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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'

#221

Post by renewiltord »

carlosjobim wrote: post #155
awongh wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a lot of gloom and doom around Japan, but I think there are a few counter-points. 1) Yes, the economy is stagnant. But it's interesting to think about it from the point of view that Japan disproves the idea that a growth economy is the only way. Here is a country that increases worker efficiency and has a really high standard of living, but doesn't do it in a hyper growth kind of way. 2) Yes, Japan is super,…

[flagged]

You can try to protect. I will try to take.

> Why not leave people alone instead?

Because I want their shit. Their land and what’s under it. Their seas and what it gives me access to. And either I’m going to take it or they’re going to let me share.

This kind of abject “why won’t you leave us alone” only works on people who listen. Not on people who compete. And the people who listen couldn’t compete in the first place.

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

#222

Post by Asparagirl »

xhkkffbf wrote: post #130
makeitdouble wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's more about taxes. If you apply for a working visa you can be flagged as having revenue generated while in the country, so you'll pay an income tax on it. The other side of it is visa overstay: it's more financially viable for working people to overstay their visa, where pure tourist have to go back at some point. Terrorists will be flagged whatever they do, as international money transfers are already heavily sc…

Any idea of how much the tax might be in Japan? And how does it affect taxes in the US?

Not sure about the first part, but generally the way it works is that first you pay taxes to the country where you are a resident, and then you still must also pay taxes to the US by virtue of being a US citizen but you usually get a credit on those US taxes in the amount you already paid to your country of residence. Sometimes the country where you’re living has much higher taxes, so you end up not owing anything to the US — but you still have to file.

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

#223

Post by Tiktaalik »

awongh wrote: post #139
somenameforme wrote: post #112

Most aren't aware of the situation Japan is in today because of the world we all grew up in, where Japan was at one point nearly the largest economy in the world. Japan has been in between a recession and stagnation for 30 years. Their GDP was higher 31 years ago than it is today. [1] Their GDP/capita is $33,950 with most wages well below that. They hit a record high for average wages in 2022 of ¥311,800 - about $2,1…

There's a lot of gloom and doom around Japan, but I think there are a few counter-points. 1) Yes, the economy is stagnant. But it's interesting to think about it from the point of view that Japan disproves the idea that a growth economy is the only way. Here is a country that increases worker efficiency and has a really high standard of living, but doesn't do it in a hyper growth kind of way. 2) Yes, Japan is super,…

yeah re point 1) All I've ever heard my whole life is how Japan is an economic basketcase and a disaster, and yet after visiting there well, the quality of infrastructure and vibrancy of the cities is high that it makes Canada look like a third world country tbh. And yet Canada is the one that is always out performing Japan in the economic charts, with our numbers going in the proper up and to the right direction. Obviously there's more to quality of life than merely lines on the economic graph...

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

#224

Post by gwill »

plz-remove-card wrote: post #218
timr wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can also get another 3 months on a tourist visa by leaving and coming back (at least, most visa-free tourists can; I've had many friends do this). I suppose it's less cost to do it this way, but it sure seems like a "digital nomad" would have no problem going somewhere else for a week (Korea, Taiwan), and coming back.

I know that's fine for some countries such as the Philippines (though their tourist visa can be extended so long, it's rarely necessary) but IIRC this doesn't fly in Japan, it's 90 days per year, total, and they're very strict about it.

it is not 90 days total per year, but the officials are strict on it. if they see you were recently in japan they may suspect you of working illegally. they also can say you’ve returned too soon and reject you. not worth the risk imo, even though a i know a few people that have done it successfully so they could study in japan without a year long visa.

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

#225

Post by thridnri »

timr wrote: post #211
thridnri wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Length is fine. I am seriously considering it. Properties in rural Japan are VERY cheap (like 20k USD). It makes sense to just buy summer house there. It is pretty good life to spend summers in Japan, and winters somewhere at south.

Please note: these houses you see online for 20k have problems. You aren't going to just be able to move in. Most of them need to be emptied of junk and repaired, if not completely renovated. If you're lucky, the only problem will be that the house is very remote, and you need a car to get there. That alone is a substantial problem on a 6-month basis if you don't have residency. But realistically, houses that are in…

I am familiar with situation in Japan. The house is not an investment, it is simply better, than paying rent for 7 or so years I plan to visit.

