🇩🇪 Germany vs 🇯🇵 Japan: Digital Nomad Visa Compared
Germany has no visa officially called a "digital nomad visa". Japan offers Designated Activities (Digital Nomad) - Notice No. 53. Every figure below comes from each country's own sourced, dated fiche - compare income, duration, tax, family rules, fees and processing time before you decide. Germany's initial visa period runs longer than Japan's: 24 months versus 6.
- Minimum income
- TBD
- 10,000,000 JPY / year
- Visa duration
- 24 months, renewable
- 6 months
- Tax regime
- Living in Germany more than 183 days generally makes you a German tax resident, taxed on worldwide income. Freelancers register with the Finanzamt and receive a Steuernummer.
- A stay of 6 months (under 183 days) generally does not make you a Japanese tax resident, so foreign income is not taxed by Japan under the visa.
- Family (spouse / children)
- Application fees
- 100 EUR
- 15,000 JPY
- Health insurance
- Required - Comprehensive private expat health insurance required; travel or basic 'nomad' insurance is routinely rejected by the Auslanderbehorde.
- Required - Private health insurance covering the full 6-month stay with medical coverage of JPY 10 million or more.
- Processing time
- Varies by city; reported 8 weeks to 7 months in 2026 sources (Berlin moved fully online from March 2026)
- Reported ~5 business days when applying with a Certificate of Eligibility (COE); 2 weeks to 1 month without one
Germany has no digital nomad visa and the Freelance permit has NO fixed income minimum - you must show financial viability. IMPORTANT: it requires German/EU clients (economic integration); it is NOT open to people working full-time for a foreign employer. Not a pure remote-employee route.
Attributed to MFA/ISA (pages not fetched directly). Income must be from outside Japan; work for Japan-based entities is not allowed.
source · verified 2026-07-05
Issued 1-3 years (typically 2 for first-timers), renewable; permanent settlement possible after 5 years with B1 German and pension contributions.
source · verified 2026-07-08
6 months, NON-renewable. A stay under 6 months generally keeps you a non-tax-resident of Japan.
source · verified 2026-07-05
source · verified 2026-07-08
General rule tied to the 6-month cap; confirm your own residency position.
source · verified 2026-07-05
Residence-permit fee reported around EUR 100; confirm with the local Auslanderbehorde.
source · verified 2026-07-08
Japan's general visa issuance fee rose from JPY 3,000 to JPY 15,000 (single-entry) effective 2026-07-01 - the first revision since 1978. A consulate Digital Nomad checklist states the visa follows the general single-entry fee schedule. RE-CHECKED 2026-07-15: a search-indexed snippet of this exact MOFA fee page now corroborates "approximately 15,000 yen for a single-entry visa," but the live page still could not be fetched directly this pass either, so confidence stays "reported" pending an on-page read.
source · verified 2026-07-15
source · verified 2026-07-08
source · verified 2026-07-05
source · verified 2026-07-12
No single canonical MOFA-stated figure found; based on convergent consulate guidance (Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles). Confirm with your consulate. RE-CHECKED 2026-08-04: mofa.go.jp and moj.go.jp/isa still 403 on direct fetch. No source dated after the prior pass changes income, duration, tax, fees or processing time - all reconfirmed by convergent 2026 guides. No material change. RE-CHECKED 2026-08-11: the JPY 3,000-to-15,000 fee rise (2026-07-01) is now strongly corroborated by mainstream press (Japan Times, CNBC, Nippon.com, Euronews, all dated mid-to-late June 2026) rather than only consulate-checklist sourcing - confidence strengthened, figure unchanged. Income, duration and processing time all reconfirmed. No material change.
source · verified 2026-07-12
Frequently asked questions
Which lasts longer, the Germany or Japan digital nomad visa?
The Germany visa's initial period is longer: 24 months versus 6 months for Japan.
How long does it take to process a digital nomad visa for Germany vs Japan?
Germany's stated processing time is Varies by city; reported 8 weeks to 7 months in 2026 sources (Berlin moved fully online from March 2026); Japan's is Reported ~5 business days when applying with a Certificate of Eligibility (COE); 2 weeks to 1 month without one, per each country's own sourced fiche. Actual processing time varies by consulate and caseload.
Related comparisons
Figures marked TBD are not yet verified and are never shown as facts. Last full review: Germany 2026-09-05, Japan 2026-09-05.