The long-anticipated Japanese digital nomad visa has finally arrived. However, the rules and requirements for the visa are a little out of touch with other digital nomad visas offered by countries around the world.
The reaction to the Japanese digital nomad visa among digital nomads is less than great. In this article, we are going to go over, what has made the Japanese digital nomad visa a disappointment, where the government could improve it, and what are some other visa alternatives. If you are set on spending time in the incredible country that is Japan keep on reading.
Introduction: The New Japanese Digital Nomad Visa
We mentioned in our New Digital Nomad Visas: 7 Exciting Possibilities for 2024 that the Japanese digital nomad visa is one we might be seeing in 2024 and it looks like we have predicted this correctly. However, we expected the Japanese government would have done more due diligence on what makes a good digital nomad visa. The excitement of digital nomads worldwide dropped to zero when the ludicrous visa requirements became public.
Requirements
Most of the requirements for the Japanese digital nomad visa are pretty standard visa requirements. Official government website – https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/pagewe_000001_00046.html
- Visa Application Form
- Passport
- Documents explaining your planned activities and length of stay in Japan
- Documents showing that you are insured against death, injury or illness during your stay in Japan.
All very standard thing requirements that most other digital nomad visas around the world require you to have. Now we go to the ugly.
Minimum Monthly Income
The first thing that disappointed potential Japanese Digital nomad visa applicants was that you need to be able to prove you make more than ¥10,000,000 Japanese yen a year. Which is about $64,000 USD at the time of writing this.
This is an extremely high bar to have to achieve compared to other digital nomad visas on the market. The only current visa more expensive is Icelands digital nomad visa which requires a monthly income of €81,000 per month. It is ironic because popular sunny destinations like Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Cyprus, and Greece all require much less for their monthly requirements on digital nomad visas. Japan may potentially be believing that there country is of greater “tourist value” then the others but that’s up to ones opinion.
Length of Stay
After The Japanese Digital Nomad Visa, potential applicants got over the sticker shock of the minimum income requirement. They were hit with the second disappointing rule of the visa. Japanese Digital Nomad Visas have a maximum stay of only 6 months or 180 days. Once again another potential overlook by the Japanese government due to the fact many other Digital Nomad Visas allow much longer stays.
For example, Portuguese, Spanish, and Greek digital nomad visas are issued for stays of 1 year. These visas also come with the opportunity to renew in the future. Whereas the Japanese Digital Nomad Visa at the time of writing is only a one-time deal.
No Naturalization
Often countries through in little benefits to their digital nomad visa programs. For example, the Portuguese digital nomad visa can act as a stepping stone towards a longer-term visa which can count towards the time required to become a Portuguese citizen.
With Japan, this is not the case. Time spent in Japan on a digital nomad visa does not count towards naturalization to Japanese citizenship. Not that anyone was expecting that either though, as Japan is very picky about who becomes a citizen.
Where Japan could Improve
Japan is an amazing country Yonderpreneur founder Tristan Powell has spent a significant portion of his life visiting and living in the country. We at Yonderpreneur think that everyone should try and take the opportunity to visit this country once.
Price
We want Japan to succeed and have lots of people applying for their digital nomad visa. So where could it improve? The sticker shock of the minimum yearly income is a good place to start. The price is controlling the type of people entering the country, at the moment the only people who would be interested in the visa at this price.
Value Seekers
Are people who have been to Japan before and they already know they love it here. It is not attracting any other crowd. It’s not interesting for people looking for a cheap cost of living, because digital nomad visas in Malaysia, Thailand or South America would be more interesting.
Beach, Sun, and Fun
It’s not attracting a crowd looking for party, sun and beach as they would be better off travelling to Southern Europe in countries like Spain and Portugal.
Entrepreneurs
Neither is it attracting the entrepreneur crowd looking to network and find new business opportunities with like-minded people. Countries such as the U.A.E (Dubai), the Republic of Georgia, and El Salvador are doing great right now in attracting entrepreneurs. Although Japan and the Japanese are very hard workers they are not entrepreneurial workers as of now at least.
Japan needs to learn its value, what are its strong points what are its weak points. Japan could be a middle player to have all these types of Digital Nomads. For example, it could attract people looking for an affordable lifestyle. Cities outside of Tokyo are extremely affordable especially when compared to major cities in the USA and Western world. What Japan could offer digital nomads in the visa, if they reside outside of Tokyo in cities looking to attract foreigners a longer visa time, or an opportunity to pay lower or zero taxes.
This could be a win-win scenario. Japan gets people moving into cities with falling populations that bring their jobs with them. Digital nomads get a low cost of living in a welcoming environment with good infrastructure and a combination rarely achieved in other countries.
