[Business Manager Visa Requirements] Summary

1. What is a Business Manager Visa?

A Business Manager visa is a visa that is granted to those who manage trade or other businesses in Japan, or who engage in activities in the administration of such businesses, if they meet certain requirements.

The Business Manager visa was created by revising the previous Investment Management visa due to the revision of the law in 2014.
Unlike the Investment Management visa, investment by foreigners is not a requirement, and it is not a visa that can be obtained by investing.

2. Flow of a Business Manager Visa

In this chapter, we will briefly explain the flow up to applying for a Business Manager visa.

First, take a look at the chart below.

You may feel that there is a little more steps, this is just a chart for the case starting from the establishment of the company.
If you become an officer of a company that has already been established, steps ① to ⑤above are not required.
Also, if you do not establish a company in the first place and acquire a Business Manager visa as a sole proprietorship, ②and ⑤ are not required.
In addition, depending on the nature of the business, there may be cases where permission and licenses other than a Business Manager visa are not required.

3. Business Manager Visa Requirements [Outline]

In principle, two requirements must be met for many statuses of residence called Work visas, not just Business Manager visas.

1 Whether the activity to be carried out corresponds to the status of residence (Eligibility for status of residence)
2 Whether the status of residence conforms to the required standards (Suitability for landing permission standards)

Applying the above to the requirements for a Business Manager visa can be disassemble as follows.

Some people who have consulted with us misunderstand the requirements for a business manager visa, saying, “If you have 5 million yen, you can get a Business Manager visa.”

However, the requirement of 5 million yen is just one of the requirements for “(5) Business scale above a certain level” as mentioned above, and is not sufficient as a requirement for a Business Manager visa.

From the next chapter, let’s delve into the requirements for a Business Manager visa.

4. Business Manager Visa Requirements [Eligibility for status of residence]

First of all, I will explain “eligibility for status of residence”.
As you can read, it is a requirement whether the activity you are going to do falls under the status of residence.

However, in determining whether or not the applicant is actually eligible for a status of residence, not only does the activity he or she intends to engage in match the status of residence, it is important to note that the activities will be conducted legally, stably and continuously.

4-1. Carrying out “management” or “administration” of business

The Immigration Control Act stipulates the activities of Business Manager visas as follows.

“Activities of managing trade or other businesses in Japan or engaging in administration of such businesses”

What is meant by the above clause is whether the intended activities are “activities of managing” or “activities of engaging in administration” of the business.

“Activities of managing” refers to activities to operate a business as a person (executives such as representative directors, directors, and auditors) who substantially participates in the management of the business.

“Activities of engaging in administration” refers to activities to manage business activities in the department as an employee (general manager, factory manager, branch manager, etc.) who supervises the department of the company.

First of all, you must fully prove to the Immigration Bureau that you will engage in these activities.

4-2. Proper conduct of business

Next, it is necessary to prove the “Appropriateness of the business.”

There are no particular restrictions under the Immigration Control Act on the content of the business you intend to carry out with a Business Manager visa.
However, the business must comply with the law and be managed properly.
Specifically, when conducting a business that requires permission, etc., obtaining permission is a requirement.

For example, a business license based on the Inns and Hotels Act for lodging business, and a restaurant business license for operating a restaurant.
In addition, when hiring staff, it is necessary to comply with laws and regulations, such as enrolling in labor insurance and social insurance.

4-3. Stable and continuous business

The third requirement for eligibility for status of residence is “stability and continuity of business”.

It is required for all statuses of residence, not just for the Business Manager visa that scheduled activities be carried out stably and continuously.

However, in the Business Manager visa, these decisions are directly linked to the actual state of the business and performance, and it is important that the company generates stable profits and the business continues. there is.

If this is an existing company that has already finished the first financial statement, it can prove its achievements by the financial statement.

However, especially for a newly established company, the only way to demonstrate the continuity of the business into the future is to assert it with a business plan, etc., and it is no exaggeration to say that the approval or rejection of a Business Manager visa depends on the quality of the proof method.

In addition, even for companies that can submit financial statements, there is a possibility to occur the disadvantages such as not being able to renew the visa or not being granted a long period of stay depending on whether there is gross profit on sales, operating profit and financial conditions, etc.

