Becoming a Business Manager in Japan

There are many foreigners wishing to start a business in Japan. Here, let’s take a look at the visa required when starting a business in Japan and its application.

Business Management Visa

Business Management Visa is required for someone who is to become a business manager or assumes a managerial position in a company.

Eligibility for Visa Acquisition

The place of business basically has to be separate from the place of residence. If the visa applicant’s residence also serves as the workplace, the chance of application success will be significantly compromised.

To be eligible for a business management visa, the applicant’s business needs to meet a certain criterion either in terms of the number of employees or the size of the capital base.

Number of Employee

The candidate’s business is required to have more than two full-time employees. And those employees need to be either a Japanese national, spouse of a Japanese national, a permanent resident, spouse of a permanent resident or a long-term resident.

Financial Requirement

The total amount of capital or investment needs to be 5 million yen or more. Also, the source of the capital fund needs to be clearly stated. In the case of founding a company, you just have to set and declare the capital to be 500 million yen or more. But in the case of a privately owned business, the balance of 5 million yen at the bank account won’t make a good proof of the capital size. In order to prove that you are not just showing your “pretense money,” the receipt of the money invested in equipment or other proof will be needed. In general, a company-run business, as opposed to a private one, is more advantageous in terms of social credibility. We basically recommend our clients to have found a company before applying for a business manager visa, but we also welcome any inquiries from private business owners. Feel free to contact us.

When You Cannot Meet the Requirements

Even when you cannot meet the requirements described above, there is still a chance that your application can go through. For example, when a business has only one employee and the capital base of 2.5 million yen, the owner can still make an eligible application. If you have trouble meeting the visa requirements, please consult us.

There is a special visa category for someone who is employed for a managerial or supervisory position. This visa type basically requires the candidate to have more than 3 years of operational job experience or more than 3 years of educational background at a postgraduate level. Please note that it has to be postgraduate level, and not undergraduate. Also, the payment level has to be equivalent to that of Japanese employees of the equivalent position/skill. As with the case of any other visas, it is not advisable to treat foreign employees differently from the Japanese based on their nationality.