I like hiking, remote location is the feature for me. Not everyone has to live in Tokyo. I will buy a bike and rent van when needed.

Japan is a cheap developed country, with low crime. Not many places like that.

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

#226

Post by FirmwareBurner »

standardUser wrote: post #214
FirmwareBurner wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>There is absolutely nothing hush hush about it, not even remotely. You definitely don't live in the progressive parts of Europe. You're not allowed to say here you only want certain kinds of well off immigrant at the expense of other less well off migrants, otherwise you might be called a N*zi.

There's lots of types of immigration and you seem to be focused on only one. Also, I bet you'd find it's very easy to talk openly about immigration if you don't start with a chip on your shoulder and dropping words like "nazi", which you know is inflammatory.

Thank you for proving my point. No mater what you say or how you say it, someone will always call you out on it for being the wrong way to say it.

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

#227

Post by gettodachoppa »

jorvi wrote: post #191
herbst wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know this sounds stupid. However i still paid taxes, health care, a mobile contract, banking, etc in Switzerland. The actual savings should be in living and food. On short term I rarely rented below $800/month for a single room flat. (Vs $1000 for a old house in Switzerland) for food I have to cook myself now Vs. Eating out twice a day in Thailand. Without actually moving and centering your life to a cheap country…

You are not comparing apples to apples. “Normal” meals in Thailand are food stalls, $2 per meal if not less. If you’d eat out twice a day in Switzerland, you’d go bankrupt. Same with renting. Short term leases in Switzerland would be astronomical in price. The way you air-quoted “super cheap Thailand” implies that it isn’t cheap to live there at all. It is, as long as you don’t go out of your way to spend extra.

>“Normal” meals in Thailand are food stalls, $2 per meal if not less.

I gotta disagree here, that's what low-skilled staff eat on their lunch break. It's usually not very tasty or hygienic (depending on what you order), so westerners only eat this once or twice to try it out before learning their lesson. Then they stick to restaurants which cost $5-12 per meal.

Your average western expat spends 30 euros per day on food in Thailand, if they eat out. I know this because a friend did a survey.

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

#228

Post by mekoka »

I've often seen suggested in forums that tourist visas forbid any kind of work while visiting a country. I've yet to see a single article of the law that actually points to this. So, I'm inclined to think that when people repeat this, they actually haven't checked. I have looked at the clauses on many tourist visas, as given to me by various consulates, and seen no evidence of this new interpretation. A tourist visa often forbids working or doing any kind of local business, other than volunteering and the likes (i.e. taking a local job, selling stuff locally, meeting with local businesses, etc). That this new interpretation coincides with the emergence of nomad visas just tells me that nomads have been questioning their appeal and it's been suggested that they might be infringing some law, if they keep using tourist visas instead.

Think of the ramifications of trying to regulate all the fuzzy definitions of what constitutes "work". What about someone writing their memoir? What about any kind of opus you're working on while on vacation (electronics, code, writing, etc)? What about needing to manage your business at home for an hour everyday? What about being on-call for work emergencies? What about meetings? Such a visa would easily make anyone an outlaw, which many people think is a non-issue, because the country doesn't enforce it, but is actually a big deal.

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

#229

Post by eska »

awongh wrote: post #186
carlosjobim wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

There's a discussion around the english words for people who come to a country. Some people are "expats" and some people are "immigrants". I was talking about "immigrants" rather than "expats". Of course this dynamic has many facets to it. I've met some people in Thailand who couldn't give a shit about Thai people and just wanted to save 50% on their latte. This is a common "expat" sterotype. There has been, and stil…

There isn’t really any ambiguity about the two terms. That’s a dog whistle by people who want to see racism where there is none.

They usually say something along the lines of “so when black and brown skinned people go to Europe they’re immigrants. But when white people go to Japan they’re called expats?”.

The omitted difference being that most white people going to Japan do not stay permanently.

The japanese also differentiate between 移民 and 駐在員 (expat)

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

#230

Post by BatmansMom »

seydor wrote: post #166
Jcampuzano2 wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The answer is simple - money. Digital nomads typically don't take jobs from local residents, they on average have more and are willing to spend more money than the typical local resident, and additionally the country has no responsibility to provide social benefits to a digital nomad and thus they are low cost. Additionally while digital nomads may sometimes be ignorant of local culture/tradition and that can be some…

they also dont pay taxes like local residents. And they spend less than tourists

They pay sales taxes
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