This article is written by a Japanese local.
The “Digital Nomad Visa (Designated Activities)” established in 2024 permits highly skilled global talents with an annual income of 10 million JPY or more to stay for up to 6 months. It functions as a test period to research the domestic market and conceptualize future full-scale business development.
However, the moment foreigners try to “establish a business domestically and transition to a Business Manager Visa capable of mid-to-long-term stays” after the test period, many crash into structural walls within the Immigration Control Act and the Companies Act. This article points out the dangers of the simplistic approach of “trying to change the visa directly domestically while on a nomad stay” and thoroughly explains the objective legal process (the reliable route) for foreign investors to successfully expand their business domestically.
1. The Deadlock of “No Residence Card (Juminhyo)” Hindering Entrepreneurship
The biggest wall when aiming for a Business Manager Visa from a Digital Nomad status is the legal fact that “because Digital Nomads are not mid-to-long-term residents, a Residence Card is not issued, and a Certificate of Residence (Juminhyo) is not created at the municipality.”
To apply for a Business Manager Visa, you must complete “corporate establishment registration,” “payment of capital (minimum 5 million JPY),” and a “lease contract for an independent business office” beforehand, finalizing the substance of the company. However, foreigners without a Residence Card (Juminhyo) cannot obtain the “Seal Registration Certificate (Inkan Shomeisho)” necessary for company establishment at the city hall, nor can they open a “personal account to deposit capital” at a bank. You face a “chicken and egg problem” where you cannot create a company because you don’t have a visa, and you cannot apply for a visa because you lack the substance of a company.
2. Route A: The Fatal Risks Hidden in a “Direct Change” During Your Stay
Legally, it is not impossible to directly apply for a “Change of Status of Residence” from a Digital Nomad Visa (Designated Activities) to a Business Manager Visa. The “unavoidable special circumstances” required when changing from a Temporary Visitor Visa are deemed unnecessary. However, practically, aiming for a direct change during your stay is an extremely high-risk approach.
(1) The Physical Time Limit Wall
As mentioned above, to establish a corporation without a Juminhyo, complex detour procedures are required, such as obtaining a signature certificate (affidavit) from a notary public in your home country. Perfecting all these corporate establishment processes (up to finalizing the office contract and business plan) in a mere 6 months while being unfamiliar with Japanese business customs and real estate contracts is walking a tightrope schedule-wise.
(2) The Risk of Unrecoverable Denial (Forced Return)
The greatest risk occurs if the 6-month deadline of the Digital Nomad Visa approaches while your change application is being screened by Immigration, and the screening results in “Denial” due to a flaw in the business plan. Because the Digital Nomad Visa is, in principle, not eligible for renewal (extension), the moment you are denied, you are not given a grace period for recovery (re-application) and are ordered to leave the country immediately. This leads to a fatal situation where only the company, into which you invested millions of yen in capital and contracted an office, is left behind domestically.
3. Route B: The Reliable Process of Using a Co-Representative and “Returning Temporarily for a New COE Application”
The most reliable and safe “practical process” from a legal perspective is an approach utilizing a co-promoter, departing cleanly upon the end of the stay period, and being invited anew.
Step 1: Establish the Company with a “Co-Representative” During the Stay (6 Months)
First, involve a trusted business partner (a Japanese national or a mid-to-long-term foreign resident) who already has a Juminhyo and a bank account in Japan as a “Co-Representative (or Co-Promoter).” Utilize their bank account as the “capital payment account” and their Seal Registration Certificate to legally breakthrough the company establishment registration at the Legal Affairs Bureau and the office contract, finalizing the substance of the company during your domestic stay.
Step 2: “Return Temporarily (Depart)” in Accordance with the Visa Deadline
Instead of forcing a direct change domestically, once the corporate infrastructure is set up and the Digital Nomad stay period expires, depart cleanly (return to your home country) in accordance with Immigration rules. This completely avoids sudden legal troubles caused by overstaying or non-renewal.
Step 3: Apply for a “New COE” from Your Home Country
Based on the corporation whose establishment is completed and office is secured domestically, apply anew for the issuance of a “Certificate of Eligibility (COE)” for a Business Manager Visa from your home country. Because the substance of the company is already perfectly arranged, Immigration’s screening proceeds smoothly. Once the COE is issued, obtain a visa and re-enter Japan proudly as a business manager. This is the shortest and most objective logic to ensure your business does not stall.
4. Conclusion: Construct a Thorough Legal Roadmap “Before” Entry
While the Digital Nomad Visa is optimal for “test marketing,” transitioning from it to establishing a full-scale base requires advanced legal knowledge combining the establishment requirements of the Companies Act and the screening requirements of the Immigration Control Act.
The stance of “I’ll go to Japan first and figure out making a company later” will end up with you blocked by the walls of opening a bank account and seal registration, wasting 6 months. Global talents aiming for entrepreneurship and investment are required to construct a complete legal roadmap—from “securing a co-representative” to “returning temporarily for a COE application”—before entering the country, and to proceed with steps steadily.