List of things to do before coming to Japan

As some of you know, I am moving to Japan next year. I am planning to go there around June, July, because I first need to get a certain amount of money.

When you go on Holiday to a country, there are many things that you should take care of, from a travel insurance, to booking a hotel, and learning about the country. But when you are moving from one country to another country, you can imagine there are so many more things that you should take care off, and not 3 weeks before, but months before.

This is the reason I start this post, because in the next week I want to find most information that I need for this, and because some of your know more about moving to another country, because of moved to another country yourself, know somebody who did, or just can help me with thinking, I want your help with my list of things I should take care off, or should get at least more information about:

Spouse visa, how to get one, and when.
Insurance, in my own country, and in Japan
Tax in Japan
Banking in my own country and Japan
My own city hall, should I tell them that I am moving to another country
Gaijin card
Job searching
House searching
Rights, what rights do I have as a foreigner being married to a Japanese

So what other things should I take care off, and and ask information about.
I hope we can make a great list, not only for me but also for others who are planning to go to Japan.

wow i can try and find some of that out for you. i am somewhat in the same boat.. just other way around i might be geting married to a japanese wife and being in the military it makes for alot more paperwork...

This thread might become very handy for those who are trying to move to Japan. Great idea, Dave!

I'm sure there are many members who can help you get all the info you need. My situation was completely opposite, but I did go through similar things.

I had private insurance when in Japan because (a) its cheaper than the government scheme (although this will depend on what kind of job you do) and (b) it covers your costs 100% rather than 70% with the government scheme.

Opening a bank account is easy, though some banks might require you to have a seal (hanko) instead of a signtature. You can get one made anywhere...

Income tax is taken care of by the company you work for (thy deduct it automatically). You need to file a tax return yearly, but this is easy as there are government tax officers who speak English and offer to help with the process in English at certain tax offices (eg. Shibuya in Tokyo).

Job searching, depending on what you want to do you can start with Japan Times on Monday for teaching jobs or millions of websites (eg. gaijinpot.com), or maybe try a headhunting agency if you have other skills or qualifications you could use in Japan.

House searching-negotiate with the agent to lower or remove the key money and/or deposit. Paying key money (non-refundable "gift" to the owner) is not as common as it used to be.

Enjoy.

I would apply for the visa immediately... if it is anything like the US it could take months to years, even though you are a spouse...

Ughh, does Holland and Japan have a reciprocal working holiday program? If not, no visa, and I think they don't. Here's my quick take on this stuff:

Tax in Japan -- Unavoidable. It's not so bad your first year, but remember that some taxes are deferred for a year. Or rather, theyr'e based off your previous years salary. Your specific tax information can be found at your ward office once you have a residence.

Banking in my own country and Japan - Sending money back and forth is very expensive. Most likely about 2500 yen fee on both sides (maybe more) so transfers need to be large.

Gaijin card
Job searching
House searching - These almost all go together. Once you get the job, they will start the visa process, which in turn will get you the gaijin card. Dont' even bother with a permanent residence until you have a paying job, and a gaijin card. You'll need to live in a gaijin house or some other form of temporary housing until then.

Rights, what rights do I have as a foreigner being married to a Japanese - Okay, let's backtrack a little now that I know you're spouse is Japanese. You can apply for your visa now I'm pretty sure (which you should do). This will greatly help in getting a job, and DEFINITELY for getting a house. As for rights... I believe with a spousal visa you can vote on some really lame local to your area elections, but that's about it. You have very little other rights that non-married non-Japanese residents of Japan have. None that come to mind, other than some benefits on working, and a little less descrimination.

Thanks Index, Gaijinpunch, and Misa for the compliment.

Already I know about this things a bit, and yes Gaijinpunch I am married to a Japanese (didn't you knew, LoL).

I wonder about other things, please help me with making a list. I am sure there are other things than just the visa, card, bank, etc. Moving to another country isn't that easy is it?

Question1: When to get an Alien registration card?

In the first weeks me and my wife will be living in her parents house, searching for our own house. At this moment I'll probably have my spouse visa already, as I will aply before coming to Japan. I should get an ARC before 90 days isn't? can somebody tell me more about this?

Question2: Why are Phone lines so expensive?

