Leaving Japan? What Happens to Your NISA Account

Last updated: February 2026

This is the NISA article that most guides for foreign residents skip or bury in a footnote. But for anyone living in Japan on a visa — which is to say, for anyone reading this series who isn't a Japanese citizen — the question of what happens to your NISA account when you leave is arguably the most important thing to understand before you start investing.

The short version: when you stop being a Japanese tax resident, your NISA account is closed by default and your holdings move to a taxable account. There's an exception that lets you keep the account for up to five years, but it only applies to employer-directed overseas transfers — not to voluntary departures, job changes, or going home.

This article covers every scenario a foreign resident might face, the exact procedures you need to follow, which brokerages support what, and a concrete timeline for preparing your exit.

→ Related: NISA Explained: Japan's Tax-Free Investment Account for Foreign Residents — for the full system overview.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Rules and brokerage policies change frequently. Always confirm current procedures with your brokerage and a qualified tax advisor before departing Japan.

The Default: Your NISA Account Closes

Under Japanese tax law, NISA accounts are available only to individuals who are tax residents of Japan. When you deregister your address (submit a 転出届 / tenshutsu todoke at your ward or city office) and leave the country, you become a non-resident, and your NISA account is closed.

What Happens to Your Holdings

Your investments don't disappear — they're transferred from your NISA account to a regular taxable account (特定口座 / tokutei kōza or 一般口座 / ippan kōza) at the same brokerage. The critical point: you are not taxed at the point of transfer. Unrealized gains are not triggered by the move itself.

However, the cost basis of your holdings is reset to their market value on the transfer date. If you bought a fund for ¥1 million in your NISA account and it's worth ¥1.5 million when transferred, your new cost basis in the taxable account is ¥1.5 million. If you later sell for ¥2 million, only ¥500,000 is taxable — not the full ¥1 million gain.

This reset actually works in your favor: the gains accumulated during the NISA period effectively become permanently tax-free, even after transfer.

Who Counts as a Non-Resident?

Under the Income Tax Act, a non-resident is someone who has neither an address nor a continuous residence of one year or more in Japan. In practice, filing a moving-out notification (海外転出届) at your local ward or city office triggers non-resident status.

For foreign residents: even if you leave Japan with a re-entry permit (みなし再入国許可), you still need to file the moving-out notification if your absence will exceed one year. Failing to do so means your resident registration stays active, and you'll continue to be liable for resident tax (住民税) — potentially without knowing it.

The Exception: Continuation for Up to 5 Years

A 2019 tax reform created a mechanism for maintaining your NISA account after departure, but the eligibility criteria are narrow.

Who Qualifies

You must meet all of the following conditions:

Your departure is due to an employer-directed overseas transfer. The law specifically requires "転任の命令等" (a transfer order from the entity that pays your salary). This means your Japanese employer is sending you abroad. Voluntary resignations, job changes to a foreign company, personal relocations, study abroad, and family-related moves do not qualify.

Your spouse accompanying you also qualifies. If you're the trailing spouse of someone being transferred by their Japanese employer, you can also apply. Children are not eligible.

The overseas stay is expected to be 5 years or less. If the assignment is open-ended or expected to exceed 5 years, continuation may not be approved.

The Procedure

Before your departure date — specifically, by the day before you leave Japan — you must submit a 非課税口座継続適用届出書 (Continuation Application for Tax-Exempt Account) through your brokerage. The brokerage forwards it to the tax office. This deadline is absolute. Late submissions are not accepted.

Restrictions During Continuation

While your NISA account is maintained overseas, significant restrictions apply:

No new purchases. You cannot buy anything. Automatic investment plans (積立) are cancelled upon departure. Your account is frozen for buying.

Selling is allowed. You can sell holdings and withdraw cash, though some brokerages require you to call their customer support center rather than using online tools.

Dividend reinvestment stops. Distributions from funds are paid out as cash rather than being automatically reinvested.

The 5-year clock. If you don't submit a Return Notification (帰国届出書) by December 31 of the year containing the 5th anniversary of your continuation application, your NISA account is closed and holdings are transferred to a general (non-specific) taxable account.

