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How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

205 points by pwim 2y ago

fxtentacle 2y ago
There's also the option of spending around $35k to purchase a Japanese business and use that to get an investor visa.
- Klonoar 2y ago
  There's a world of difference in the level of effort between this and the digital nomad visa.
  - hardwaresofton 2y ago
    And a world of difference in stability and perception. If you have $35k+ to dedicate to this (and note that it does not cost $35k, these are more like initial capital requirements), you should 100% go the investor route. People underweight how amazing it is to be able to pay less than $50k for the equivalent of a golden visa to a top 5 GDP nation that is well regarded, safe, has some opportunity and is generally easy to live in.
    - csomar 2y ago
      The golden visas usually have no strings attached. I am not sure about this particular visa but last time I checked Japan they demand that you have a certain amount of activity on the company to keep your residence.
    - Klonoar 2y ago
      Eh, I ran a business in Japan and have had that visa. I still tell most people who just want to dip their feet in that the digital nomad visa is totally fine and a good way to go. That stability and perception only matters if you _truly_ want to live here, and quite a number of people spend ~3 months here [1] and realize that it's got issues past the honeymoon period (like anywhere else). There's also no reason you can't change your visa type if you find you actually like it after the DN trip. [1] "here" because I'm back in Japan for a few weeks for friends at the moment, but you get the idea
      - gwervc 2y ago
        Yes, you run the company. IIRC the visa is about management not investment and the company is expected to be profitable for the visa to be renewed. That's quite a different bunch of requirements than just buying a visa and sleeping on it.
      - internet101010 2y ago
        While this is purely anecdotal, the friends I have that ended up bailing earlier than planned got really annoyed by nonsensical things like ATMs having operating hours and having to use a fax machine to do something. They probably weren't the main problem but more straw that broke the camel's back.
        n_ary 2y ago
        Not sure if you are aware, but you described Germany as well. ;)
        dpeckett 2y ago
        Lord almighty, at-least the ATM machines here don't have opening hour restrictions. Though ... https://www.ft.com/content/2778b6c4-4be7-4f38-acee-78f38feca743 https://www.ft.com/content/2778b6c4-4be7-4f38-acee-78f38feca...
        estebank 2y ago
        Well, I do describe Japan as "Kawaii Germany".
        themaninthedark 2y ago
        The ATM working hours can be annoying but honestly I understand the reasoning, it's to prevent drunk guys from being taken advantage of or threatened into making withdraws. Other than those who have built up Japan as a magical place in their head and are inevitably disappointed that it fails to match, I think that the reason that people end up bailing out of any country is one where they are unable to adapt to a culture and it's nuances. Most people would get annoyed when you have to take a document to city hall, get it stamped at one desk thane take it 5 desks over for the stamp there as well. Or you can try and understand why their workflow may be this way. Or just not care. If you are the kind of person who gets annoyed, then you will end up leaving.
    - afavour 2y ago
      They’re just totally different scenarios. Someone looking at a digital nomad visa isn’t looking to stay somewhere in the long term.
      - abound 2y ago
        But the actual article is about someone trying to live in Japan, the Digital Nomad visa was just seemingly their best option.
        lmz 2y ago
        They were trying out living in Japan. "I needed more time to judge whether I should take the leap to move there or not."
    - KennyBlanken 2y ago
      > People underweight how amazing it is to be able to pay less than $50k for the equivalent of a golden visa to a top 5 GDP nation that is well regarded, safe, has some opportunity and is generally easy to live in. The Japanese are incredibly racist and xenophobic. Numerous businesses outright place signs barring foreigners (particularly russians, chinese, etc) Japanese citizens are almost always completely trusted by police over anyone, say, white or black. So Japanese who want to fuck with someone will bait them into a confrontation (or just outright lie) so they're arrested - and Japan has a nearly 100% conviction rate, with the worst prison conditions in the developed world.
      - therein 2y ago
