Designated Activities No.40 (Long Stay for Sightseeing & Recreation) visa

Normally, visas for tourism purposes are granted for a maximum stay of 90 days in Japan, but did you know that only wealthy nationals who meet certain conditions can obtain a six-month Long Stay visa?

This visa type is called “Designated Activities” No.40 (Long Stay for sightseeing and recreation) visa. 「特定活動」(告示40号)

NEW

Under the Revised 2014 Strategy for the Revitalisation of Japan, which was approved by the Cabinet in June 2014, the Long Stay Scheme was introduced in June 2015 to allow for long-term stays for tourism purposes for wealthy foreign nationals.

The requirements for foreigners to be eligible for this system are that they must enter Japan with a status of residence of ‘Temporary Visitor’, and that they must have a valid visa. The requirements for foreign nationals to be eligible for this system are that they must be from a country or region where Japan has visa exemption measures for those who wish to enter the country under the status of residence ‘Temporary Visitor’. The visa waiver measures for the Republic of the Federative Republic of Brazil are now in effect.

Conditions of acquisition:

  • The stay must be for tourism or recreation purposes.
  • Must be at least 18 years of age. (No age limit for accompanying spouse). Your age is actually a major screening point. For more information, please contact us.
  • Nationality must be a visa waiver country.
  • The total amount of savings of the couple combined must be at least 30 million yen (in Japanese yen).
    However, if both spouses apply for this one-year visa, they need JPY 60 million (JPY 30 million x 2 persons).
    Proof of bank account receipts and disbursements for the past six months. If your assets have increased within the last six months, explain in detail the asset-building process and attach documentary proof.
  • Must have private medical insurance.

(Note) Dependent children cannot be allowed to accompany.

This is all that is required!

What is of concern is the restriction on activities, although you cannot work, of course, in the view of the Office of the Immigration Counsellor of the Ministry of Justice, although tourism and recreation are assumed, these activities, it does not uniformly exclude visiting relatives in the course of these activities, The Ministry of Justice’s Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs has stated.

This means that they can stay in Japan for a long period of time and gather with their relatives while sightseeing.

In addition, assets are only assessed in terms of the amount of savings and deposits. Real estate assets are not included.

First, a six-month visa is granted, which can then be renewed only once, for a total stay of one year.

At the time of renewal, only travel insurance and proof of assets sufficient to cover the costs of the trip are examined.

Private Medical Insurance

Travel insurance is mandatory and the following documents will be required, as with the Digital Nomad Visa.

SafetyWing‘s Digital Nomad Insuranceicon is a good insurance policy for so-called nomadic people who travel the world. Everyone can apply for this insurance, regardless if they’re working or not.

The good thing about this insurance is that it costs as little as about 800 USD for one year for those up to 39 years old and is valid in most countries. Of course, it is also compliant with the Japanese Long stay visa application. Available for purchase in 180 countries and can be purchased while already traveling in Japan.

Required Documents for Applying Certificate of Eligibility:

  1. Application Form
  2. Passport Copy
  3. Photo (4cm x 3cm) 2 pcs ＊Taken within 3 months prior to the date of application
  4. Bank deposit certificate / certificate in the applicant’s name (current balance of 30 million yen or more and bank transaction statement for the period from 6 months prior to application to the time of application) Not counting the cash balance deposited in the certificate company, it must be deposited in the bank account.
  5. A copy of the certificate of enrollment and the terms and conditions of the travel medical insurance (the period of insurance during the period of stay in Japan, and/and the contents of the coverage include death, injury, illness…)
  6. Schedule of Stay: You will also need an approximate plan of activities in Japan for one year. (Recreation, sightseeing, etc.)
  7. Marriage Certificate (if you have an accompanying spouse)

What is a Certificate of Eligibility (COE)?

A Certificate of Eligibility, which is issued by a regional immigration authority under the jurisdiction of the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, certifies that the foreign national conforms to the conditions for landing in Japan (which means the activity stated in the application is not false and it is one of the activities (except Temporary Visitor) stipulated in the Immigration Control Act). For details, check the website of the Immigration Services Agency of JAPAN .

