn’t collect. Of the people flagged that way between January 2021 and February 2025, 93.4% paid up and got their renewal or change of status. The rest were refused.
• The Japan Pension Service warns that unpaid premiums can affect residence screening.

In about 150 municipalities that track it, foreign households paid about 63% of the National Health Insurance premiums they owed, against 93% for all households.

What you can do

If you pay National Health Insurance and National Pension yourself rather than through an employer, direct debit (口座振替) is the simplest protection. If you can’t afford National Pension, ask your pension office about a premium exemption (免除制度). If you’re already behind, talk to your city office about a payment plan now, not at renewal time.