        I am glad they prioritize and look out for their own. That's how it should be. Not everywhere needs to be in love with globalism. And yes, I would say the same should be the case in other places as well.
      - franciscop 2y ago
        Some of those assertions are true, some half true, and some are twisting the truth so much that I'd like to note (been living here for 7+ years): - The Japanese are incredibly racist and xenophobic Half true, some Japanese are those, but not all and "incredibly" is stretching it a lot (also, it's not good to generalize a negative trait to a whole country, I wonder what that's called). There's also famously a lot of "positive racism" towards Westerners. - Numerous businesses outright place signs barring foreigners There's been a handful of places in a country with 120M people, and each and every one of those has made the news, exactly because of how rare they are! - Japanese citizens are almost always completely trusted by police over anyone, say, white or black. Sure, this is true. - So Japanese who want to fuck with someone will bait them into a confrontation (or just outright lie) so they're arrested. While I don't have any number against it, this feels like such an incredibly bizarre event that I'd like to ask for some sources since it sounds very unbelievable given my personal experiences. - Japan has a nearly 100% conviction rate Absolutely not true in that this statement is grossly misconstruing a narrative of "arrested => 100% convicted". ONCE the police decide to pursue a matter, then it's true, but they only do so with incredibly strong evidence. See wikipedias' notes: "If measured in the same way, the United States' federal conviction rate would be 99.8%." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conviction_rate#Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conviction_rate#Japan - With the worst prison conditions in the developed world Fairly true, if we consider only the handful of countries that can be called "the developed world".
Pooge 2y ago
Used to live in Japan for more than a year. Heard about this visa a few weeks ago while traveling to said country. Since they don't give you a residence card, I wonder how easy it would be to get a phone number and bank account. If some government officials didn't get information on this visa, how can we expect companies to have? They will look at your passport with dead eyes and think you are fooling them with a fake stamp. I'm very interested in applying for that visa, but not being in the Japanese system (e.g. no health insurance, no residence card) is kind of putting me off because that spells more administrative nonsense.
- shiroiushi 2y ago
  >Since they don't give you a residence card They don't? Then what use is the visa? You cannot live here without a residence card. As a non-citizen, you're actually legally required to carry your residence card with you whenever you're in public, and present it to a police officer upon request. Something doesn't seem right here. Edit: apparently you can live here, without a residence card, in a temporary apartment, for up to 6 months with this visa. Just be sure to carry your passport everywhere you go.
  - tjpnz 2y ago
    Technically you would be expected to bring your passport everywhere you go.
    - shiroiushi 2y ago
      That's for foreign tourists who have a visa stamp in their passport. So I guess for these digital nomads, that would work too, as long as they don't overstay whatever date is on that visa. It's not going to help them find a place to live though: they'll be stuck in hotels the entire time they're here.
      - lIl-IIIl 2y ago
        The author was able to get an apartment and shared the website and the reddit thread be used to find it.
jalapenos 2y ago
What's the difference between this and just visit twice on a tourist visa?
- gentile 2y ago
  It's mentioned in the article, the US embassy advises against unauthorized employment. https://jp.usembassy.gov/services/visas-japan-u-s-citizens/ https://jp.usembassy.gov/services/visas-japan-u-s-citizens/
  - jalapenos 2y ago
    It also avoids differentiating on two very different scenarios: coming to Japan without a work visa to work illegally for a local company, and doing work for an employer or client not in Japan while being in Japan. On paper, all laws are strict. In practice, some of them, and some interpretations of them, are considered a higher priority than others (which can range to straight up ignoring them or even violating them themselves). The point I'm making is I don't get why they've bothered with such a pointless visa, and it sounds like some PR stunt. If it extended to a year or was a residence permit then it'd be an actual valuable visa worth the effort. The only thing I can think of is maybe they hoped it'd be used by digital nomads to come work for local companies for 6 months, but that doesn't sound likely. PR gimmick or "we're doing things" purpose more likely.
