Getting through the Immigration Bureau: Asking which documents are missing and when your residence card will be ready

🇯🇵 Hand documents over with both hands, turned so the staff member can read them. It's a small gesture that comes across as polite.

💬 足りない (tarinai) means "not enough" or "missing". It's the go-to word whenever something falls short: お金が足りない "I don't have enough money".

💬 The と after 足りない works like quotation marks, reporting what the letter said. Put any statement before it the same way, as in 明日来ると言いました "he said he'd come tomorrow".

💬 The ね at the end softens the line, making it sound friendly rather than abrupt. It's like saying "I'll just check, okay?".

🇯🇵 A 住民票 (jūminhyō) is the official record of your registered address, issued by your local city or ward office. Immigration often asks for one, so expect to collect it more than once.

💬 出る "to come out" here means the document hasn't been turned in yet. まだ plus a 〜ていません ending is the standard way to say "not yet": まだ食べていません "I haven't eaten yet".

💬 もらえます is the "can get" form of もらう "to receive". Swap the question word to ask other things: いつもらえますか "when can I get it?".

🇯🇵 In Tokyo's 23 wards you go to the 区役所 (kuyakusho) "ward office" instead. Staff at immigration may name either one depending on where you live.

💬 お住まい is a respectful way of saying "where you live". Staff use it about you, but you wouldn't use it about your own home.

💬 The よ at the end signals the speaker is telling you something you didn't know, like "you know" or "actually" in English.

💬 わかりました is literally "I've understood", and it works like "got it" or "okay". It's a polite way to accept instructions.

💬 〜ばいいですか asks "is it okay if I...?" or "should I...?", which makes it handy for checking procedures. Try どこに行けばいいですか "where should I go?".

💬 窓口 (madoguchi) is literally "window-mouth." The second part, 口 (kuchi), softens to (guchi) when it's joined on.

🇯🇵 窓口 (madoguchi) is the numbered service counter at any government office. Immigration bureaus usually make you take a ticket and wait for your number before you reach one.

💬 出す literally means "to put out", but at offices it's the everyday verb for handing in paperwork. It's simpler than the formal 提出する "to submit".

💬 できる usually means "can do", but here it means "be finished" or "be ready". You'll hear it about food, documents, and repairs too: ご飯ができました "the meal is ready".

💬 は here is said (wa), not (ha). It marks the residence card as the topic you're asking about.

💬 Adding から to the 〜て form of a verb means "after doing". Try 食べてから "after eating".

💬 ぐらい after a number means "about". 週間 (shūkan) means a span of weeks, so 二週間 is "two weeks" long, not a date.

💬 The past-tense ました ending thanks someone for help that's now finished, so it's the natural line as you leave the counter. Use ありがとうございます while the help is still going on.

🇯🇵 In real life many people find どういたしまして a little stiff. Staff are more likely to bow or just say いいえ "not at all".

🇯🇵 A warm, polite send-off that staff or acquaintances say as you leave, roughly "get home safely". A small nod or はい in reply is enough.