Digital Nomad & Residency - Japan

Since 31 March 2024 Japan grants a "Designated Activities (Digital Nomad)" status of residence permitting remote work for an overseas employer/clients while staying in Japan; spouses and children may accompany under a parallel designation.

Applicants must demonstrate annual income of at least 10 million yen (roughly USD 68,000), earned from sources/work outside Japan.

Period of stay is up to six months and cannot be extended; holders are not granted a residence card or address registration, and must leave and reapply (after spending time outside Japan) rather than renew in-country.

Only nationals of countries/regions that have both a tax treaty with Japan and a visa-exemption arrangement qualify (over 50 jurisdictions, e.g. US, UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan); private health insurance covering at least 10 million yen is mandatory.

Relocators seeking longer stays use other statuses: the Business Manager visa (minimum 5 million yen capital plus office), the points-based Highly Skilled Professional visa, and the special J-Skip (high-income professionals) and J-Find (top-university graduate job-seeking) categories introduced in 2023.

Japan has no passive residency-by-investment program; investment-based residency runs through the active Business Manager visa, while permanent residency normally requires ~10 years' residence (as little as 1 year for J-Skip / 80-point HSP holders).