- laurieg 2y ago
  Is you are on a tourist visa then you cannot work. Actively working as a nomad ok a tourist visa waiver is breaking the law. Of course, nomads often did come and with in this status. They would exist in a grey area, arguing their with was more incidental in nature and bit the reason to be in Japan (just like replying to a few with emails while in holiday). The nomad visa is essentially formalizing this grey area. As other commentors have mentioned, it's not a particularly useful status as you don't get a residence card and you can enroll in national health insurance too. You'll also find it harder to find apartments to rent too
  - jalapenos 2y ago
DeathArrow 2y ago
Isn't Japan an expensive country?
- notpushkin 2y ago
  It is a mixed bag: apartments can be pretty expensive, especially in Greater Tokyo area. Food is pretty cheap IMO. Taxis are prohibitively expensive, but railroad system is really really good and compensates for that pretty well. But people don’t go to Japan because it’s cheap – it’s just a really nice place to live for some.
  - shiroiushi 2y ago
    Apartments even in Tokyo are still quite cheap compared to today's rents in major American cities, and not needing to own a car also cuts living expenses massively compared to living in the US. Someone coming from a German city with good public transit might not think it's that cheap though. But a lot of digital nomads are Americans.
  - dagw 2y ago
    apartments can be pretty expensive Poking around sites online it was quite easy to find apartments fairly centrally in Tokyo for $1000-1300/month if you were staying for 3-6 months. While that is far from cheap, I certainly wouldn't call it expensive in the grand scheme of major international cities.
    - notpushkin 2y ago
      Actually yeah, sounds pretty reasonable. I haven't looked into it much yet myself – could you share some links where to start, please?
  - rwmj 2y ago
    My relatives built a house in Tokyo which was absurdly cheap (£300K), but maybe I'm just used to London prices. As you get out of the major cities, akiyas can be basically "free", although will require a huge amount of time and effort to make habitable again.
cedws 2y ago
Hoping to apply for this visa soon without too many issues. I know people just go and work remotely on tourist visas but I'd rather not take the risk, especially as I want to use coworking spaces. It's unfortunate that the visa is only 6 months and not extendable, but if I really end up liking Japan maybe I'll go to language school so I can stay for longer.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
neillyons 2y ago
You can also get a Japanese Working Holiday Visa which allows you to work in Japan and stay for a year. https://yoyogi.io/en/how-to-get-a-japanese-working-holiday-visa-in-the-uk.html https://yoyogi.io/en/how-to-get-a-japanese-working-holiday-v...
- jotaen 2y ago
  That was covered in the article, but as the author was already older than 30 years, it wouldn’t have been applicable for them. It also seems the Working Holiday visa is intended for “employment as an incidental activity of their holidays for the purpose of supplementing their travel funds” [1], whereas the author rather appeared to be looking for a “working full-time with some incidental holidays alongside” situation. [1]: https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/w_holiday/index.html https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/w_holiday/index.html
  - kmeisthax 2y ago
    Also, Working Holiday is a reciprocal visa category and the US doesn't have an equivalent visa, so Americans can't get Japanese Working Holiday visas. Now, if it was called Working Vacation...
- Klonoar 2y ago
  (Americans can’t) Otherwise yes
grecy 2y ago
> My first thought was to work remotely and use the 90 days permitted by the tourist visa. Yet working in Japan on this visa is a gray zone at best and a practice I would stay away from. In fact, the US Embassy in Japan strictly advises against this I’ve always wondered why countries care about this. If I’m employed in my home country, earning money there and paying taxes, what difference does it make if I happen to sit in another country? Or if I save up 6 months of PTO, then go to another country for those six months. I’m very much earning money and paying tax in my home country. Why is it ok for me to open my laptop and spend 10 hours a day on random stuff, but not “work stuff”?
- arandomusername 2y ago
  > what difference does it make if I happen to sit in another country? Because you're breaking the law in that country and your country is actually trying to be help you not do that.
  - returningfory2 2y ago
    But why is the law this way? Why not permit it?
    - elzbardico 2y ago
