Pre-Departure: What’s Involved?

Pre-Departure: What’s Involved? 2013 Summer Conference for Returning JETs An explanation of the steps involved in leaving Japan and the JET Programme

( - cancel phone ~ Lastpay Q cancelpower flighthome To Be Covered… • Timeline for Pre-departure • Immigration • Health Insurance • Banking • Utilities & Phone • Vehicles • Selling & Disposal • Sending Stuff Home • Pension • Successors O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

It’s already June?! You have less than two months left...How do you organize your time? • JULY • Cable & Internet • Utilities • Bank / Postal Account • JUNE • Pension & Tax • Home Phone • Mail • Landlord • Budget • Vehicle & Insurance • Shipping • Visa • PRIOR TODEPARTURE • Mobile Phone • Residence Card

I’m leaving in 2 months?! You have less than two months left...Please remember to: • Create a checklist for departure • Get a flight • Pay mobile phone bills; • Pay for and cancel subscriptions, etc; • Pay your rent; • Pay Local Japanese Tax (if applicable); • Transfer or close bank and/or post office accounts; - Leave some money? - Leftover money? • Say GOODBYE

To Be Covered… • Timeline for Pre-departure • Immigration • Health Insurance • Banking • Utilities & Phone • Vehicles • Selling & Disposal • Sending Stuff Home • Pension • Successors Length of Stay Visa Type Change Alien Registration Etc...

July 9, 2012 Main differences: no re-entry permits, juminhyou, residence card Gaijin card = Residence Card til July 8, 2015 OR expiry date of period of stay

Period of Stay • 1st and 2nd year JETs まだまだ大丈夫 • 3rd year and up: check your expiration date!!! • 3rd year and up may need to apply for temporary visitor status • Do NOT overstay.

Japan tour! • Instructor status can be changed to tourist status (change up to 2 weeks before it expires) • RAIL PASS!!! • Can stay in Japan 90 days after work finishes on same visa for sightseeing without filing a change, if visa is still valid for 90 days or more • If visa expires at any point before the 90 days after contract ends, you must file for temporary visitor status to begin the day after visa expires.

Immigration To immigration officials, your visa dictates your stay in Japan. Get your visa arrangements done as soon as possible. Info: http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/info/index.html http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/kanri/shyorui/02.html • Getting a Temporary Visitor Visa • Take with you: • Passport • Personal Stamp • Residence Card • ¥4000 (収入印紙shunyuinshi stamp) • Temporary Visitor visas can usually be done on the spot with a single visit to the Immigration Bureau, however it should be done well in advance.

Map to Immigration Bureau 〒370-0829群馬県高崎市高松町２６－５ M-F: 9:00-12:00 and 13:00-16:00

But I got a new job! To immigration officials, your residential status dictates your stay in Japan. Get your visa arrangements done as soon as possible. Continuing Work in Japan “visa” still valid + new job as an instructor = no need to change status (may need extension) “visa” still valid + looking for a new job = you have 3 months “visa” still valid + got a completely different job = change statusworking outside of the bounds of the original “visa” = ILLEGAL! For English help, call: Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau: (03) 5796-7112 Osaka Regional Immigration Bureau: (06) 6774-3409 Yokohama Regional Immigration Bureau: (045) 651-2851

Final boarding call What to do at the airport. BEFORE boarding the plane: • Turn in your alien registration card to the Immigration Official. (Failure to do so makes your pension process very, very difficult) • Keep your passport. • (Cancel mobile phone?) • Grab a coffee/beer/snack/airport sushi • Wait at your gate…

To Be Covered… WAIT, I’m still in Japan! • Timeline for Pre-departure • Immigration • Health Insurance • Banking • Utilities & Phone • Vehicles • Selling & Disposal • Sending Stuff Home • Pension • Successors Am I insured? …but i have no health card!

Ouch, my… Confirm whether you need any additional coverage. National Health Insurance coverage: ends on the last day of your contract. JET Accident Insurance: ends the day that you arrive in your home country or until August 31st, whichever happens first. If you need to make a claim with Tokio Marine Insurance Co, you can contact them at: 0120-881-018. The Tokio Marine Insurance Policy only deals with health matters; theft and lost items are not covered. If you want additional travel insurance, the International Student Travel Association is a good deal. The American Automobile Association provides insurance for American travelers.