In general, a proxy in Japan can make an application of COE. However, this type of visa requires the individual to be in Japan when applying for the COE. We can meet the customer in Japan to confirm the details of the application and then go to the Immigration and Residence Office to submit the application on behalf of the customer. We are unable to provide this service to customers who are abroad.

By presenting COE, the visa application at the Embassy or Consulate-General and the landing examination at the passport control will be processed smoothly.

How to apply for the COE of “Long Stay Visa”?

There is only one way for an overseas resident (not in Japan) to apply for a Long-stay Visa;

You must enter Japan on a tourist visa or other short-stay temporary visa (短期滞在), meet with our lawyer to confirm your status, and we, our firm will submit the application to the Immigration Bureau on your behalf.

You do not need to stay in Japan until the result of the examination. After you return to your home country, we will negotiate with the examiner and mail the COE (Certificate of eligibility) to you in your home country after it is approved.

Note that it is not permitted to change directly from a “Temporary Visitor” (short-stay visa, or Visa Waiver scheme) to a Long Stay visa. You have to always apply for a COE before obtaining a Long Stay visa.

Under current regulations and the Immigration Bureau’s internal review criteria, it is virtually impossible to choose a person to act as your application proxy and submit your application in the name of the application proxy when you are not in Japan. The scope of “application proxy” as defined by the Immigration Bureau is much narrower than you would like to think. Thus, you have to visit Japan to apply for the CoE. If your COE will be issued for your temporary stay in Japan before you leave, you may then be allowed to make changes from temporary visitor to “long stay” visa.

If your COE is approved within a month, for example, you can go to the Immigration Bureau with your passport, a set of change application forms, and your approved COE and change your visa status directly from a “Temporary Visitor” visa to a long-term tourist visa. In this case, you can leave all the processes from the COE to the visa conversion to my office. However, you will need to remain in Japan until the procedure is complete.

I obtained a COE while I was in Japan. What do I need to do after that?

Congratulations! If you were fortunate enough to have a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) issued while visiting Japan on a tourist visa, you’ve already cleared a significant hurdle.

Under normal circumstances, you would need to return to your home country or country of residence, visit a Japanese embassy or consulate, apply for the visa, and then re-enter Japan with your new visa. This process can be quite inconvenient, especially if your home country is far from Japan, adding not only travel expenses but also the cost of your time.

However, there is a way to bypass this hassle. It is possible to convert your tourist visa to a new visa without leaving Japan. That said, the process has specific conditions you must meet.

For instance:

  • You must have stayed in Japan continuously since applying for and submitting your COE.
  • If you have left Japan and returned after applying for a COE, you will need to be careful. Specifically, you will not be able to complete this procedure unless you have continuously stayed in Japan from the day before the issue date of your COE to the present.
  • You need to keep track of the expiration date of your current tourist visa. Remember, obtaining a COE does not automatically extend your tourist visa. You’ll still need to complete the necessary procedures at the Immigration Bureau to ensure compliance.

If you’re unsure about any of these steps, feel free to reach out to us. We may be able to provide guidance or assistance.

Additionally, if you arrived in Japan on a tourist visa and only later learned about the new type of visa, it might still be possible to apply for and secure it without leaving Japan. Of course, you’ll need to have all the required documents ready—either stored on your PC or sent to you via email.

Navigating these processes can be tricky, but with the right support, you can successfully transition to the visa that best suits your needs.

Visa waiver country

Regarding the limited number of nationalities, the system is expected to be expanded in the future.

People from Western countries are generally eligible, though, as many countries are visa-exempt, however, when limited to Asia, the following nationalities (regions) are eligible.

For example, countries such as the Thailand, Indonesia are eligible for this visa, even if their visa waiver period is only 15 days, not 90 days.