      Those laws where designed before you had the relativelly new phenomenon of digital nomads. They were created so the local companies wouldn't hire foreign citizens under the table, skirting taxes and depressing wages for local workers, which would be an unpopular outcome amongst voters.
      - grecy 2y ago
        Working for a local company is an entirely different thing, and not what I’m asking about at all.
        arandomusername 2y ago
lovegrenoble 2y ago
Lucky you )
synergy20 2y ago
with US passport I can stay in Japan for 90 days without a visa, if I want to work occasionally remotely for jobs at US part time, do I still need go through all the paperwork to get a Nomad visa? what's the purpose of Nomad visa when everyone has a laptop and can work remotely if they want to?
- maltyr 2y ago
  The article addresses this. > My first thought was to work remotely and use the 90 days permitted by the tourist visa. Yet working in Japan on this visa is a gray zone at best and a practice I would stay away from. In fact, the US Embassy in Japan strictly advises against this: > Persons found working illegally are subject to arrest and deportation. > Persons believed to be entering Japan without a working visa but who intend to work here can be denied entry into Japan. This means that you will not exit the airport and will be required to return directly to the U.S.
  - synergy20 2y ago
    Did more quick reading, Nomad visa gives you 6 month(tourist is 90 days), as long as you don't take local jobs you're fine, and there is no need to pay tax to Japan as well. now it seems just like a visa double the duration of tourist visa to me.
    - VincentEvans 2y ago
      Right, “working illegally” here means taking local jobs, not working for your own employer located in a foreign country.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
- shintoist 2y ago
  If you read the article the author does quote the US embassy in Japan strictly advising against this and that you risk arrest and deportation, that immigration officials do crack down on digital nomads, especially re-entering Japan to renew 90 day tourist visas to work. A lot of countries have laws against working remotely without a visa, although apart from the US few actively enforce them.
andy_ppp 2y ago
When the girlfriend was living in Japan I stayed for 89 days and then went to Taiwan (amazing country, highly recommended) and came back for another 87 days and nobody cared. I guess if you did this a lot it would be an issue but you’re reasonably fine to do it once I think. I was not working but I did have “free” accommodation in the smallest apartment I’ve ever been in so I’d be more concerned about this if I was actually breaking the rules and didn’t have a reason to be there.
- jonatron 2y ago
  "You are only allowed to stay as a "Temporary Visitor" for a total of 180 days during a 12-month period." Similarly, the EU has a 90/180 day rule, so it doesn't work long term.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - knubie 2y ago
    Curious what the source of the quoted portion is, if I may ask?
- eftychis 2y ago
  As the sibling comment noted, you were within the legal prescribed boundaries. The flag is automatic if something is off. No person (I think/in general/most countries) sits and counts days. The computer does. In fact if they note they can not track exactly how many days you were in and out of the country that is a separate flag, that would likely in most jurisdiction lead to questioning. (Source: friend had to pull his tickets and explain his travel path, when following unusual route via Schengen in between his entry/exit.)
  - alibarber 2y ago
    Currently in the countries of the Schengen area - a person is supposed to do preciesly that at border control, the electronic entry-exit system, targeted for launch in 2022 is (was) supposed to be that computer however.
unkeen 2y ago
Can someone please explain to me why it is called “Visa” in some languages and “Visum” in others? My understanding is that “visum” means “that which has been seen” in Latin. What does “visa” mean then?
- jlaurend 2y ago
  They're both forms (perfect passive particle in particular) of the latin verb "video". So they both mean "having been seen". The difference is in gender. visa = feminine; visum = neuter; visus = masculine.
- dragonwriter 2y ago
  > My understanding is that “visum” means “that which has been seen” in Latin. What does “visa” mean then? Basically the same thing, from the same root verb “vidēre”; vīsum is “that which has been seen” (noun), vīsa is “which has been seen” (adjective), from which English and some other languages have derived a noun “visa” as a shortening of the modern Latin “charta vīsa” (“paper/document which has been seen”) possibly through a french intermediary before English (different sources I’ve seen disagree on this.)

