Starting a Business as a Foreigner: Japan vs UAE, Singapore & Malaysia — Where Should You Actually Set Up in 2026?

Starting a Business as a Foreigner: Japan vs UAE, Singapore & Malaysia — Where Should You Actually Set Up in 2026?

*Last updated: August 2026*

On October 16, 2025, Japan quietly rewrote the rules for every foreign entrepreneur thinking about starting a company there. The minimum capital requirement jumped from ¥5 million to ¥30 million — six times higher, overnight, roughly $200,000 that now has to sit locked in a Japanese corporate account before you can even apply. A mandatory full-time employee. JLPT N2 Japanese, for you or your hire. A business plan that now needs sign-off from a certified accountant or SME consultant before Immigration will even look at it. If you were planning a Japan business visa off pre-2025 information, that plan is now wrong.

That single change is reason enough to actually compare your options before committing — because the countries competing for the same entrepreneurs, the UAE, Singapore, and Malaysia, all made very different bets about what kind of founder they want, and one of them isn't really offering what most people think it is.

TL;DR — The Honest Short Version

• Japan just got dramatically harder. As of October 16, 2025, the Business Manager visa requires ¥30 million (~$200,000) in capital, a mandatory full-time employee, JLPT N2 Japanese for the applicant or that employee, and an expert-reviewed business plan. Existing visa holders have a grace period until October 2028.
• The UAE lets you start cheap and scale into status. A standard business setup and visa can run as little as AED 7,500–20,000 (~$2,000–5,400), with the long-term 10-year Golden Visa only required once you clear AED 1 million (~$272,000) in annual revenue or get incubator backing — you don't need to lock up the big number upfront.
• Singapore's EntrePass is not a general business visa. It's built specifically for innovative, venture-backed, or IP-driven startups. A trading company, restaurant, or standard retail business does not qualify, regardless of capital.
• Malaysia's MM2H is barely a business visa at all. Only the top Platinum tier — a $1,000,000 fixed deposit plus RM 2,000,000 in property — permits work or business activity. The much more common Silver and Gold tiers, chosen by the vast majority of applicants, don't allow you to work or run a business in Malaysia at all.
• Best tax treatment: The UAE, with no personal income tax and minimal or no corporate tax in most free zones — a real structural advantage none of the other three can match.
• Most genuine path to permanent settlement: Japan, once you clear the new, much higher bar. The UAE's Golden Visa is a renewable long-term residency, not a path to citizenship. Malaysia's MM2H is explicitly not permanent residency either.

1. The Full Comparison

2. What Just Happened in Japan

This deserves its own section because so much existing advice about Japan's Business Manager visa (経営管理ビザ) is now simply out of date.

Before October 2025, the visa required ¥5 million in capital — roughly $34,000 at recent exchange rates — genuinely achievable for a determined small-business founder. Since October 16, 2025, that number is ¥30 million, a six-fold jump, and it's no longer just one of several qualifying options — it's mandatory. On top of the capital, you now need to hire at least one full-time employee who is a Japanese national, permanent resident, or spouse of one. Either you or that employee must hold JLPT N2 (or BJT 400+), a genuine, tested Japanese proficiency level. You need three or more years of documented management experience, or a master's, doctoral, or professional degree. And your business plan itself must now pass a feasibility review by a certified SME consultant, tax accountant, or CPA before Immigration will accept the application.

There is a grace period. Anyone who already held the visa under the old ¥5 million standard is assessed under those rules until October 16, 2028. If you're a new applicant, none of that applies to you — you're working under the new standard from day one.

For the full procedural breakdown of these requirements — the exact document checklist, the list of qualified experts who can sign off your business plan, and what the grace period means in practice — see our dedicated Business Manager Visa 2026: The New ¥30M + JLPT N2 Rules Explained.

3. The UAE's Different Bet: Start Small, Prove It, Then Upgrade

The UAE takes an almost opposite approach to Japan's front-loaded capital requirement, and it's worth understanding why that matters.

You don't need AED 1 million to start a business in the UAE. A standard trade license and visa — through a free zone like DMCC, IFZA, or Dubai South — can run as little as AED 7,500–20,000, genuinely accessible for a first-time founder. The bigger numbers only come into play if you want the long-term Golden Visa: AED 1,000,000 in annual audited revenue, an accredited incubator's backing for an innovative project (valued at AED 500,000+), a documented prior exit of AED 7,000,000+, or paying AED 250,000+ a year in federal taxes. In other words, the UAE lets your business prove itself first, then rewards that proof with a decade of stable, self-sponsored residency — no employer, no local sponsor required.

The tax picture is the UAE's clearest structural advantage. No personal income tax, and minimal or no corporate tax across most free zones. Over a five-year horizon, that difference alone can outweigh nearly everything else on this list for a genuinely profitable business.

What the UAE doesn't offer is a path to citizenship. The Golden Visa is a renewable long-term residency — genuinely stable, genuinely valuable, but it is not the same thing as the structured permanent residency track Japan offers once you clear its (now much higher) bar.

4. Singapore's Catch: This Isn't a Business Visa, It's an Innovation Visa

This is the distinction that trips up the most people, and it's worth being completely direct about it.

Singapore's EntrePass is not designed for a normal business. MOM is explicit: the scheme exists for founders who are venture-backed, hold defensible intellectual property, or are building something genuinely innovative and scalable. A trading company, a restaurant, a retail shop, an import-export business — the kind of business most first-time entrepreneurs from South and Southeast Asia are actually trying to start — does not qualify, regardless of how much capital sits behind it.