Japan has taken measures on the visa exemption arrangements for 69 countries/regions as shown in the chart below;

(From the website of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan)

69 Countries and Regions for Visa Exemptions
AsiaEurope
BruneiAndorra
IndonesiaAustria
MalaysiaBelgium
Republic of KoreaBulgaria
SingaporeCroatia
ThailandCyprus
Hong KongCzech Republic
MacaoDenmark
TaiwanEstonia
North AmericaFinland
CanadaNorth Macedonia
United States (USA)France
Latin America and the CaribbeanGermany
ArgentinaGreece
BahamasHungary
BarbadosIceland
ChileIreland
Costa RicaItaly
Dominican RepublicLatvia
El SalvadorLiechtenstein
GuatemalaLithuania
HondurasLuxembourg
MexicoMalta
SurinamMonaco
UruguayNetherlands
Brazil *NEW
OceaniaNorway
AustraliaPoland
New ZealandPortugal
Middle EastRomania
IsraelSan Marino
QatarSerbia
TurkeySlovakia
United Arab Emirates (UAE)Slovenia
AfricaSpain
LesothoSweden
MauritiusSwitzerland
TunisiaUnited Kingdom (UK)

What is a benefit to hire a lawyer in Japan?

Since you have to come to Japan to apply for the COE actually, why don’t you just go to the immigration office and apply for it yourself while you are in Japan?

Indeed, that is one way to do it. You may be able to go to the Japanese Immigration Bureau yourself, and within a day, you can submit your application to the Immigration Bureau in plenty of time.

However, please think about it carefully.

Do you really understand what documents you need to submit to the immigration bureau?

Do you have a fixed contact address in Japan? If the immigration inspector has any doubts about your application, who should he/she ask?

The Japanese Immigration bureau does not contact persons who are in a foreign country.

If your COE is issued, it will only be mailed to the Japanese address. An electronic COE system has been introduced, but the COE application for this long-stay visa is not subject to electronic application. You will always need a Japanese contact address.

These are tremendous benefits to be entrusted to an immigration specialist.

How to take advantage of this long-stay visa

This long-stay visa can also be used to prepare for starting a business in Japan.

If you want to start a business in Japan but do not know enough about Japan and do not have a partner in Japan, we recommend the following ways to prepare for starting a business in Japan.

Applicant’s case study

Nationality: China (Hong Kong), Age: 40s, Sex: Male

Summary of case:

Application for Certificate of Eligibility for “Designated Activities” No.40 (Long Stay for sightseeing and recreation) visa

Case details:

The applicant is a business manager (a Hong Kong resident) of a company that imports daily necessities in Hong Kong. He has been coming to Japan almost every season for the past few years. He has been to Japan more than ten times.

His Hong Kong company’s business has grown steadily and he has decided to set up a subsidiary in Japan to develop the Japanese market.

However, his Japanese language skills were inadequate and he did not have a full understanding of the Japanese people, nor did he have a business partner in Japan. So he wanted to get to know Japan first and research the country.

He holds the Hong Kong passports (both BNO (British National Overseas) and HKSAR passports) can apply for a “Designated Activities” No.40 (Long Stay for sightseeing and recreation) visa for tourism and leisure purposes.

This is a 1-year visa for the affluent foreigners called “Long-stay visa”.

Case result:

After applying for a “Designated Activities” No.40 (Long Stay for sightseeing and recreation) visa, he was granted a six-month visa.

However, he was able to apply for an extension of his residence status for a further six months before it expired, so he was given the opportunity to stay in Japan for up to one year.

Thereafter, he applied for a renewal of his visa and was able to stay in Japan for a year. This one-year visa is not limited to 180 days of entry into Japan.

The applicant and the accompanying partner (spouse) can also apply for the right of abode. However, their children are not allowed to accompany them.

The applicant will be able to stay in Japan for the whole year (and may enter and leave Japan repeatedly) and will be able to participate in various activities, sightseeing and market research. This is very beneficial to the establishment of a business in Japan.

Japan is known as a low-wage, high-tax country, and no matter how you calculate it, you will lose out financially by immigrating to Japan. If you are looking for a place to earn money, Japan is not the best choice, as Australia, the US, Singapore and Dubai all offer higher wages than Japan. However, for business person, low wages are not a problem. In addition, Japan has the advantage of having a lower tax rate on capital gains (except for Crypto), which is only 20%. There are also advantages such as the NISA system. Therefore, there are many advantages for investors and  business owners.

If you are very young, have no enough money but have just graduated from a well-known university (the world top 100 universities), you can apply for a J-Find visa. Using this J-Find visa, you are also allowed to prepare for entrepreneurial activities in Japan.

Reference page:

Other Question?

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