205 points by pwim 2y ago

fxtentacle 2y ago

There's also the option of spending around $35k to purchase a Japanese business and use that to get an investor visa.

Klonoar 2y ago
There's a world of difference in the level of effort between this and the digital nomad visa.
- hardwaresofton 2y ago
  And a world of difference in stability and perception. If you have $35k+ to dedicate to this (and note that it does not cost $35k, these are more like initial capital requirements), you should 100% go the investor route. People underweight how amazing it is to be able to pay less than $50k for the equivalent of a golden visa to a top 5 GDP nation that is well regarded, safe, has some opportunity and is generally easy to live in.
  - csomar 2y ago
    The golden visas usually have no strings attached. I am not sure about this particular visa but last time I checked Japan they demand that you have a certain amount of activity on the company to keep your residence.
  - Klonoar 2y ago
    Eh, I ran a business in Japan and have had that visa. I still tell most people who just want to dip their feet in that the digital nomad visa is totally fine and a good way to go. That stability and perception only matters if you _truly_ want to live here, and quite a number of people spend ~3 months here [1] and realize that it's got issues past the honeymoon period (like anywhere else). There's also no reason you can't change your visa type if you find you actually like it after the DN trip. [1] "here" because I'm back in Japan for a few weeks for friends at the moment, but you get the idea
    - gwervc 2y ago
      Yes, you run the company. IIRC the visa is about management not investment and the company is expected to be profitable for the visa to be renewed. That's quite a different bunch of requirements than just buying a visa and sleeping on it.
    - internet101010 2y ago
      While this is purely anecdotal, the friends I have that ended up bailing earlier than planned got really annoyed by nonsensical things like ATMs having operating hours and having to use a fax machine to do something. They probably weren't the main problem but more straw that broke the camel's back.
      - n_ary 2y ago
        Not sure if you are aware, but you described Germany as well. ;)
        dpeckett 2y ago
        Lord almighty, at-least the ATM machines here don't have opening hour restrictions. Though ... https://www.ft.com/content/2778b6c4-4be7-4f38-acee-78f38feca743 https://www.ft.com/content/2778b6c4-4be7-4f38-acee-78f38feca...
        estebank 2y ago
        Well, I do describe Japan as "Kawaii Germany".
      - themaninthedark 2y ago
        The ATM working hours can be annoying but honestly I understand the reasoning, it's to prevent drunk guys from being taken advantage of or threatened into making withdraws. Other than those who have built up Japan as a magical place in their head and are inevitably disappointed that it fails to match, I think that the reason that people end up bailing out of any country is one where they are unable to adapt to a culture and it's nuances. Most people would get annoyed when you have to take a document to city hall, get it stamped at one desk thane take it 5 desks over for the stamp there as well. Or you can try and understand why their workflow may be this way. Or just not care. If you are the kind of person who gets annoyed, then you will end up leaving.
  - afavour 2y ago
    They’re just totally different scenarios. Someone looking at a digital nomad visa isn’t looking to stay somewhere in the long term.
    - abound 2y ago
      But the actual article is about someone trying to live in Japan, the Digital Nomad visa was just seemingly their best option.
      - lmz 2y ago
        They were trying out living in Japan. "I needed more time to judge whether I should take the leap to move there or not."
  - KennyBlanken 2y ago
    > People underweight how amazing it is to be able to pay less than $50k for the equivalent of a golden visa to a top 5 GDP nation that is well regarded, safe, has some opportunity and is generally easy to live in. The Japanese are incredibly racist and xenophobic. Numerous businesses outright place signs barring foreigners (particularly russians, chinese, etc) Japanese citizens are almost always completely trusted by police over anyone, say, white or black. So Japanese who want to fuck with someone will bait them into a confrontation (or just outright lie) so they're arrested - and Japan has a nearly 100% conviction rate, with the worst prison conditions in the developed world.
    - therein 2y ago
      I am glad they prioritize and look out for their own. That's how it should be. Not everywhere needs to be in love with globalism. And yes, I would say the same should be the case in other places as well.
    - franciscop 2y ago
      Some of those assertions are true, some half true, and some are twisting the truth so much that I'd like to note (been living here for 7+ years): - The Japanese are incredibly racist and xenophobic Half true, some Japanese are those, but not all and "incredibly" is stretching it a lot (also, it's not good to generalize a negative trait to a whole country, I wonder what that's called). There's also famously a lot of "positive racism" towards Westerners. - Numerous businesses outright place signs barring foreigners There's been a handful of places in a country with 120M people, and each and every one of those has made the news, exactly because of how rare they are! - Japanese citizens are almost always completely trusted by police over anyone, say, white or black. Sure, this is true. - So Japanese who want to fuck with someone will bait them into a confrontation (or just outright lie) so they're arrested. While I don't have any number against it, this feels like such an incredibly bizarre event that I'd like to ask for some sources since it sounds very unbelievable given my personal experiences. - Japan has a nearly 100% conviction rate Absolutely not true in that this statement is grossly misconstruing a narrative of "arrested => 100% convicted". ONCE the police decide to pursue a matter, then it's true, but they only do so with incredibly strong evidence. See wikipedias' notes: "If measured in the same way, the United States' federal conviction rate would be 99.8%." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conviction_rate#Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conviction_rate#Japan - With the worst prison conditions in the developed world Fairly true, if we consider only the handful of countries that can be called "the developed world".

