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 allowed duration from the existing 90 days. tourist visa. Remote foreign salaried employees with an annual income of more than 10 million yen ($68,200) will be eligible. The new visa is expected to be introduced by the end of March.
This initiative comes as the Japanese government struggles to maintain its 2020 commitment to a nationwide “virtual revolution. “Since 2019, Japan has fallen further to its G7 counterparts, falling nine places to 32nd place in the IMD’s Global Digital Competitiveness Ranking, which ranks 64 countries according to their willingness to adopt virtual technologies for economic and social transformation. This is the case 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, Japan’s Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi said virtual nomads “can be a source of innovation. “
The number of countries granting virtual visas for nomads has triggered the Covid-19 pandemic, as hundreds of millions of remote workers around the world have embraced the concept of geographical independence. Currently, 17. 3 million U. S. employees describe themselves as virtual nomads, according to a 2023 report by MBO Partners. This is a 2% increase compared to last year, following a 131% explosion between 2019 and 2022.
Two-thirds of virtual nomads (64%) are Millennials (37%) and Generation X (27%), and the oldest Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) is coming of age and already accounts for one in every (21%) virtual nomads. nomads, according to the report.
For countries like Japan, the most sensible thing to do is to allow salaried staff – who will not settle for jobs of Japanese citizens – to live in the country and spend their source of income there for a longer but limited period of time.
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.