Entrepreneur Visa Cases: Detailed Accounts

In one case from the chat, a founder on a startup visa obtained a Business Manager visa for himself and a work visa, together with family, for one employee; the lawyers used in this case are among those whose rates are listed in the lawyers and consultants overview. In another case, a chat participant who served as CEO of a startup company changed the company's business idea entirely — pivoting from a dating app to a different line of business — without any visa problems, because the company was showing rising profit; changing direction generally does not raise questions with immigration as long as the company remains profitable and pays its taxes. One participant switched to a 文化活動 (Cultural Activities) visa as a fallback option while her business plans were on pause. A foreign entrepreneur invested more than $1 million of personal and family funds into opening a music club and easily obtained a Business Manager visa, fully meeting the new capital and language requirements. In the personal experience of one chat participant, who is the author of this knowledge base, applications for a startup visa were filed in both Kyoto and Shibuya, and both were refused. In a separate case, a startup visa application for a software development company was refused with the stated reason being a lack of development of an innovative product, despite the applicant having a budget and an office in place; this account has not been independently verified. A reported scheme discussed in the chat: if one spouse holds a dependent visa, it is possible to register a company in that spouse's name and then hire the other spouse to work at the company, so that both partners end up with legal status and documentation; this has not been independently verified. In one approved application, listing the job title "department head" (начальник отдела) along with a description of business duties such as finance and hiring was accepted by immigration as qualifying management experience for a Business Manager visa; participants also noted that a degree in an unrelated field such as "business economics," or a specialized or legal diploma unrelated to business, was sometimes accepted by immigration in place of formal management experience, at the discretion of the individual reviewing officer — "not everything is black and white," as one participant put it. Finally, in a refusal case, the applicant's lawyer failed to attach a scan of the land purchase and sale contract needed as proof of the origin of the investment capital; the visa was refused, and the applicant had to reapply under the new, higher capital requirement of 30 million yen, up from the previous 5 million yen. See: Visa Lawyers and Consultants: Rates and Recommendations.