72,000 yen + installation fee of 10.000, even when you buy a used line, you still pay aroun 60,000-40,000 yen. Why is this? Info

Dave...if her family has more than one line they can transfer it to you. That is what we did. My mother-in-law had three lines and transferred one to us. Why are they so expensive? Because there is no competition with NTT and they can pretty much charge whatever they like...that is what it is like when you have a monopoly on something!

Yeah about the phone line, that is one of the reasons a lot of people only have a cell phone in Japan.

I heard that they would give your instolation fee back when you close the account, so I called them to just hear that the only way I would get it back is by selling my account to someone else.

If your in-laws don't have an extra, check the Tokyo Classfied, or "Metropolis" as it's called now. You can buy them discounted from people leaving Japan.

Most of the stuff, in all honesty, takes care of itself once you get there. I think your list is very extensive. Just don't forget about things you need to do in your country. In the states, you have to file taxes even if you're a non-residing citizen. It's also smart to get your mail forwarded, and set up to do absentee voting. These things are much easier to do BEFORE moving.

You should contact your local Japanese embassy regarding your visa. You should probably do this quickly. The Spouse Visa is good for 3 years or 1 year.

You should go to your local city hall or ward office to complete your foreigner registration within 90 days of your landing. As mentioned before, this enables you to get a very important documentation: your foreigner card.

If you still have family in Holland, you should keep at least one bank account open, even if you intend to live in Japan indefinately. It's amazing how useful they can be from time to time.

Whether your bank in Japan requires a seal (hanko) or not, you would be best advised to abtain one. There are numerous places selling them. You can either get your name done in katakana or in kanji. Mine is in katakana, but it makes no difference.

There are several kinds of hanko, legally speaking. The first kind, for everyday use, is called a mitomein, and is very useful. You use this when you open bank accounts, fill out most forms, etc. The second kind is called a jitsuin and it is legally binding, and therefore very very important. You need your jitsuin when you make large purchases, for example when you buy a house or a car, etc. Any hanko is considered a mitomein until it's registered in your city hall, at which point it becomes a jitsuin.

Please note that banks are only open until 3:00 p.m. here, I believe, and most ATMs are only open until 8:00 p.m. After a certain time and on holidays, you might find that your bank card doesn't work on ATMs from other banks. Keep this in mind when choosing banks.

You mentioned insurance, but you didn't mention the national pension system. I believe that by law you will be required to join in (although whether or not you actually do is another matter entirely). Especially if you intend to stay in Japan for the rest of your life, I suggest strongly that you enter the system. Ask at your city hall when you do your foreigner registration how to do this. The details depend upon your type of employment.

It wouldn't hurt to inform your Dutch city hall that you're moving to a different country. They can probably give you information on absentee ballot voting procedures among other things.

Your gaijin (foreigner registration card) is very important. Don't lose it, and carry it with you always.

Job Searching: What do you want to do, and for how long?

House Searching: I assume you mean renting a flat/apartment. The quickest and easiest thing to do is to go to one of the many businesses that specialize in exactly that field. MiniMini, Tohken, Apamanshop, etc. You might want to have your wife help out with this.

Rights: I think that the main "right" you have under your desired visa is that you are not restricted in what kinds of work and school activities you are allowed to do in Japan. Unlike me, where under my current visa, I am not allowed to go into engineering, let's say, without changing my status.

Other:

Driver's License: You should get an International Driver's License before you leave, and then apply to transfer your Dutch driver's license (I assume you have one) to a Japanese one at your earliest convenience. Even if you don't intend to drive much, because it's nice to have anyway.

Telephone: I heard that NTT is going to phase out the "denwaken" system that is so expensive, but who knows? The other advice posted here is very good.

Cell Phone: Not a necessity per se, but as most Japanese people seem to have one, you're much better off with one. You will need your foreigner card, hanko, and bank info when you apply.

Mikawa Ossan said:

Driver's License: You should get an International Driver's License before you leave, and then apply to transfer your Dutch driver's license (I assume you have one) to a Japanese one at your earliest convenience. Even if you don't intend to drive much, because it's nice to have anyway.

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Actually the international drivers' licence is only valid for a certain period of time (a year from memory but I could be mistaken), after which it becomes invalid in Japan. After this period you can only drive on a Japanese licence, unless you go to your home country for a period of at least three months, after which you would be allowed to use an international licence in Japan again. When last I looked, this information had not been widely disseminated by the Japanese government (which is the argument I pan on using if I ever get charged for driving without a licence), but that was two years ago so it might be more freely available now.

