Japan golden visa and investor residency programmes in 2026

Japan does not operate a golden visa in the conventional sense — no real estate purchase threshold, no government bond subscription, and no fixed-sum donation to a development fund grants a residence permit. What the country offers instead is a set of occupation-linked statuses that, for a high-net-worth individual with a credible business plan or a demonstrable track record of professional achievement, can produce a functionally equivalent outcome: a renewable five-year residence permit, a pathway to permanent residency after ten years (or one year under the Highly Skilled Professional points system), and the eventual option of naturalisation after five years of continuous residence. The distinction matters because wealthy applicants accustomed to the transactional simplicity of Portugal’s D7 or Greece’s property-linked permit must adjust their expectations. Japan’s Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA), operating under the Ministry of Justice, evaluates applications on substance rather than investment quantum. The relevant statuses for 2026 are the Business Manager visa (kanri/un'ei), the Highly Skilled Professional (HSP) visa with its points-based fast track, and the Strategic Special Zones programme for certain prefectures. Each carries its own capital, staffing, and physical presence requirements, and each has undergone incremental tightening since the 2023 revisions to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act. ## The business manager visa: capital, premises, and genuine operation The Business Manager visa (Status of Residence “Business Manager”) is the most direct route for an investor who wishes to establish or acquire a company in Japan. The Immigration Services Agency of Japan requires three structural conditions that cannot be circumvented by a larger investment. ### Minimum capital and the 5 million yen floor The applicant must invest at least 5 million yen (approximately USD 33,000 at mid-2026 exchange rates) in the Japanese entity, or the entity must have at least two full-time employees (excluding the applicant) who are Japanese nationals or permanent residents. This threshold is codified in the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act and is not negotiable. A contribution of 10 million yen or 50 million yen does not exempt the applicant from the operational requirements — the visa is not a passive investment vehicle. The capital must be sourced from a foreign account and traceable; the ISA routinely requests bank statements, remittance records, and a capital verification certificate from the company’s certified public accountant. ### Physical premises and the “genuine business” test A registered office in Japan is mandatory. Virtual offices or co-working space memberships that do not provide a dedicated, lockable space are generally rejected. The ISA has, since 2024, intensified on-site inspections for new Business Manager applicants in the Tokyo and Osaka regional immigration bureaus. The authority’s internal guidelines, published in the ISA’s “Procedures for Status of Residence” handbook, state that the business must be “genuinely conducted” — a standard that excludes shell companies, single-purpose holding vehicles with no operational activity, and businesses whose revenue is insufficient to cover the managing director’s salary. The applicant must demonstrate a concrete business plan with projected revenue, expense, and profit figures for at least three years. ### Renewal criteria and the five-year pathway The initial grant is for one year or, in cases where the business has already been operating profitably for at least one year before application, three years. Renewal requires evidence of ongoing business activity: tax filings, corporate registration extracts, payroll records for any employees, and proof of the applicant’s salary (which must meet the minimum threshold for a “specialist in humanities/international services” category, approximately 4 million yen per annum). After ten years of continuous residence, the holder may apply for permanent residence. The ISA’s standard processing time for a Business Manager application in 2026 is three to six months, though applicants who submit incomplete financial documentation face delays of eight months or longer. ## The highly skilled professional visa: points-based acceleration for investors and executives The Highly Skilled Professional (HSP) visa, introduced in 2012 and revised in 2023 with the J-Skip and J-Find programmes, offers a faster path to permanent residence for individuals who score 70 points or more on a points table that rewards income, academic background, professional experience, and Japanese language ability. ### Points allocation for high-income applicants The points table, administered by the ISA under the “Highly Skilled Professional Points System,” assigns significant weight to annual income. An applicant earning 10 million yen or more receives 20 points; 