• JoynOne

Business Manager Visa Application Support

$500

The Business Manager visa is for foreigners who want to start or manage a real business in Japan. If you qualify, it can be one of the strongest ways to build a long-term life and career here — but the requirements are strict and getting stricter.

Am I eligible?

I am eligible!

Get Your Visa Support

✔️ 100% Refund Guarantee


If your visa is officially refused even after we have checked and approved your documents, we will refund 100% of our Visa Application Support fee (Check our Refund Policy).

Table of Contents

Business Manager Visa Application Support

1. What the Business Manager/Startup Visa is and Who It’s For

The Business Manager / Startup Visa is a residence status that lets you:

  • Live in Japan as a company owner or manager, not just an employee
  • Establish or run a real, registered business with a physical office in Japan
  • Build a long-term life in Japan through your own company, and (if eligible) bring your spouse and children with you

2. What You Get (Business Manager Visa Application Support)

This service is for people who are serious about building a real business in Japan and look like realistic candidates for the Business Manager visa under the current, stricter rules.

What’s included:

Eligibility & route clarification

  • We look at your business idea, capital, experience, income, and Japanese level and help you understand if:
    • Business Manager is realistic, or
    • You should instead consider another starting route (student, highly skilled, etc.).

Requirements & structure guidance

  • We explain, in simple terms, what immigration is looking for:
    • Real business, not “paper company”
    • Proper office, capital, and employees
    • A believable business plan backed by numbers
       (based on publicly available guidelines and professional commentary).

Document checklist for you and your company

  • A personalised checklist covering typical items such as:
    • Company registration documents
    • Articles of incorporation
    • Capital / investment proof
    • Lease agreement for the office
    • Business plan
    • Bank statements, tax docs, CVs of managers
    • Employee contracts / payroll info (if hiring staff)

Business plan support (structure & clarity)

  • We help you structure a clear, simple business plan that explains:
    • What your business does
    • How it will make money
    • Why it needs to be in Japan
    • How it will be staffed and funded
  • We don’t write your business from zero, but we shape and review your plan so immigration can understand it more easily.

Form & document review

  • We review your:
    • Application forms (for Certificate of Eligibility or change of status)
    • Supporting documents
       and check for missing, inconsistent or confusing information.

File organisation & pre-check

  • We help you put everything in a logical order so that immigration officers can quickly see:
    • The company is real
    • The capital and structure meet the latest rules
    • You are genuinely managing the business

Submission & follow-up guidance

  • We provide general guidance on:
    • How the application is usually submitted (often via you, your company, or a gyoseishoshi)
    • What kind of follow-up questions immigration might ask
  • If extra documents are requested, we help you prepare clear responses.

Q&A helpdesk

  • During the process, you can ask us questions about requirements, document structure and next steps, instead of guessing alone.

Important:

  • We are not lawyers or gyoseishoshi.
  • We do not provide legal advice and we do not guarantee approval.

The final decision is always made by Japanese immigration and the embassy/consulate.

3. How Long You Can Stay on a Business Manager Visa

The Business Manager status is a long-term residence status, not a short visit.

  • Periods of stay are usually granted in units such as 1 year, 3 years, or 5 years, depending on the strength and stability of the business.
  • As long as your business continues to meet the requirements, you can renew and stay long term.

In addition, holding a stable Business Manager status for several years can count towards the years needed for permanent residency, under the general PR rules.

4. Main Perks of the Business Manager Route

If you qualify, this route can be very powerful:

  • Live in Japan while running your own company
     You’re not just an employee – you’re building and managing your own business here.
  • Long-term, renewable status
     Successful businesses can lead to multi-year renewals, giving you and your family stability.
  • Family can join you
     You can normally bring your spouse and children on dependent status if you meet income and support conditions.
  • Flexibility in industry
     In principle, there is no strict limit on business type, as long as it is legal and economically viable (IT, consulting, F&B, services, etc.).
  • Pathway to PR
     Because you’re on a proper work-qualifying status with management responsibilities, time spent on this status may help you qualify for permanent residency faster than some other routes.

In simple terms:

If you already have the capital, experience, and a serious business plan, Business Manager can be a direct route into Japan as an entrepreneur or executive.

5. Criteria to Apply (High-Level Summary)

The rules for Business Manager are currently being tightened. Under the revised standards announced for October 2025 onward, common elements include:

Always confirm details on the official Immigration Services Agency site or with a licensed professional before you apply.

Typical requirements now include:

1. Capital / investment

  • At least 30 million yen of capital invested into the business
     (the minimum was previously 5 million yen; the bar has now been raised significantly).

2.Real business office

  • A physical office in Japan that suits your business type.
  • Virtual offices and purely “on paper” addresses are not accepted.
  • The office should look like a real place of business (lease contract, photos, utilities, etc.).

3. Management background or degree

You usually need either:

  • More than 3 years of management or business experience, or
  • A master’s degree or higher in a field related to business management, commerce, accounting, etc.

4. Staff requirement

  • You must normally employ at least one full-time staff member in Japan.
  • In some explanations, this can be a Japanese national or a permanent/long-term resident foreigner.

5. Japanese language ability (you or your staff)

  • Either you or at least one full-time employee must have a certain level of Japanese proficiency, so the business can actually operate in Japan (for example, dealing with clients, suppliers, and public offices).

6.Viable business plan

  • A realistic business plan showing:
    • What you will sell or provide
    • Your target customers
    • How you will make money
    • Basic financial estimates
  • Immigration is increasingly strict about “paper companies” with no real activity.

7. Clean background

  • No serious immigration violations or criminal history.