Pooge 2y ago

Used to live in Japan for more than a year. Heard about this visa a few weeks ago while traveling to said country. Since they don't give you a residence card, I wonder how easy it would be to get a phone number and bank account. If some government officials didn't get information on this visa, how can we expect companies to have? They will look at your passport with dead eyes and think you are fooling them with a fake stamp. I'm very interested in applying for that visa, but not being in the Japanese system (e.g. no health insurance, no residence card) is kind of putting me off because that spells more administrative nonsense.

shiroiushi 2y ago
>Since they don't give you a residence card They don't? Then what use is the visa? You cannot live here without a residence card. As a non-citizen, you're actually legally required to carry your residence card with you whenever you're in public, and present it to a police officer upon request. Something doesn't seem right here. Edit: apparently you can live here, without a residence card, in a temporary apartment, for up to 6 months with this visa. Just be sure to carry your passport everywhere you go.
- tjpnz 2y ago
  Technically you would be expected to bring your passport everywhere you go.
  - shiroiushi 2y ago
    That's for foreign tourists who have a visa stamp in their passport. So I guess for these digital nomads, that would work too, as long as they don't overstay whatever date is on that visa. It's not going to help them find a place to live though: they'll be stuck in hotels the entire time they're here.
    - lIl-IIIl 2y ago
      The author was able to get an apartment and shared the website and the reddit thread be used to find it.

jalapenos 2y ago

What's the difference between this and just visit twice on a tourist visa?

gentile 2y ago
It's mentioned in the article, the US embassy advises against unauthorized employment. https://jp.usembassy.gov/services/visas-japan-u-s-citizens/ https://jp.usembassy.gov/services/visas-japan-u-s-citizens/
- jalapenos 2y ago
  It also avoids differentiating on two very different scenarios: coming to Japan without a work visa to work illegally for a local company, and doing work for an employer or client not in Japan while being in Japan. On paper, all laws are strict. In practice, some of them, and some interpretations of them, are considered a higher priority than others (which can range to straight up ignoring them or even violating them themselves). The point I'm making is I don't get why they've bothered with such a pointless visa, and it sounds like some PR stunt. If it extended to a year or was a residence permit then it'd be an actual valuable visa worth the effort. The only thing I can think of is maybe they hoped it'd be used by digital nomads to come work for local companies for 6 months, but that doesn't sound likely. PR gimmick or "we're doing things" purpose more likely.
laurieg 2y ago
Is you are on a tourist visa then you cannot work. Actively working as a nomad ok a tourist visa waiver is breaking the law. Of course, nomads often did come and with in this status. They would exist in a grey area, arguing their with was more incidental in nature and bit the reason to be in Japan (just like replying to a few with emails while in holiday). The nomad visa is essentially formalizing this grey area. As other commentors have mentioned, it's not a particularly useful status as you don't get a residence card and you can enroll in national health insurance too. You'll also find it harder to find apartments to rent too
- jalapenos 2y ago