On paper, the capital bar is low — technically as little as S$1 in paid-up capital. But that's misleading without the context: to actually get approved, you need at least one of a specific set of proofs — S$100,000 raised from a recognized VC or angel investor, acceptance into a recognized incubator or accelerator, registered IP with genuine commercial value, or a documented research collaboration with a Singaporean university. If your business plan doesn't fit that innovation-led mold, this isn't your pathway, no matter how well-funded you are.

5. Malaysia's MM2H: Read the Fine Print Before You Assume It's a Business Visa

This is the section worth reading twice if Malaysia is on your shortlist, because the marketing around MM2H rarely leads with this.

MM2H is fundamentally a long-stay residency program, not a business visa. It was relaunched in July 2024 with dramatically higher thresholds than before — a fixed deposit ranging from USD $150,000 (Silver) up to USD $1,000,000 (Platinum), plus a mandatory property purchase on top, and Silver alone accounts for roughly 83% of approvals. Here's the part that matters most for anyone reading this as a business option: only the Platinum tier permits work or business activity at all. If you apply under Silver or Gold — where the overwhelming majority of applicants land — you get long-term residency, family inclusion, and lifestyle benefits, but you cannot legally work or run a business in Malaysia under that visa, full stop.

Platinum itself is a serious commitment: USD $1,000,000 in fixed deposit plus RM 2,000,000 (roughly $490,000) in property, for a 20-year renewable visa that does allow business activity. That's a genuinely different financial category than anything Japan, the UAE, or Singapore ask of a founder.

6. The EasyNihon Entrepreneur Value Index — 2026

Scored 1–10 across the four factors that actually determine whether this was the right move for a founder — not the headline visa name.

Methodology: Upfront Accessibility scores how achievable the initial capital and setup cost is for a genuine first-time founder, not an already-wealthy investor. Business Type Flexibility scores whether a normal, legitimate business — not just a venture-backed tech startup — actually qualifies. Tax Efficiency scores personal and corporate tax treatment. Path to Settlement scores whether the visa realistically leads toward long-term or permanent status. This is EasyNihon's own editorial analysis based on public 2026 data — not an official ranking by any government.

Related Content on EasyNihon

• Business Manager Visa 2026: The New ¥30M + JLPT N2 Rules Explained — Full procedural guide to the October 2025 rule changes, including the exact document checklist, qualified expert list, grace period details, and the Startup Visa as a bridge route.
• GK Company Formation Guide — Step-by-step guide to setting up a 合同会社 (GK) in Japan — the corporate vehicle most foreign entrepreneurs use when establishing the Japanese entity required for the Business Manager visa application.
• Business Owner Portal — Tools and resources for foreign nationals already operating a registered business in Japan.

FAQ

Q1. What changed with Japan's Business Manager visa in 2025?

As of October 16, 2025, the minimum capital requirement rose from ¥5 million to ¥30 million (roughly $200,000), and became mandatory rather than one of several qualifying options. A full-time local employee, JLPT N2 Japanese proficiency (for the applicant or that employee), 3+ years of management experience, and an expert-reviewed business plan are all now required. Existing visa holders have a grace period until October 2028.

Q2. Can I start a business in the UAE without a large upfront investment?

Yes. A standard trade license and visa can cost as little as AED 7,500–20,000. The larger AED 1 million revenue threshold only applies if you want the long-term 10-year Golden Visa, which you can pursue once your business is established and profitable.

Q3. Does Singapore's EntrePass work for a normal small business, like a restaurant or trading company?

No. The EntrePass is specifically restricted to innovative, venture-backed, or IP-driven businesses. Traditional SMEs, regardless of capital or business plan quality, do not qualify under this scheme.

Q4. Is Malaysia's MM2H a good way to start a business in Malaysia?

For most applicants, no. Only the Platinum tier (USD $1,000,000 fixed deposit plus RM 2,000,000 property) permits work or business activity. The more common and affordable Silver and Gold tiers grant long-term residency but explicitly do not allow you to work or run a business in Malaysia.

Q5. Which country offers the best tax treatment for entrepreneurs?

The UAE, by a clear margin. There is no personal income tax, and most free zones offer minimal or no corporate tax, a structural advantage that compounds significantly over a multi-year business horizon.

Q6. Which of these visas leads to permanent residency or citizenship?

Japan is the only one of the four with a genuine, structured path toward permanent residency, though the bar to qualify for the visa itself is now much higher than before. The UAE's Golden Visa and Malaysia's MM2H are both long-term renewable residencies, not paths to citizenship. Singapore offers a separate, non-guaranteed PR pathway over time.

Q7. Is Japan still worth considering for entrepreneurs after the 2025 changes?

It depends on your capital and goals. Japan now demands significantly more upfront than before, but in exchange offers flexibility for any legitimate business type and a genuine structured path to permanent residency — something the UAE and Malaysia don't offer and Singapore only partially does.

*Sources: Japan Immigration Services Agency (ISA) and its October 2025 Ministerial Ordinance amendments on Business Manager visa landing standards, UAE Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security (ICP) and General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA), Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Enterprise Singapore, Malaysia's Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) and the MM2H program office. Visa rules, capital thresholds, and tax treatment change; always verify current terms with the relevant government agency or a licensed immigration professional before committing capital or signing a lease.*