Get a Japanese license. If you're in a wreck on an international one after the time you can use it, your insurance is null and void, and you have to pay out of your pocket. Trust me - I know. Some licenses can be transferred over -- others require a test of sorts, but can be done in a 2-day process (one day for written test, one for driving). Do this before you get a job.

And yes -- not only keep a bank account open in Holland, do your best to get a credit card or two. Is your wife's last name in Katakana, or did she keep her Japanese name? If it's the former, it wouldn't be a bad idea for her to get one as well.

Mikawa Ossan said:

You should contact your local Japanese embassy regarding your visa. You should probably do this quickly. The Spouse Visa is good for 3 years or 1 year.

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I contact the Japanese embassy today, and they told me that my wife should get a Certificate of Eligibility, send that one to me, and I should go with that to the embassy, and can get my visa in 1 or 2 days than. I let my wife have a double check on it, by letting her call Immigration. But this looks a bit different to some stories that I heard...

Mikawa Ossan said:

Please note that banks are only open until 3:00 p.m. here, I believe, and most ATMs are only open until 8:00 p.m. After a certain time and on holidays, you might find that your bank card doesn't work on ATMs from other banks. Keep this in mind when choosing banks.

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Which bank is good? How about City bank? Any suggestions on this? And why doesn't Japan have saving interest? Well not anymore...

Mikawa Ossan said:

You mentioned insurance, but you didn't mention the national pension system. I believe that by law you will be required to join in (although whether or not you actually do is another matter entirely). Especially if you intend to stay in Japan for the rest of your life, I suggest strongly that you enter the system. Ask at your city hall when you do your foreigner registration how to do this. The details depend upon your type of employment.

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I read that you can only get pension after being in Japan longer than 23-25 years.. So If I would live in Japan for 10-15 years, and than move back to the Netherlands, I wont get ****, and isn't this around 8% of your income?

Mikawa Ossan said:

Job Searching: What do you want to do, and for how long?

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Teaching, how long? No idea, hope to start something for myself in the future, and to make money of my website(s)

Mikawa Ossan said:

Cell Phone: Not a necessity per se, but as most Japanese people seem to have one, you're much better off with one. You will need your foreigner card, hanko, and bank info when you apply.

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OF COURSE I GET A CELL PHONE, Japanese Cell phones are the best

Which bank is good? How about City bank? Any suggestions on this? And why doesn't Japan have saving interest? Well not anymore...

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Citi Bank (with an "I") is okay, but it's not really an American bank. It's a bank with an American name, run Japanese style. You will quickly find this out when you need some simple taks done that will take 3 days. They are very deceptive though, as they boast of 24 hour ATMs throughout the city (but very few locations, relatively speaking) and also a more gaijin-friendly credit process. Interest is low on just about anything in Japan -- it's part of the economy and is way beyond the scope of this forum. Googling it might give you a nice background on the subject though.

I read that you can only get pension after being in Japan longer than 23-25 years.. So If I would live in Japan for 10-15 years, and than move back to the Netherlands, I wont get ****, and isn't this around 8% of your income?

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MikeCash seems to be the person to ask about this, but that sounds about right. If you're self-employed though, you're not paying that much into the pension program - someone mentioned it here not long ago which I think was 180,000 yen per year. Not that bad. You can also get up to 3 years refunded to you if you turn in your gaijin card upon departure. Not a bad deal if you're only paying in 3 to 7 years. After that, it's not such a good idea. Don't worry, Japan has the same pension problems as America, so you probably shouldn't count on it anyway.

Dutch Baka said:

Which bank is good? How about City bank? Any suggestions on this? And why doesn't Japan have saving interest? Well not anymore...:

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I hold three local bank accounts plus a post office account which never gets used - though they WERE the first to give me a credit card ten years ago - even before I was married. I also recently opened an account with Shinsei Bank V¶‹âs I now conduct all my auction business through Shinsei. 24 hour online banking, free 24hr cash withdrawals from convenience stores all over the country, English-speaking staff, and five free bank transfers every month. Saves me 1500 yen every month in transfer fees for auction payments - fine by me.

