# Opening bank account in Japan



## listerd

Hi I just moved here to Japan. Owing to my work I can be anywhere in the world and since my wife is Japanese we thought to move to Tokyo.

So that means I have a residency spouse visa.

Is it straightforward to open an account with someone that has my visa status?

Thanks!


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## larabell

listerd said:


> Is it straightforward to open an account with someone that has my visa status?


By "account", I assume you meant a bank account (if not, perhaps you can be more specific). You'll probably need to have registered with your local city/ward office (you have to do that anyway -- and pretty much all banks require you to be a registered foreign resident in order to open an account). Assuming you entered Japan on your spousal visa, you should be able to go down to your local city/ward office, fill out a simple form, and then trot off to a bank to open your account. If I remember from my own experience, you don't even have to wait for the registration card -- just showing them the temporary paper that says you've registered is usually enough. The whole process could be done in no more than an hour or two.

What matters is that you're a registered foreign resident (as opposed to a tourist with temporary landing permission). The visa you used to get to that point is usually moot.


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## donpaulo

listerd said:


> Hi I just moved here to Japan. Owing to my work I can be anywhere in the world and since my wife is Japanese we thought to move to Tokyo.
> 
> So that means I have a residency spouse visa.
> 
> Is it straightforward to open an account with someone that has my visa status?
> 
> Thanks!


In my experience it boiled down to the banks that wanted to do business with me. Some banks didn't want to have my business.


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## Joppa

You may find that foreign-capital banks (gaishi ginko), like Citibank and Shinsei Bank, are more willing to open an account for resident foreigners than normal Japanese banks. You can also get extra service like English helpline and statements.


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## larabell

Joppa said:


> You may find that foreign-capital banks (gaishi ginko), like Citibank and Shinsei Bank, are more willing to open an account for resident foreigners than normal Japanese banks. You can also get extra service like English helpline and statements.


On the other hand, they may not be able to do everything you need. For example, I have a Citibank account mainly so I can deposit checks from the States and transfer money overseas via their web page. But I cannot have my utilities paid from my Citibank account because Citibank is not considered a "Japanese" bank. As I recall, Shinsei Bank (which *should* be a Japanese bank) wasn't able to pay my rent from the account while they *could* pay utilities, telephone, etc (being wise to this kind of problem, I was smart enough to ask the accounts person to verify all my payees before I opened the account).

A regular Japanese bank (SMBC, Mizuho, Mitsubishi UFJ, etc) can do just about anything domestically but you may still want a Citibank account if you deal with overseas transfers or checks often. I have accounts at most of the major banks (I collect bank accounts) and I have never been refused an account by any bank. It's not a matter of the bank saying "sorry... we don't serve your kind". In fact, that's probably not even legal. If you're a registered foreign resident and walk in with your registration card, there's little or no chance they won't let you open an account.

Of course, the Japanese banks aren't as likely to have English-speaking staff on hand at every branch. If you don't have a Japanese-speaking friend to drag along, stick to the major branches or branches in areas where there are a lot of ex-pats (like Roppongi, Hiroo, Shinjuku, etc).


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## kyledesu

I got a Mizuho account when i got here. They wanted me to wait 6 months before I could open it, but the wife complained and they let us open it.. 

I would get 2 bank accounts one here and a Citibank account.


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## larabell

I've relocated to Japan twice now and both times I opened an account at Dai-ichi Kangyo (one of the predecessors of Mizuho) soon after arriving. I had someone along to help translate and once I showed them my foreign registration card, they opened the account with no further hassle.

It's quite possible that those who experienced problems simply ran into someone who didn't feel like taking the time to work through the language barrier. If you don't speak reasonably good Japanese, it's best to bring along someone who does.

I agree with the two accounts suggestion -- a local account with a BANCS-member bank for paying rent and utilities and for payroll auto-deposit, and a Citibank account for dealing with stuff back home (assuming you're from the US -- for those from other countries, check to see if one of the major banks in your home country operates branches here in Japan).


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## HiroshimaAmerican

You can open an account at a Japanese Bank and open an account at Lloyds bank by mailing the application form to them - no money deposits are required. Once in place, you can tranfer money from your japanese banks to USA through them just by using the ATM. They charge 2000yen per transaction; about 500 yen will be charged by japanese bank and $10 by intermediatary bank (happens to be Wells Fargo). So, You will spend about $4000 yen in transfers. Relatively more convenient if you dont live in Tokyo or Osaka.


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## larabell

That's good to know. Citibank Japan also charges 4000 yen for an overseas transfer but the fee goes down to 3500 yen if you initiate the transfer online. Add to that the 500 yen (or so -- it varies depending on the amount of the transfer) that your Japanese Bank will charge and it's about the same. Of course, when I send money overseas, it's almost always to my Stateside Citibank checking account and recently they've started charging me for the incoming wire transfer -- about $25 per transfer, if I recall. It's getting so it's almost cheaper to just hand-carry the money over during a business trip or vacation .


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