Brokerage-by-Brokerage: Who Supports What (2025)

Even where the law allows continuation, each brokerage sets its own policies on which products can be held and what procedures are required. The landscape improved significantly in 2025, with major online brokerages expanding their support.

SBI Securities

Expanded support from May 31, 2025. Foreign stocks and investment trusts can now be held during overseas assignments (previously limited to domestic stocks and government bonds). A standing agent (常任代理人) is mandatory — must be a relative within two degrees of kinship, or a licensed professional (lawyer, tax accountant, etc.). SBI offers a referral service for standing agents. Contact required at least 10 business days before departure.

Rakuten Securities

Supports NISA continuation for stays of 1–5 years, but holdable products may be limited to Japanese stocks and government bonds (investment trusts and foreign stocks may need to be sold before departure). Standing agent required — Rakuten's own standing agent service costs ¥99,000/year (tax included) for up to 10 holdings, plus ¥9,900 per additional holding.

Monex Securities

Added NISA continuation support in 2025. Note that Monex may classify you as a non-resident even for stays under one year. Products that cannot be held during the overseas period must be sold before departure. For those not seeking continuation, accounts can be placed in dormancy or closed.

Nomura Securities

Supports NISA continuation via the standard continuation application. The specific (tokutei) account is closed and assets move to a general account, but upon return to Japan, assets can be re-transferred to a specific account. In-branch support available for navigating the paperwork.

Mitsubishi UFJ eS Securities (formerly au Kabucom)

Supports NISA continuation. Combined departure notification and continuation application forms available for download or request online.

Matsui Securities

Supports continuation for Japanese stocks and investment trusts. However, US stocks cannot be held in the NISA account during overseas stays — they must be transferred to another brokerage or sold before departure.

IBSJ (Interactive Brokers Japan)

NISA services launching July 2025. Departure policies not yet confirmed. If you're considering IBSJ, verify their non-resident handling before opening an account.

Realistic Scenarios for Foreign Residents

The continuation system was designed primarily for Japanese employees on overseas assignments. Most foreign residents face different circumstances.

Scenario 1: Going Home (Resignation, Contract End, Personal Choice)

Result: NISA account closes. Continuation not available.

This is the most common scenario for foreign residents. Whether you're finishing a contract, changing careers, or simply deciding to return home, a voluntary departure doesn't qualify for the continuation exception. Your NISA account will be closed and holdings transferred to a taxable account.

Practical approach: Sell everything in your NISA account before departing. Sales within the NISA account are tax-free, so you lock in your gains with zero tax. Convert to yen, transfer to your bank, and repatriate. This is the cleanest exit.

Alternatively, if your brokerage allows non-residents to maintain a general taxable account (most restrict this significantly), you could leave holdings in the taxable account. But most brokerages limit non-resident accounts to Japanese stocks and government bonds only, requiring you to sell investment trusts and foreign stocks anyway.

Scenario 2: Transferred Overseas by Your Japanese Employer

Result: Continuation available for up to 5 years.

If a Japanese company is sending you to an overseas office, you qualify for the continuation application. File the paperwork before you leave, set up a standing agent, and your NISA holdings remain tax-free for up to five years.

Key consideration: Verify that your brokerage supports the products you hold. If you're at a brokerage that only allows Japanese stocks during overseas stays, but your NISA is full of investment trusts, you may need to sell those trusts before departing — which means selling within NISA (tax-free) but losing the position.

Scenario 3: Changing Jobs to a Company Outside Japan

Result: NISA account closes. Continuation not available.

Even if you're moving to the same corporate group's office abroad, if the transfer isn't directed by your Japanese employer (the entity paying your salary in Japan), it doesn't qualify. Leaving Company A in Japan to join Company B in another country — or even joining Company A's foreign subsidiary as a new local hire — is not an employer-directed transfer under this rule.

Scenario 4: Planning to Return to Japan Later

If you leave and later come back to Japan as a resident, you can open a new NISA account. Your previous account doesn't carry over — it's a fresh start. However, the lifetime investment limit (¥18 million) is tracked by the tax office, so any quota you used previously is deducted from your new lifetime cap.

