About Japan

Whether you’re looking to visit, live or work in Japan—we can support your immigration needs at every stage of your journey.

​If you’re a foreign national looking to visit, live, and/or work in Japan, several options are available.

• Business Visits: As a business visitor and depending on your citizenship, you'll generally enter Japan without a visa or you'll need to secure a business visa before your travel.
• Work Authorization: There are several types of work authorization depending on the nature of your activity—known as “statuses of residence”—including for professors, journalists, engineers/specialists in humanitarian/international services, intracompany transferees, and business managers, among others. Your employer in Japan typically must file a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) application for you to be granted work authorization. As a temporary foreign worker in Japan, there is also a process to change your status to permanent resident.
• Internships/Traineeships: There is no trainee-specific work authorization category in Japan.
• Self-employment: If you're a potential investor or entrepreneur, the Highly Skilled Professional Visa or the Business Manager Status may be suitable. Although both programs require sponsorship by a Japanese company, investors and entrepreneurs can fulfill this requirement if they purchase/invest ​in an existing company​ or create a new company.
• Digital Nomad Visa: Japan has a special program dedicated to digital nomads called the 'Digital Nomad Visa' that allows you (and your family members) to reside in Japan while working remotely for your home employer for a non-renewable period of up to six months if utilizing information and communication technology in the position. Eligibility requirements include being a national of a visa-exempt country with a bilateral tax agreement with Japan, having a minimum annual income of at least JPY 10 million, and holding private medical health insurance.

Fragomen can also consult on citizenship matters and, as permitted within the confines of local law, may be able to offer citizenship assistance.