2 jobs on dependent visa

I could soon have a part-time job on a dependent visa. However, I wanted to know if it is illegal to freelance internationally while already working in Japan on a dependent visa? Would I need to get permission to freelance even if all my money would be coming from (most likely) British and American people? Note that I am a complete beginner when it comes to the work I will be doing freelance, so I probably can't apply for my own work visa to do that.

first thing to consider is how much you are going to earn. based on how big is the income pick one :
- you can always declare it in the us and apply for foreign credits in japan because japan will apply double taxation. in any case extraterritorial incomes have nothing to do with your residency status
- do not declare it anywhere

- do not declare it anywhere

That is not exactly a legit option, but for really small amounts. Also, Where you declare taxes depends on your citizenship. You may have to declare it in two countries, although you'll likely only have to pay taxes on it in one.

yllwsmrf: well that's just not true. i have always advised not to declare any income of $500 or less, can be more for some cases. Since the op is talking part-time job it might be in this range. As for your tax liability and double taxation, you should check the legislation again

It's actually quite a bit more complicated than that, and difficult to give the OP any concrete advice without knowing more about her situation.

i have always advised not to declare any income of $500 or less, can be more for some cases.

In the case of Japan, this is probably bad advice. If you are talking less than 50,000 yen per year (which would qualify as a really small amount) then it might not make sense to file, but if you are talking 50,000 yen per month then you are in the range where you should be filing taxes, especially if it's a second job.

The situation is only further complicated by the fact that the person already has a part time job in Japan and is on a dependent visa, not to mention their tax responsibilities back home (can't say without knowing more info).

However, in the end none of this answers the OP's initial question which is whether or not it is illegal to have a second (overseas) job while on a dependent visa. I think it would be ok as it would be foreign earned income, but I would advise checking with an immigration lawyer or calling immigration to find out for sure. You can ask anonymously.

My impression is that the original poster is asking more about whether it is illegal to "work" that additional job, before the taxation question .

I believe that since you do have a part-time job already, if you took up another one, it might go over the limit on the number of hours per week you can work while on "dependent" status.

However, freelancing over the internet, remote work, or SOHO had not been taken into consideration (of course, they did not exist) when the immigration laws were established, so there is no specific stipulations about working online (which I assume you are talking about). And if you work from home, there is no way for immigration to check your work hours.


Provided the above is found to be OK, meaning you stay within the number of hours worked, now comes the question of whether you receive the money into your bank account in Japan, or into your bank account elsewhere (your home country), and also how long you have been living in Japan as a resident. This is because tax authorities of Japan have definitions of "permanent resident" in terms of tax laws, and depending on that, you might (1) not have to declare income you gain elsewhere and not brought into Japan, (2) have to declare income you gain elsewhere but bring into Japan, or (3) have declare all income that you gain anywhere in the world.

yes, this is why i tried to explained in my first post, but indeed i'm sorry i was not more specific.

- the legality of your work and whether it is regulated by your visa depends on where the income is sourced. So basically where you declare this income will tell you if it is legal or not. Bottom line if you have to declare it in japan as local income you need to have a visa for it.

- here was my suggestion : declare this income in your home country, this would mean the freelancing work has nothing to do with your resident status in japan. your visa regulates only your activity in japan, you can have any other activities, own businesses, estates etc.. in your home country. warning : you have to be able to prove that this freelancing do not use any japanese ressources to be executed (of course this exclude the japanese internet connection you use but includes any work related infrastructure you might use etc..). Since it is internet freelancing you are normally free to declare it in your home country.
- if you go ahead and declare it in your home country, japan WILL double tax you. This is extra territorial income so it is NOT covered by tax treaties and you should declare it in Japan. However you may most likely get refund by applying to "foreign credit" (google it if you don't know what that is)

2nd solution : do not declare it
- I assumed you where US citizen. If you are the freelance limit to declare is about 500$, else check what is taxable amount in your home country. The good thing with internet id that you can virtually sourced your income wherever you want as long as you have a juridic base to do so. If you are under the taxable amount in your home country (and not the japanese one) you won't have to declare it in japan either has it is not taxable at the source.

In both case, you are talking about an activity outside of japan regulation, so it has no link whatsoever with your visa.