My wife (EU resident) and I (US resident) will be moving to Japan in a few weeks. My company in Tokyo will transfer my Sign On Bonus as soon as I have a Japanese bank account, but it looks like I won’t be able to open accounts with any major banks (MUFG, SMBC, Shinsei, Prestia, JP Post, etc.) until I have a physical address figured out.
Is there any way that I can open a Japanese bank account without a permanent physical address in Japan? Or while being in the search process for it?
I’d rather use the JPY that I’ll receive to pay for anything in Japan while keeping our USD and EUR untouched given the current exchange rate.
8 comments
I stayed at a serviced apartment for about a month or two when we first arrived. That address was sufficient for registering it at the ward office, opening a bank account, etc. That allowed us to house/apartment hunt with a bank account, etc.
I could be wrong, but I don’t think you have any options. You have to have a zairyu card to open a bank account. Your zairyu card will be issued to you by immigration at the airport when you arrive. You must register your address within 14 days after arrival. Then the easiest option would be to open a Yucho (JP post) account. I believe all other banks require that you have lived in Japan for at least 6 months before granting an account.
You should really talk to your company about this. They may have dealt with similar situations before.
Can’t they transfer to your account in your home country? I use my debit card in Japan and it just debts my JPY account.
Does a Wise yen account work?
As a couple of people have said, the address for the serviced apartment is fine. Your biggest problem is the lack of the “Residence Card” which is the “zairyu card” that other people are referring to. You can only get that once you are physically in Japan on a long-term visa, so that makes it impossible to open a Japanese bank account from overseas.
Once you land in Japan and get the residence card, you can open an account. You might also need the “my number” which is an individual tax number (like a US Social Security number). US anti-money laundering and anti-tax evasion regulations have spread to overseas banks, and the information-sharing requirements mean that overseas banks need to be very careful about opening accounts for US citizens.
Short answer: No, you NEED physical address to open one.
So the steps goes like this:
1. Receives your resident card at the airport upon arrival (without address printed)
2. By regulation you need to report your physical address to the ward office within 14 days of arrival (Up to ï¿¥200k fine if fail to comply, after 90 days your visa might get revoked)
3. Ward office will print your address on your card, bring the card to any local bank to open a bank account. (Remember to bring / make a signature stamp)
With how much of a pain in the ass this is going to be it’s best to just wait till you get to Japan. No residence card nor address, expect hell if it’s even possible. My bank would tell you to piss off.
> I’d rather use the JPY that I’ll receive to pay for anything in Japan while keeping our USD and EUR untouched given the current exchange rate.
Really? You’ll get a lot more bang for your USD than you often would if you use some of it now.