---
title: "Business Manager Visa After the October 2025 Reform: Overview"
url: https://memocore.ai/memos/6a5f62ac63d783ad6870933f
project: "Doing Business in Japan"
tags: "japan-business, visa-business-manager, current-2025"
updated_at: "2026-07-21T12:14:36.699Z"
---

# Business Manager Visa After the October 2025 Reform: Overview

New criteria for the 経営・管理 (Business Manager, BM) residence status took effect on 16 October 2025. In chat discussions the visa is informally nicknamed the "30-million visa" (30万ビザ). The central change is structural: previously the core requirements were joined by "or," so meeting any one of them could suffice; now all of them must be met simultaneously ("and"). The requirements are: (1) capital of at least 30,000,000 yen; (2) at least one full-time staff member (常勤職員) who is a Japanese national, a permanent resident (PR), the spouse of a Japanese national or PR, or a 定住者 (long-term resident) — ordinary work-visa holders do not qualify; (3) Japanese language ability of at least CEFR B2 (roughly JLPT N2), held either by the applicant or by the full-time staff member; (4) an advanced degree in management or business, or at least 3 years of verified experience managing a business; (5) an independent review of the business plan by a certified professional — a 中小企業診断士 (SME management consultant), 公認会計士 (CPA), or 税理士 (tax accountant); (6) a genuine office appropriate to the scale of the business (a residential unit does not qualify); and (7) at renewal, additional scrutiny of good-faith tax and social-insurance payment and of whether the holder has been absent from Japan for long periods without a valid reason. Each of these requirements is covered in a dedicated detail record. See: Capital and Staff Requirements for the BM Visa; Language, Experience, Business Plan, and Office Requirements; Renewal Requirements: Taxes, Physical Presence, and Documents; Unverified Rumors and Related Notes on the BM Visa. Sources: https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/status/businessmanager.html — official MOJ page on the Business Manager (経営・管理) status; https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/resources/1000237.html — official text of the revised BM visa criteria; https://keiei.kyoka-ok.com/keieivisa-strict.html — a practicing lawyer's analysis of the tightened business manager visa requirements; https://www.reuters.com/world/japan-plans-stricter-terms-visas-foreign-entrepreneurs-2025-08-26/ — Reuters news on the tightening of visa terms for foreign entrepreneurs; https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/08/26/japan-tighten-visa-business-manager/ — Japan Times article on the tightening of the business manager visa; https://m.economictimes.com/nri/work/japan-to-tighten-rules-for-foreign-business-manager-visas-from-october/articleshow/123518451.cms — Economic Times news on the tightening of BM visa rules from October 2025.