51 places for the worker, visa-exempt and a tax treaty. 73 for a spouse or child, visa-exempt. The names are in the immigration chart.Illustration: Yugawara Club
Remote work · Eligible countries
Countries and regions for the Digital Nomad visa
The worker and the family are not on the same list. Both lists are the chart from the Immigration Services Agency. The worker has to be from a place that is visa-exempt for a short stay and also has a tax treaty with Japan. A spouse or child has to be from a visa-exempt place, and the treaty is not part of their test.
The worker: 51
Notification 53 is the worker. The chart names 51 countries and regions. Hong Kong and Taiwan are on it as regions. Your nationality has to be one of these at the time you apply, along with the income and the insurance on the Immigration Services Agency page.
Notification 53
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Chile
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Romania
- Serbia
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Türkiye
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uruguay
A spouse or child: 73
Notification 54 is the spouse or child. The chart names 73 countries and regions: every name on the worker's list, plus 22 that are visa-exempt and not on the worker's list. A spouse or child can come from one of those 22 even though the worker cannot. The worker's own nationality still has to be on the list of 51.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa-exemption page, dated 1 September 2025, lists 74 countries and regions for a short stay. That page is not this chart. The visa uses the chart. A place can be visa-exempt and still be absent from notification 53 or 54. The digital nomad page points to the chart for the eligible places.
Notification 54
- Andorra
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belgium
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Chile
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Dominican Republic
- El Salvador
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lesotho
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macao
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Monaco
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Romania
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Korea
- Spain
- Suriname
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Tunisia
- Türkiye
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uruguay
- A spouse or child
- The status, the insurance, and the papers.
- How to apply
- Where the chart fits into the application.
More on working from Yugawara
- An onsen town for digital nomadsA workation near Tokyo: the visa, a room, a desk and a bath, 75 minutes from the city.
- The Digital Nomad visa, and YugawaraSix months in town on Japan's designated-activities visa, and what the missing residence card changes.
- Where to stay as a nomadMakuyama House by the river for a month, then Shiroyama Bekkan and the share house.
- Places to work fromCafés, free desks and a booth for calls, with hours and prices.
- A day in the life of a nomadAn example Tuesday: a café desk, lunch at West, a call, and Kogome no Yu for ¥600.
- Coworking and wifi in YugawaraFree desks in Man'yō Park and by the station, a lounge with a bath, and the library.
- Long stays and monthly rentals in YugawaraA whole house by the river, a share house above the station, monthly flats, and the town's grant for movers.
- Onsen and work: a day in YugawaraWhich bath to use when, what it costs, and where to shop for the week.
Quick answers
- Which countries can apply for the Japan Digital Nomad visa?
The worker has to be a national of one of the 51 countries and regions on notification 53, which are both visa-exempt and covered by a tax treaty. The chart is the list.
- Is the family list the same?
No. A spouse or child uses notification 54, which has 73 countries and regions. The tax treaty is not part of their test.
- Does a visa-exempt passport qualify on its own?
Not for the worker. The worker also needs the tax treaty, and the name has to be on the chart. The family member needs to be on the longer chart.
Sources
This is not legal advice.
- Immigration Services Agency: eligible countries and regions (PDF)
- Immigration Services Agency: Digital Nomad and family
- Immigration Services Agency: the same page in Japanese
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs: visa exemption for a short stay, 1 September 2025
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs: the digital nomad visa
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs: the digital nomad visa, in Japanese
Last checked 22 October 2026.