Please see the column below for details on how to renew your business manager visa.
>>Click here for Business Manager visa Renewal

5. Business Manager visa Requirements [Suitability for landing permission standards]

Next, I will explain the requirement for a Business Manager visa, which is “Suitability for landing permission standards”.

If you take this as the expression “landing permission”, you may think that it is a requirement only for landing in Japan.
However, “Suitability for landing permission standards” is a requirement not only for landing in Japan, but also for changing or renewing a visa.

In addition, it should be noted that in the case of a Business Manager visa, there are the business is “managed” and the business is “administered”, it is also worth noting that there are additional requirements for “administration”.

5-1. Presence (or securement) of a place of business

One of the requirements for landing permission standards for a Business Manager visa is that “a place of business exists (or is secured)” in Japan.

In order to be able to say that “a place of business exists (or is secured)”, it is necessary to have an exclusive “independent space” and to be required that sufficient “physical and human facilities are secured” to function as a business office.

First, in order for a place of business to be considered an “independent space,” the private area must be physically and functionally separated by the walls to which is attached.

“Fixed” means that it must be firmly fixed from the ceiling to the floor, not something that can be easily moved like a partition.

Regarding the independence of office, to give specific examples for each type of office, a virtual office generally does not have a private space, so it is not recognized as a place of business.
On the other hand, if there is an exclusive space that is clearly separated from the space used by other business operators, such as a shared office, the requirements will be met.

Next, “physical and human facilities exist (are secured)” means that the people and goods necessary for business operation are secured.

This decision depends on the nature of the business.

For example, if your business is an on-demand trade transaction that does not hold inventory, it will function as a business office if it is equipped with office equipment.
On the other hand, if you run a restaurant, you will be required to set up counters and seats as well as kitchen equipment.

Basically, when preparing to establish a company, you will contract an office and prepare facilities so that it meets the above standards.

We often receive questions such as, “Can we use a part of our house as an office?”

The concept is the same whether you are renting a new property or using it as your home and office.
However, in the case of a home-cum-office, the point to be particularly aware of is “independent space”, and the living space and the space used for business must be clearly separated.

If a part of the living room is used as an office, it is not recognized that the office is secured because the exclusive part is unclear.
For example, if it is possible to clearly divide the first floor into offices and the second floor into residences, it can be used as a place of business.

The Business Manager visa business office requirements include many points of contention, and there are many other points to note in addition to the above.
For details, please refer to the detailed explanation in the following column.

>> Click here for Business Manager visa office

5-2. Having a business scale above a certain level (Applicable to any of (a), (b), or (c))

Next, I will explain the requirements related to “business scale”.
Many of those who are considering applying for a Business Manager visa know that “5 million yen” is a matter of this requirement.

After receiving consultations from various people, I feel that many people have a misunderstanding about this “5 million yen”.

First of all, there are people who think that “the capital must be 5 million yen”, but that is not the case.

This is because the “business scale” requirement is sufficient if it meets any one of the following multiple requirements, including capital requirements.

Each requirement is briefly explained below.

5-2-a. Operated by two or more full-time employees residing in Japan

The “full-time staff” here does not include those who reside in Japan with the status of residence listed in Appended Table 1 of the Immigration Control Act.
In other words, at least two Japanese employees, Permanent Residents, Spouses of Japanese Nationals, Spouses of Permanent Residents, and Long-Term Residents are required.
Please note that the person applying for a business manager visa is not included.

In addition, in order to be called “full-time”, part-timers and part-time workers are not enough, and the prescribed working hours per week must be 30 hours or more with 5 days or more per week.
By the way, please note that those employed in employment forms such as dispatch and contract work are not included.

In practice, in most cases, applicants apply for a Business Manager visa based on the following capital requirement of 5 million yen.

This is because, if two full-time employees were to be hired, assuming that each employee’s monthly salary is 200,000 yen, the total amount of salaries and social insurance premiums paid to two employees would easily exceed 5 million yen per year. Therefore, it is not suitable for start-up companies.

In other words, when demonstrating business scale based on the requirement of full-time employees, because it does not require a large amount of cash at the time of establishment of the company, but bears a large burden of personnel expenses from the start of the business. This is why there is a tendency to avoid this method.

