Chapter 3 — Visas: what the house does not give you

Immigration rules change frequently, and the thresholds and requirements you may see quoted elsewhere can date quickly. For your own situation, consult a licensed immigration specialist (行政書士) or lawyer (弁護士).

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Owning property in Japan gives you no residency rights whatsoever.

We said this in Chapter 1 and we are saying it again because it is the single most expensive misunderstanding a foreign buyer can carry. There is no golden visa. There is no investor route through real estate. There is no partial credit. Buying a house does not shorten a queue, strengthen an application, or count towards anything.

If your plan is "buy a house, then work out how to stay," you have two separate projects, and the second one is harder than the first.

That said, people do move to Japan, and there are real routes. What follows is a map of them. It is deliberately blunt about which ones are realistic.

The routes that actually exist

Business Manager (経営・管理)

This was, for years, the route most foreign entrepreneurs used. You formed a Japanese company, capitalised it with ¥5,000,000, and ran a business.

As of 16 October 2025, that route has changed substantially. The requirements now include:

• Capital of ¥30,000,000 or more — raised from ¥5,000,000
• At least one full-time employee — previously you could satisfy the test with capital alone
• Japanese language ability at roughly JLPT N2 — held either by you or by a full-time employee
• A relevant degree or at least three years of management experience
• A business plan verified by a qualified professional — a certified public accountant, tax accountant or SME management consultant
• An independent physical office

Existing holders have a transition period. Renewals up to 16 October 2028 will be judged on overall circumstances rather than strict compliance with the new standard; after that, the new standard applies.

The practical effect is that this route is now aimed at people establishing a substantive business, not at people seeking a residence permit. Anyone who was planning to set up a small property-management company as a visa vehicle should reconsider.

Highly Skilled Professional (高度専門職)

A points-based system scoring academic background, professional career, income, age, Japanese ability and other factors. Pass the threshold and you qualify; score well above it and the path to permanent residency shortens dramatically.

If you have an advanced degree, a strong salary and professional experience, run the Immigration Services Agency's points calculator before assuming anything else. This is the fastest route Japan offers, and it is underused by people who would qualify.

Work visas (技術・人文知識・国際業務 and others)

The standard route: a Japanese employer sponsors you. Requires a degree or equivalent experience in a field matching the role.

Unglamorous, and by far the most common way foreigners actually end up living in Japan.

Spouse or dependent (日本人の配偶者等 / 家族滞在)

Marriage to a Japanese national, or dependency on someone holding a work visa. The spouse visa carries no work restriction, which makes it unusually flexible.

Student (留学)

Language school or university. Time-limited, restricted work hours, but it puts you in the country legally while you build something else.

Digital nomad (特定活動)

Introduced in 2024. A fixed period with no renewal, and a substantial minimum income requirement.

Useful for testing whether you actually want to live in Japan. Not a foundation for anything, since it cannot be extended or converted.

Permanent residency (永住者)

Normally a long period of continuous residence, substantially shortened for Highly Skilled Professionals and for spouses of Japanese nationals.

Once granted, you can live and work without restriction, and Japanese banks will treat you as a domestic borrower — which, as Chapter 10 explains, changes your financing options completely.

What this means for a property buyer

Three scenarios cover most people.

You want a holiday house and you visit for a few weeks a year. Your visa status is irrelevant. Buy the house, come as a tourist within your permitted stay, and skip the rest of this chapter. This describes more foreign buyers in Japan than any other category.

You want to move to Japan. Solve the visa first, or at least in parallel. Do not assume the property will help, because it will not. And be aware that your visa status determines whether a Japanese bank will lend to you — so if financing matters, the sequence is visa, then residency, then mortgage, then house.

You are buying as an investment and will never live there. Also fine. Non-resident owners can hold, rent and sell property in Japan. You will need a tax representative (納税管理人) in Japan — for property tax this is a legal requirement rather than a convenience — and you will face withholding on the sale proceeds when you exit. Chapters 10 and 11.

A word of caution

Immigration advice in this area attracts people who should not be giving it.

If someone tells you that buying property improves your visa prospects, they are either mistaken or selling. If someone offers to structure a company purely as a visa vehicle, understand that the 2025 rule changes were aimed precisely at that arrangement, and that immigration examiners are looking for it.

For anything beyond the outline above, use a licensed gyōsei shoshi or a lawyer. It is not expensive relative to what is at stake, and a rejected application creates a record that follows subsequent ones.

Next: Chapter 4 — How to search for properties yourself. The listings are all public, they are just in Japanese.