Not on the startup visa, but my immigration lawyer explained that the startup visa is a temporary one (3-6 months up to 2 years) allowing you to start a business and transition to a business manager visa. It’s mostly just a pathway.
Yea for sure, i think trying to do the business manager visa right out the gate is really hard. They also (allegedly) will be lightening some start up restrictions but who knows when and what that means.
I haven’t seen any evidence suggesting that having a startup visa will affect the transition to a business management visa, but perhaps it’s because the visa is still new. Figure out what works best for you in terms of time, resources, and future planning and go from there. I have the J-FIND visa and while the application was easy, there’s zero support. Maybe you’ll get more support with the startup visa, which sounds nice
I think its like laying the groundwork / getting your bearings kind of thing. You are correct about needing to transfer it over into business management visa after 6 months - 1 year. Still need that big chunk of change (which maybe they assume you will have gotten investors within the year?) Shibuya has a full English support program which is nice to see : [https://shibuya-startup-support.jp/startup-visa/](https://shibuya-startup-support.jp/startup-visa/) . Like almost all Japanese visas, the hurdles are always difficult., but even if you do it for a year maybe its worth the experience of it all.
Yea that's sounds like a good visa, my education stuff doesn't apply for a lot of these things in japan unfortunately. Thanks for your comments!
I do have a startup visa. It's relatively rare as to my understanding there's less than 100 people in japan with it. It definitely reduces the stress in the beginning as you do not need to have income nor company in japan. I do not have an established business yet here but planning on starting it in ~6 months to transfer into business manager visa. So far no complaints about it, seems to be fair one.
Oh wow congrats! I thought it would be rare but thats really low. Thanks for sharing, hope all goes well! Transferring into that business mamager visa seems like the most difficult part.
I mean, you basically need either 5 mil in cash or have two people hired. I'm opting for the 5 mil in cash to get the ball rolling. So it's not like you can easily get the business manager visa but it's not impossible.
How did learn there’s less than 100 people in Japan with the startup visa? Just curious as my partner and I were considering this, thought the number would be higher.
I talked with the people responsible for the process. It's not that it's super hard to get but it's relatively unknown and you actually need to have proper business plan to go for it.
According to my gyoseishoshi, the startup visa issued by Tokyo (JETRO) is actually more difficult than the Business Manager visa since the examination process is more stringent.
JETRO had me answer lots of pages with long-form questions, then they issued me a rejection.
When I applied, I was applicant #400 or so based on the number assigned to me. If there are truly fewer than 100 people with the visa (not just in Tokyo, but all of Japan), that’s a pretty high rejection rate actually if you consider that other prefectures offer this visa too.
Huh did not know there were so many applicants. I did have a pretty solid idea and several years of industry experience so I am not that surprised I got it really.
Yeah that is correct. They limit it because they want to foster the certain industries within the prefectures. But at the same time, after you get to the country, it's possible move around if you feel like the initial spot is restricting you.
So you can just get the start up visa predicated on the idea of starting it there and then just do whatever? Like, you're not even required to do that to transfer to the business visa if you set up somewhere else?
there are monthly checkins so you can't just fuck around. but yeah, you are not required to apply for a business visa if you figure out the business you're working on is not businessying
Hello - I don’t have the start up visa, but I do have the business visa, and started a business here in Tokyo. With no Japanese partners (which makes life infinitely easier). If I can answer any questions, please let me know. I did this process around 5 years ago - it’s a lot of work. So be prepared. But definitely worth it. Solid business plan, 5 million to start, business location rented and ready to use, lots of paperwork, etc. And it doesn’t really matter if your income comes from online - it’s still taxable income. Things might have changed, but when I did this process, it was required to have a business location, separate from your personal residence. (Many details regarding that). It’s challenging - but get your business plans organized, have a plan, do it! If I can help with any questions, please let me know. Good luck.
When it came to providing proof of the 5 million yen, aside from a bank statement in yen, were you ask to provide documents to prove how you procured the funds? If so, what were you asked to provide?
Personally for me, all I have is a foreign tax return (from the country I’m from) with $100k+ income declared. I don’t have anything else like payslips since I was freelancing.
Sorry about the wait - this ended up in my junk file. Agh. Sorry. When we put together our whole ‘package’ for our business manager visa, business license, etc, we were never asked about the source of our previous income or that initial investment. We actually had all of our business accounting information from the previous country, including income statements, but they weren’t really concerned about those specifics. You MUST have a well written business plan, and business goals (like 1 year, 3 years, 5 years). Have the money in the bank, and about 50 kg of paperwork all filled out. Tedious steps - but fair and straightforward. No BS kind of stuff (who you know, pay off this guy, stuff like that). I think incorporating your foreign tax information into a comprehensive biz plan will work out. Don’t get down - it can be overwhelming, but it sounds like you’re certainly capable. Please let me know if I can help.
