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Japan Digital Nomad Visa: 2026 Guide for Remote Workers

By Digital Nomads Tokyo Editorial · ·

A notebook, papers and a pen on a desk by a window overlooking the Tokyo skyline

Japan’s digital nomad visa, introduced in 2024, lets remote workers stay up to six months while working for foreign employers and clients. To qualify, you need an individual annual income of at least 10 million yen, nationality of one of 51 countries and regions on the Immigration Services Agency’s list, and private medical insurance for the whole stay.

You can’t renew it. Rules can change, so always check the current details with official sources before you apply.

What does the digital nomad visa offer?

The digital nomad visa lets you stay up to six months and explicitly allows remote work for foreign employers and clients while you’re in Japan. It’s meant for people who earn their living from companies and contracts outside Japan. It doesn’t cover working for Japanese companies here.

The big catch is that it can’t be renewed. Once you leave, you can come back on the same status only after six months have passed since you left.

The Immigration Services Agency’s Q&A (July 2024) answers a few questions nomads actually run into:

  • No local contracts. You can’t sign an employment or service contract with a company or individual in Japan, and that includes people you meet while you’re here.
  • Moving around is fine. You don’t need any special procedure to live in several Japanese cities during your stay.
  • Trips abroad are possible. You can leave temporarily on a re-entry permit or a special (deemed) re-entry permit and keep the status, as long as you’re back before it expires.
  • Freelancers are judged on profit. For sole proprietors, the 10 million yen test looks at income after business expenses, not contract value. Stable income from several clients can be added together.

Who qualifies for Japan’s digital nomad visa?

Two requirements matter most. First, income: you have to show an individual annual income of at least 10 million yen when you apply, usually based on your most recent year. Check the current exchange rate instead of relying on a dollar figure.

Second, nationality: you have to be from a country or region that has a tax treaty with Japan and qualifies for visa-exempt entry. The ISA’s list had 51 countries and regions when we checked in October 2026, including the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Your passport also needs to stay valid for your whole planned stay. Japan doesn’t have a blanket six-month remaining-validity rule for ordinary passports, but temporary or emergency travel documents can be held to stricter terms, and airlines or countries you pass through may have their own rules. Check with the embassy or consulate where you apply. On top of that, you have to work remotely as a business owner, employee, or freelancer for a company registered outside Japan.

The insurance requirement

Digital nomad visa holders can’t join Japan’s National Health Insurance, so you need private health insurance covering death, injury, and illness for your entire stay, with at least 10 million yen of medical treatment cover for injury and illness. For death, the policy has to include repatriation costs or a death benefit, with no minimum amount set. Build this into your budget.

No residence card, and what that blocks

You don’t get a residence card (zairyu card) on this status, and that matters more than it sounds. Rental screening in Japan usually assumes you have one, and some banks, Japan Post Bank among them, won’t open accounts for foreign nationals without one.

So plan on a monthly apartment or serviced stay that accepts a passport, keep using a card from home for money, and get a travel eSIM or prepaid data instead of counting on a contract phone line.

One more practical catch from the same Q&A: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices brought from abroad without Japan’s technical conformity mark (the “giteki” mark) can generally be used for only 90 days after entry. Before a six-month stay, check your phone, laptop and router for the mark.

Visa vs. tourist entry: which do you need?

Plenty of nomads from visa-exempt countries just enter Japan as tourists for short stays. A Cabinet Office document describes this as the status for someone who works remotely for an overseas employer while staying in Japan to sightsee, for up to 90 days. The purpose is sightseeing and the remote work comes along with it, so it isn’t a way to live and work in Japan, and immigration officers decide on each entry. Whether your own plans fit depends on what you’ll actually be doing, so if you’re unsure, check with the Immigration Services Agency or a Japanese embassy or consulate before you travel. The digital nomad visa makes sense when you want a longer, clearly defined six-month stay and you meet the income and insurance bar.

If your stay is shorter or your income is below the threshold, regular tourist entry may suit you better.

Before you apply

You apply at the Japanese embassy or consulate that covers where you live. The ISA page doesn’t list any way to switch into this status from inside Japan, so don’t plan on arriving as a tourist and converting. Nobody in Japan can file for you as a proxy, so the ISA says applicants abroad should apply directly at the embassy or consulate. A certificate of eligibility (COE) from the Immigration Services Agency is one way in, but not the only one. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists it among the documents, and if you have one you can skip the separate papers on your planned activities, income and insurance. Without a COE, you submit those yourself. Confirm the exact list with your embassy or consulate, and sort out the paperwork before you travel, not after you land.

On tax, the ISA’s Q&A says that in many cases pay for work done in Japan is exempt from Japanese income tax if you meet your country’s tax treaty conditions, for example being in Japan no more than 183 days in the tax year or in any 12 months. Conditions differ from treaty to treaty, so check yours with a tax advisor.

Immigration rules change and everyone’s situation is different, so treat this as general information, not legal advice. Check the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Services Agency websites for the latest requirements, and consider talking to an immigration professional if your case is complicated.

Get your status right from the start, and everything else about your time in Tokyo gets simpler.

For practical setup once you arrive, see our guides on mobile and internet setup and banking and money.

FAQ

How long can you stay on Japan’s digital nomad visa?

Up to six months. It can’t be renewed, and you can come back on the same status only once six months have passed since you left Japan. Short trips abroad in the middle are fine on a re-entry permit or special re-entry permit, as long as you’re back before the status expires.

What is the income requirement for the Japan digital nomad visa?

At least 10 million yen a year in individual income. For freelancers, that means profit after business expenses.

Can I bring my family on the digital nomad visa?

Yes. A spouse or child can come on a companion status (Designated Activities No. 54) for up to six months, also with no renewal and no residence card, and each of them needs the same medical insurance cover. The nationality list for family members is longer than the one for the nomad. Check the current rules with official sources.