Q: I am a foreigner in Japan. I am thinking of starting my own business. What requirements do I need to meet in order to obtain an investor/business manager visa in Japan?
A: When a foreigner wishes to obtain a Japanese investor/business manager visa, there are mainly two large requirements that he/she must meet. (1) In general, you are required to make an investment of 5 million yen or more in Japan, and (2) there is a need to prove that you have a proper office. There are also many other substantial requirements, such as having a good but realistic business plan and showing that the business can be operatied well, etc., but the requirements mentioned above are two which must be definitely met as a formality.
(1) Regarding the investment, it is not necessarily mandatory to establish a company, yet it is by far the easier route to go. The alternative to establishing a company is to have a personal business (sole proprietorship), yet the immigration regulations require you to have actually made the required investment prior to the visa application. Thus, without a company, you will need to actually have spent the required investment amount on the purchase of products, real estate or employees’ salaries etc., but by establishing a company and thus investing the amount into the company as capital, this will also satisfy the requirement and the money will still be there as the company’s assets without actually being spent, which you can freely use for your business activities after establishment. Thus, by choosing to establish a company, the choice will actually buy you more time to plan on how to use the investment amount for your business, without being rushed to spend all of it prior to the visa application.
However, the establishment procedure of a company is rather complex, and many important decisions must be made during the process. For example, deciding which type of company best suits your needs, who your business partners will be, how to regulate the rights/obligations of each business partner and investor, what businesses to operate, the company structure, the costs involved, taxes, etc. The process to apply for company registration involves many documents, all with very specific requirements. And as the company must be established before applying for an investor/management visa, it can all be a very burdensome procedure for those who have not done it before. This is even more so for people who are in Japan under a short-term tourist visa and trying to change their visas on a limited time schedule of 90 days (or perhaps even less).
Another point which must be addressed is the issue of business licenses. While the majority of businesses do not require business licenses to operate, some specific businesses require proper licenses (regulated under specific administrative laws) in order to operate legally in Japan. A few examples of businesses requiring licenses include: restaurants, bars, cafes, real-estate, construction, purchasing/selling/importing/exporting of second-hand goods (including used cars, used car parts, brand bags etc.), recruitment, financial services, importing/exporting of soaps and cosmetics, etc. In general, the immigration law requires you to obtain the necessary business licenses before applying for an investor/manager visa (although there are a few exceptions where the licenses cannot be obtained until after you get the investor/manager visa, in which case the licenses must be applied for straight after the visa is granted), but each license has specific requirements that must be met and documents to be submitted.
(2) As for the office requirement, you must have a proper office in Japan. Whether an office is considered a “proper” office in relation to the immigration regulations will depend on each case, but as a general rule, a virtual office with no physical space will not suffice. In some cases, if certain conditions are met, you may be able to establish your office within your residence, but not all cases. Many people have the trouble of contracting for a room and yet getting their visa application denied, thus it is best if you can consult an immigration specialist at an early stage to obtain advice before contracting for an office, in order to avoid losing money.
Please use our free initial consulting service to find out whether we can provide you with the assistance you need in making this important decision.
＊This entry is for informational purposes only, and may not apply in all cases. Please feel free to make an inquiry via e-mail for assistance regarding your special case.
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