I’m a 26yo Canadian citizen working remotely in Canada as a software engineering contractor for an international company. I have N2 Japanese and always wanted to spend a bit of time living in Japan, however I’ve seen conflicting information on whether it’s legal to work remotely for a foreign employer on WHV or what the tax situation would look like.
– Is it legal for me to work remotely for a foreign employer?
– What are the requirements to transition to a longer term Visa if I decide I want to stay in Japan past the 12 month mark?
4 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
—
**Remote Job on Working Holiday Visa**
I’m a 26yo Canadian citizen working remotely in Canada as a software engineering contractor. I have N2 Japanese and always wanted to spend a bit of time living in Japan, however I’ve seen conflicting information on whether it’s legal to work remotely for a foreign employer on WHV or what the tax situation would look like.
– Is it legal for me to work remotely for a foreign employer?
– What are the requirements to transition to a longer term Visa if I decide I want to stay in Japan past the 12 month mark?
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/movingtojapan) if you have any questions or concerns.*
>I’ve seen conflicting information
Have you tried contacting the consulate and asking them directly? Not going to get conflicting information direct from the official source.
>Is it legal for me to work remotely for a foreign employer?
Yes. The prohibition against remote work applies to people coming over on tourist visas.
Bear in mind that you will be required to pay Japanese taxes on your income. Japan considers all work done while physically in Japan to be “working in Japan”, so they will get first dibs on income taxes. Best to consult with an accountant and/or tax attorney to make sure you’ve got things squared away.
>What are the requirements to transition to a longer term Visa if I decide I want to stay in Japan past the 12 month mark?
As a remote worker? There are no requirements because there’s no remote work visa. You would need to find a Japanese employer, or convince your company to pay for a (fairly expensive) Employer Of Record service.
>Is it legal for me to work remotely for a foreign employer?
While here on a working holiday visa yes this is legal. If you were to come as a tourist, no it would not be.
>What are the requirements to transition to a longer term Visa if I decide I want to stay in Japan past the 12 month mark?
You would need a domestic employer to sponsor you for a status of residence, and you would need to meet the requirements of the status of residence that you’d be changing to.
>what the tax situation would look like.
While here on a working holiday you would owe Japan the non-resident tax rate of 20.42% on the income you earn for the work you are doing while in Japan. Canada and Japan have a tax treaty, so you won’t be taxed twice, but you would owe Japan taxes first. You’ll also want to discuss with your employer what other obligations they’d be subjected to having an employee in Japan (health insurance, pension, etc).