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Business Manager Visa Japan: Key Requirements and Common Pitfalls
- 2026年02月06日


Among the many requirements for a business administration visa, you may have often heard that a minimum capital contribution of 5 million yen is required. The requirements for this 5 million yen investment are If you have two or more full-time employees residing in Japan, This requirement is not necessary if you have two or more full-time employees residing in Japan.
This page explains how to obtain a business management visa without investing 5 million yen.
To obtain a business administration visa without investing 5 million yen, Two or more full-time employees residing in Japan are required. This is the official requirement published by the Immigration Bureau. First, let’s look at the requirements for a business administration visa as published by the Immigration Bureau.
The size of the business involved in the application is One of the following is applicable The size of the business involved in the application must meet one of the following conditions
Reading the above, we can conclude that even if you cannot prepare 5 million yen in capital, you can obtain a business administration visa if you have two or more full-time employees residing in Japan.
I explained above that in order to obtain a business administration visa without investing 5 million yen, two or more full-time employees residing in Japan are required,This full-time staff member cannot be just anyone.
Full-time employees required to obtain a business administration visa are limited to Japanese nationals or, in the case of non-Japanese nationals, permanent residents, spouses of permanent residents, spouses of Japanese nationals, and permanent residents. Therefore, this does not apply to foreign nationals residing in Japan under the status of residence such as International Business with Technology and Humanities or Family Residency.
In addition, since the applicant must reside in Japan, he/she cannot be considered a full-time employee if he/she resides overseas. You must reside in Japan.
If you can employ two or more full-time employees residing in Japan, If you can employ two or more full-time employees residing in Japan, you can obtain a business administration visa without having to prepare 5 million yen in capital.
If you want to obtain a business administration visa by jointly managing a business with a foreigner,Instead of a total investment of 5 million yen, each foreigner must provide 5 million yen.
However, even if one person is unable to provide 5 million yen, if the other partner is able to borrow money from said foreigner in addition to being able to provide his/her own 5 million yen, it is possible to obtain a business administration visa. (A written contract is required).
However, when applying for a business administration visa for joint management, the foreigner must substantially participate in the management or administration of the business, i.e., he/she must be engaged in activities to make decisions on important matters concerning the operation of the business, to execute the business, or to perform auditing duties.
In cases where multiple foreign nationals who have jointly established a business will each serve as an officer, the applicability of status of residence and compliance with the landing criteria will be examined based on the specific activities in which each foreign national intends to engage.
The activities that fall under the status of residence of “Management/Administration” are those in which a person substantially participates in the management or administration of a business, Therefore, simply being an officer of a company does not qualify for the said status of residence.
In the case where multiple foreign nationals are engaged in the management or administration of a business, in order for the activities of each foreign national to fall under the “Management/Administration” status of residence, it must be deemed that there are reasonable grounds for multiple foreign nationals to manage or administer the business, taking into consideration the size, volume of business, sales, etc. of the business in question. The foreigner’s activities must be considered to be in the “management and control” of the business.
In practice, the specific nature of the work to be engaged in, the amount of remuneration to be paid as an officer, and other factors will be taken into consideration to determine whether or not the activities of these foreign nationals constitute management or control of a business.
To further specify the above idea,
If the conditions such as the following are met, it is possible to determine that all of the foreign nationals fall under the status of residence of “management/administration”.
In other words, It is not permissible to be a director in name only, The foreign partner must be substantially involved in the management of the company.
On this page, we have explained how to obtain a business administration visa without investing 5 million yen. Two or more full-time employees residing in Japan (Japanese nationals or, in the case of non-Japanese nationals, permanent residents, spouses of permanent residents, spouses of Japanese nationals, or permanent residents) if they can be employed,It is possible to fulfill the requirements for a business management visa without a capital contribution of 5 million yen.
| August 2018 | Established “Yuda Administrative Scrivener Office,” specializing in visa applications and naturalization applications |
|---|---|
| April 2022 | Incorporated the private office as “Touch Immigration Law Firm” |
| Areas of Expertise | Foreign nationals’ statuses of residence and naturalization applications Specializes in foreign national visa-related matters and handles more than 1,000 consultations annually |
| Seminar Experience | Numerous seminars, including the International Administrative Scrivener Training Course, Toda City International Exchange Foundation, Saitama Japanese Language Network, Administrative Scrivener TOP 10% Club, and work visa training seminars for administrative scriveners |
| Operated Websites | Touch Immigration Law Firm International Marriage & Spouse Visa Support Center Naturalization Application Support Center Work Visa Support Center Permanent Resident Visa Support Center Business Manager Visa Support Center U.S. Visa Support Center Visa Support Center |
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