Japan could create a similar opportunity for sun-seekers. In the islands of Okinawa in Japan’s South, there could be opportunities for nomads to stay for a longer period or allow them to re-apply the following year. Japan should want people to keep coming back to these destinations!
Length of Stay, Reapplication and Naturalization
The second major issue with the Japanese Digital Nomad Visa is the length of stay of only 6 months is short when compared to other digital nomad visas.
The Japanese government may have made it like this on purpose. 6 months is usually the amount of time required for someone to become a tax resident of said country. This is true for Japan also stays of longer then 6 months in Japan puts you as a possible tax resident.
You might be thinking why wouldn’t Japan want to try and tax these wealthy individuals, doesn’t that make more sense for more money for Japan and its economy? This is true so I am unsure why they would not want this scenario. It could be because once someone pays taxes they are now on the Japanese healthcare system and an influx of people could strain it. It might be because the Japanese government simply does not have enough resources to go after all these individuals to have them pay their taxes. Finally it just might be plain Japanese negative sentiment towards letting foreigners in the country.
A simple fix that would not disturb the status quo in Japan would be to make the visa renewable every year. Spend 6 months in Japan, leave for 6 months renew your visa and come back in the following year. Now digital nomads who enjoy being in Japan can come and go with fewer restrictions.
Under the current environment in Japan it’s next to impossible for a digital nomad visa will count towards naturalization. Should things change, allowing this time spent in Japan to count towards a new Japanese passport would be a surefire way to attract digital nomads.
Alternative Visas to the Japanese Digital Nomad Visa: For Digital Nomads
So the digital nomad visa is a bit of a flop. The price is untenable for many digital nomads around the world the length of stay is not very long and there are just better countries out there for digital nomads. But what if you have your heart set on Japan and you want to stay here? Good news! there are other options for you.
Tourist Visa
The reliable tourist visa, most citizens of Western nations are allowed to spend up to 90 days in Japan each year as a tourist. Now you are officially not allowed to work as a tourist. However, there is no way for countries to police this including Japan.
Working Holiday Visa
Are you younger than 30 years old? Do you want to spend more than 90 days a year in Japan? Do you make less than $64,000 a year? Are you a citizen of one of these countries?
| Australia 🇦🇺 | New Zealand 🇳🇿 |
| Canada 🇨🇦 | Republic of Korea 🇰🇷 |
| France 🇫🇷 | Germany 🇩🇪 |
| The United Kingdom 🇬🇧 | Ireland 🇮🇪 |
| Denmark 🇩🇰 | Taiwan 🇹🇼 |
| Hong Kong 🇭🇰 | Norway 🇳🇴 |
| Portugal 🇵🇹 | Poland 🇵🇱 |
| Slovakia 🇸🇰 | Austria 🇦🇹 |
| Hungary 🇭🇺 | Spain 🇪🇸 |
| Argentina 🇦🇷 | Chile 🇨🇱 |
| Iceland 🇮🇸 | Czech Republic 🇨🇿 |
| Lithuania 🇱🇹 | Sweden 🇸🇪 |
| Estonia 🇪🇪 | Netherlands 🇳🇱 |
| Uruguay 🇺🇾 | Finland 🇫🇮 |
| Latvia 🇱🇻 |
Then you can apply for what we consider the best and least restrictive visa Japan offers The Working Holiday Visa. Working holiday visas allow young people to travel and work in foreign countries for a specified period, typically ranging from several months to a year.
In Japan, that means 6 months then a possible extension to 1 year. Common with students doing gap year people looking to ski in Japan in the mountains of Hokkaido, or people looking to do some snorkelling adventures in the islands of Okinawa.
This visa is also perfect for the younger crowd of digital nomads out there. As long as you are younger then 30 this visa is PERFECT. For digital nomads looking to stay in Japan, there are no restrictions on whether you are currently employed, free lancing, or have income from investments.
All the Japanese government cares about when you are on this visa is you do not work in the sin industries so that prohibits you from working in,
- Bars
- Brothels
- Nightclubs
- Casinos and gambling establishments
At Yonderpreneur we help people smoothly go through their working holiday visa process. Whether you are a digital nomad who already has income or a student looking to do a gap year. We help you the whole way getting jobs, looking for apartments and everything else you need to be comfortable in your year in Japan.
Conclusion
The Japanese Digital Nomad Visa may have turned out to be a disappointment. That does not mean your dreams of being a digital nomad in Japan need to die though. There are alternative ways out there to live in Japan. If you’re looking to live in Japan and you need advice we at Yonderpreneur are professionals at helping individuals like you, come and live in the country of the rising sun. Book an appointment to see how we can make your goals a reality.