Japan’s New Digital Nomad Visa
Osaka, Japan made our list, 12 LGBTQ+-friendly Places to Travel in 2024, and for queer digital nomads contemplating an extended stay to explore Osaka and beyond – get ready! The Japan Immigration Services Agency (ISA) will launch a six-month digital nomad visa at the end of March.
The news comes as East Asia, which obviously includes Japan, has started to become a popular destination for Americans. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, last December broke records for American travel to Japan, when 26.8 percent more Americans traveled to the country than in December 2019.
The six-month period for the new visa was chosen based on a survey of digital nomads who overwhelmingly preferred to stay longer than 90 days – the current length of visa-free short-term stays.
According to The Japan Times, The new visa is open to remote workers who make at least ¥10 million (approximately $66,400) a year and they must be from one of 49 countries or territories such as the US, Australia, and Singapore. Private health insurance is a requirement for applicants, too.
People living in the country with a digital nomad visa will not be issued a residence card or residence certificate, which provides access to government benefits. Once the visa expires, digital nomads will have to reapply to extend their stay, but after they leave the country.
Brittany Loeffler, the head of operations at Nomad Embassy, a website that helps nomads acquire the proper visas, told BBC News that the “affordable cost of living, reliable wi-fi and great weather.”
However, flying back to your home country to renew your visa can be pretty expensive. It’s just one of a few important points people are calling out on social media platforms like Reddit. The new visa and a potential surge in nomads in Japan could be similar to the uptick in expats in Lisbon, Portugal, where expats drove the cost of living up forcing the cancellation of the Golden Visa residency program. Only time will tell.