20 million yen or more earns 30 points; 30 million yen or more earns 40 points. For a UHNW principal who can demonstrate a salary of 30 million yen from the Japanese entity, the income component alone places the applicant within striking distance of the 70-point threshold. Additional points are available for holding an MBA (5 points), graduating from a university ranked in the top 300 globally (10 points), or publishing research papers (variable). Japanese language proficiency at the N1 level of the JLPT adds 15 points; N2 adds 10 points. ### The one-year track to permanent residence An HSP visa holder with 80 points or more may apply for permanent residence after one year of continuous residence in Japan. This is the fastest statutory pathway available. The 70-point holder must wait three years. The permanent residence application itself requires the same documentation as the standard ten-year route: a certificate of tax payment, a guarantor (who must be a Japanese national or permanent resident), and evidence of compliance with all immigration laws. The ISA’s permanent residence application page states that the applicant must demonstrate “good conduct, sufficient assets or skills to maintain an independent livelihood, and contribution to the national interest.” In practice, the “contribution” standard is met by the HSP’s high-income and professional-qualification requirements. ### J-Skip and J-Find: the 2023 additions The J-Skip programme, launched in April 2023, grants HSP status to graduates of top global universities who meet certain income thresholds, without requiring a job offer at the time of application. J-Find is a two-year “job-seeking” visa for recent graduates. Neither programme is an investment visa, but J-Skip can be relevant for a family-office principal who wishes to relocate a child who has graduated from a university ranked in the top 100 globally. The J-Find visa requires the holder to find employment or start a business within two years or depart. ## The strategic special zones programme: prefectural variations Japan’s National Strategic Special Zones (kokusai senryaku tokku) allow certain prefectures to offer relaxed visa conditions for foreign entrepreneurs. The most relevant for high-net-worth applicants is the Fukuoka City Entrepreneur Visa, which permits a six-month “business preparation” period before the applicant must establish a company and apply for the Business Manager visa. ### The Fukuoka six-month preparation visa The Fukuoka City government, under the National Strategic Special Zone framework, allows foreign entrepreneurs to enter Japan for up to six months with a “Designated Activities” visa to develop a business plan, secure office space, and open a corporate bank account. The applicant must submit a preliminary business plan to the Fukuoka City Economic and Tourism Bureau. No minimum capital is required during the preparation period, but the applicant must transition to the standard Business Manager visa (with the 5 million yen requirement) before the six months expire. Tokyo and Osaka have similar programmes, though the Fukuoka scheme is the most established, with the city reporting approximately 120 approvals per year as of 2025. ### No real estate investment route It is important to note that no special zone permits passive real estate investment as a basis for residence. Purchasing a residential property in Tokyo, even at a value of 100 million yen or higher, confers no immigration benefit. The only property-linked residence status is the Business Manager visa for a company that operates a rental property business — and that company must have a physical office, employees, and demonstrable revenue from property management activities. The ISA’s position on this is unambiguous: a single property held in the applicant’s personal name does not constitute a business. ## Tax considerations for investor-residents Japan’s tax regime for resident individuals is based on physical presence and domicile, not visa type. A holder of a Business Manager or HSP visa who lives in Japan for 183 days or more in a calendar year is treated as a tax resident. ### The 10-year exit tax and deemed realisation Japan imposes an exit tax on individuals who hold a “Specified Resident” designation — those who have resided in Japan for five of the last ten years and who hold assets exceeding 100 million yen. Upon departure from Japan, unrealised capital gains on certain securities are deemed to be realised and taxed at the standard rate of approximately 20.315% (15% national, 5% local, plus 0.315% reconstruction surcharge). This applies to shares in unlisted companies, certain listed shares held in a concentrated position, and derivatives. Real estate is not subject to the exit tax. For a UHNW individual with a global portfolio, the exit tax is a material consideration when planning the duration of Japanese residence. The National Tax Agency’s guidelines on the exit tax were revised in 2024 to clarify that the 100 million yen threshold