Zairyu Card

[sanriosanrio]

Anyone else still waiting for theirs? I am a 1st year ALT, and I wasn`t issued one at the airport. The machine was broken or something. Anyway it has been a pain not having one. Haven`t been able to get internet or a cell phone without one. I have been able to do pretty much everything else witout it i.e bank account, electricity, etc.

[Lianwen]

....welcome to Japan.

But honestly, you're not the first JET who's had to wait for internet/getting a cell phone. While it sucks, this happens a lot. Sorry that getting it issued at the airport was supposed to make your life easier, but it didn't.

[yomimashou]

Since the zairyu card system is brand new, they didn't have anyone's cards ready at the airport--we were told that they would come in the mail in 10 days to 2 weeks. All the new JETs in my city were lucky enough to receive ours yesterday, so I'm sure yours is coming soon!

[AlbertDavidIbarakiPA]

It's a new system, and Group A and Group B JETs should have received a stamp in their passports instead of the physical Zairyu Card. I don't think the machine was broken; I think it was decided way before arrival that it would be done that way at least for the time being.

If you completed your moving-in form at the local city/town hall upon arrival, your Residence Card should be coming soon.

[Jeff_IshikawaPA]

if you want to go with softbank or docomo, you will most likely have to wait to get a cell phone.
AU however seems to be okay with just the resident registry (juminhyo) and your passport. keep in mind that AU also has the iphone and they also have the japanese version of the HTC One.

[SaitamaPA_Denise]

In addition to cell phones, some Jets might also have delays opening bank accounts. It sounds like some banks will allow a zairyu card-less Jet to open a bank account as long as they've done their residence registry (juminhyo; as I understand it you should be able to get a record of your residence registration at your town/city hall for around a few hundred yen). Then again, as we're finding out in Saitama, some banks won't.

Seems like this is going to be the year where we see what hiccups ensue when this kind of new system is put into place, but I do feel bad that it will make the settling-in process harder for some of the new Jets.

[kdelponte]

You can get a phone with Docomo without your card, it's just a pain in the butt. When I arrived my supervisor was insistent that I get a phone right away kind of as a safety issue. I needed a credit card, proof that I had registered with my town hall, and then... I don't remember what else, I think I needed my passport or something. Maybe everyone's cards are already arriving in the mail, but if you haven't gotten yours yet it is possible to get a cell phone. It took about two hours of the wrangling, but I was able to get mine without my card.

[sanriosanrio]

You can get a phone with Docomo without your card, it's just a pain in the butt. When I arrived my supervisor was insistent that I get a phone right away kind of as a safety issue. I needed a credit card, proof that I had registered with my town hall, and then... I don't remember what else, I think I needed my passport or something. Maybe everyone's cards are already arriving in the mail, but if you haven't gotten yours yet it is possible to get a cell phone. It took about two hours of the wrangling, but I was able to get mine without my card.

I was unable to get a phone from Docomo without the card. However, I was able to start a bank account one. I guess ESID continues

[DoubleSupercool]

The other ALT in town got an AU phone without the card, no problems. Docomo won't do it without the card here (note the "won't", not "can't"). Apparently my health insurance card + visa + moving in docs should be fine when I get them, so clearly it just depends on who you talk to and how hard you push. The same with unlocking phones when you leave. The excuses I have heard so far are pretty interesting, mostly blaming the phone manufacturers, who have nothing to do with locking SIM cards to networks . . .

[KaminaSan]

I also was turned down for a phone through both Docomo and Softbank due to not having the zairyu card.

My girlfriend on the other hand who came to the same prefecture was able to get an iphone in a different town through a softbank mall store with just the juminhyo and passport.(small vendor, not stand alone store).

The Softbank store I went to could not understand how she got one without a zairyu card, but even now she`s posting on facebook through her new iphone.
I have yet to receive my zairyu card so I`m going to the next town over to a yamada denki to see if they might have different rules.

Does anyone know if you have to sign for the zairyu card, or will they just drop it in your mailbox?

[AlbertDavidIbarakiPA]

Does anyone know if you have to sign for the zairyu card, or will they just drop it in your mailbox?

They are usually sent via registered mail, so you will need to sign for it. If it arrives when you aren't home, you will get a notice. Call the number for the English line on the note to get it redelivered at a different time, or you can pick it up at the Post Office's after-hours window (bring your passport as identification).

[KIKKI.K]

In case this is helpful, we've had success in my city with a 'green sheet of paper'/bank book/ hanko/ passport combo. Softbank will give us a contract if we pay upfront, or people can wait til they get their health insurance cards and that will let them pay off the phone over 24 months. AU will take the above combination and let you pay upfront OR over 24 months. No one wanted Docomo, so I can't say what they're like....

[KaminaSan]

Just an update for you guys. I got my notice in the mail, and I had a JTE call to ask if I could pick it up during lunchtime. Sure enough, it was my zairyu card. I will go to softbank today if they are not closed by the time I get there, and I will see if I can get an iphone. It looks like they are doing a 24 month, free iphone contract..

Wish me luck!

[positivity]

One thing I would recommend trying in regards to getting a phone set up -- is to try different stores. Not different providers per se, but physically different shops. Speaking to friends who have the same background as me, arrived in the same year, and got the same phone - they all got different benefits and some could get a phone earlier than others were allowed to with the only difference being the staff they spoke to.

Although that was before this new system, a lot of whether or not they will give you a phone seems to be dictated more by the actual staff / manager in the store rather than company policy. (ie. are they sticking strictly to playing things by the book, or are they willing to make their own judgements)

[japangirlcmw]

I just wanted to share my own personal experience here--I'm also a first year JET, and I've been here for almost three weeks, and still don't have my card. BUT, I went to AU to get a phone, because I couldn't deal with having no communication--I was told that if I had my passport, and something called 'Jyuuminhyou', I could get a phone. Jyuuminhyou is something that you get from City Hall--It is basically just a paper that proves that you are registered to live in your city, that you aren't just passing through. It costs 300Y, I took it to the store with my passport, and bam, had a smartphone. It is the same with at least Docomo too, because another JET in my city did the same thing there, and also got a phone with no problems. Also, my phone has tethering for free, so I have internet while I wait for my card to get here, to get actual internet.