Get a business manager visa even if you use your home as an office! Essential information for choosing an office.

Can I obtain a business manager visa if I use my home as my office?

This article will be useful to the following people:

Some of you reading this article may fit the above description. In this article, we will explain the Business Manager Visa in an easy-to-understand manner from the perspective of a home office.
The main explanation methods used are as follows:

① Norms

What is required to get a business manager visa (examination guidelines, etc.) Rules to follow.

② Obstacles to ①

Common misconceptions regarding ①. If you are not careful, you may not be able to get a visa.

③Examples of ② solutions

What you can learn about the Business Management Visa in this article

In this article, you can learn the following about the Business Manager Visa and home office:

model case

The system and documents required for the Business Manager Visa are complicated and diverse. This makes it difficult to understand. There may be unique technical terms and things you have never seen or heard before in your life.

Even if you search the Internet for information on business manager visas and home offices, there is so much information that it is difficult to understand. It is not surprising that even if you want to do business in Japan, you may find yourself in a situation where you have no idea what to do and are about to give up.

The key to overcoming these risks is to imagine things as concretely as possible. Therefore, in this article, we will explain using the following model case. By reading the article while imagining yourself as one of the characters in the model case, your understanding will be enhanced.

Model case: Home and office

Li is originally from China. He currently lives in a rented apartment in Japan. He hopes to set up a company and start a business in Japan.
By the way, the name of the apartment he lives in is “Residence Touch.” His landlord is Mr. Chen. The layout is one bedroom (approximately 11 m2) and one living room (approximately 22 m2). To be honest, it’s not very spacious, but Li likes it quite well.

Business management visa and home office: Criteria for business presence and securing

(1) What kind of norms?

In order to obtain a business manager visa, certain criteria must be met. One of these criteria is as follows. It may be a little difficult to understand, but we will explain it in detail later. First, let’s take a look at what it is like.

The business in which the foreign national is engaged in management or operation must have an office in Japan.

The following two requirements must be met:

(2) Brief explanation

What exactly does what is written above mean?

To summarize, Mr. Lee is planning to start a business in Japan, and needs an office in Japan to carry out that business.

Furthermore, not just any office will do, but two points must be met. The first is that the business must be conducted in a specific physical space. The second is that when selling goods or providing services, staff and equipment are needed. And this must be done continuously, not just once.

More specific about the business

By reading the Business Management Visa and Home Office Existence and Security Criteria, you may have a general idea of ​​what is necessary. Yes, it is a business establishment (office).

That being said, what exactly should you do? Is any type of office okay? What kind of contract should you go with? Is there anything you need inside the office? There are many things that you may be concerned about, so we will clarify these questions below.

(1) Type of establishment

How to choose an office

Mr. Lee is trying to choose a place to work. There are several options and he is having a hard time deciding. What should he pay attention to and what type of office should he choose?



First, I’ll summarize the conclusions, then I’ll explain in more detail.

f

rental office	There are clear boundaries	〇
	Free address plan	×
	Monthly rental space	×（principle）
	virtual office	×
stall	Something that can be easily disposed o	×（principle）
Railway company containers Improved		×

Rental Office

This is Mr. Lee, who is looking for an office. When it comes to finding an office when starting a company, the traditional and common method is to rent a room in a building. However, this can be very costly. So, to cut costs, you can consider using a rental office. Recently, various rental office services have appeared.

The first thing you may be wondering is whether you can get a business manager visa for such a rental office. The answer is yes. However, the key point is that there must be a clear division. Specifically, there must be walls and doors and it must be clearly separated from other rooms.

Therefore, for example, a rental office with a free address system where you can sit wherever you like will not meet the requirements for obtaining a business management visa. Therefore, as a preventative measure, it is a good idea to check the floor plan and layout when renting a rental office.

It is possible that you may not be able to see the details just from the photos on the website, so the most reliable way to see it is to actually see it with your own eyes.

Secondly, monthly rental space (short-term rental space on a monthly basis) is not permitted in principle. This is because, while the activity required for the status of residence of a Business Manager Visa is that the business is operated continuously, a monthly rental space may end in a few months at most, so it cannot be said to be “operated continuously.”

Thirdly, there is the virtual office. A virtual office is not a physical private space, but an address and telephone number, and there is no physical space for actually managing or administering the business. As mentioned above, in order to obtain a business manager visa, it is necessary to secure a place of business in Japan. The Immigration Bureau will not recognize a virtual office as having a place of business.

