Life tips for Japan & Taiwan this week

Here’s some quick updates this week with life tips for Japan and Taiwan! I’m working on a longer post about how to get the exact documents for applying for Japanese Permanent Residency, but until then enjoy this week’s edition!

Loading Suica cards with non-Japan issued Visa cards

At some point in the recent couple years, loading Japan transit IC cards with foreign issued Visa credit cards stopped working in app as well as in Apple Wallet. This affected tourists and residents alike.

Via a Twitter post from AtADistance, apparently within the Mobile Suica app, charge with Apple Pay is working again for foreign issued Visa cards. I tested two of my cards successfully. Note that loading inside Apple Wallet does not work, nor does PASMO or ICOCA. It’s not certain how long this will last either.

Japanese home loans with foreign income

Generally Japanese banks want to see Japanese income when considering home loans. These are the low interest loans, not the higher interest real estate investment loans that are open to overseas investors.

However, there are definitely cases I’ve run into in my social circles where the only income that can be shown is foreign income, such as a Japanese citizen who has mostly been living abroad, is recently starting to spend more time in Japan and wants to buy a property. Or a Permanent Resident who has been living abroad the last few years and just moved back to Japan.

I’ve been hearing reports on the internet, such as on Reddit and in the Tokyo Expat Network group on Facebook, as well as recently confirmed by a Japanese citizen friend in the same scenario, where certain banks, like Shinsei, SMBC Prestia, and Suruga will consider foreign income in these cases when making loans. Generally you have to actually be living in Japan, and either a Japanese citizen, permanent resident, or married to a citizen or PR, or showing other long-term resident status.

Give it a shot and I’d love to hear any other positive reports!

Registering for the Automated Border Control Gates in Japan

If you’re a resident in Japan, you can skip the long manual lines at immigration, even as a re-entering resident or citizen, by registering for the Automated Immigration gates.

It’s free to register, you can do it at the immigration agency or at the airport before your departure and it is effective immediately. Registration is valid as long as your residence card is valid, so if you lose your residence card or renew it, you need to register again.

The machines have an option to scan your passport or scan the QR code that is stamped into your passport - I found it much more reliable to scan the QR code, as I had multiple times where it errored out reading my passport. As a foreign resident, you should select “Special Re-Entry.” After processing, there still is a human immigration officer doing final checks and taking the Entry Card (you still have to fill this out). You can also choose whether to stamp your passport or not - I choose not to stamp to not waste space in my passport.

Hope this tip help save people time! You can read the full instructions here.

Getting Taiwanese household registration as a National Without Household Registration (NWOHR)

I wrote on DEM Flyers previous about how to apply for a Taiwanese passport as a National Without Household Registration (NWOHR). Unfortunately, without household registration, there is limited use to the passport and you are not considered a full citizen. You also do not get a Taiwanese ID Card, or 身分證.

To get household registration, previously there were a few convoluted steps required before you could apply.

1. Apply for a TARC (Taiwan Area Residence Certificate). This requires a health check and background check.

2. Enter Taiwan with the TARC

3. Stay in Taiwan for a specified period, either 365 consecutive days OR 270 days per year for two consecutive years OR 180 days per year for five consecutive years.

There’s some great news for NWOHRs now! I found out from a post on Reddit, but an amendment to the Immigration Act passed on June 28, 2023 (exact text of law) which removes the residency requirement such that people can directly apply for household registration and a Taiwanese ID card without a TARC. Implementation is still underway, and people are reporting TECOs saying the changes will be rolled out end of 2023 or early 2024. People currently on a TARC will be allowed to shortcut the residency requirement while still having the start of their residency count for the National Health Insurance waiting period. It is unclear whether a background check is still necessary.

Final notes

Hope the tips this week help people! You can always reach out to me at [email protected]. You can support this publication by becoming a paid subscriber or becoming a Patreon!