All countries → Asia-Pacific → Japan
🇯🇵 Japan visa and residence routes
Now has a (short) nomad visa, a generous points system for professionals, and surprisingly reachable work routes.
The lowest published bar starts from €2,000 a month in income. Documented routes cover remote work / self-employment, employer-sponsored and points-based. Naturalisation becomes possible after roughly 5 years of qualifying residence.
How Japan compares
Living costs sit mid-table for this list, at roughly €1,800 a month for one person. English will not carry you far in daily life or administration — expect to need the local language. Healthcare is among the strongest on this list.
Who these routes are built for
Based on the routes currently included in our database for Japan, these options suit people earning from remote work or their own foreign clients; skilled applicants who score well on a points test.
They are a poor fit for retirees, since no passive-income route is published.
What the bar means in practice
The lowest income requirement, €2,000 a month on the Engineer / Specialist Work Visa, sits against living costs of about €1,800 a month. That is close to what one person actually spends here, so qualifying and living comfortably amount to much the same thing. If that is out of reach, the nearest lower bar in Asia-Pacific is 🇲🇾 Malaysia, which starts at €1,900 a month.
Routes at a glance
| Route | Built for | Financial bar | Processing | Leads to residency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Nomad Visa | Remote work / self-employment | €5,100/mo | 1–2 mo | No |
| Engineer / Specialist Work Visa | Employer-sponsored | €2,000/mo | 1–3 mo | Yes |
| Highly Skilled Professional (points) | Points-based | €3,000/mo | 1–3 mo | Yes |
The financial bar is the main money test for that route — a monthly income floor, or the savings to show where no income floor applies. Figures are for a single applicant; most programmes scale upward for a partner or children.
Which of these would actually take you?
This page lists the routes currently included in our database for Japan. The free 3-minute check compares those rules against your own passport, income, savings, age and family, and stamps each route clear, stretch or blocked — with the reason.
No account, no card, results in 3 minutes.
Routes in our database, in detail
Digital Nomad Visa
¥10M/yr (~€61k) remote income, 6 months non-renewable, private insurance required.
Engineer / Specialist Work Visa
Job offer + degree (or 10 years' experience). Tech hiring of foreigners is very active.
Highly Skilled Professional (points)
70+ points (age, salary, degree, experience) unlock a 5-year visa and PR in 1–3 years.
Before you rely on any of this
Visa and residence requirements on this page are compiled from the linked official sources and current as of 2026-08-07. Cost of living, English, healthcare and cross-country comparison indicators are ExpatSuccess estimates, not government figures. Governments change immigration rules without notice and consulates apply them with discretion, so confirm on the linked official portal before making decisions or spending money. This page is research, not legal, immigration, tax or financial advice.
Other Asia-Pacific destinations
🇹🇭 Thailand · 🇰🇷 South Korea · 🇲🇾 Malaysia · 🇮🇩 Indonesia (Bali) · 🇸🇬 Singapore · 🇦🇺 Australia · 🇳🇿 New Zealand · 🇵🇭 Philippines