Where U.S. veterans live overseas

The Status of Forces Agreements in Japan and Korea cover service members, the civilian component and their dependents. Military OneSource notes that a SOFA does not apply to U.S. citizens who live in a country by personal choice, and the Navy's Japan country instructions say plainly that separatees and retirees do not fall under the SOFA. That means you live under host-nation rules for visas, taxes, customs duties, driving and housing, and you need your own visa or residence status from Japanese or Korean immigration. Your military ID is not an immigration document.

Sources: Military OneSource: Commissaries and exchanges · NAVSUP: Country Instructions Japan (Aug 2024)

Even though retirees are not covered by the U.S.-ROK SOFA, USFK Instruction 1501.01 (June 2022) explains that a 1968 Joint Committee interpretation gives retirees and un-remarried widows access to the exchange, commissary and MWR. Retirees drawing retired pay are authorized duty-free purchases while in Korea using their retired ID card (DD Form 2), and every DoD ID card holder must be registered in DBIDS in Korea, even if you are already in DBIDS somewhere else. At Yongsan, retirees shop with their retiree ID, while dependents of retirees need a temporary ration card issued in Building S4034 with the retiree present. Liquor is limited to 5 units a month per person plus 2 units for each additional family member over 21, and wine to 15 units a month per sponsor plus 2 per dependent over 21. Misusing duty-free privileges (for example, passing goods to people without privileges) can lead to suspension.

The 2022 instruction also lists disabled veterans, but there are reports of a 2025 change for veterans who are not retired. If you are a disabled veteran without retiree status, rules vary by installation; ask Pass & ID or the Ration Control Office before you plan around base shopping.

Sources: USFK Instruction 1501.01 (30 June 2022) · USFK: USFK updates USFK Regulation 60-1 (2021) · USAG Yongsan-Casey: Visitor information · USAG Daegu: Ration Control

Retirees in Japan are not SOFA members, so customs duties, taxes and fees on anything you ship in are your own responsibility with the Government of Japan. Base access works through DBIDS registration. At Fleet Activities Yokosuka, for example, the Visitor Control Center vets retirees in about 10 business days; once registered, retirees may escort up to four guests for up to 7 days and get a vehicle pass up to five times a month, but may not stay overnight unless approved as a house guest. Exchange and commissary access for non-SOFA retirees, and limits on duty-free items such as alcohol, tobacco and fuel, are set locally: rules vary by installation; ask Pass & ID or the Retiree Activities Office.

Sources: NAVSUP: Country Instructions Japan (Aug 2024) · CFA Yokosuka: Visitor Control Center · Yokota AB: Retiree Activities Office

Since January 2020, Purple Heart recipients, former POWs, veterans with a VA service-connected rating and VA primary family caregivers can use commissaries, exchanges and MWR in the United States. Overseas, DoD says this access is subject to host-nation law and international agreements such as SOFAs, so you may be denied access. In Japan, Yokosuka is one example: VHIC holders and 100 percent disabled veterans may apply for a one-year DBIDS card for medical treatment at U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka or personal visits, between 0500 and 2359. The VHIC cannot be flashed at the gate, and escort privileges are not authorized. Do not count on base shopping with a VHIC alone in Japan or Korea.

Sources: Military OneSource: DoD, Coast Guard welcome back disabled veterans · CFA Yokosuka: Visitor Control Center

Friends and family without a DoD ID must be sponsored. In Korea, you must register in DBIDS locally before you can escort guests, and day visitors at Yongsan must be signed on by their sponsor each day and may stay up to 24 hours. In Japan, each installation sets its own guest pass process (at Yokosuka, retirees may escort up to four guests). Lodging guests at Dragon Hill Lodge do not automatically get exchange or commissary access. When in doubt, rules vary by installation; ask Pass & ID.

Sources: Dragon Hill Lodge: Gate access · USAG Yongsan-Casey: Visitor information · Kadena AB: Pass and Registration

Retirees fly Space-A in Category VI, and their dependents may fly when traveling with the retiree. AMC passenger terminals in the region include Yokota, Kadena, Misawa, Iwakuni and Osan, and sign-up is through the AMC Travel self-signup tool or by emailing the terminal. Veterans with a permanent service-connected disability rated total are also in Category VI, but only for travel within the continental U.S. or directly between the continental U.S. and Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa, so they cannot use Space-A to or from Japan or Korea. Space-A may not be used to establish a home, and retirees need a regular U.S. passport and must meet Japanese or Korean entry rules on their own.

Sources: myAirForceBenefits: Space-Available Travel · AMC: Space Available Travel page and terminals · AMC: Yokota AB Passenger Terminal · AMC Travel self-signup tool

Retiree offices are often volunteer-run with short hours, so call or email first. Yokota: Retiree Activities Office, Building 535, Mon to Fri 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., +81 42-552-2511 ext. 5-8324, Yokota.rao@us.af.mil. Okinawa: Foster Retired Activities Office, Building 445, Camp Foster, +81 98-970-3159, MCBB_TRP@usmc.mil. Korea: the Camp Humphreys Retirement Services Office supports retired Soldiers and surviving spouses, and the Yongsan ID card and ration office is in Building S4034. For Kadena, Yokosuka and other bases, contact the installation Pass & ID office or the Military and Family Readiness or Fleet and Family Support Center to find the current retiree contact.

Sources: Yokota AB: Retiree Activities Office · MCCS Okinawa: Retired Affairs · USAG Humphreys: Retirement Services Office