But I’m staying here… Health insurance is available until roughly one month after your contract ends… (…through your JET accident insurance… but you must pay everything up front without the 70% from national insurance and getting paid back may take time)No plans for going home any time soon? Continuing Work in Japan Not enrolling in National Health is considered ILLEGAL. JETs staying in Japan: apply through your new employer**May cost more as our COs paid ½ during JET. For more information, please contact the health insurance section of your local city/town/village hall.

R $ RM € ¢ रू £ To Be Covered… • Timeline for Pre-departure • Immigration • Health Insurance • Banking • Utilities & Phone • Vehicles • Selling & Disposal • Sending Stuff Home • Pension • Successors ¥

Bank Stuff Make necessary arrangements for your bank account to avoid problems.Note that you do not have to close your bank account. • Closing Out Your Account • Go to the branch where you opened your account. What to bring? • Alien Registration Card • Passbook • Personal Stamp The magic words: “kouza wo kaiyaku shitai no desuga”「口座を解約したいのですが。」 • Reasons To Not Close Your Account • You plan on being back in Japan in the near future. • You want to hold onto your Japanese credit card. • You have remaining automatic bill payments.

To Be Covered… • Timeline for Pre-departure • Immigration • Health Insurance • Banking • Utilities & Phone • Vehicles • Selling & Disposal • Sending Stuff Home • Pension • Successors 済

Dimming the lights Remember to cancel utilities…obviously. Your supervisor can help you out if needed… Electricity, Water, & Gas Keep bank account open, final automatic payment. or Call up to a month in advance, arrange date, pay on the spot. (exact meter) Have cash handy. Mobile Phone Last minute at the airport or nearby shop (double check). May incur fees. Have cash handy NTT Land Line Lines can be cancelled for a specific date but payment is resolved later at a local NTT office, or by proxy. Cable & Internet Cancelling cable and/or internet varies widely across providers. Check with your provider for specific information.

Goodbye house A few things to keep in mind when leaving your apartment. Standard practice in Japan is to give at least 1 month notice to your landlord before you leave. Done via supervisor, but it is polite to personally say goodbye…if you know who your landlord is… Make sure you ask about cleaning, deposits, your last day, etc. REMEMBER to clean your apartment. Leave a good impression, don’t burn bridges. Don’t be a jerk. How did you feel when you found the bags of trash in your closet? What about the leftover food in your fridge?

? To Be Covered… • Timeline for Pre-departure • Immigration • Health Insurance • Banking • Utilities & Phone • Vehicles • Selling & Disposal • Sending Stuff Home • Pension • Successors

Vehicles Make the decision early whether you plan to sell or dispose of your car.Remember there is a fee to “recycle” your vehicle. Disposing or Transferring Ownership of Your Car Can’t sell? Can’t give it away? Dealer doesn’t want it? TRASH IT (properly)…or keep paying taxes. Vehicle sales or disposal companies usually take care of car disposal. Average cost of between 6,000 – 18,000 yen. http://www.jarc.or.jp/en/recycling/ Gonna sell/give away? Be reasonable. Be nice. Remember to transfer and have buyer also fill out paperwork. Time consuming.

Vehicles Documents Necessary for Disposal Vehicle Inspection Certificate 「車検証 shakenshou」. Front and back number plates. Certificate of Disposal 「廃車証 haishyashou」 from the disposal company, or the necessary documents from the licensing center if you dispose of the car yourself. A Letter of Attorney 「委任状 ininjo」 if you are authorizing the disposal company to take care of the paperwork. A Personal Seal Certificate 「印鑑証明書 inkanshoumesho」which is less than 3 months old issued from your city/village/town hall. Tax Payment Certificate 「自動車税納付証明書 jidoushyaze nouhu shoumesho」. Documents Necessary for Sale Documents ①, ②, ⑤, ⑥ listed for vehicle disposal, plus; Certificate of Transfer 「譲渡証明書 jouto shoumesho」. For inspection certificate http://www.jevic.com/en/about-e-certificate.html +81-45-521-8527

To Be Covered… • Timeline for Pre-departure • Immigration • Health Insurance • Banking • Utilities & Phone • Vehicles • Selling & Disposal • Sending Stuff Home • Pension • Successors

Selling & Disposal A lot of money can be made by selling your stuff, but not everything should be sold!Please treat your successor like you would like to be treated. • Guidelines for Selling • (to your successor) • Deal in Japanese currency. • Be realistic about prices (how much would someone IN JAPAN pay) • Make a list with photos. • Don’t be a #&%$ • There’s always HARD OFF

