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How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

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Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#21

Post by shiroiushi »

lIl-IIIl wrote: post #19
shiroiushi wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The author was able to get an apartment and shared the website and the reddit thread be used to find it.

I see now. Looking at the site, those kinds of apartments are called "monthly mansions"; I stayed in one when I first came here before I could find a real apartment. These places are very small, and furnished, so perfect for someone only staying 3 or 6 months. But they're quite expensive for what you get. But if you're only staying 6 months, it's perfect.

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#22

Post by tjpnz »

forgotoldacc wrote: post #12
Pooge wrote: post #3

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 fak…

Getting a credit card as a long term resident alone is hard. Getting a phone number can be troublesome for some people fresh off the boat. One longstanding issue has been people who come to Japan expecting to settle down, then quickly realize it's not for them and take a flight home without telling anybody. Debts left unpaid and landlords not even contacted. People who come here with the intention of milking some cas…

It's quite common for apartment blocks to forbid "holiday" rentals. Mine has visible signage about this in the lobby and the building manager also looks out for it. Your typical apartment owner has zero interest in all the trouble these arrangements bring.

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#23

Post by esperent »

forgotoldacc wrote: post #12
Pooge wrote: post #3

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 fak…

Getting a credit card as a long term resident alone is hard. Getting a phone number can be troublesome for some people fresh off the boat. One longstanding issue has been people who come to Japan expecting to settle down, then quickly realize it's not for them and take a flight home without telling anybody. Debts left unpaid and landlords not even contacted. People who come here with the intention of milking some cas…

> One longstanding issue has been people who come to Japan expecting to settle down, then quickly realize it's not for them and take a flight home without telling anybody. Debts left unpaid and landlords not even contacted

This really sounds like one of those not-quite-racist "problems with foreigners" that every country likes to pretend they have. Every "knows" it's a problem, there's no way to prove it right or wrong, but hey, it gives people something to complain about.

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#24

Post by notpushkin »

DeathArrow wrote: post #18

Isn't Japan an expensive country?

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.

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#25

Post by notpushkin »

lIl-IIIl wrote: post #20
d13 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one will ever know or care if you’re working remotely while in Japan on a tourist visa. Just AirBnB and get ordinary travel insurance. For a paltry 6 months this nomad visa seems like a massive amount of paperwork for no benefit.

Apparently they do, from the article quoting the US Embassy: Japanese Immigration officials are aware of the pattern of people staying for 80-90 days as “tourists,” spending a few days in Korea, Guam or some other nearby area and then seeking to re-enter Japan for another 90 days. Persons with such a travel pattern can expect to face questions at Japanese Immigration and may be denied entry with the suspicion that th…

I think it’s mostly for the visa runs, not the woking per se. (I would still not recommend it, especially not if you are planning on getting a permanent residence status later on.)

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#26

Post by notpushkin »

djtango wrote: post #11
jalapenos wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right so it's a compliance thing. Rather than just visiting on a tourist visa and relying on the fact that no immigration officer is going to come bust in your hotel door and yell "hey are you doing work on that laptop!", you go through a bunch of tedious bureaucratic hoops to get the assurance that they definitely for certain won't come inspect what you're doing on your laptop.

People are being too individualistic here - Japan or any other country is never going to go after individuals who happen to work for remote companies or freelance while they globe trot working on tourist visas. But when companies like Shopify go fully remote, if they suddenly have a lot of employees who are frequenting Japan, they are painting a giant target on their back and exposing themselves to legal risk. A comp…

> This is then why we often see "remote" coming with all kinds of conditions like US remote or EU remote etc because the reality of legal compliance for HR is a huge headache.

Could they just hire those individuals as contractors instead? It should be up to the contractor to ensure compliance then. (IANAL)

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#27

Post by forgotoldacc »

tjpnz wrote: post #22
forgotoldacc wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Getting a credit card as a long term resident alone is hard. Getting a phone number can be troublesome for some people fresh off the boat. One longstanding issue has been people who come to Japan expecting to settle down, then quickly realize it's not for them and take a flight home without telling anybody. Debts left unpaid and landlords not even contacted. People who come here with the intention of milking some cas…

It's quite common for apartment blocks to forbid "holiday" rentals. Mine has visible signage about this in the lobby and the building manager also looks out for it. Your typical apartment owner has zero interest in all the trouble these arrangements bring.

They do. But lots of people buy homes just to rent them out. That removes a home from the market, and the competition pushes prices up.

The problem isn't signage.

Plus evicting/canceling a contract is an arduous process. It almost always favors the renter. And in the case of actually buying a home, there isn't much anyone can do.

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#28

Post by Klonoar »

shiroiushi wrote: post #16
tjpnz wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Technically you would be expected to bring your passport everywhere you go.

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.

> they'll be stuck in hotels the entire time they're here.

Eh, Tokyo has plenty of monthly apartment rentals that are effectively corporate rentals that you can do without a residence card.

(I used to do this before having an actual visa there)

It's functionally better than a hotel, insofar as it doesn't read or act as one.

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#29

Post by rootsudo »

Pooge wrote: post #3

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 fak…

Pretty hard, there are some services like sakura sim card and another that just uses your passport, but the rates/services are pretty meh. But it is a softbank sim card, a JP number (thay may not be used for line verification sometimes) and the lowest priority data - meaning if you're in shibuya or shinjuku, sometimes you have no signal.
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