Moving to Japan from the US

The agency pages do not say whether remote work for an employer abroad counts as an activity on a visit, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs describes the short stay as one that "does not include remunerative activities". The six-month digital nomad status exists for people who work remotely from Japan. The US State Department says it is illegal to work in Japan on a tourist visa, and that overstaying or working illegally may lead to penalties, severe fines and re-entry bans. The Washington embassy says you can pre-register your arrival on Visit Japan Web.

It needs annual income that meets a minimum (to be safe, more than JPY 11,000,000 a year) at the time of application, private medical travel insurance with treatment cover of JPY 10 million or more, and a passport from a country in the agency's chart, which includes the United States. You may not work for a Japanese organisation or person under an employment or contractor agreement. The agency's outline says your stay under the status must not exceed six months within a year, and its Q&A says you can re-enter with the status once six months have passed after leaving. There is no residence card. A spouse or child can come on a separate six-month status. Longer routes without a Japanese job offer need more: Business Manager (periods of up to five years) asks for capital or invested funds that meet a minimum (to be safe, more than JPY 31 million), a full-time employee, Japanese at B2 level held by you or the employee, three years of management experience or a master's degree, and a business plan checked by a qualified expert; the long stay for tourism and recreation (six months, up to one year) asks for savings above a minimum (to be safe, hold more than JPY 31 million) and does not cover work; J-Find (up to two years) is for graduates of a university in the top 100 of two world rankings within five years of the degree, with savings that meet a minimum (to be safe, hold more than JPY 210,000); and the startup visa (up to two years) needs a startup plan checked by a certified local authority. Highly Skilled Professional points are scored on a salary from an organisation in Japan or on running a business there.

Documents in a foreign language need a Japanese translation when filed with the agency, and certificates issued in Japan must be under three months old. A spouse or child adds proof of the relationship and a copy of your passport. The agency's Q&A says that if you are outside Japan nobody in Japan can file the certificate of eligibility for you, so you apply for the visa directly at the embassy or consulate. The Washington embassy takes visa applications only from residents of Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia; other states use a consulate. It takes at least five business days, with no express service, and the embassy suggests applying about six weeks before departure but not more than three months ahead. A single-entry visa is valid for three months, so you must enter within that time. Applications are made in person, not by post. Processing time for the digital nomad visa itself is not stated on the pages read, so it is unknown.

Anyone else is a non-resident, taxed only on income from sources in Japan, and the guide says pay for personal services performed in Japan is Japan-source income even if it is paid abroad. The agency's digital nomad Q&A says pay for work done in Japan can be exempt under the tax convention when the conditions are met, which in most conventions include staying 183 days or less in the taxable year or in any 12-month period, and that it is not exempt if you go over or if a Japanese employer pays you. The US convention puts it this way for an employee: tax only in the US if you are in Japan no more than 183 days in any 12-month period commencing or ending in the tax year, your employer is not a Japanese resident, and a Japanese permanent establishment does not bear the pay. A stay of six months can last 181 to 184 days, and earlier visits in the same 12 months count, so plan your dates with an adviser.

Your plan of up to six months with no residence card points to non-resident status, but a stay that turns into a longer one can change that. Non-residents are taxed only on Japan-source income.

Article 7 says a business's profits are taxable only in its home state unless it has a permanent establishment in the other, so a US sole proprietor is generally taxed only in the US; whether a rented flat or shared desk could be a permanent establishment was not checked. Article 4 decides residence if both countries claim you, and treats a US citizen as a US resident only if you are not a Japanese resident and have a substantial presence, permanent home or habitual abode in the US. The National Tax Agency says a US resident claiming a treaty exemption on a Japanese return must attach its convention application form, a limitation on benefits form and a certificate of residency, and that a non-resident with Japan-source pay for services not subject to withholding files a quasi-final return before leaving Japan.

Whether a six-month remote worker needs a certificate of coverage was not checked. The digital nomad status carries no residence card, and the agency says holders are not eligible to join Japan's public medical insurance, which is why private cover of JPY 10 million is required. US self-employment tax can still apply to profit you exclude from income tax. This describes the system, not your bill.

US citizens pay no visa fee. Pre-register your arrival on Visit Japan Web.

Medicare does not cover care in Japan. The price of a policy that meets the rule was not found, so it is unknown.