Business Plan for Business Manager Visa Application in Japan

What is the business plan?

A business plan should be seen as a business compass created in order to look at the business objectively for its success in Japan and also to define what you have to do to make that happen, rather treating it as simply one of the requirements needed to obtain a Business Manager visa.

The business plan contains qualitative and quantitative information, as well as the goals of the management, and there is no fixed format for it. There are several formats on the web but it will be better to express business plans using your own words and illustrations as you would like. It is something that managers can freely make to reflect their vision and create challenges for themselves.

Business Plan for a Business Manager visa

While the business plan is a very important document for applying for the resident status Business Manager visa, the Immigration Bureau has not clarified any business plan documents on their website, so you may prepare them in free formatting.

However, the abovementioned business plan and the one used during the application for a Business Manager visa are slightly different. One of the criteria for the Business Manager visa is the “continuity and stability of the business”, so the business plan must reflect such. The content of the business plan is said to hold major weight for the Immigration Bureau during the examination for Business Manager visas.

What should be included in the business plan for the Business Manager visa application

Although the Immigration Bureau has not specified any items in particular, it is necessary to include the following into the business plan for the Business Manager visa.

・Company Overview
・Representative’s Profile (Educational background, work history, motivation for starting the business, etc.）
・Management Philosophy
・Vision for the near future
・Business content
・Concept
・Sales price and service price
・Sellers, vendors, subcontractors, etc.
・Competitor Analysis
・Marketing strategy and sales network
・Organizational Structure
・Personnel plan
・Profit and Loss plan
・Financing Plan

When applying for the Business Manager visa, a rational and persuasive business plan must be prepared in order to let the Immigration Bureau grasp the continuity and stability of the business. They will be interested in:

・who the foreign national (applicant) is;
・why the applicant would want to do this business in Japan;
・if the applicant believes it is possible for the business to succeed;
・what kind of organizational system the applicant will use to manage the company and how they will conduct sales activities; and
・outlook on several years of income and expenditure;

Therefore, it is necessary to prepare a thought-out business plan involving these points and respond with persuasiveness.