From the above, a virtual office is attractive from a cost perspective as it only costs around 10,000 yen per month, but unfortunately it is not an option from the perspective of a business manager visa.

(2) Contracts with business establishments

In the end, Mr. Lee decided to rent a new room in a building as an office, separate from his home. What do you need to pay attention to in order to obtain a business manager visa? It is a good idea to pay attention to at least the following two points when drafting the contract.

Purpose of use

In a rental contract, you will be asked, “What will you use this room for?” You should make it clear that it is for business purposes. This means that you have obtained the lessor’s consent to use it for business purposes.



If the purpose of use is stated as “residential use,” it is believed that it is not possible to obtain a business manager visa.

Contractor

It is necessary to make it clear that the name of the corporation or other entity should be the party to the lease agreement and that it is that corporation or other entity that will be using the business premises.

(3) What you need inside the office

Now let’s go inside the office. When applying for a business management visa, the following items are generally required as a minimum in practice:

The above equipment is nothing special, it is just something that you would find in a normal office. On the other hand, if your office does not have the things that a normal office should have, it may raise doubts as to whether it is really a proper business establishment. Sooner or later, these items will be almost essential if you are going to do business in the future, so make sure you have them ready. By the way, when you apply for a business management visa, you will need to attach photos of these items.

Is it not possible to use your home as an office in order to obtain a business manager visa?

(1) Basically, no home office

That being said, renting an office is costly. Lee would like to use a room in his home as an office, rather than renting a new office. In fact, many people think this way. I’m sure some of you reading this article are also planning to do so.

Regarding this point, it is basically considered necessary to secure an office separate from your home in order to obtain a business management visa. To keep costs down, you can consider renting a small office. To obtain a business management visa, although it depends on the business model, a large space is not necessarily required.

(2) Sometimes it’s okay to use your home as an office

Although it is not a black and white matter, it is not impossible to use part of your home as an office to run a business. What does this mean? Below, we will first show you the examination guidelines and briefly explain their meaning, and then introduce some examples of cases where it is approved and cases where it is not approved.

Home office rules and their simple meanings

To put it simply and roughly, it means clearly separating the business area from the private area. On the other hand, if the two are integrated or closely attached, the business manager visa will not be permitted.

The standards are shown below, along with a brief explanation of their meanings.

①The landlord must approve the use of the property for purposes other than residence.

[Simple meaning]
It is not okay to use a building that you rented to live in for business purposes without permission. The landlord must give proper permission. In the model case, Chan’s consent was required.

②The lessee also acknowledges this.

[Simple meaning]
The tenant must also agree to use the property for business purposes.

③ The corporation has a room occupied for business purposes that is equipped with facilities for conducting business.

[Simple meaning]
You need to have a room dedicated to work.

④ There must be a clear agreement regarding the payment of common expenses relating to the property in question.

[Simple meaning]
Have you decided how you will pay for utilities etc?

⑤ Displaying a social sign similar to a signboard.

[Simple meaning]
Company signs and nameplates.

Key points for business manager visa and home office

I’m sure there are many people who still don’t understand what I’m saying. So I’ll focus on two particularly important points above and explain them in more detail.

In practice, the particularly important points are having rooms occupied for business purposes and displaying social signs.

First, regarding the first point, rooms for business use, if it is a detached house and the first floor is an office and the second floor is a residence, it is easy to be permitted even if it is a home office. On the other hand, in the case of Mr. Lee, the model case, there is only one bedroom and a living room, so it seems difficult to clearly distinguish between the office and the residence. Furthermore, if there are no office equipment and only daily necessities in the room, it is not at all surprising that the business manager visa is not permitted.

A concrete solution example for obtaining a business manager visa for a home office is to first rent a detached house. Next, clearly separate the residential space from the office space, and create a floor plan. Then, take photos. It is a good idea to submit these documents when applying.

Next, let’s talk about the second point, social signs. Specific methods include putting up a signboard with the company name clearly stated, or putting up signs on the mailbox or entrance that clearly indicate the location of the business. In addition, don’t forget to take photos of these things.

summary

Compared to before reading this article, you may have a deeper understanding of the establishment required to obtain a business manager visa. In particular, you may now be clear as to whether or not it is okay to use your home as an office. Just to be sure, I will summarize what I learned in this article below.