Our role is to help you translate these requirements into a document checklist and a clear story, so you understand whether you’re close to meeting the bar.

6. Locations Available

The Business Manager visa itself does not limit you to one city.

  • You can establish and run your business anywhere in Japan:
    • Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Sapporo, regional cities, etc.
  • Your main business office will normally be your base, but you can open branches or change locations as your business grows (with proper updates to immigration and city hall).

JoynOne’s strongest local support after arrival is in Tokyo, but the visa allows you to build your business in whichever city makes sense for your industry and strategy.

7. Typical Other Costs You Need to Plan For

Our Business Manager Visa Application Support fee covers only our support service. You must also budget for:

  • Company setup costs
    • Registration fees, notary fees, legal stamps
    • Professional fees if you use a lawyer/gyoseishoshi/accountant
  • Office costs
    • Deposit and rent for your physical office
    • Utilities, furniture, equipment
  • Capital investment
    • At least 30 million yen capital invested into the business, under current revised criteria.
  • Staff costs
    • Salary and social insurance contributions for at least one full-time employee
  • Immigration & embassy fees
    • Application fees and visa issuance fees (amounts depend on your nationality and procedures)
  • Professional fees (if used)
    • If you or your company hires a licensed lawyer or gyoseishoshi for the official application, their fees are separate from JoynOne.
  • Relocation & living costs
    • Flights, temporary accommodation, long-term housing deposit, furniture
    • Monthly living expenses (rent, food, transport, schooling if you have children, etc.)

We can help you think through a realistic budget so you don’t underestimate the total cost of building a business presence in Japan.

8. Procedure to Apply (With JoynOne Support)

Here’s a typical flow if you use JoynOne Business Manager Visa Application Support:

1.Initial case review

  • You share your idea, capital, experience, and (if applicable) existing Japanese company connections.
  • We give you a high-level view: is Business Manager realistic now, later, or is another visa more appropriate first

2. Purchase our support package

  • If it looks realistic and you want help, you purchase the Business Manager support package.

3. Requirements mapping & checklist

  • We map your situation to the current rules (capital, office, experience, staff, Japanese ability).
  • You receive a detailed document checklist for you and your company.

4. Company setup & office arrangements

  • You (and your local partners, if any) move forward with:
    • Company incorporation
    • Office lease
    • Capital payment
    • We don’t register your company for you, but we can help you understand what’s needed and, if necessary, recommend that you consult a specialist.

5. Business plan & documents preparation

  • You draft your business plan and gather supporting documents.
  • We review and suggest improvements to make everything clear and consistent.

6. Application form completion & review

  • You or your representative prepare the forms for:
    • Certificate of Eligibility (if you’re abroad), or
    • Change of status (if you’re already in Japan)
    • We review the forms against your supporting documents.

7. Submission to immigration

  • You, your company, or your hired gyoseishoshi submits the application to the Immigration Services Agency in Japan.
  • 8. Follow-up
    If immigration asks for extra documents or clarification, we help you interpret the request and prepare responses.

8. Embassy / consulate stage (if abroad)

  • Once the Certificate of Eligibility is issued, you apply at the Japanese embassy/consulate in your country to receive the visa sticker.

9. Typical Timeline – From Application to Result

Timing can vary a lot, but a rough idea is:

  • 1–3 months: Preparation phase
    • Decide on business structure and location
    • Incorporation and office lease
    • Capital payment
    • Document collection & business plan preparation
    • JoynOne reviews and refinement
  • 1–3 months: Immigration processing
    • Immigration reviews your application and may request additional documents
       (complex or borderline cases can take longer).
  • 1–2 weeks: Embassy stage (if outside Japan)
    • Once your CoE is issued, you apply at the embassy/consulate and wait for visa issuance.

So overall, from “I’m serious about launching a business in Japan” to “I’m ready to fly with a Business Manager visa”, you should think in terms of:

Around 3–6+ months, depending on how fast you move and how complex your case is.

10. After Your Visa Is Successfully Approved

Once your Business Manager / Startup Visa is approved, your real challenge begins: moving yourself (and possibly your family) to Japan and actually running your company here. You’ll be busy with bank meetings, suppliers, staff, and clients – and on top of that, you still need to deal with housing, city hall, utilities, and everyday life in a new country.

This is exactly why we created the JoynOne Relocation Support Value Package.

With this package, we help you handle the “life setup” side so you can focus on building your business:

  • Housing Support
    Help finding foreigner-friendly housing (especially in Tokyo), explaining contracts, deposits and key money, and avoiding common traps for new arrivals.
  • City Hall & Registration
    Guidance for resident registration, MyNumber, inkan/hanko basics, and the essential paperwork you must complete as soon as you arrive.
  • Health Insurance & Social Systems
    Support understanding and joining the correct schemes (company social insurance, national health insurance, pension) so you and your family are properly covered.
  • Banking & Payments for Daily Life
    Help opening personal bank accounts (where eligible), setting up salary deposits, and understanding how to pay rent, utilities and everyday bills.
  • Phone, SIM / eSIM & Internet
    Assistance choosing and setting up mobile and home internet options so you can communicate with staff, partners and clients from day one.
  • Family & Daily Life Support
    Basic guidance on everyday life in Japan (schools/daycare options, transport, shopping, local services) plus a support point when you receive letters or forms you don’t understand.
  • JoynOne

Business Manager Visa Application Support

The Business Manager visa is for foreigners who want to start or manage a real business in Japan. If you qualify, it can be one of the strongest ways to build a long-term life and career here — but the requirements are strict and getting stricter.

Am I eligible?

I am eligible!

Get Your Visa Support
Book Consultation Now