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Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

asia.nikkei.com

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Re: Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

#61

Post by treprinum »

gejose wrote: post #53
treprinum wrote: post #45

I spent 1 month around Kyoto's UNESCO sites 10 years ago while working remotely for a company in the US and am not sure I'd want to spend whole 6 months in Japan when there are so many interesting places all around the world. One needed to know basic Japanese as very few people spoke English, finding an accommodation was a chore as AirBnB was non-existing and hotels with unlimited fast WiFi scarce and one had to book…

Everyone’s preferences differ when it comes to travel destinations. What may not have worked for you might actually be great for someone else. Ultimately, the decision to visit a destination should be based on personal interests and experiences.

Sure, I just remember on my last day in Japan I actually felt sadness that I didn't find whatever I was looking for, despite seeing like 15 UNESCO World Heritage sites, but essentially didn't make any lasting connection on a personal level with anyone due to being unable to break the formal shell of anyone. Total opposite to e.g. Brazil when one could make friends in 5 minutes and those folks remembered you for years.

Re: Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

#62

Post by mytailorisrich »

oldtownroad wrote: post #23
alibarber wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, this is the correct interpretation in a lot of countries, you are performing paid work there regardless of who and where the employer is. Emergencies are all well and good, but turning up at the immigration desk and saying you don’t plan on working when you actually do will lead to trouble in a lot of places.

Can you share the tourist visa regulations for Japan that say this? I haven’t been able to find any. Thank you :)

I have found this:

The Temporary Visitor Visa is for activities not exceeding 90 days as follows: tourism, visiting relatives or friends, recreation, convalescence, attending a conference, participation in unpaid lectures, meetings, amateur athletic meetings or other contests, short business trips (e.g. market surveys, business talks, after sales service for machinery imported into Japan)

This category excludes profit-making operations and paid activities. [1]

Usually, paid work means just that.

The thing of course is that you do remote paid work it is unlikely that anyone will notice, especially if you indeed only stay for a few weeks. Plus if business trips are ok, then I suppose noone will care.

[1] https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/visaonline.html

Re: Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

#63

Post by ta1243 »

nerdbert wrote: post #50
alibarber wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, this is the correct interpretation in a lot of countries, you are performing paid work there regardless of who and where the employer is. Emergencies are all well and good, but turning up at the immigration desk and saying you don’t plan on working when you actually do will lead to trouble in a lot of places.

In what places has it led to trouble for tourists to work remotely in their hotel rooms or Airbnbs? Leaving aside cases when those tourists brought that trouble and scrutiny on themselves through other actions like getting into barfights or shoplifting.

Just because people break copyright law all the time and it's not enforced doesn't mean it's legal to do so. Same principle here

I know I broke the law on the way back from the station earlier as I did 61mph in a 60 zone. Just because I didn't get caught doesn't make it legal.

Re: Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

#64

Post by andybak »

prg20 wrote: post #29
andybak wrote: post #2

The salary requirement seems harsh for people working on non-profit, self-funded or early-stage.

Totally. They should allow anyone, even those with no income, to come to their country and use their services for nothing in return. We can see how well that's worked in the US.

You obviously want to soapbox an entirely different topic - nobody said "no income" so your answer just makes you look slightly off-kilter.

Re: Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

#65

Post by oldtownroad »

resoluteteeth wrote: post #55
oldtownroad wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you share the tourist visa regulations for Japan that say this? I haven’t been able to find any. Thank you :)

I'm not sure if there's a specific rule that says that explicitly, but you aren't allowed to work if you are in Japan on a tourist visa, and the government's opinion is that this includes remote work for a company outside of japan, so it doesn't really matter that there's no rule saying that explicitly. That's also the whole reason for potentially introducing this new type of visa; if you were allowed to do remote wo…

I’m asking because I visit Japan on a tourist visa and I have never encountered this rule. I’d like to learn more about it from official sources.

The purpose of a digital nomad visa is to allow for a longer stay.

Re: Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

#66

Post by Shank »

nothercastle wrote: post #5

Can you make a Japanese bank account while on visa? If not it’s pretty useless

No, this one doesn’t come with a residency card. Therefore, you won’t get an Individual Number, and you won’t get My Number Card or the ability to open a bank account. Japan is very strict on bank account opening and has made it illegal to keep them beyond your residency or to sell them for this reason.

Re: Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

#67

Post by andybak »

mytailorisrich wrote: post #4
andybak wrote: post #2

The salary requirement seems harsh for people working on non-profit, self-funded or early-stage.

Obviously this type of visa is aimed at getting people to spend money in the country. Why would they want people with no money?

How is everyone reading this as me saying "no money"? You can have significantly less than $58k provable income and live very nicely while travelling. Is this some silicon valley bubble thing?

Re: Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

#68

Post by andybak »

mc32 wrote: post #30
andybak wrote: post #2

The salary requirement seems harsh for people working on non-profit, self-funded or early-stage.

They don't want pretenders. They want people who are going to be productive and bring something to the country. They're not looking for "backpackers," they're looking for well paid professionals who will spend money and also conform better (these people would hire people to do paperwork, translate, etc., rather than drain local resources.) People may not agree with the above, but that's what they want, and I can't bl…

Nice line in unveiled insults you've got there.

EDIT - you changed "poser" to "pretender" which was a small improvement. It's polite to make it clear that you've edited a comment if someone has replied.

Re: Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

#69

Post by nerdbert »

alibarber wrote: post #14
walthamstow wrote: post #10

180 days with a salary threshold and country restrictions, or 90 days pretending to be a tourist. I know which I'd choose.

Pretending to be a tourist is a good way to get deported usually in a lot of places.

Uh huh, and where are these places? I've worked remotely from literally a hundred countries over the past twenty years and can count on one hand the number of such cases I've even heard of.

Nobody gives a shit, as long as you're not staying long enough to be a tax resident and you're not making trouble.

The one famous incident, the 2014 Chiang Mai raid, came about because the authorities didn't know what a co-working space is, and thought that the foreigners were hired by the property owner to work there. None of them were deported for that.

Re: Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

#70

Post by martinald »

treprinum wrote: post #52
walthamstow wrote: post #10

180 days with a salary threshold and country restrictions, or 90 days pretending to be a tourist. I know which I'd choose.

180 days doesn't even make one a Japanese tax resident. In Dubai one can get a 1-year digital nomad visa for $300 with tax residency and/or even 5/10-year Golden Visa with tax residency and the need to spend only a few months there.

I think for many the idea of spending a few months in Dubai is close to spending a few months in hell...
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