Pre-Departure Timeline

Plan at least two months ahead. The deadlines are strict and paperwork takes time.

2 Months Before Departure

Contact your brokerage. Inform them of your departure date. Request the necessary forms. Confirm which products can be held during overseas stays, if applicable. Ask about standing agent requirements.

Identify a standing agent (if continuing). This must be a relative within two degrees (parent, sibling, spouse, child, grandparent, grandchild) or a licensed professional (lawyer, judicial scrivener, tax accountant) residing in Japan. If you don't have relatives in Japan, budget for professional standing agent fees.

Sell products that can't be held. If your brokerage restricts which products non-residents can hold, sell the ineligible ones while still in your NISA account (tax-free) rather than having them force-sold later in a taxable account.

1 Month to 1 Day Before Departure

Submit all paperwork. Continuation application, departure notification, standing agent designation, change of residence country notification — everything must reach your brokerage by the business day before your departure date. Don't wait until the last day.

Verify automatic investments are stopped. Monthly investment plans and credit card accumulation plans should be cancelled. Some brokerages do this automatically upon receiving your departure notice; others don't.

File moving-out notification at your ward/city office. This deregisters your resident address and stops future resident tax liability. Note: if you were registered as of January 1 of the current year, you owe the full year's resident tax regardless of when you leave.

Appoint a tax payment agent (納税管理人) if needed. If you have unpaid resident tax or other Japanese tax obligations that will continue after departure, you need to designate a tax agent who can receive notices and make payments on your behalf. This is separate from the brokerage standing agent, though it can be the same person.

After Departure

Upon return to Japan (if applicable). Submit a Return Notification (帰国届出書) to your brokerage to reactivate your NISA account. Resume normal NISA investing. If you've been gone more than 5 years without filing, your NISA account has already been closed.

Strategic Decisions: Sell or Hold?

If your NISA account has unrealized gains when you're preparing to leave, you face a genuine strategic choice.

Sell Before Departure (Recommended for Most)

Selling within your NISA account means the gains are completely tax-free — in Japan. You crystallize your profits, convert to cash, and have full flexibility with your money. For foreign residents making a permanent departure, this is usually the best move. It eliminates all complexity around non-resident account maintenance, standing agents, and cross-border tax questions.

Transfer to Taxable Account and Hold

The cost basis resets to market value at transfer, so your NISA-period gains are effectively tax-free forever. Future gains above the transfer price would be taxable upon sale. This only makes sense if your brokerage allows non-residents to maintain taxable accounts with your specific holdings — and most don't for investment trusts or foreign stocks.

Continue Under the 5-Year Rule

Keep your holdings tax-free while abroad. If you expect to return to Japan within 5 years and believe markets will continue rising, this preserves both your non-taxable status and your market exposure. The trade-off: no new purchases, administrative complexity, standing agent costs, and the risk of forced closure if you don't return in time.

A Note on Exit Tax (国外転出時課税)

Japan's exit tax applies to individuals who hold securities worth ¥100 million or more and have resided in Japan for more than 5 of the past 10 years. It taxes unrealized gains as if you'd sold everything on your departure date.

NISA holdings are exempt from exit tax (gains within NISA are tax-free by definition). The exit tax only applies to taxable account holdings. For the vast majority of foreign residents, this threshold is not a concern — but if it applies to you, consult a tax advisor well in advance.

The Bottom Line

For most foreign residents, the NISA departure story is straightforward: when you leave Japan voluntarily, your NISA account closes. The best strategy is to plan for this from the beginning — invest in liquid, diversified index funds that you can sell quickly and cleanly before departure, capturing your tax-free gains.

The continuation option exists but applies only to a narrow category: employer-directed overseas transfers with an expected return within 5 years. If this is your situation, the continuation application is worth filing, but you need to start the process at least two months before departure and ensure your brokerage supports it.

The single most important takeaway: contact your brokerage the moment you know you're leaving. Every deadline in this process runs backward from your departure date, and none of them are flexible.

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Laws, regulations, and brokerage policies are subject to change. Always verify current requirements with your brokerage and a qualified tax professional before making decisions related to your departure from Japan.