is measured at market value, not cost basis. ### Foreign-source income and the permanent establishment risk A Business Manager visa holder whose Japanese company is managed and controlled from Japan will likely have a permanent establishment in Japan, exposing the company’s global income to Japanese corporate tax. Careful structuring of the corporate entity — ensuring that board meetings, strategic decisions, and key contracts are executed outside Japan — can mitigate this risk. The Japan-Switzerland and Japan-Singapore double tax treaties, for example, contain tie-breaker provisions that may preserve non-Japanese tax residence for the company if its place of effective management is outside Japan. ## Practical experience: what recent applicants report Conversations with immigration attorneys in Tokyo and Osaka, as well as publicly available case studies from the ISA’s annual report on foreign resident statistics, reveal a consistent pattern: the Business Manager visa is workable but bureaucratic, and the HSP visa is faster but requires meticulous documentation. ### Application timelines and common rejections The average processing time for a first-time Business Manager application filed from outside Japan is four months, according to data from the Japan Immigration Lawyers Association (JILA). Applications filed from within Japan on a change-of-status basis average two to three months. The most common reasons for rejection are insufficient capital documentation (the ISA requires proof that the 5 million yen was transferred from the applicant’s personal foreign account, not borrowed from a Japanese entity), inadequate business premises (a shared desk in a co-working space is not sufficient), and a business plan that the ISA deems unrealistic (for example, a restaurant with projected first-year revenue that exceeds the industry average by an order of magnitude). ### The guarantor requirement for permanent residence Every permanent residence application requires a guarantor (mimoto hoshonin) who is a Japanese national or permanent resident. The guarantor must provide a letter of guarantee, a certificate of tax payment, and proof of employment or income. For a UHNW applicant who has no personal relationships in Japan, finding a guarantor can be the most difficult step. Some immigration attorneys offer guarantor services for a fee, but the ISA has signalled increasing scrutiny of commercial guarantors. The safer approach is to cultivate a relationship with a Japanese business partner, a board member, or a long-term employee who meets the guarantor criteria. ## Key takeaways for 2026 - Japan has no golden visa; the only investment-linked residence pathway is the Business Manager visa, which requires a minimum capital injection of 5 million yen, a physical office, and a genuine operating business. - The Highly Skilled Professional visa offers a one-year path to permanent residence for applicants who score 80 points on the ISA’s points table, with income of 30 million yen or more contributing 40 points toward that total. - The Strategic Special Zones in Fukuoka, Tokyo, and Osaka offer a six-month business preparation visa, but the applicant must transition to the full Business Manager visa with the 5 million yen capital requirement within that period. - Real estate purchase confers no immigration benefit; a property must be held through an operating company with employees and revenue to qualify for the Business Manager visa. - Japan’s exit tax on deemed realisation of securities gains applies to Specified Residents with assets exceeding 100 million yen who have resided in Japan for five of the last ten years. - The guarantor requirement for permanent residence is a binding constraint; applicants should identify a qualified guarantor early in the process, ideally through a business relationship rather than a commercial service. ## Sources - Immigration Services Agency of Japan, “Procedures for Status of Residence: Business Manager,” [https://www.isa.go.jp/en/applications/procedures/zairyu_nintei10_15.html](https://www.isa.go.jp/en/applications/procedures/zairyu_nintei10_15.html) - Immigration Services Agency of Japan, “Highly Skilled Professional Points System,” [https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/](https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/) - Immigration Services Agency of Japan, “Application for Permanent Residence,” [https://www.isa.go.jp/en/applications/procedures/zairyu_eizyu_application.html](https://www.isa.go.jp/en/applications/procedures/zairyu_eizyu_application.html) - National Tax Agency, “Exit Tax Guidelines (Revised 2024),” [https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/taxanswer/exit-tax.htm](https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/taxanswer/exit-tax.htm) - Fukuoka City Government, “National Strategic Special Zone: Entrepreneur Visa Programme,” [https://www.city.fukuoka.lg.jp/keizai/business/specialzone.html](https://www.city.fukuoka.lg.jp/keizai/business/specialzone.html)