Family membership
A family member must be certified by the Sony Health Insurance Society to be named a dependent. A family member will not be automatically certified as a dependent simply because he or she is a dependent for tax purposes or is your spouse.
The most important conditions for dependent certification are that the dependent must have certain familial ties to the insured person and that his or her livelihood must depend primarily* on the income of the insured person. Other requirements apply as well.
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* Depending primarily on the income of the insured person:
As a general rule, the insured person must provide for at least one-half of the dependent’s cost of living. However, if the actual income status of the family member for which certification is requested and that of the insured person differ significantly from ordinary cases or if certification may be considered inappropriate in light of societal norms, the family member may not be certified as a dependent.
Differences from dependents for tax purposes
Adding a family member
| Required documents: | |
|---|---|
| Documents to attach for dependent certification | |
| Deadline: | Within five business days of the date the family member becomes eligible for certification |
| Applies to: | Insured persons for whom the number of dependent family members increases due to marriage, childbirth, etc. |
| Submit to: | See here. |
| Notes: | See the Description page for information on standards for certifying dependents. |
Documents to attach for dependents who qualify for exceptions to the domestic residency requirement even though they do not have addresses in Japan
| Reasons for exception | Certifying documentation | |
|---|---|---|
| (1) | Student studying abroad | Copy of visa, student ID, certificate of school attendance, certificate of school admission |
| (2) | Family member accompanying an insured person posted abroad | Copy of visa, written appointment overseas, certificate of residence issued by a foreign public agency, etc. |
| (3) | Person traveling abroad temporarily for sightseeing, recreation, volunteer activities, or other reasons unrelated to employment | Copy of visa, certificate of agency dispatched for volunteer activities, certificate of consent to participate in volunteer activities |
| (4) | Person recognized as equivalent to (2) above due to family relationship to an insured person arising while the insured person is posted abroad | Copy of documentation certifying birth, marriage, etc. |
| (5) | In addition to (1)-(4) above, person recognized to have a livelihood based in Japan in consideration of purposes of traveling abroad and other circumstances | Subject to determination on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the Health Insurance Society. |
- Note: If documents were prepared in a foreign language, please attach a Japanese translation signed by the translator.
Documents to attach
- If it will take time to prepare documents to attach, submit at least the Dependent Notice (Notice of Change) and Survey form determining eligibility for dependent status within five business days after the date on which the family member became eligible for certification.
- Purposes of use
The Sony Health Insurance Society will review the attached documents to confirm the family member’s income, living conditions, and whether anyone else in the household can provide for him or her as a dependent. - Submit the originals of all documents unless the text explicitly states copies are acceptable. The review will not begin until all documents are received.
- Note that the documents submitted will not be returned. Make copies for you to keep before submitting, if necessary.
- In certain cases, the Society may check with the issuers of submitted documents to verify their content.
- Note that you may be asked to submit documents other than those listed above as needed for review purposes. No review may take place if you reject the request.
- Since these documents contain personal information, if you would prefer that staff responsible for health insurance at your employer not see such information, submit them in an envelope (provide the envelope yourself)
Procedures for Category 3 Insured Persons under the National Pension System
In certain cases, in addition to the health insurance procedures, you may be required to submit a notification of a Category 3 Insured Person under the National Pension System.
See below for more information.