Home Offices and Business Manager Visa

Points to Consider When Using a Home as an Office for a Business Manager Visa Application We are sometimes asked about the possibility of using a home “office” for the purposes of applying for a Business Manager visa. Generally speaking, when applying for a Business Manager visa, if a home is to be as an office, Immigration is far stricter in its evaluation of such applications than in normal cases. The following discusses some of the points which Immigration will…

2023.02.14

Visas and Certificates of Eligibility

Because the subject of “visas” is too complex of a topic for a one page report to do proper justice to, this article will simply introduce a few points related to certain specific topics of interest. This article is not intended to be and should not be interpreted as being all encompassing. Understanding the Difference between a “Visa” and a “Status of Residence” To begin, it may be useful to briefly talk about some common misunderstandings about “visas.” The proper…

2022.08.25

What’s a Godo Kaisha?

A Godo Kaisha (a “GK”), which some people call a “Japanese LLC,” is a relatively new type of entity that came into existence in May 2006 with the abolition of the incorporation of new yugen kaisha type companies and is an alternative to setting up a joint-stock company (kabushiki kaisha, “KK”). Structure A GK is made up of members (“shain”), each of whom must invest at least one yen into the company. Members can be thought of as the “shareholders”…

2022.04.13

Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services Visa

This article will provide a general overview of the “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services (SHIS)” status of residence and a few of the requirements to apply. For purposes of this article, we will refer to a “Status of Residence” as a visa. What is an Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa? Approximately 75% of foreign nationals living and working in Japan who have completed post-secondary education and possesses a certain degree of technical or specialized skill have obtained an SHIS visa. As…

2022.01.22

Business Manager Visa

This article will provide a general overview of the “Business Manager” status of residence and a few of the requirements to apply. For purposes of this article, we will refer to a “Status of Residence” as a visa. What is a Business Manager visa? The Business Manager visa is the status of residence for applicants who will operate or be engaged in the management of a business. Therefore, the Business Manager visa is one type of a “Working Visa”. This…

2022.01.05

Working as an English (or foreign language) Instructor

Teaching English (or other foreign language) has been a common way for many foreigners to relocate to and work in Japan. If a person intends to work full-time as a language instructor, they will of course need to obtain the appropriate status of residence (“visa”) to live in Japan. There is no one particular class of visa that would allow a person to work as a language instructor, and in fact depending on circumstances, there are several possible visa classes…

2021.11.26