What is Digital Nomad?
Digital nomads are people who use information technology to work while traveling like “nomads” and are not bound by location. Examples include IT engineers, web consultants, and web designers. Some of these people live in country A for a certain period of time and then move to another country B to work and live.
What is a Digital Nomad Visa?
Currently, there is no status of residence in Japan that is designed for digital nomads. If the purpose of your stay in Japan is for business trips or meetings, you enter the country with a “Temporary Visitor” status of residence. However, in principle, the maximum period of stay is 90 days, so it is necessary to leave Japan once within 90 days.
In addition, in order to obtain a work visa such as an International Visa for Engineers and Humanities, you must receive remuneration from a company based in Japan, etc. Therefore, if you receive remuneration only from an overseas company, you will not be able to obtain status of residence.
Furthermore, the “Investor &Management visa”, which is a visa for business managers, requires an investment of 5 million yen or more and the establishment of an office, among other hurdles.
On the other hand, due in part to advances in IT technology and the influence of Corona, digital nomads have been on the rise, and requests for a digital nomad visa have been growing stronger.
Therefore, the Japanese government has decided to add a digital nomad visa category to the “Designated Activities” category of the status of residence, and the program is scheduled to begin by the end of March 2024.
Digital Nomad Visa Requirements
The main conditions for the digital nomad visa are as follows In addition to the digital nomad foreigner, accompanying family members are also allowed under certain conditions.
■Conditions for the foreigner himself/herself
1. Engage in activities in Japan based on an employment contract with a corporation or other foreign organization established in accordance with the laws and regulations of a foreign country, using information and communication technology to engage in business activities at a business office of said organization in a foreign country, or to provide services for a fee or sell goods, etc. to a person in a foreign country, using information and communication technology.
2. The period of stay in Japan does not exceed 6 months for the entire 12-month period beginning or ending on any day between January 1 and December 31 of the year of landing in Japan.
3. Nationals of countries that are parties to tax treaties and visa-exempt countries/regions.
4. Annual income must be 10 million yen or more.
5. Have insurance coverage in case of death, injury or illness while in Japan.
■Conditions for spouse and children
1. Must be a national of a visa waiver country/region.
2. have insurance against death, injury or illness while in Japan
Required Materials for Digital Nomad Visa
As of this writing (end of February 2024), the required documents for the digital nomad visa have not yet been determined, but it is expected that an employment contract, a certificate of (expected) annual income, a copy of medical insurance coverage, etc. will be required.
Will the Digital Nomad Visa Expand?
Currently, there are many foreigners who want to live in Japan but do not want to work for a Japanese company because of the language barrier, different business practices, and other hurdles to overcome when working for a Japanese company.
For such people, the Digital Nomad Visa may be the visa they have been waiting for.
However, some people may feel that an annual income of 10 million yen is too high a hurdle, so the key point will be whether or not they can clear the annual income requirement.
Income Tax of Individuals with Digital Nomad Visa
The countries listed as eligible for the Digital Nomad Visa are “tax treaty” countries.
Therefore, assuming a stay of only 6 months on a digital nomad visa, the number of days for tax exemption, 183 days, is usually not exceeded, which means that in most cases no Japanese income tax will be imposed.
However, it should be noted that if you subsequently stay in Japan on another visa or switch to a long-term assignment, you may be subject to income tax.
Our Services
We will begin providing support for digital nomad visa applications as soon as the conditions and required documents for digital nomad visas are made public, so please feel free to contact us if you are considering applying for a digital nomad visa.
Service fee (standard fee):220,000yen
