Japan digital nomad permission

Eligibility & suitability

Who the six-month route is designed for

The designated-activities route covers qualifying remote work for a foreign organisation or specified overseas business activity performed through information and communications technology. The ISA FAQ explicitly excludes work for a Japanese company or individual under an employment contract or contractor agreement. This is not a flexible local freelance visa.

The main applicant must have an eligible nationality under the official list, which combines the relevant visa-exemption and tax-treaty conditions. The route also requires annual personal income of at least JPY10 million and qualifying insurance. Do not substitute household wealth, a company’s turnover or the spouse’s salary for the applicant’s stated income test without authority confirmation.

The stay is limited to six months and cannot be renewed under this permission. The official FAQ allows a new stay after at least six months outside Japan following departure, subject to qualifying again. That is not a guarantee of continuous residence through repeated short border trips.

Income and insurance need usable evidence

The FAQ generally looks at the applicant’s most recent annual income and explains circumstances in which an established new salary or similar evidence may support the annual amount. Prepare official income or tax evidence where available, contracts and corroborating records, with any translations required by the responsible consulate. A claimed annual run-rate from an unsupported projection is weak evidence.

Insurance must cover death, injury and illness throughout the Japanese stay. The required medical-treatment coverage for injury and illness is at least JPY10 million; the death component must include the specified death benefit or transport-of-remains cover, without a universal monetary death-benefit minimum stated in the FAQ. Check the certificate and policy wording, not only the marketing label “travel insurance”.

The required cover matters because this status is outside the mid-to-long-term resident category described in the FAQ and does not provide enrolment in Japanese public medical insurance through that route. Family members need their own adequate coverage under the application rules. Pre-existing conditions, exclusions and the actual dates of cover should be checked before purchase.

Spouses and children have a separate accompanying category

A qualifying spouse or child may accompany the principal under the designated family activity. Their nationality eligibility list is not identical to the principal’s: the official framework uses the applicable visa-exemption conditions for the family category. Check each passport against the correct list rather than copying the principal’s result.

Prepare the marriage or birth evidence, support arrangements, principal’s permission and insurance documentation requested for the family application. The reviewed material does not justify a universal age-18 cutoff for every child case, nor does it create a parent or unmarried-partner entitlement. A child’s age, dependency and the precise permitted activity should be checked in the actual case.

The accompanying permission is not a general work permit. A spouse who intends to work remotely in their own right should determine whether they need and qualify for the principal nomad category or another permission. Same-sex relationship recognition needs a specific immigration assessment rather than an assumption based on a foreign certificate alone.

No residence card changes the arrival checklist

The ISA FAQ states that digital nomads under this permission are not issued a residence card. That affects the practical ability to meet ordinary resident bank, telephone and long-term rental checklists. Select accommodation and payment arrangements that genuinely accept the relevant status instead of assuming the usual employee relocation sequence applies.

For an applicant outside Japan, the FAQ directs visa application to the relevant Japanese embassy or consulate because the ordinary arrangement has no Japanese agent for a Certificate of Eligibility application. Follow that mission’s current submission, jurisdiction and evidence instructions. A visa and landing permission remain distinct official decisions.

Temporary travel during the permitted period requires the applicable re-entry procedure and a return before the status expires. Do not confuse re-entry during an existing six-month permission with obtaining another six months. Keep insurance and family arrangements aligned with the actual travel dates.

Six months does not mean six months tax-free

Japanese tax residence and source are determined separately. Work physically performed in Japan can produce Japanese-source salary even when the employer, contract and bank account are overseas. A treaty employment exemption requires the actual treaty conditions, including the relevant day count, employer and permanent-establishment tests; “less than 183 days” alone is not the whole exemption.

An entrepreneur also needs to consider whether activity in Japan creates a company taxable presence, local registration obligation or a different character of income. The income-tax non-permanent-resident category is a separate resident category and should not be confused with this short-term immigration permission.

We can review whether the proposed stay fits the immigration route and coordinate the tax and practical arrangements. Bring your passport nationality, employment/business contracts, intended dates, income evidence and family details. If the objective is a durable Japanese operating base, compare the appropriate professional or business route instead.