Do I need permanent residency before open an account and obtaining a credit card with SMCB? I only have a long-term work visa but would like to use this bank. I already have a SMBC Prestia account but that is limited in a few ways so that it doesn’t fit all my needs. When selecting banks, I saw that plenty of foreigners on Reddit recommended SMCB, but now I’m thinking maybe they were all permanent residents. Maybe the teller meant that I need high-level Japanese proficiency to go through with the application, but I figured I’ll just have to fill out a form (like with Prestia) and for the kanji I don’t understand, I will just use my phone app like I normally do when that happens. I have been in Japan for 6 months, so I have the necessary documentation to apply such as a residence card, My Number Card, and national health insurance card. I’ve tried applying online via SMBC’s Olive app but after applying I just get an email saying that the image of the residence card is unclear so now I just want to go to a branch office to make some progress on this.
by dendaera