Dutch Baka said:

I read that you can only get pension after being in Japan longer than 23-25 years.. So If I would live in Japan for 10-15 years, and than move back to the Netherlands, I wont get ****, and isn't this around 8% of your income?

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You don't have to pay into the pension scheme - especially if you're self-employed as I am. If you're worried about saving up for when you're old and gray investigate something off-shore perhaps operating out of Holland. Where do Dutch people keep their offshore savings? I'm guessing the Netherlands Antilles.

Dutch Baka said:

Teaching, how long? No idea, hope to start something for myself in the future, and to make money of my website(s) ?

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Teaching - if you do this by yourself you should start small - front room of you mother-in-law's house. You're young which will have its good and bad points. Young attractive women might welcome the opportunity to study with you. Mothers might consider you too immature. Guess where the real bread and butter income is?

Dutch Baka said:

OF COURSE I GET A CELL PHONE, Japanese Cell phones are the best

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You need your gaijin card to get your telephone - or at least a note from City Hall to say they are processing your gaijn card. Of course your wife could walk into a shop and pick up a new phone for you today - if her name - but when you're married who gives a damn about such minor details.

Finally - you're going to be living in Kobe right? There really isn't a more gaijin-oriented city in Japan outside of the Tokyo/Yokohama conurbation. This again has its good and bad points. Good - less culture shock, easy to make friends, nightlife and eating out is great, international food stores galore. Bad - too many gaijin makes it hard to stand out, especially if standing out is necessary in order to earn a living - such as being a language teacher.

BTW are you a fluent German speaker? There is a little niche market for German and English native-level educators in nursing and medical colleges. But you age will definitely count against you.

As far as banks are concerned, I suppose it depends somewhat what your plans for the future are. I think that UFJ is probably the most convenient bank in terms of number of ATMs and branch offices nationwide. There are other things to consider, however.

For example, the hotel I used to work at paid monthly salary ONLY through UFJ bank accounts. I had to open a UFJ account specifically for this purpose.

Conversely, when I taught eikaiwa, the company I worked at only accepted payments from its customers from one of three different banks. If you didn't have an account at one of the institutions, you had to pay in cash (frowned upon) or open a new account so you could pay "properly".

Much like mr.sumo.snr, I have several bank accounts, too. You can always open a new bank account if you have to, and I'm sure that your in-laws have lots of advice, too!

Concerning the pension, as I said before, if you plan to spend THE REST OF YOUR LIFE in Japan, then the pension would be worth your time IMHO. If you only plan to stay for 10 years, then entering the pension system might not be in your best interests. I personally am proudly in the pension system, and I'm glad I am.

mr.sumo.snr, I thought that if you were self-employed you were (at least on paper) required to join the KOKUMIN-NENKIN for \13,300 each month. Could you explain what you know better, please? I'm curious.

Another thing I thought about is furnishing your new home. Here in Nagoya, there is a place called the Kokusai Center which has a board for foreigners to post things they want to sell, etc. I've actually gotten a lot of stuff for free from going through those posts. I'm sure that in Kansai there's a place like that, too!

One more resource you can use are the "recycle shops". They sell used things usually for a decent price and are worth checking out.

I am not completely sure what I´m getting myself into again, but I think my road is going to lead me back to Japan again.. hopefully for years. So thank you for this thread, I think it will be very useful.

My question is, if there is anyone who has moved to Japan by him/herself, without a spouse? The visa application process is different then, and I bet far more difficult. Moving to Japan alone would be my case, so I´d upreciate it if you want to share your experiences and tips etc.

Okay, new thing: Money exchange from Euro to YEN.

I have around 7.000 euro to exchange into yen.... it's a lot of money so I hope you guys could give me some advice on the best way to exchange...

Should I exchange in my own country? In Japan? and when? I know that a bad day could cost me a lot of money so I have to keep an eye on the exchange rates ...

So yeah, any tips, and advice?

When I went I exchanged my money in Japan. Supposedly you'll get the best rate there. I can't say if thats true or not as it was my first trip and this was suggested to me by other people.

From what I know, you get a better rate with traveler's checks than with cash, and I've found the airport exchange rate to be satisfactory, though rarely good. It's an option if you don't want to waste time in a bank.

I have send money via Bank transfer last week, even though I have to pay a little bit more on that, it feels much safer than taking a couple of thousands with me in the airplane etc. and it is already changed in yen.