I got big trash… What do you mean you don’t want my cracked suitcase and broken fridge??? Disposing of Larger Items Larger trash items = “sodai gomi” 「粗大ゴミ」require special care. Each municipality is different, but most follow a similar pattern: ① Does it fit in a large size trash bag? If not, then it is BIG TRASH bicycle, laundry machine, television, etc. ② Call the trash guys and arrange for pick-up ③ Put a sticker on it (purchased at municipality office) ④ Kick it to the curb (designated area)

To Be Covered… • Timeline for Pre-departure • Immigration • Health Insurance • Banking • Utilities & Phone • Vehicles • Selling & Disposal • Sending Stuff Home • Pension • Successors

Sending Stuff Home (Japan Post) You know the drill (maybe?): • FRAGILE = こわれもの • Got multiple boxes? Label and keep an inventory • Got books? Use the printed matter discount • Got lots of packages? Discount for 50 or more (even to separate addresses) • Shipping Options • Surface Mail (安・遅) • Economy Air (SAL) (安・ちょっと早） • Air Mail (早・高) • EMS (超早・高) • Restrictions do apply. Check details. • Insurance available (varies). • Keep receipts/photos of boxes shipped. Post Office GuidePost Office Information Line03-547-25-8512 (English)http://www.post.japanpost.jp/english

I’m ON A BOAT! The post office is most accessible for shipping stuff home, but there are other methods.Other shipping methods are more expensive, but have more options. Websites Japan Luggage Express (cheapest in Japan, English) jluggage.com Japan Express japanexpress.co.jp/e/moving/ Nippon Expressnittsu.co.jp Pakmailpakmail.co.jp Economove Japan Co Ltd. (English) economovejapan.com

Testimony from some person on the internet. (so it must be true!) I used a freight shipper (Japan Luggage Express), and I thought it was really convenient--definitely better than using the post office. You pay a minimum for the first cubic meter, so if someone who lives near you is going back to the same town, you can combine your shipments and save some money. A cubic meter is a lot of space! My husband and I thought we had lot of stuff, and it was just 1.24 cubic meters. Use strong boxes and put small items in bags--one of our boxes was crushed by the box above it and the side split open (but nothing was lost). ALT Advisor note: (You can get boxes for free at supermarkets)

To Be Covered… • Timeline for Pre-departure • Immigration • Health Insurance • Banking • Utilities & Phone • Vehicles • Selling & Disposal • Sending Stuff Home • Pension • Successors $$$ makes me feel young again!

How much money do I get back? The application process is unforgiving and takes time. Every month, we pay in to the employees’ pension insurance program. These are the refund figures which correspond to the period of time you have worked as a JET. These figures are derived from a ¥300,000 monthly salary. 06-11 months ¥140,000 12-17 months ¥280,000 18-23 months ¥420,000 24-29 months ¥560,000 30-35 months ¥700,000 36+ months ¥840,000 (must file within 2 years after leaving Japan)

Complicated math and stuff:

Same thing in simple English:Basically, you get back just under one month’s salary for every year you worked in Japan, up to 3 years.

Steps to claim lump-sum withdrawal(to be done in Japan) • Get blue pension book from your BOE. • Choose a tax rep. Can be anyone who will still be in Japan. Get the "Declaration Naming a Person to Administer the Taxpayer's Tax Affairs" (納税管理人の届出書 [nōzei kanrinin no todokesho ]) form from your local tax office (either a Social Insurance Office or the tax section of your local government office). Fill it in with your tax rep and bring it back to your local tax office. (Can be done from overseas but easier while in Japan.) • Apply for a "notification of moving-out (転出届[tenshutsu todoke]in Japanese)" just before you leave Japan, to the municipal office where you are registered in "Resident Registration“. Can be done from abroad but is easier in Japan. Best to do within 2 weeks of leaving. • Turn in your Residence Card at the airport as you leave the country (if you have an Alien Registration Card it might be invalidated with a punch and you may take it home).

Things to send from abroad(to be done from home country) • Fill out lump-sum withdrawal form. (*note: you only need to fill in the basic pension number from your blue book. Leave the other numbers blank.) • Pension Book (The book will be returned to you at a later date.) • A photocopy of your passport (page(s) showing your name, date of birth, nationality, signature, work visa, and the date of departure from Japan) • A document (copy of your bank statement, bank passbook, etc.) verifying the bank name, branch office name, branch address, bank account number, and the full name of the account holder (must be your own). Used in place of bank stamp. Send both if possible.

