Business Manager Visa Application Process: Step-by-Step Guide

To obtain a Business Manager Visa, you must meet the requirements under the revised approval standards that took effect on October 16, 2025.

This article explains the procedures required under the following three patterns:

and outlines what steps are necessary in each case.

What Is a Business Manager Visa?

A Business Manager Visa (residence status: “Business Manager”) is one of the residence statuses required for foreign nationals to engage in business management or administration in Japan.

Eligible applicants include company executives (such as presidents and directors) and managers (such as branch managers and factory managers).

Process for Obtaining a Business Manager Visa

The process for obtaining a Business Manager Visa can be broadly divided into the following three patterns, based on whether the applicant already resides in Japan.

 

When the applicant is in Japan

Decide on the basic details	Decide on the basic details of the company. When establishing the company, determine the company name, company address, business purpose, and investment amount, and sign the lease for the company office.
Establish the company	1. Prepare the articles of incorporation and have them notarized at a notary office. 2. Transfer the capital into the bank account. 3. Complete company registration at the Legal Affairs Bureau.
File various notifications	After the company establishment procedures are completed, file the necessary notifications. Relevant offices include the tax office, prefectural tax office, municipality, pension office, Labor Standards Inspection Office, and Hello Work.
Business permits and licenses	If the business requires permits or licenses, procedures must be completed with the relevant authorities such as the police, public health center, or prefectural office, and approval must be obtained. Examples of businesses that commonly require permits or licenses include: ・Food service ・Real estate ・Manufacturing ・Hotels and inns ・Construction ・Transportation
Apply for residence status at immigration	Collect the required documents and prepare the application materials. To obtain a Business Manager Visa, documents such as a business plan, profit and loss projection, and statement of reasons for application must be prepared at the application stage. Once everything is ready, submit the application to immigration. The review takes 1 to 3 months.
Receive the residence card	After the review is completed, receive the residence card from immigration.

 

When the applicant is overseas and has a supporter in Japan

Decide on the basic details	Decide on the basic details of the company. When establishing the company, determine the company name, company address, business purpose, and investment amount, and sign the lease for the company office. (The supporter will need to sign the contract.)
Establish the company	1. Prepare the articles of incorporation and have them notarized at a notary office. 2. Transfer the capital into the bank account. (The funds should be transferred to the supporter’s bank account.) 3. Complete company registration at the Legal Affairs Bureau.
File various notifications	After the company establishment procedures are completed, file the necessary notifications. Relevant offices include the tax office, prefectural tax office, municipality, pension office, Labor Standards Inspection Office, and Hello Work. (The supporter will need to file these notifications.)
Business permits and licenses	If the business requires permits or licenses, procedures must be completed with the relevant authorities such as the police, public health center, or prefectural office, and approval must be obtained. Examples of businesses that commonly require permits or licenses include: ・Food service ・Real estate ・Manufacturing ・Hotels and inns ・Construction ・Transportation
Apply for residence status at immigration	Collect the required documents and prepare the application materials. To obtain a Business Manager Visa, documents such as a business plan, profit and loss projection, and statement of reasons for application must be prepared at the application stage. Once everything is ready, submit the application to immigration. The review takes 1 to 3 months.
Visa issuance and entry into Japan	After the Certificate of Eligibility is issued, obtain the visa from the local Japanese embassy and enter Japan. (Within 3 months)

 

When the applicant is overseas and does not have a supporter in Japan

If the applicant is overseas, it is extremely difficult to establish a company in Japan without a supporter in Japan (details explained below).

If the company has not been established, it is not possible to obtain a Business Manager Visa. In that case, the procedure proceeds by using the so-called “4-month Business Manager Visa system for company establishment preparation”.

What Is the 4-Month Business Manager Visa?

When a person living overseas wishes to newly enter Japan on a Business Manager Visa, the company must already be established in Japan at the time of the Business Manager Visa application.

To establish a company in Japan, the following procedures are required:

Without a Japanese address, it is not possible to open a bank account at a Japanese financial institution, which means the capital transfer cannot be completed. It is also difficult to sign an office lease agreement.

⇒ In other words, if there is no one to assist with these procedures, the company cannot be established in Japan, and as a result, the Business Manager Visa cannot be obtained.

To ease these strict conditions and promote entrepreneurship in Japan by foreign nationals, the “4-month Business Manager Visa” was created as a preparation period.
With the 4-month Business Manager Visa, company registration does not need to be completed before the visa application is filed.
Therefore, the following two steps are not required before applying for the visa:

Under the 4-month Business Manager Visa, the capital transfer and office lease are completed after the applicant comes to Japan and obtains the 4-month visa. In other words, it allows a company to be established even without a supporter in Japan. This is the greatest advantage of the 4-month Business Manager Visa.

