Easy-to-understand Specific Activity Visa using the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program

For those who have the following thoughts about the Designated Activities Visa

Some of you reading this article may be thinking the same thing. This article is for those people.

In particular, there is not much information available online about the Designated Activities Visa that utilizes the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program, and government websites are not necessarily easy to understand.

There are many similar systems and various local government programs, so it is easy to get confused. Furthermore, the terminology used is difficult, long, and hard to understand. In the end, you may not understand what is going on, or even whether it is beneficial to you. It is not surprising that you may find yourself in such a situation.

Furthermore, even if you are able to obtain and understand the information accurately, there is a risk that something small could cause you to fail.
So, by reading this article, you will gain a proper understanding of the Designated Activities Visa that utilizes the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program.

This article will help you understand it easily. We will simplify the information as much as possible and break down difficult terms. Once you finish reading it, you will have a clear idea of ​​what you should do next.

What you can learn about the Designated Activities Visa in this article

In this article, you will learn the following points:

The essence of the specific activity visa

Just looking at the words like this, it’s hard to see what it’s for or what kind of system it is. So, to start with, the essence of it is that this is a project to provide a certain number of visas to attract foreign entrepreneurs to Japan.

It’s a small thing, but the name. “Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Agency”! It’s very long and difficult to understand. However, if you break it down word by word, it’s actually not that big a deal. I’ll break it down briefly here so that it will be easier to understand later.

First, the first three letters are “foreigners”. Roughly speaking, this means that the project is targeted at foreigners. The next two letters are “entrepreneurship”. This is not particularly difficult. It means starting a new business.

Looking further, after starting a business comes “activities.” Starting a business requires a lot of preparation. For example, renting an office, meeting with relevant parties, etc. We can read this as expressing such activities as “activities.” The last four letters, “promotion business,” are easy to understand if you think of them as promotion. Putting all of this together, we get “promotion related to activities aimed at starting a business. The target audience is foreigners.”

Purpose of the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program

What was the purpose of such a project? It was to attract foreign entrepreneurs to Japan by promoting the startup preparations of foreigners who want to start a business in a certain area.

Ultimately, we aim to strengthen the international competitiveness of Japanese industry and create a base for international economic activity.

I’m sure some of you reading this article are interested in starting a business in Japan. For those of you who are interested, this Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program will provide you with support.

Benefits of a specific activity visa using the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program

Many people wonder about the benefits of the Specified Activities Visa that utilizes the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program. The name is kind of long and it’s hard to understand, but is it beneficial for me or not? It’s very natural to want to check that point first. So, below we will explain the benefits of this system.

(1) Hurdles for obtaining a business manager visa (status of residence for “business manager”)

This may be out of the blue, but have you ever heard of the term “business manager visa”? It is a visa required to run a business in Japan. In order to obtain a business manager visa, there are the following hurdles to overcome:

Meeting these requirements is no easy task.However, if you are going to start a business in Japan, you will need this business manager visa unless you have another appropriate residence status.

(2) Status of residence for preparing to start a business

If that is the case, some people may think that it would be smoother if they could complete the tasks required for starting their business while living in Japan. This visa for the Promotion of Foreign Entrepreneurial Activities makes this possible.

In short, the designated activity visa utilizing the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Project is a special case of the business manager visa, which is the essence of the designated activity visa mentioned above.

This will allow you to enter and reside for up to one year.
The benefit of being granted the “designated activities” residence status is that you will be able to carry out a variety of preparatory activities for starting a business.
Furthermore, as will be described later, if you have a “Certificate of Confirmation of Start-up Preparation Activity Plan” issued by your local government, which is one system under this system, this will work in your favor towards being approved for a “Business Manager” visa.

Having this certificate does not necessarily mean that you will be granted a business manager visa, but it can be said to be an advantage in that it can increase the possibility of obtaining a business manager visa, even if only slightly.

(3) Differences from normal visas

What is the difference between regular residence status approval and taking advantage of the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program?
Normal residence status is approved by the Immigration Bureau. On the other hand, in the case of the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program, confirmation is required not only from the Immigration Bureau but also from certain local governments. The detailed system will be described later.

Who is suitable for a specific activity visa under the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program? Who is not?

(1) It is not omnipotent

Based on the above, let’s clarify who is and isn’t suitable for the Designated Activities Visa under the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program. In fact, the Designated Activities Visa under the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program is not suitable for all foreign entrepreneurs. If that’s the case, you may be wondering whether the Designated Activities Visa under the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program is desirable for you or not. We will summarize this point below.

