Hi, we are thinking of moving to Tokyo with my work, my partner would be on a dependent visa and hopes to work on freelance basis for a UK based company. Does he need to set himself up as sole proprietor to do this? Is this a straightforward process?
I think you’ll find this article (also from Tokyo Cheapo) pretty helpful . . . .
Having said that, I’m self-employed, haven’t registered as a freelancer and have never had any problems. I have to file my own tax return (if you don’t speak Japanese, or even if you do, there are people at the tax office who can help you. The categories of people who have to do this include this (which would presumably be you):
- if their employer does not withhold taxes (e.g. employer outside Japan)
More info here:
Hope that helps a bit. I should stress that I’m NOT a tax advisor.
Thanks, is it a long process to become sole proprietor?
And thanks for your help
I didn’t do it, and I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary, but it seems just to be a question of filling in the form shown on one of the websites. You may need someone Japanese to help filling it in, but it seems to be just a formality. And I think there’s no problem to start working immediately. You would only need to show the form when filing tax at the end of the year (mid March).