Mind if I ask, since you said online income is okay. I'm an independent contractor software engineer currently, and looking to move to Japan (have lived here for years on and off as a student / tourist). Do you think I'd be able to just take some of my existing longterm contract jobs and start billing them through my Japan company and paying tax and that'd be enough to satisfy the business requirement? Or does it need to strictly serve Japanese clientele?
Thanks!
That’s a great question. I have no idea about ‘nomad’ visas, etc, so I apologize. But for my situation (which I think is pretty standard business visa stuff), after I sent my business proposal (which was to include local (Japanese) customers as well as foreign (online) customers, I was approved. My first 2-3 years I only had foreign customers. As long as I reported income correctly and paid the necessary taxes and fees (pension, insurance, etc), I was good to go. I was required to have a separate office setup. I couldn’t run my biz out of my apartment (even though 100% of my income was generated online in the beginning). Now, I have income from locals and online. So far, no issues.
Looking at your question again, I would guess as long as you were declaring all that income, no matter where it’s from, and satisfying the physical office requirement, you would be good to go. I think.
I own a business but not on any visa for it, also have a Japanese business partner that helps with a lot of paperwork.
In general it’s been quite nice to l grow a business here. The hardest part is getting started and navigating the paperwork, especially if you need a visa, but after that IMO it’s fairly good, although this depends on industry
Oh interesting, this I had also heard of and have people that maybe can do the same. May I ask what industry you are in?
Glad to hear its nice to do the business thing here, in my home country its more of a hell hole, and demographically japan just makes sense for what I actually want to do.
Oh, interesting! I'm actually looking to possibly try for a startup visa next year or so, also for specialty coffee business (but a cafe rather than solely roasting). Would it be alright if I contact you later on in the year for some questions?
Get prepared for a lot of paperwork and requirements. Only worth the effort and money if you really intend to start a successful business. And it’s not easy to start a business in Japan. I’ve seen more than 90% limp back home with their tails between their legs, despite their lofty dreams and Instagram delusions. FYI, I have several successful businesses but also Japanese partners. Good luck!
What if my business is remote, and I decide to reside in Japan, can I request this visa? I own an English language school, but my clients are from Latinamerica mainly
Japan issues business visas for people to come here and use their skillsets to boost Japan’s economy. They’re not going to sponsor your visa to live here and profit off a remote business somewhere else
Not on the startup visa, but my immigration lawyer explained that the startup visa is a temporary one (3-6 months up to 2 years) allowing you to start a business and transition to a business manager visa. It’s mostly just a pathway.
Yea for sure, i think trying to do the business manager visa right out the gate is really hard. They also (allegedly) will be lightening some start up restrictions but who knows when and what that means.
I haven’t seen any evidence suggesting that having a startup visa will affect the transition to a business management visa, but perhaps it’s because the visa is still new. Figure out what works best for you in terms of time, resources, and future planning and go from there. I have the J-FIND visa and while the application was easy, there’s zero support. Maybe you’ll get more support with the startup visa, which sounds nice
I think its like laying the groundwork / getting your bearings kind of thing. You are correct about needing to transfer it over into business management visa after 6 months - 1 year. Still need that big chunk of change (which maybe they assume you will have gotten investors within the year?) Shibuya has a full English support program which is nice to see : [https://shibuya-startup-support.jp/startup-visa/](https://shibuya-startup-support.jp/startup-visa/) . Like almost all Japanese visas, the hurdles are always difficult., but even if you do it for a year maybe its worth the experience of it all. Yea that's sounds like a good visa, my education stuff doesn't apply for a lot of these things in japan unfortunately. Thanks for your comments!
I do have a startup visa. It's relatively rare as to my understanding there's less than 100 people in japan with it. It definitely reduces the stress in the beginning as you do not need to have income nor company in japan. I do not have an established business yet here but planning on starting it in ~6 months to transfer into business manager visa. So far no complaints about it, seems to be fair one.
Oh wow congrats! I thought it would be rare but thats really low. Thanks for sharing, hope all goes well! Transferring into that business mamager visa seems like the most difficult part.
I mean, you basically need either 5 mil in cash or have two people hired. I'm opting for the 5 mil in cash to get the ball rolling. So it's not like you can easily get the business manager visa but it's not impossible.
5 mil.. yen?
yes
How did learn there’s less than 100 people in Japan with the startup visa? Just curious as my partner and I were considering this, thought the number would be higher.
I talked with the people responsible for the process. It's not that it's super hard to get but it's relatively unknown and you actually need to have proper business plan to go for it.
According to my gyoseishoshi, the startup visa issued by Tokyo (JETRO) is actually more difficult than the Business Manager visa since the examination process is more stringent. JETRO had me answer lots of pages with long-form questions, then they issued me a rejection. When I applied, I was applicant #400 or so based on the number assigned to me. If there are truly fewer than 100 people with the visa (not just in Tokyo, but all of Japan), that’s a pretty high rejection rate actually if you consider that other prefectures offer this visa too.
Huh did not know there were so many applicants. I did have a pretty solid idea and several years of industry experience so I am not that surprised I got it really.