The procedure using the 4-month Business Manager Visa is as follows:

Prepare a draft of the articles of incorporation	When establishing the company, decide on the company name, planned business address, business purpose, investment amount, and other key details.
Select possible office locations	Choose possible locations for the company office. ※ The lease contract can be signed after entry into Japan.
Collect documents and prepare the business plan	Collect and prepare the documents required for the immigration application and prepare the business plan. The list of required documents should be organized according to the business plan and circumstances.
Apply to immigration for residence status	Submit an application to immigration for issuance of a Certificate of Eligibility for a 4-month period of stay. The review period is approximately 1 to 3 months.
Visa issuance and entry into Japan	After the Certificate of Eligibility is issued, obtain the visa from the local Japanese embassy. Enter Japan on the 4-month Business Manager Visa.
Prepare to begin business operations	Make the necessary preparations to start the business. These preparations must be completed within 4 months. Preparation items ・Resident registration ・Obtain a seal registration certificate ・Sign the office lease agreement ・Open a personal bank account in Japan in the applicant’s name ・Transfer the capital and complete company registration ・Open a company bank account ・File notifications with the tax office, including the notification of incorporation ・Obtain business licenses if required for the industry
Apply to immigration for residence status	Submit an application for extension of period of stay for the Business Manager Visa to immigration. The review period is approximately 1 to 2 months. Normally, a 1-year period of stay is granted. If family members will also be invited to Japan, an application for dependent status must also be filed with immigration.

 

Revision of the Business Manager Visa Approval Standards Effective October 16, 2025

From October 16, 2025, the approval standards for the Business Manager Visa became stricter. Not only for new applications, but also for renewals, all of the following requirements must be met:

If you are considering using the 4-month Business Manager Visa to establish a company, please note that it may be difficult to satisfy all of these requirements within just 4 months.

Let us review them one by one.

Capital or Investment of at Least 30 Million Yen

Whether establishing a Kabushiki Kaisha (KK) or a Godo Kaisha (GK), capital or investment of at least 30 million yen is now required.

Previously, 5 million yen was sufficient, but the required amount has increased significantly, so caution is necessary.

Raising this amount of capital within 4 months after arriving in Japan is extremely difficult. Even for those who say, “I already have 30 million yen in my home country, so I’m fine,” a new obstacle arises. Due to anti-money laundering measures, banks have become extremely strict in reviewing large overseas remittances into Japan.

For this reason, our firm has concluded that under the new requirements, a supporter in Japan or a licensed professional office is necessary when applying for a Business Manager Visa.

Why Is a Supporter in Japan (or a Licensed Professional Office) Necessary?

Given the current strict bank screening procedures, it is not realistic to prepare 30 million yen in capital, remit it from overseas, and complete the company establishment process alone.

This is where the presence of a supporter in Japan becomes important.

In particular, using a licensed professional office like ours as an agent to receive the capital offers major benefits such as the following:

The Business Manager Must Meet the Required Work Experience or Academic Background

The business manager must meet the required management-related work experience or academic background.
Specifically, one of the following must apply:

Academic qualifications include degrees awarded overseas.
In any case, make sure before coming to Japan that you satisfy one of these requirements.

Employment of at Least One Full-Time Employee

The company is now required to employ at least one full-time employee.
The full-time employee must be one of the following: a Japanese national, Special Permanent Resident, Permanent Resident, spouse or child of a Japanese national, spouse or child of a Permanent Resident, or Long-Term Resident.

Japan is currently facing labor shortages across many industries, and even when companies recruit, it is often difficult to find workers.
As a result, it may be difficult to secure such personnel within 4 months after arriving in Japan.
Therefore, it is important to have a realistic prospect of securing such personnel before coming to Japan.

Japanese Language Ability of Either the Applicant or a Full-Time Employee

Either the applicant or a full-time employee must have a reasonable level of Japanese language ability.

If the full-time employee is Japanese or a Special Permanent Resident, this requirement is satisfied. In other cases, Japanese ability equivalent to B2 or above under the “Framework of Reference for Japanese Language Education” is required.

Specifically, one of the following must be satisfied:

Review of the New Business Plan

The business plan submitted with the residence status application must be specific, reasonable, and feasible.
In addition, it is now mandatory to have it reviewed by a person with specialized knowledge in business management.

Specifically, the plan must be reviewed by one of the following professionals:

Within the 4 months after arriving in Japan, it may be difficult schedule-wise to find one of these professionals and also hold discussions about the business plan.
Therefore, it is safer to prepare the business plan to some extent before coming to Japan and also identify a professional who can review it.

Securing a Business Office

You must prepare a business office appropriate to the scale of the business. In most cases, this means leasing commercial office space.

Virtual offices and short-term monthly rental spaces are not accepted. In addition, using your home as both residence and office is generally not accepted, so caution is required.

You will also need to find the office within 4 months after arriving in Japan, so it is important to act early.

Advance Preparation Is Essential for Obtaining a Business Manager Visa

Due to the revision of the approval standards on October 16, 2025, it has become more difficult to establish a company in Japan and obtain a Business Manager Visa.

If the applicant is overseas and has no supporter in Japan, it is still possible to proceed using the “4-month Business Manager Visa system for company establishment preparation,” but it may be difficult to satisfy the stricter requirements within only 4 months after arriving in Japan.

Therefore, it is important to have a solid plan in place before coming to Japan.

Please Consult a Certified Administrative Procedures Legal Specialist for Your Business Manager Visa

To obtain a Business Manager Visa, the application must be prepared in light of the revised approval standards that took effect on October 16, 2025.

Because the difficulty of obtaining approval has increased dramatically, it is becoming much harder for foreign nationals to obtain a Business Manager Visa on their own.

If you have any concerns about the visa application or company establishment procedures, please first consult a highly experienced certified administrative procedures legal specialist.