Mail all documents to: Japan Pension Service 3-5-24, Takaido Nishi, Suginami-ku Tokyo 168-8505 JAPAN • Website: www.nenkin.go.jp/n/www/office/index.jsp • For phone inquiries call 03-6700-1165 (Japanese only) • (They will only talk to YOU personally. 日本語頑張れ！） • Notice of lump-sum withdrawal payment (and cash deposit) should arrive in 3-6 months. You also get your pension book back. • You may get a letter back instead, asking if you want your money back even after properly filing. Please reply saying “yes” (duh) and wait a bit longer.

Congrats! You got 80% of your money!(What about the other 20%!?!) • *summon tax rep* • Mail the original notice of lump-sum withdrawal payment to your tax rep (keep a copy for your own records) with your pension book and have him/her fill out and submit a tax return payment confirmation (確定申告書 kakutei shinkoku-sho) for you. (Your tax rep will get the form from the local tax office.) • Have your tax rep deposit the tax return into their own account (must be a Japanese account.) • Have tax rep send the money to you however is best for the both of you. • Party down. • (You may want to give some kind of gift to your tax rep just to be cool.)

Pension forms Designation of tax rep form http://www.nta.go.jp/tetsuzuki/shinsei/annai/shinkoku/pdf/07.pdf (Japanese) http://akitajet.com/w/images/8/81/Taxpayer_Declaration.pdf (English) Claim form for lump-sum withdrawal payment http://www.nenkin.go.jp/n/open_imgs/service/0000005247.pdf

Alternate Ending • Aggregating your Japanese Pension and Home Country Pension • ALTs from countries which have an “agreement of aggregation of pension” with Japan can choose to have their Japanese contributions added to their home-country pension fund, instead of claiming the pension refund. • Germany, the United States, Belgium, France, Canada, Australia, Spain, Ireland, Brazil, Switzerland, Netherlands and Czech Republic • ALTs from countries which may have aggregation in the future: There is a 2 year limit to collect the lump-sum withdrawal so please be mindful of time limits if waiting for changes in policy.

Benefits from the United States––If you do not have enough work credits under the U.S. system to qualify for regular benefits, you may be able to qualify for a partial benefit from the United States based on both U.S. and Japanese credits. However, to be eligible to have your Japanese credits counted, you must have earned at least six credits (generally one and one-half years of work) under the U.S. system. If you already have enough credits under the U.S. system to qualify for a benefit, the United States cannot count your Japanese credits. • Benefits from Japan––Social Security credits from both countries can also be counted, when necessary, to meet the eligibility requirements for Japanese benefits. To be eligible to have your U.S. and Japanese credits counted, you must have at least one month of coverage credited under the Japanese system. • Credits are counted automatically from one country to the other. You do not need to actually do anything. • US benefits obtained by counting Japanese credits will be reduced (the more Japanese credits, the more reduction.) • Fully qualifying separately for both Japanese and US pension with independent credits may also reduce US reward amount. • BOTTOM LINE – In most cases, it is best to just take the lump-sum withdrawal regardless of wasted years. • Source: http://www.ssa.gov/international/Agreement_Pamphlets/japan.html

To Be Covered… • Timeline for Pre-departure • Immigration • Health Insurance • Banking • Utilities & Phone • Vehicles • Selling & Disposal • Sending Stuff Home • Pension • Successors ? ! ! ? ! ! ? !

Successors They’re new and excited. Give them the benefit of the doubt.A quick note about your successor. Nothing much to be said about successors that you don’t already know, however it is important to realize that he/she is excited and [theoretically] can’t wait to get to Japan. If you haven’t already been in contact with your successor, you will be shortly so do take care of them and put some effort into responding to their emails. Set your bounds and their expectations. If you really aren’t one for writing long drawn out emails detailing every facet of life in Japan, tell them so. Be informative, and try to keep any grievances on the down low. Frankly, a poor experience that you had, may not necessarily be had by them. Your successor is not an avenue to vent, but if there is something they need to know don’t leave them in the dark.

お疲れ様でした！ Good luck with your next endeavor!

Pre-Departure: What’s Involved?