My parents are Japanese nationals and they’re coming back to Japan to retire. They have money and savings so they want to buy a small house and live closer to us. No loans.
That being said, do they need a my number? They’re old and don’t want to make one. And haven’t been in the country for a long time so never looped into the politics locally for a long time (out of the loop, I suppose)
Parents already have bank accounts in Japan from a long time ago.
Thank you
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Most likely they will eventually have to get one. Japan is going to gradually expand its use so it will become more and more inconvenient to not have one.
There is no such thing as “Don’t want to make one”
Every resident, Japanese or Foreign has one. Once they’re registered at a city hall, they will get a MyNumber.
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They can buy whatever they want, with cash.
I think your parents can read this link below. From what I understand, basically only sellers of real estate to corporate buyers need to produce MyNumber. Buyers generally do not need to do so.
I bought a property myself and I don’t recall having been asked for it.
[https://news.mynavi.jp/fudosan-satei/3203](https://news.mynavi.jp/fudosan-satei/3203)
I did not need a MyNumber card to purchase a home (with cash)
Everyone who resides in Japan has a MyNumber. They may not know what it is, but they already each have a number assigned to them.
They can find out what is their MyNumber by going to city hall.
Making a MyNumber card however is optional. It is entirely possible for them to get by without making a physical card.
It should not be necessary to share your MyNumber when purchasing real estate (as an individual).
I think non-resident can also buy property in Japan.
You don’t need your my number card to buy a house with cash…
BUT assuming they’re not moving physical cash in suitcases (they shouldn’t do this), they’re going to need bank accounts in Japan (joint account not possible) that can deal with inbound foreign transfers. Getting those setup would probably be easier with my number cards (I’d suggest Sony as they give you 2 free international transfers a month, but that’s only online so it would depend on how internet savvy they are.)
When my kid was born I registered the birth at the city hall, next morning got his my number card. The most efficient I have ever known the government to be. Scary.
They get one automatically when they register their residence. Whether they want to buy into the other promotional crap like myna points or whatever is up to them.
They may or may not have the CARD, but they have the number – it’s assigned to them as residents. Whether they want to know it or not it exists. Also – not sure what they think they are avoiding by not getting cards… but they aren’t doing anything other than not getting a convenience from the government.
Also – To get enough money into the country, they’re gonna need bank accounts, which will be easier to do w/My Number cards.
Side point: Do NOT bring that much cash on a plane! Customs officials in both countries have the right to confiscate that money if they are suspicious it may be for nefarious purposes. And that’s totally up to them. And then you get to go to court to try to get it back. Which more often than not, they will not. If they DO choose to travel w/that much cash, they MUST declare it (anything over 10k USD), or it’s illegal, and WILL be taken. If they DO declare it, they’ll need to explain it.
I’ve bought property recently. It never came up.
Juuminhyou (住民票) and Inkanshou (印鑑賞) was required at several points… though I got a loan so maybe if they can payout entirely in cash even that isn’t needed?
All they need are valid IDs, proof of address and a registration of their signatures/inkan. The second two are easy to get once they are officially living in Japan. To obtain them before moving back to Japan is tricky, but not impossible.
I believe they can as Pewdipie whatever his name is bought a house before moving to Japan.
I (from the USA) bought a property in 2020 and I didn’t need the number. Things may have changed since then.
I found the experience getting one rather painless if you help them through the online application process.
You don’t need to have residence to buy a property, so no. But if they’re going to *live* there, rather than just using it when they visit, they’ll have to go through that process, so yes.
Old people REALLY hate this thing, don’t they? Haha
That being said, lol!
EVERYONE has a personal number (個人番号), aka MyNumber. The MyNumber card doubles as your health insurance card, so having the card will not be optional.
Just a question, did your parents got another citizenship in another country or they lived as japanese nationals with alien cards in that country where they return from?
I know this is not what you’re asking, but it would be financially silly to buy a house in Japan (and actually live in it) without a loan. The rates are so low I can’t imagine a reason justifying not getting a loan.
MyNumber is not required for this kind of property purchase, but they already have a MyNumber if they are citizens and not registered as dead.