DeathArrow 2y ago

Isn't Japan an expensive country?

notpushkin 2y ago
It is a mixed bag: apartments can be pretty expensive, especially in Greater Tokyo area. Food is pretty cheap IMO. Taxis are prohibitively expensive, but railroad system is really really good and compensates for that pretty well. But people don’t go to Japan because it’s cheap – it’s just a really nice place to live for some.
- shiroiushi 2y ago
  Apartments even in Tokyo are still quite cheap compared to today's rents in major American cities, and not needing to own a car also cuts living expenses massively compared to living in the US. Someone coming from a German city with good public transit might not think it's that cheap though. But a lot of digital nomads are Americans.
- dagw 2y ago
  apartments can be pretty expensive Poking around sites online it was quite easy to find apartments fairly centrally in Tokyo for $1000-1300/month if you were staying for 3-6 months. While that is far from cheap, I certainly wouldn't call it expensive in the grand scheme of major international cities.
  - notpushkin 2y ago
    Actually yeah, sounds pretty reasonable. I haven't looked into it much yet myself – could you share some links where to start, please?
- rwmj 2y ago
  My relatives built a house in Tokyo which was absurdly cheap (£300K), but maybe I'm just used to London prices. As you get out of the major cities, akiyas can be basically "free", although will require a huge amount of time and effort to make habitable again.

cedws 2y ago

Hoping to apply for this visa soon without too many issues. I know people just go and work remotely on tourist visas but I'd rather not take the risk, especially as I want to use coworking spaces. It's unfortunate that the visa is only 6 months and not extendable, but if I really end up liking Japan maybe I'll go to language school so I can stay for longer.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

neillyons 2y ago

You can also get a Japanese Working Holiday Visa which allows you to work in Japan and stay for a year. https://yoyogi.io/en/how-to-get-a-japanese-working-holiday-visa-in-the-uk.html https://yoyogi.io/en/how-to-get-a-japanese-working-holiday-v...

jotaen 2y ago
That was covered in the article, but as the author was already older than 30 years, it wouldn’t have been applicable for them. It also seems the Working Holiday visa is intended for “employment as an incidental activity of their holidays for the purpose of supplementing their travel funds” [1], whereas the author rather appeared to be looking for a “working full-time with some incidental holidays alongside” situation. [1]: https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/w_holiday/index.html https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/w_holiday/index.html
- kmeisthax 2y ago
  Also, Working Holiday is a reciprocal visa category and the US doesn't have an equivalent visa, so Americans can't get Japanese Working Holiday visas. Now, if it was called Working Vacation...
Klonoar 2y ago
(Americans can’t) Otherwise yes

grecy 2y ago

> My first thought was to work remotely and use the 90 days permitted by the tourist visa. Yet working in Japan on this visa is a gray zone at best and a practice I would stay away from. In fact, the US Embassy in Japan strictly advises against this I’ve always wondered why countries care about this. If I’m employed in my home country, earning money there and paying taxes, what difference does it make if I happen to sit in another country? Or if I save up 6 months of PTO, then go to another country for those six months. I’m very much earning money and paying tax in my home country. Why is it ok for me to open my laptop and spend 10 hours a day on random stuff, but not “work stuff”?

