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Japan Business Manager Visa

Introduction

In recent years, the Japanese government has attached great importance to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship, and has actively attracted foreigners to start businesses in Japan. Faced with the challenges of an aging population and slowing economic growth, the Japanese government hopes to inject new vitality into the transformation and upgrading of the Japanese economy by attracting foreign entrepreneurs. Since 2022, the Japanese government has introduced a series of preferential policies for foreign entrepreneurs, including simplifying visa applications and providing entrepreneurship subsidies, in order to enhance Japan’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

How to apply for Japanese Permanent Residency?

The basic requirements for applying for Japanese Permanent Residency:

The applicant must live in Japan for more than 10 years
Work for at least 5 years and submit proof of employment
Prove that you have no criminal record or violation of traffic laws
The applicant must have a sufficient income or assets, with an annual income of at least 3 million yen
Fulfil tax obligations and have no defaults on pensions or insurance.

The most direct way to reside in Japan for more than 10 years is to obtain a Japanese visa. There are different types of visas available for application in Japan, which will be explained in detail below.

Exceptions To The Residency Requirement

In the following cases, you can apply for Japanese Permanent Residency even if you have not fulfiled the 10-year residency requirement:

Those who have been married to a Japanese national or permanent resident for more than 3 years and have resided in Japan continuously for more than 1 year can apply for permanent residence in Japan 1 year later.
Those who are eligible as the Special Skilled Worker (i) category and maintain 80 points for one year can apply for permanent residence within one year; those who are eligible as the Special Skilled Worker (i) category and maintain 70 points for 1 year can apply for permanent residence within three years.
Those who have scored 70 points or more for the past 3 years on the ‘Highly-Skilled Foreign Professionals (HSP) Point Calculation Table’ can apply for permanent residence within 3 years, while those who have scored 80 points or more for the past year can apply for permanent residence within 1 year.
If your status of residence is ‘long-term resident’, you can apply for permanent residence in Japan 5 years later.

When applying for Japanese permanent residency, applicants must provide relevant documents to prove that they fall under the above exceptions.

Income Requirements

In the application for Japanese Permanent Residency, applicants must demonstrate a stable source of income to ensure that they can live independently in Japan. The following are the thresholds on income:

Personal income: The average annual income for the past five years must be more than 3 million yen.
Family income: If there are family members, the annual income of each family member must be between 700,000 and 800,000 yen.
Part-time income: not included in the calculation.

Proof of income is mainly the tax payment certificate issued by the municipal government of the place of residence. The income requirements may vary slightly in different regions, and the focus of the review is to determine whether the applicant’s monthly income is stable, rather than the total assets of the individual or family.

Taxes and Social Insurance

When applying for permanent residency in Japan, the Japanese government will strictly review the applicant’s past tax and social insurance payment records. The requirements are as follows:

Taxes

Applicants must provide tax returns for the past 5 years.
Whether employed or self-employed, you must make sure you pay your taxes on time.
The tax status of the applicant’s spouse will also be reviewed.

Social Insurance (Pension And Health Insurance Premiums)

Applicants must provide proof of pension payments for the last 2 years and a copy of their health insurance card.
Self-employed persons must also pay attention to their social insurance payments.

Any delay or non-payment will affect the application for permanent residency in Japan or lead to the rejection of the application. Therefore, applicants should start to organize relevant tax and social insurance documents as soon as possible.

Highly-Skilled Foreign Professionals Visa

As a talent programme, it aims to attract talented people from all over the world to work in Japan and contribute to Japan’s economic development. The evaluation criteria for the Highly-Skilled Foreign Professionals Visa is based on the HSP Point Calculation Table, which takes into account the applicant’s academic qualifications, work experience, salary, research results etc. Applicants who obtain 70 points or more will be eligible for permanent residence after 3 years of working in Japan; while those who have scored 80 points will be granted permanent residence in Japan after 1 year of working.