(2) People who are not suitable for a specific activity visa under the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program

If you already meet the requirements for being certified as a “Business Manager Visa”, there is no need to take a detour. In that case,It is recommended that you do not use this system and instead receive certification for a business manager visa directly through the immigration bureau.

(3) People who may be considering a specific activity visa under the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program

Unlike (2), a case in which you may be able to consider a Designated Activities Visa under the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program is when you are thinking of starting a business in an area covered by the program and can expect to complete the preparations within one year.

This is an area where decisions will vary depending on each individual’s situation. You will need to make a decision based on your own situation, taking into account the information in this article.

Overview of the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program

I hope you have a rough understanding of the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program and the “Designated Activities” residence status based on it. Now, let’s take a look at the system. It’s a bit complicated, but I’ll start by explaining the system in general terms, then move on to more specific ones.

(1) Administrative organizations involved

Three administrative organizations

One of the reasons why the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program system seems complicated is that there are multiple administrative organizations involved. Specifically, there are the following three:

These three organizations work together to finally grant a visa. So, what exactly does each organization do? We will explain this below.

Which organization does what

First, local governments will develop and implement management and support programs aimed at foreign entrepreneurs and select foreigners.

Second, METI will certify the programs created by the local governments mentioned above.
Thirdly, the Regional Immigration Bureau will review and decide whether or not to grant a visa (status of residence “Designated Activities”).

(2) The final flow until obtaining a business manager visa

The above three administrative organizations plus foreign entrepreneurs work together to create a program that sets out the flow for obtaining a business manager visa, which is the final goal. Let’s go through that flow below.

visa period

Regarding the Designated Activity Visa based on the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program, you may be wondering how long you can stay in Japan. The maximum period is one year. However, you will need to renew it after six months. Below, we will explain how this is reflected in the above program.

Management support program flow

Generally speaking, the visa for the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Project, “Designated Activities” visa, allows you to carry out activities related to starting a business under the management and support of a local government. The period is up to one year. It’s like having to go through two procedures to obtain a six-month visa.

Below, we will trace the process from the perspective of foreign entrepreneurs, based on data from the Cabinet Office and Yokohama City, to explain what to do, when and how to do it.

Specific procedure flow

First, as a foreign entrepreneur, you submit a plan to the local government. In other words, you will be required to submit a plan for obtaining a visa and doing business in Japan. This plan is called a “Business Preparation Action Plan.”

Secondly, your local government will check the business start-up activity plan and issue a certificate (Business Start-up Activity Plan Confirmation Certificate). Then, submit the visa application documents including the certificate to the Regional Immigration Bureau. Then, you will be given a visa (status of residence “Designated Activities (6 months)”) by the bureau.However, as mentioned above, for those who are not suitable for the Designated Activities Visa under the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program, the period of stay is six months. During that time, the foreign entrepreneur will be conducting preparatory activities for starting a business under the supervision and support of a local government for six months.

Third, renewal. The procedure is similar to the previous one. Before the expiration of the six months, the entrepreneurial activity plan (for renewal) must be confirmed. Here, the local government checks whether the requirements for the so-called business manager visa are expected to be met within six months of the visa renewal. After that, the local government issues a certificate (for renewal). The foreign entrepreneur will then obtain the residence status “Designated Activities (6 months)” via the Regional Immigration Bureau.

How to write a business start-up action plan smoothly

(1) You need to create a business start-up action plan

So far, we have looked at the contents of the management support program for the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Project.

If you have read this far, you may have some questions. Anyone who is interested in the Designated Activities Visa for the Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program has some questions. That is the “Entrepreneurship Preparation Activity Plan” mentioned above.

Some people may have noticed that they will have to create and submit some sort of plan. According to Yokohama City, if the plan is deemed insufficient, they will not be able to issue a “Certificate of Confirmation of Business Preparation Activity Plan.” This is an issue that can affect whether or not you can get a visa, so it cannot be ignored.

In that case, the question naturally arises as to what exactly you should write. In this regard, it is easier to think about it from the perspective of what points local governments will check. We will explain this in detail below.

(2) Key points for writing a business start-up activity plan

When creating a business preparation action plan, it is a good idea to keep the following points in mind. Here we use the example of Yokohama City as a reference, but there may be similar information on the website of the local government to which you plan to submit your plan. Therefore, it is a good idea to read that information as well.

summary

I hope this article has helped you organize your thoughts. Below are some key points to keep in mind.