Request to show the Zairyuu Card request at the hotel? Is it legal?

21 comments

1. [deleted]

2. Last time they asked for my Zairyu card, I showed them my (Japanese) driving license, and that was good enough for them.

   Either they assumed I had a visa through the license, or just needed to check the name.

3. I never understand getting your panties in a twist about this. They don’t know if you’re a tourist, business traveler or not. I usually just show it, they see I have one, and it’s over.

4. It is legal for them to ask and legal for you to refuse.
   It is illegal for them to refuse service based on that.

   See the difference.

5. >is it legal?

   Yes. Legally there is nothing that says they can’t ask for your card. Legally there is nothing that says they can’t ask you to perform Fred Astaire’s singing in the rain routine. Put simply you’re asking the wrong question.

   The right question is can they compel you to provide the card as a condition of service. And that is clearly no they cannot. There are only a few reasons laid out in article 5 of the hotel and inn act they can deny you lodging legally and you showing proof of residency is not one of them.

   https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3272/en

   So what do? You can choose to refuse to show ID. That being said they can refuse to check you into the hotel. The police are powerless in this case since it is a civil not criminal violation. If denied you can always sue, the damage awards are likely to be very small though.

   I had a fun case about 5 years ago before I got my apartment near my office. I was checking into a large business hotel near the office with a Japanese colleague who lived in the US. After giving all my information etc. the guy checking me in asked me for my passport, he needed to make a copy. I told him I didn’t have my passport (why would I he’d just checked me in with a Yamanashi address). We proceeded to go back and forth with this several minutes with it not computing to him that I wouldn’t have a passport I was a resident and me simply telling him I didn’t have it and not offering any suggestions like a DL of zairu card because I wasn’t in a great mood. Meanwhile my Japanese colleague with a California address had checked in without being asked for anything and was trying very hard not to laugh because he knew what I was doing. The clerk who checked him in moved over and finished checking me in and gave me my key and as I’m turning to go to the elevator the guy tries one more time to ask me for my passport they’re required to make a copy of it and my colleague loses it laughing.

   So put simply if you want refuse. But, be willing to understand you might not have anywhere to sleep for the night and they could always call the police who can ask you for the card…

6. Legally they can ask you for it but cannot require it to let you check in.

   Source, see last page:
   https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/000681855.pdf

   8
   国内に住所をもつ外国人宿泊者に対して、本人確認のため在留カードの提示やコピーを求めても良いでしょうか。
   Is it okay to ask a foreign guest who has an address in Japan to present or copy their residence card for identity verification?

   必要に応じ自治体等の判断で求めることは差し支えございませんが、法令上には根拠はございませんので、宿泊者が提示やコピーを拒否する場合は強制することはできません。
   If necessary, it is permissible for local governments, etc., to request such information, but since there is no legal basis for such requests, if the guest refuses to present or provide a copy, it cannot be compelled.

7. Just tell them that you are a resident.

8. Last time I checked in at hotel, they asked for identification documents. They didnt ask me specifically zairyu card. I presented them my jap driving license.

9. They are checking your ID.
   They do this all over the world.

   They used to make a copy of it but I haven’t been asked if they could make a copy in years. I don’t mind proving my identity though.

10. Hope u didn’t show it . Macho point decrease by 1000 if u show.

11. I am a foreigner and I never got asked for my zairyuu card at any hotel 😂

12. One time in a hotel the receptionist tried to demand it from me in a very rude way and I told her that since they’re not working for the Japanese authorities, I’m not showing them. Legally you’re not obliged to and it’s none of their business what’s on it. I showed them another form of ID as a courtesy since you’re not legally obligated to show any ID during checking in (and funnily enough my Japanese husband never gets asked for it and they never ask for mine when he’s with me) but refused to let them make a copy of it because of risk of identity theft.

13. Because the law is that we have to check and register passport number of non-Japanese non-resident of Japan and make a copy of it. It got conflated into “Check the ID of every foreigner you see”. It is getting better though.

14. They always ask for my passport. When I say I am a resident they never ask me for further verification

15. I work at a hotel, Its mostly for them to check to see if you have a japanese address for legal reasons like if you break something or leave without paying. It has happened to us many times and we need an address to find people to get it straightened out. We do the same for Japanese people when we ask them to right down their address at check in.

16. No, not legal. Also you should not have to compromise your data to a hotel who you don’t have to show it, you have no idea how safe they secure it/dispose of it.

    And making counterfeit resident cards is quite rife, because it’s quite easy to do. So anyone could sell a copy of your resident card on criminal venues.

    Japanese, or those who “look Japanese” don’t have to show ID, so as residents, why should we?

    It actually happened to me this weekend just gone, so I simply showed them this: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/000681855.pdf

    Point 8 at the bottom, on page 10:

    >国内に住所をもつ外国人宿泊者に対して、本人確認の ため在留カードの提示やコピーを求めても良いでしょうか。必要に応じ自治体等の判断で求めることは差し支えご ざいませんが、法令上には根拠はございませんので、宿泊者が提示やコピーを拒否する場合は強制すること はできません。

    And told them I reside in Japan so will write down my address on the hotel form, but will not be showing them my zairyu card, and will deffo not be letting the copy it, and also to stop racially profiling me.

    Once they saw the source I provided they backed off, and also they actually let me check in early for the inconvenience.

17. Are you American OP? I’m European and don’t understand what the big fucking deal is. Zairyu is an ID, they accept a Japanese drivers license too if you have it.

18. I get asked all the time and I show it because… I don’t care.

    I get so many advantages being a foreigner here that I think little things like this are stupid to find annoying to be honest

19. It is a normal practice worldwide. I was always asked for ID or passport even in my home country when check in. On the other hand, Japan is quite loose because many Japanese literally don’t have an ID card.

20. I just say “sorry, I don’t have it with me today” and that’s it. I was never refused check in and they don’t annoy me explaining “sorry, it’s a hotel rule” to convince me to hand in my zairyu card. At most they check the check in form one more time and say “ah, you live in Japan!”.

21. I somehow don’t understand the problem. Why not just show your ID?