Designated Activities (Digital Nomad)
Six months, then you leave. Japan built this under Designated Activities rather than as a visa of its own, for remote workers paid from outside the country.
The common misunderstanding is that this is a soft entry point to living in Japan. It is not. It is a tourist substitute with a work permission attached, and the immigration agency treats it as strictly temporary: no extension is granted, and the agency states you must wait six months before reapplying for the same status. If your plan runs past one season, this is the wrong instrument.
Programme snapshot
| Item | Current rule |
|---|---|
| Main audience | Nationals of countries with both a Japanese visa exemption arrangement and a tax treaty, working remotely for a foreign employer or foreign clients |
| Route family | Remote work |
| Validity | 6 months |
| Stay per entry | 6 months, single entry period |
| Threshold | JPY 10,000,000 annual income (2026), about USD 67,000 at JPY 150 per USD |
| Renewal | None. No extension is granted |
| Settlement | None |
| PR clock | None. Time on this status does not count toward permanent residence |
| Citizenship clock | None |
| Family | Yes. Spouse and children receive a matching Designated Activities status, but the spouse is not automatically allowed to work locally |
| Local employment | Prohibited. Working for a Japanese organisation is not allowed |
| Tax headline | Six months is designed to sit under the 183 day residency threshold, but tax treaty tie-breaker rules can still make you a Japanese resident |
| Processing | 5 to 10 working days at an embassy or consulate. A Certificate of Eligibility is optional but smooths entry |
Application flow
- Check your nationality against both lists. Visa exemption alone is not enough; a tax treaty is also required, so not every visa-exempt country qualifies.
- Confirm your income reaches JPY 10,000,000 a year (2026). There is no points calculation and no capital alternative.
- Buy medical insurance covering at least JPY 10,000,000 of treatment and make sure the certificate states that amount.
- Apply at a Japanese embassy or consulate. A Certificate of Eligibility is optional, but having one shortens the conversation at the counter.
- Enter Japan within the visa validity. The status runs six months from entry and cannot be extended.
- Leave before it expires. If you want the same status again, the agency states you must wait six months.
Good fit
A consultant or remote employee earning well over USD 100,000 who wants one ski season, one language course, or one city, and who has a home to go back to. The income floor is high but the paperwork is light, and five to ten working days is fast by Japanese standards. It also suits someone testing whether they want to build a longer plan, provided they understand the test is not renewable.
Poor fit
Anyone intending to stay, bring a working spouse, or build toward permanent residence. The status leads nowhere and the clock does not move. Freelancers selling to Japanese customers are outside it entirely, since local clients and a local salary are prohibited. People who need a bank account, an apartment lease, and a phone contract in their own name will find the lack of a residence card a real obstacle rather than a technicality.
Watchpoints
- Six months is a hard ceiling. There is no extension of stay. You must leave, and the agency states you must wait six months before reapplying for the same status.
- The insurance certificate must state JPY 10,000,000. A standard travel policy often caps lower. A certificate showing the wrong limit is a refusal, not a request for more documents.
- No residence card is issued. That complicates opening a bank account, renting, and signing a phone contract. Plan for the first month without any of them.
- No local income of any kind. Not a Japanese salary, not Japanese clients, not invoicing a Japanese company from abroad while resident on this status.
- Not every visa-exempt country qualifies. Nationality is checked against a fixed list that requires a tax treaty as well as an exemption.
- Six months does not guarantee non-residence. The status is designed to sit under the 183 day threshold, but treaty tie-breaker rules can still make you a Japanese tax resident. Get advice before you assume otherwise.
Sources
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Designated Activities (Digital Nomad) specified visa page, checked 2026-10-22
- Immigration Services Agency, Designated Activities (Digital Nomad) status page, checked 2026-10-22