Hello. My name is Takada, Immigration attorney. We have received many inquiries from foreign clients who want to start a business in Japan and quickly conduct business as a representative of their company.
Requirements for obtaining a 4-month Business Manager Visa
This is a 4-month Business Manager Visa, often referred to as a start-up visa by foreigners.
The actual process is as follows,
Coming to Japan as a temporary visitor
↓Admission to Japan
Apply for Certificate of Eligibility (COE).
↓
Go back to your country
↓
COE is issued
↓
Come to Japan with Business Manager Visa (4 months)
↓
Preparation for extension of period of stay and establishment of company
↓
Apply for Business Manager Visa and renew the period of stay.
However, in order to continue the operation of the company's business, an application for extension of the period of stay must be filed. It is very difficult to complete the establishment of a company within the 4-month period of stay and prepare the documents to be submitted when applying for the extension of the period of stay for the following reasons
Coming to Japan as a temporary visitor
↓
Application for Certificate of Eligibility (COE)
Normally, when applying for a Certificate of Eligibility for Business Manager, you will be asked to submit a certified copy of the company registration and a lease agreement. However, since foreign nationals in Japan for a short stay are not issued a resident card and do not have a certificate of residence, it is difficult for them to register the incorporation of a corporation or conclude a lease contract. Instead, they are required to submit documents that show that they are sure to start a business, such as articles of incorporation, a business plan, and documents explaining that they have a specific property they are considering leasing through negotiations with a real estate company, in order to apply for authorization of Business Manager Visa (for 4 months).
Go back to your country
↓
COE is issued
↓
Come to Japan with Business Manager Visa (4 months)
↓
Applying for extension of period of stay
↓
However, there is a difficulty here.
In order to conduct business, a Business Manager Visa needs to be renewed, so the registration of incorporation must proceed, but in reality, a foreigner who has only a 4-month Residence Card…
(1) Difficult to establish a bank account. (They cannot transfer their capital to a Japanese bank.)
（2） In many cases, even if the applicant who will be the representative director wishes to lease a place to live in Japan or to lease an office for the company, it is not possible to conclude a lease contract. (There are currently many landlords who will not rent a property to a foreigner who has only been in Japan for 4 months. Also, it is difficult for foreigners who cannot afford a guarantor living in Japan to conclude a contract.) →) In this case, if you are able to purchase real estate, it will be possible to submit a certified copy of the real estate registry.
If you have a reliable person in Japan who can act as a joint guarantor, it would be easier to have that person cooperate with you in establishing a company and applying for a COE for Business Manager Visa.
In other words, if you have someone in Japan who can act as a co-partner in the establishment and registration of your company, and also act as your representative when applying for a Business Manager Visa, you can be sure to obtain a Business Manager Visa, and the process will go more smoothly.
Please refer to the following links for more information on business management visas.