On the other hand, a representative example of the case where the requirement for full-time employees satisfies the requirement for business scale is the management of a restaurant.

When running a restaurant, where cooking and customer service work occurs on a daily basis, cooking, customer service, sales, etc. at the store are said to be field work activities, and do not fall under the category of “management activities” for a Business Manager visa.

In this way, Business Manager visas are not permitted in principle for work activities such as cooking, customer service, and sales activities, and these work activities, full-time employee requirements often meet business size requirements.

5-2-b. The amount of capital or the total amount of investment is 5 million yen or more

This requirement is based on the premise that the business is operated in the form of a company (for example, a stock company or limited liability company).

In this regard, many people think that the investor must be the foreigner who intends to obtain a Business Manager visa.

However, it is sufficient if the amount of capital or the total amount of investment is 5 million yen or more, so the applicant does not necessarily have to invest 5 million yen or more.

In other words, this requirement is only a requirement for business scale, and is not intended to seek investment from applicants.

However, since the ratio of investment greatly affects decision-making in conducting business, the structure of “applicant = investor” is advantageous from the viewpoint of the credibility of management activities.

The business scale requirement is as profound as the place of business requirement, and in addition to the above, there are also very important issues such as “how the investment was formed.”
For details, please refer to the detailed explanation in the following column.

>> Click here for Business Manager visa capital

5-2-c. The scale must be recognized as equivalent to (a) or (b).

If you are a private business and do not plan to employ more than two employee, you must meet this requirement.

In order to be recognized as “scale of equivalent”, the business to be run must be of a scale that can be substantially regarded as (a)or (b).

If the business does not have full-time employees, it satisfies this requirement if the business is operated with an investment of 5 million yen or more.

In the case of one full-time employee, this requirement is satisfied if the business is operated by investing the expenses required to hire another full-time employee (approximately 2.5 million yen).

Capital investment here refers to the total amount of funds invested in the personnel and physical equipment necessary to run the business.

Specifically, there are initial expenses such as security deposits and key money as funds to secure the place of business, rent of the place of business as funds to maintain the place of business, and staff salaries etc. as other expenses.

5-3. 3 years of experience when engaging in “administration” work

Finally, from here on, I will explain the additional requirements that are unique to the case of engaging in “administration” rather than “management” work.

First of all, in contrast to “management,” which does not require any practical experience or educational background, 3 years or more of practical experience is required to engage in “administration” work.

This practical experience includes the period in which the student majored in subjects related to management or administration at a graduate school, in addition to the period in which he or she was actually engaged in business related to “management･administration”.

Therefore, even if you do not have 3 years of practical experience in “management･administration”, for example, a person who has been enrolled in a graduate school MBA course for 3 years will meet this requirement.

5-4. When engaging in “administration” work, receive compensation equal to or higher than that of Japanese

The next additional requirement is to receive a remuneration equal to or greater than the remuneration that a Japanese person receives when engaging in the same work.
This is designed to prohibit disadvantageous treatment on the grounds of nationality.

If the company has wage regulations, it is necessary to pay remuneration in accordance with them, just like Japanese people, that must be considered and paid a reasonable amount of compensation.

6. Summary of Business Manager visa requirement

As a summary of this column, I will tell you the key that lead to a successful application for a Business Manager visa.

The key to success in applying for a Business Manager visa is “advance preparation”.
As for what preparations are necessary, it is “business planning” and “understanding the requirements for a Business Manager visa”.

If you do not develop a “business plan” in advance, you will not be able to present a specific business plan and necessary materials to the Immigration Bureau at the time of application.
Also, if you do not understand the requirements for a Business Manager visa in advance, even the office contract at the entrance to the establishment of the company will fail, and it will cast a big shadow on future Business Manager visa applications.

The Business Manager visa is said to be the most difficult visa.
However, if you have a solid business plan and are ready to meet the requirements, a Business Manager visa is not that difficult.

In order for foreign entrepreneurs to concentrate on preparations for opening a business, we detect risks from a visa perspective and support acquisition of a Business Manager visa through the shortest route.

We also support English, Chinese, and Vietnamese, so if you would like to consult about a Business Manager visa, please contact us for free consultation.