Business Stability and Continuity in Renewal of Business Manager Visa in Japan

March 17, 2020

Question:

I heard that business stability and continuity are important in the renewal of the Business Manager visa. What exactly are these?

Answer:

The most important point in the renewal of the Business Manager visa is the financial status of the Japanese corporation (or branch) owned by the foreigner.

Explanation:

When renewing the Business Manager visa, the Immigration Bureau will carefully examine the stability and continuity of the business operated by the company owned by the foreigner.

It is no exaggeration to say that the most important point in renewing the Business Manager visa is the financial situation of the Japanese corporation (or branch) operated by the foreigner. The stability and continuity of the business will specifically be judged from the income statement and balance sheet. For the visa renewal, the Immigration Bureau does not seriously consider the financial situation of a single year (the first term), so it does not mean that you cannot renew your visa if the situation is in the red. Especially in the case of many business models where the first financial period after establishment of the company is often in the red, they will examine it on a comprehensive basis including the condition of the balance sheet.

It should be noted that if the gross profit was not recorded for two consecutive terms, or if debts are continuing for two consecutive terms, it will be generally judged that the business does not have continuity.

This means to say that it is a very serious drawback as the gross profit is the profit that you get before sales, general and administrative expenses such as labor cost, rent, and advertising expenses.

In addition, since debt would mean that the total debt is larger than the total assets, it shows that the company has used up more than 5 million yen in capital that should have existed at the beginning of the establishment. And if this debt continues, it will be judged as a serious management crisis.

It is important to note that it will be difficult to renew your Business Manager visa unless there is a specific management plan, such as a change of business paradigm that allows gross profits to be recorded, or elimination of excess debt by third-party allotment, etc.