Alternative Paths to a Work Visa: Employer of Record (EOR) and Foreign Branch Offices

Two alternative routes to a work visa exist for founders unwilling or unable to meet full BM requirements. The first is Employer of Record (EOR): companies such as Deel, Remote, RemoFirst, and Horizons let a person legally obtain a work visa by being formally employed by the EOR provider's local Japanese entity (Deel Japan, for example). To operate legally in Japan, an EOR must be licensed as 労働者派遣 (haken, worker dispatch), which requires a special license, trained staff, a minimum of 20 million yen on account, and other conditions. The second is opening a branch office of a foreign company in Japan — a relatively simple process that requires a representative already present in Japan. A branch cannot sponsor visas directly, at least for some visa types, and Japanese business partners are often reluctant to work with a "branch" entity, making a full subsidiary (KK/GK) with foreign ownership preferable in many cases. After the BM reform raised the capital bar to 30 million yen, opening a branch office and hiring oneself on a work visa became one of the main legalization paths for entrepreneurs unable to raise that capital. See: EOR and Branch Office Paths: Licensing, Pricing, and Risk Details; High Skilled Professional (HSP) Status: Overview; Directorship Risk on a Work Visa: Overview.