Japan is jumping on the virtual nomad bandwagon with a new visa that allows visitors from 49 visa-exempt countries, including the United States, to stay in the country for up to six months, doubling the length of stay allowed from the existing 90 days. Tourist visa. Remote foreign salaried employees with an annual income source of more than 10 million yen ($68,200) will be eligible. The new visa is expected to go into effect at the end of March.
The move comes as the Japanese government struggles to make good on its 2020 promise of a nationwide “virtual revolution. “Since 2019, Japan has lagged far behind its G7 counterparts, falling nine places to 32nd place in the IMD’s Global Digital Competitiveness Ranking, which evaluates 64 countries based on their willingness to adopt virtual technologies for economic and social transformation. This is true for its Asian neighbours Singapore (No. 3), South Korea (No. 6), Taiwan (No. 9), Hong Kong (No. 10) and China (No. 19).
At a press conference last week, Japanese Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi said virtual nomads “can be a source of innovation. “
The number of countries offering digital nomad visas has soared the Covid-19 pandemic, as hundreds of millions of remote workers globally have embraced the idea of location independence. Today, 17.3 million American workers describe themselves as digital nomads, according to a 2023 report by MBO Partners. That’s up 2% from the previous year, after exploding by 131% between 2019 and 2022.
Two thirds of digital nomads (64%) are Millennials (37%) and Gen Xers (27%), with the oldest Gen Zers (born 1997-2012) coming of age and already making up one in five (21%) digital nomads, according to the report.
For countries like Japan, allowing salaried workers—who won’t take jobs from Japanese citizens—to live in the country and spend their earnings for a longer but finite period of time makes a lot of sense.
For the growing number of remote employees who dream of living six months, the world is theirs. Digital nomad visas are now available in Canada, Mexico, South Korea, the Czech Republic, Spain, Estonia, Hungary, Turkey, the United States. United Arab Emirates and more than a dozen other countries.
Minister Koizumi acknowledged that Japan was just one of many countries competing for digital nomads. “While many countries are making efforts to attract them, we hope those people will work in Japan, too,” he said.