New arrivals are told, confidently and often, that no foreign national can open a Japanese account for six months. It is the single most repeated piece of misinformation about settling here, and it costs people real money — a month of paying international card fees, or a first salary that cannot be paid.
It is not a universal rule. Here is where it comes from, and what actually decides whether you walk out with an account.
Where the six-month idea comes from
For Foreign Exchange Act purposes, a foreign national is generally treated as a non-resident until one of two things happens: they have been in Japan for six months, or they begin working at an office in Japan. That second condition is the one nobody mentions. If you have started a job here, the classification can be satisfied on day one, and the six-month figure never applies to you at all.
The confusion is understandable. The six-month test is the one that applies to someone who arrives without work — a dependent, a job seeker, someone on a long tourist-adjacent status — and it is the version that got repeated until it sounded like the whole rule.
The order that actually matters
Almost every first-application refusal traces back to sequence rather than eligibility. The order is:
- Register your address at the city or ward office within 14 days of moving in. The clerk writes it on the back of your residence card.
- Get a Japanese phone number if you do not already have one. Many application routes need it for SMS verification, and a foreign number will not do.
- Then apply to the bank.
A residence card with a blank reverse side is the commonest reason a counter says no. It is not a judgement about you — the bank is required to verify a residential address, and an unwritten card cannot supply one. Ten minutes at the ward office removes the problem entirely.
What to bring
- Residence card, with your current address written on the back
- Passport
- My Number documentation if the bank or the requested service requires it. Note that an Individual Number Notice is not identity documentation — it proves the number, not the person
- A Japanese phone number, if the application route requires one
- Your hanko if you have one. Many banks now accept a signature, but bringing one removes an argument you do not want to have in a second language
- Proof of employment or student enrolment — a contract, an offer letter, a student ID
What happens at the counter
Expect thirty to sixty minutes. The clerk will ask what the account is for, and this is a real question rather than small talk: banks must record the purpose of the account, and "salary" or "living expenses" is the answer that matches a new resident. Vagueness here slows things down.
You will fill in a form in Japanese. Bring someone who reads it, or ask whether the branch has an English form before you queue — many do, but not every branch of every bank, and finding out at the window wastes the trip.
What you walk out with, and when
Usually not much on the day. The typical pattern is a passbook or account number issued immediately, with the cash card posted to your registered address about a week later, and online banking credentials arriving separately. Nothing is sent to an address the bank has not verified, which is another reason the ward office step comes first.
Plan for that gap. If your first payday falls inside it you can still receive a transfer — the account exists — but you may not be able to withdraw at an ATM yet.
Getting your salary paid in
Your employer will ask for a kyuyo furikomi form with the bank name, branch name, account type and account number. Two details catch people out: the account holder name must match the bank's record exactly, including whether it is recorded in katakana, and the branch code matters as much as the account number. A single mismatched character delays a salary by a full cycle.
If you are refused
A refusal at one bank tells you almost nothing about the next. Banks set their own eligibility on top of the legal test — remaining time on your visa, employment status, whether they support your language, whether that branch handles new foreign residents often. It is not a credit decision and it does not follow you.
Ask the branch what specifically was missing. Frequently it is one document. Then try a different institution, or ask your employer or university, which may have a supported route with a bank it already works with.
After you move house
Banks must keep your residence information current, and they will write to you asking to confirm it — sometimes years later. Ignoring those letters can get an account restricted. When you change address, update the ward office, the bank and your employer, in that order. It is a ten-minute job that becomes a frozen account if skipped.
Choosing between banks
Published eligibility rules change often enough that no guide should promise a named bank will accept you, and any article that does is telling you what was true when it was written. Compare on current published requirements, English support, ATM access near where you actually live, transfer fees if you send money abroad, and whether the whole thing can be done from an app.
The Financial Services Agency publishes a guide for people living in Japan that explains what checks banks perform and why they may ask for updated residence-card information later. That is the durable source; the rest changes.
The phrases
- 口座を開きたいです。 — Kōza o hirakitai desu. — I would like to open an account.
- 在留カードと住所があります。 — Zairyū kādo to jūsho ga arimasu. — I have a residence card and an address.
- 給与の振込に使います。 — Kyūyo no furikomi ni tsukaimasu. — I will use it for salary transfers.
- 英語の申込書はありますか。 — Eigo no mōshikomisho wa arimasu ka? — Do you have an English application form?
- キャッシュカードはいつ届きますか。 — Kyasshu kādo wa itsu todokimasu ka? — When will the cash card arrive?
Official source: Financial Services Agency guide for people living in Japan
Official source: Bank of Japan resident/non-resident classification FAQ
Guides are dated rather than undated: last reviewed 13 September 2026. This is an organisational aid, not legal or immigration advice — always confirm anything consequential with your ward office, the Immigration Services Agency, or a qualified professional.