Stage 7 of 7 · 5 lessons · ~2 weeks
Your first 90 days
Land well: finish your residence registration on time, open a bank account, find somewhere safe to live, learn how your new team works and build the savings and network that protect you if anything changes.
Start: Residence cards in Japan, Singapore and KoreaLessons· one lesson for each topic, in this order
Do this
- Finish residence registration and get your residence ID or status within the deadline.
- Open a bank account and set up a cheap, transparent way to send money home.
- Move from temporary housing to a lease you have seen and checked.
- Ask your manager what good looks like at three months, and write it down.
- Start an emergency fund that grows each month.
- Join one local tech community and meet two people from your home country who moved earlier.
- Write down your permit expiry date and what renewal and longer-term residence require.
Start with· follow one of these
- GuideFreeImmigration Services Agency of Japan: work statuses of residence
Immigration Services Agency of Japan
Residence cards, renewals and changes of status in Japan
- GuideFreeHiKorea (Korea's official immigration portal)
Korea Immigration Service, Ministry of Justice
Residence registration and extensions in Korea
Practise
Keep handy
Also worth your time
- Sefism 1:1 MentorshipGo deeper
Talk through your first months, probation and next permit with a mentor
Before moving on: Registration finished and your residence ID or status confirmed, a bank account and a safe place to live, a written note of what good looks like at three months, an emergency fund plan, and your permit expiry and route to longer-term residence written down.
The first month is admin and the first three are about trust at work. Do the registrations on time, deliver small things reliably and save before you spend. And find the people from home who arrived a few years before you; they are the best guide you will get.