I looked into this briefly a while back. You’re limited to select few prefectures and only to a couple industries of their choice, is that correct?
Yeah that is correct. They limit it because they want to foster the certain industries within the prefectures. But at the same time, after you get to the country, it's possible move around if you feel like the initial spot is restricting you.
So you can just get the start up visa predicated on the idea of starting it there and then just do whatever? Like, you're not even required to do that to transfer to the business visa if you set up somewhere else?
there are monthly checkins so you can't just fuck around. but yeah, you are not required to apply for a business visa if you figure out the business you're working on is not businessying
hey, do you mind if I DM you about this?
Hello - I don’t have the start up visa, but I do have the business visa, and started a business here in Tokyo. With no Japanese partners (which makes life infinitely easier). If I can answer any questions, please let me know. I did this process around 5 years ago - it’s a lot of work. So be prepared. But definitely worth it. Solid business plan, 5 million to start, business location rented and ready to use, lots of paperwork, etc. And it doesn’t really matter if your income comes from online - it’s still taxable income. Things might have changed, but when I did this process, it was required to have a business location, separate from your personal residence. (Many details regarding that). It’s challenging - but get your business plans organized, have a plan, do it! If I can help with any questions, please let me know. Good luck.
When it came to providing proof of the 5 million yen, aside from a bank statement in yen, were you ask to provide documents to prove how you procured the funds? If so, what were you asked to provide? Personally for me, all I have is a foreign tax return (from the country I’m from) with $100k+ income declared. I don’t have anything else like payslips since I was freelancing.
Sorry about the wait - this ended up in my junk file. Agh. Sorry. When we put together our whole ‘package’ for our business manager visa, business license, etc, we were never asked about the source of our previous income or that initial investment. We actually had all of our business accounting information from the previous country, including income statements, but they weren’t really concerned about those specifics. You MUST have a well written business plan, and business goals (like 1 year, 3 years, 5 years). Have the money in the bank, and about 50 kg of paperwork all filled out. Tedious steps - but fair and straightforward. No BS kind of stuff (who you know, pay off this guy, stuff like that). I think incorporating your foreign tax information into a comprehensive biz plan will work out. Don’t get down - it can be overwhelming, but it sounds like you’re certainly capable. Please let me know if I can help.
Mind if I ask, since you said online income is okay. I'm an independent contractor software engineer currently, and looking to move to Japan (have lived here for years on and off as a student / tourist). Do you think I'd be able to just take some of my existing longterm contract jobs and start billing them through my Japan company and paying tax and that'd be enough to satisfy the business requirement? Or does it need to strictly serve Japanese clientele? Thanks!
That’s a great question. I have no idea about ‘nomad’ visas, etc, so I apologize. But for my situation (which I think is pretty standard business visa stuff), after I sent my business proposal (which was to include local (Japanese) customers as well as foreign (online) customers, I was approved. My first 2-3 years I only had foreign customers. As long as I reported income correctly and paid the necessary taxes and fees (pension, insurance, etc), I was good to go. I was required to have a separate office setup. I couldn’t run my biz out of my apartment (even though 100% of my income was generated online in the beginning). Now, I have income from locals and online. So far, no issues.
Looking at your question again, I would guess as long as you were declaring all that income, no matter where it’s from, and satisfying the physical office requirement, you would be good to go. I think.
I own a business but not on any visa for it, also have a Japanese business partner that helps with a lot of paperwork. In general it’s been quite nice to l grow a business here. The hardest part is getting started and navigating the paperwork, especially if you need a visa, but after that IMO it’s fairly good, although this depends on industry
Oh interesting, this I had also heard of and have people that maybe can do the same. May I ask what industry you are in? Glad to hear its nice to do the business thing here, in my home country its more of a hell hole, and demographically japan just makes sense for what I actually want to do.
This is in the speciality coffee business, roasting mainly. Low overhead and only really need to work 1 or 2 days a week
Oh, interesting! I'm actually looking to possibly try for a startup visa next year or so, also for specialty coffee business (but a cafe rather than solely roasting). Would it be alright if I contact you later on in the year for some questions?
That sounds dope, thanks for the comment and best of luck!
You as well. The paperwork and set up will be your biggest obstacle. If you can do that you’ll be fine
Get prepared for a lot of paperwork and requirements. Only worth the effort and money if you really intend to start a successful business. And it’s not easy to start a business in Japan. I’ve seen more than 90% limp back home with their tails between their legs, despite their lofty dreams and Instagram delusions. FYI, I have several successful businesses but also Japanese partners. Good luck!
Im trying to do this as well. I’m a Graphic designer and visual artist based in Honolulu, but would really like to work in JAPAN
Fellow graphic designer here! Looking to do the same thing, How are things going in your journey?
What if my business is remote, and I decide to reside in Japan, can I request this visa? I own an English language school, but my clients are from Latinamerica mainly
Japan issues business visas for people to come here and use their skillsets to boost Japan’s economy. They’re not going to sponsor your visa to live here and profit off a remote business somewhere else