arandomusername 2y ago
> what difference does it make if I happen to sit in another country? Because you're breaking the law in that country and your country is actually trying to be help you not do that.
- returningfory2 2y ago
  But why is the law this way? Why not permit it?
  - elzbardico 2y ago
    Those laws where designed before you had the relativelly new phenomenon of digital nomads. They were created so the local companies wouldn't hire foreign citizens under the table, skirting taxes and depressing wages for local workers, which would be an unpopular outcome amongst voters.
    - grecy 2y ago
      Working for a local company is an entirely different thing, and not what I’m asking about at all.
      - arandomusername 2y ago

lovegrenoble 2y ago

Lucky you )

synergy20 2y ago

with US passport I can stay in Japan for 90 days without a visa, if I want to work occasionally remotely for jobs at US part time, do I still need go through all the paperwork to get a Nomad visa? what's the purpose of Nomad visa when everyone has a laptop and can work remotely if they want to?

maltyr 2y ago
The article addresses this. > My first thought was to work remotely and use the 90 days permitted by the tourist visa. Yet working in Japan on this visa is a gray zone at best and a practice I would stay away from. In fact, the US Embassy in Japan strictly advises against this: > Persons found working illegally are subject to arrest and deportation. > Persons believed to be entering Japan without a working visa but who intend to work here can be denied entry into Japan. This means that you will not exit the airport and will be required to return directly to the U.S.
- synergy20 2y ago
  Did more quick reading, Nomad visa gives you 6 month(tourist is 90 days), as long as you don't take local jobs you're fine, and there is no need to pay tax to Japan as well. now it seems just like a visa double the duration of tourist visa to me.
  - VincentEvans 2y ago
    Right, “working illegally” here means taking local jobs, not working for your own employer located in a foreign country.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
shintoist 2y ago
If you read the article the author does quote the US embassy in Japan strictly advising against this and that you risk arrest and deportation, that immigration officials do crack down on digital nomads, especially re-entering Japan to renew 90 day tourist visas to work. A lot of countries have laws against working remotely without a visa, although apart from the US few actively enforce them.

andy_ppp 2y ago

When the girlfriend was living in Japan I stayed for 89 days and then went to Taiwan (amazing country, highly recommended) and came back for another 87 days and nobody cared. I guess if you did this a lot it would be an issue but you’re reasonably fine to do it once I think. I was not working but I did have “free” accommodation in the smallest apartment I’ve ever been in so I’d be more concerned about this if I was actually breaking the rules and didn’t have a reason to be there.

jonatron 2y ago
"You are only allowed to stay as a "Temporary Visitor" for a total of 180 days during a 12-month period." Similarly, the EU has a 90/180 day rule, so it doesn't work long term.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- knubie 2y ago
  Curious what the source of the quoted portion is, if I may ask?
eftychis 2y ago
As the sibling comment noted, you were within the legal prescribed boundaries. The flag is automatic if something is off. No person (I think/in general/most countries) sits and counts days. The computer does. In fact if they note they can not track exactly how many days you were in and out of the country that is a separate flag, that would likely in most jurisdiction lead to questioning. (Source: friend had to pull his tickets and explain his travel path, when following unusual route via Schengen in between his entry/exit.)
- alibarber 2y ago
  Currently in the countries of the Schengen area - a person is supposed to do preciesly that at border control, the electronic entry-exit system, targeted for launch in 2022 is (was) supposed to be that computer however.

unkeen 2y ago

Can someone please explain to me why it is called “Visa” in some languages and “Visum” in others? My understanding is that “visum” means “that which has been seen” in Latin. What does “visa” mean then?

jlaurend 2y ago
They're both forms (perfect passive particle in particular) of the latin verb "video". So they both mean "having been seen". The difference is in gender. visa = feminine; visum = neuter; visus = masculine.
dragonwriter 2y ago
> My understanding is that “visum” means “that which has been seen” in Latin. What does “visa” mean then? Basically the same thing, from the same root verb “vidēre”; vīsum is “that which has been seen” (noun), vīsa is “which has been seen” (adjective), from which English and some other languages have derived a noun “visa” as a shortening of the modern Latin “charta vīsa” (“paper/document which has been seen”) possibly through a french intermediary before English (different sources I’ve seen disagree on this.)