Tourist visa allowing a stay of up to One year (Long Stay for sightseeing and recreation)

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.

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)

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:

• Customer Feedback
• Japan New Framework to Attract Top Global Talent (J-Find visa & J-Skip visa)

Other Question?

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