Japan Work Visa Solutions

Japan Visa Services

At the core of our practice is the Japan Work Visa Solutions Group. This Group focuses on obtaining appropriate Japan work visas for assignees and dependents visas for their family members.

Working in Japan requires the individual to qualify for a Status of Residence (“SOR”) that permits employment.

The application process starts with matching a visa category with the applicants proposed activities, qualifications, and prior work experience. In addition, the type of entity a client has chosen for its business in Japan may affect the category of work visas that are available.

Our approach in each case will depend on the client’s requirements and the stage of the process at which our team is brought in. The typical flow of our work is as follows:

Step 1

A Japan business entity is required to obtain a Japan work visa. Our first step is assessing the Japanese business entity since the entity selected and the way it is structured can impact the type of visa that is available. If no entity is in place, our Advisory Team can advise our clients in choosing the appropriate entity that takes into account, business, tax and visa concerns.

Step 2

An assessment is made of the applicant’s proposed activities, qualifications, and experience to determine the best available work visa category. At this stage, critical employee issues such as tax efficient compensation planning also need to be finalized. Corporate tax planning is required where an assignee is being sent to Japan to become the director of a Japanese company. Once all of these issues have been clarified, our team will prepare the application.

Step 3

A Certificate of Eligibility (“COE”) application for a work visa is submitted in Japan.

Step 4

Once a COE has been granted it is converted to a Work Status of Residence (“SOR”). This is accomplished either via a change of status in Japan or upon arrival in Japan after obtaining a visa at a Japanese embassy or consul abroad.

Step 5

Japan post-arrival issues including obtaining a Japan residence card and individual tax issues must be dealt with.

Regardless of the point at which we are engaged, Japan Visa’s professionals provide a fully integrated solution to meet all our clients' needs.

For more information about the requirements and steps associated with specific work visa categories, please click on any of the below.

The following are the Japan work visa categories that are most applicable to our clients:

In appropriate cases, we can assist in obtaining more specialized non-working categories of Japan visas including:

We can also assist with more specialized visas including:

The above is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute advice to undertake or refrain from undertaking any action. Only qualified Japanese professionals are able to advise on Japan immigration, legal, and tax matters.