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Japan Business Manager Visa Guide

New rules effective Oct 16, 2025: capital raised from ¥5M to ¥30M, plus new requirements for full-time staff, Japanese language proficiency, and work experience/academic background. This guide covers the before/after comparison, requirements, document checklist, and costs.

📅 Information verified August 2026

📋 At a Glance: Old vs New Rules

Item	Old rules	New rules (from Oct 16, 2025)
Capital	¥5M or more	¥30M or more
Employment	No mandatory full-time staff	1+ full-time employee
Japanese proficiency	No explicit requirement	Applicant or full-time employee must have CEFR B2 / JLPT N2 equivalent
Experience / Education	No explicit requirement	3+ years of management experience, or a master's/doctoral/professional degree
Business plan	No mandatory expert review	Must be reviewed by a qualified business expert
Office	No special restrictions	Using your home as an office is not allowed in principle

Existing visa holders under the old rules have a transitional period (see below).

📌 What Is the Business Manager Visa?

• The Business Manager visa corresponds to the residence status "Keiei / Kanri" (経営・管理). It is for foreigners who establish or operate a company in Japan, manage an existing business, or are employed as a manager.
• Period of stay: 4 months (preparation) → 1 year → 3 years → 5 years, renewable. First-time applicants usually start with 1 year.
• Family members can accompany you: spouses and children can apply for the "Dependent" (家族滞在) residence status to live and study in Japan.
• You cannot work for another company: activity is limited to management/operation of your own business only. No other paid work is permitted.

🔔 Key Changes Effective October 16, 2025

On October 16, 2025 (Reiwa 7), amendments to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act landing criteria took effect. The five core changes are:

• Capital raised sharply: from ¥5M to ¥30M.
• New full-time employee requirement: must employ 1 or more eligible full-time employees.
• New Japanese language requirement: the applicant or a full-time employee must have Japanese proficiency equivalent to JLPT N2 or BJT 400 points or higher.
• New experience / education requirement: 3+ years of management experience, or a master's/doctoral/professional degree.
• Business plan must be reviewed by an expert: must be confirmed by a SME consultant, tax accountant, or certified public accountant.

💰 Capital and Business Scale

• Corporation (e.g., KK /株式会社): paid-in capital must be at least ¥30M. For godo-kaisha, gomei-kaisha, or goshi-kaisha, the total capital contribution must be at least ¥30M.
• Sole proprietor: total investment in the business (office rent, 1 year of staff wages, equipment, etc.) must be at least ¥30M.
• Note: for corporations, staff wages and office maintenance costs cannot be added to the capital to judge whether the ¥30M threshold is met — only the paid-in capital / total contribution counts.
• Stock acquisition rights (J-KISS, etc.): funds raised through issuing stock acquisition rights can count toward the ¥30M if conditions are met.
• Multiple companies: only one company needs to have capital of ¥30M or more. You cannot combine capital across multiple companies.

👥 Full-Time Employee Requirement

• You must employ 1 or more full-time employees. Meeting this minimum is sufficient; you do not need to submit documents for all staff.
• Eligible employee status (must satisfy one): Japanese national, Special Permanent Resident, Permanent Resident, Spouse of Japanese National, Spouse of Permanent Resident, or Long-Term Resident.
• Definition of "full-time": works 217+ days per year, 30+ hours per week, entitled to 10+ days of paid annual leave after 6 months of employment, and is covered by employment insurance.
• Note: holders of Table 1 residence statuses (e.g., Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services work visas) do not count as eligible full-time employees.
• Arrangements that do not count: secondment (在籍出向), dispatch (派遣), and contract-work (請負) arrangements are generally not recognized as full-time employment.

🗣️ Japanese Language Requirement

• At least one person among the applicant or full-time employees must have Japanese proficiency equivalent to CEFR B2.
• Proof methods (satisfy one): JLPT N2 or higher / BJT 400 points or higher / graduated from a Japanese university / graduated from a Japanese high school (after compulsory education) / 20+ years of mid- to long-term residence in Japan.
• Japanese nationals and Special Permanent Residents: when employed as full-time staff, no additional Japanese proficiency proof is required.
• Whether "full-time employees" for this language requirement include Table 1 residence status holders is subject to the latest official interpretation.

🎓 Experience and Education Requirements

• Satisfy one of the following:
  • ① A master's, doctoral, or professional degree in management, administration, or a field related to the proposed business (including equivalent overseas degrees)
  • ② 3+ years of management or administration experience (including the "Designated Activities" period for business preparation)

📄 Business Plan and Expert Review

• The business plan must be reviewed by a person with business management expertise.
• Qualified reviewers as of the effective date: SME consultant (中小企業診断士), tax accountant (税理士), or certified public accountant (公認会計士).
• Note: administrative scriveners (行政書士) and lawyers do not qualify for this review. Administrative scriveners may handle application paperwork, but the business-plan review must be done by one of the above-qualified professionals.
• The plan must demonstrate specificity, rationality, and feasibility — generic templates are insufficient.

🏢 Office and Business Continuity

• Office: you must secure an office that is actually usable for business. Using your home as an office is not allowed in principle (registering a company at a residential address alone is insufficient).
• Not accepted as an office: short-term monthly rentals, food stalls (屋台), virtual offices, etc.

📑 Application Process and Document Checklist

The typical process when applying from overseas:

1. Incorporate the company / secure an office / hire staff: complete company registration, lease an office, and sign an employment contract with a full-time employee.
2. Prepare business plan + expert review: draft the plan and have it reviewed by an SME consultant / tax accountant / CPA.
3. Apply for Certificate of Eligibility (COE): submit to the Immigration Services Agency; review usually takes 1–3 months.
4. Apply for a visa at the Japanese embassy/consulate: after receiving the COE, apply for an entry visa at the Japanese diplomatic mission in your country.
5. Pick up residence card after entry: obtain your residence card at the airport/port upon entry, or at the immigration office.

If you already hold another residence status in Japan, you can apply for a change of status to Business Manager — a common path.

💸 Cost Overview

Item	Cost (JPY)	Notes
Certificate of Eligibility (COE) application	Free	No fee charged by the Immigration Services Agency
Visa sticker	15,000–30,000	Charged by the Japanese embassy/consulate
KK (株式会社) incorporation	Approx. 200,000–250,000	Includes registration tax, articles notarization, etc.
Godo-kaisha (合同会社) incorporation	Approx. 60,000–100,000	Lower registration tax; no notarization required
Administrative scrivener (optional)	Approx. 200,000–400,000	Fee varies by office for application assistance
Business plan expert review (optional)	Approx. 100,000–300,000	SME consultant / tax accountant / CPA
Capital	30,000,000	Not a fee — investment capital. Must actually be contributed.

Note: amounts are for reference only; actual costs vary. Fees for administrative scriveners and experts differ widely.

🔄 Period of Stay and Renewal Points

• Period of stay: typically 4 months (preparation) → 1 year → 3 years → 5 years. Each renewal is judged by the Immigration Services Agency based on business performance.
• Transitional period: those who already held a Business Manager visa before October 16, 2025, can renew until October 16, 2028 without being denied solely for not meeting the new criteria. However, business performance will still be assessed comprehensively.
• At renewal, the agency checks: compliance with labor laws, social insurance / employment insurance enrollment and payment, license/ permit status, and tax payment.
• Important: those who do not meet the new criteria cannot apply for permanent residency from the Business Manager visa / Highly Skilled Professional (i) (ha) / HSP (ii) status, and cannot change status to HSP (ii).

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Official reference: Immigration Services Agency: New Business Manager Visa Criteria (PDF) ↗