Hi, my partner is from a a European country that has a Working Holiday agreement with Japan would like to ask about the consensus about what’s allowed for a Working Holiday Visa (WHV). I read a lot of conflicting information about it on the internet. Obviously, he could go with what it says on the embassy’s website and then the following would not be allowed at all, but I would still like to ask:
Can he work full-time on a WHV?
Can he work remotely for a foreign company from Japan on a WHV?
What are the tax laws regarding this?
Does it make a difference when he changes his status say to a spouse visa during the same year if that’s possible since the WHV agreement does not state that one needs to leave the country at the end of the WHV?
Thank you for any help or referrals to companies that might have experience with this issue.
2 comments
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**WHV and Remote Work**
Hi, my partner is from a a European country that has a Working Holiday agreement with Japan would like to ask about the consensus about what’s allowed for a Working Holiday Visa (WHV). I read a lot of conflicting information about it on the internet. Obviously, he could go with what it says on the embassy’s website and then the following would not be allowed at all, but I would still like to ask:
Can he work full-time on a WHV?
Can he work remotely for a foreign company from Japan on a WHV?
What are the tax laws regarding this?
Does it make a difference when he changes his status say to a spouse visa during the same year if that’s possible since the WHV agreement does not state that one needs to leave the country at the end of the WHV?
Thank you for any help or referrals to companies that might have experience with this issue.
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>Can he work full-time on a WHV?
Yes, although he should probably avoid mentioning that on the application form.
>Can he work remotely for a foreign company from Japan on a WHV?
Yes.
>What are the tax laws regarding this?
Income from work performed while in Japan is domestically sourced, so he’ll owe Japan 20.42% (I think). Check to see if there is a tax treaty to protect him from double taxation.
>Does it make a difference when he changes his status say to a spouse visa
If you’re not a Japanese citizen or permanent resident then your husband is not eligible for spouse status. He’d have to be your dependent and would be restricted to part time hours. He’d also need to be financially dependent upon you, although whether that means he’d have to be a tax dependent (earning less than jpy1,300,000) or simply earning substantially less than you is a subject for debate.