NISA for foreigners: who can open one and what happens when you leave Japan

Yes: NISA for foreigners works the same as for Japanese citizens. If you live in Japan and are 18 or over, you can open one. Your nationality, visa type and permanent residency (永住) are not conditions. You can invest up to ¥3,600,000 a year and ¥18,000,000 in total, and gains stay tax-free with no time limit. The catch is leaving Japan. Move home or abroad for your own reasons and the account is closed. Only an overseas transfer from your employer lets you keep it. Rules as of October 2026.

Can foreigners open a NISA account in Japan?

Yes. The Financial Services Agency (金融庁) says NISA is for people living in Japan (日本国内に住んでいる) aged 18 or over, counted on January 1 of the year you use it. The rule is about where you live, not your passport.

For tax, a resident (居住者) is someone with a home (住所) in Japan, or who has lived in Japan for one year or more, according to the National Tax Agency (国税庁). If your home is in Japan, you count as a resident. Your exact status depends on your situation. A tax accountant (税理士) can confirm it.

We found no official rule that ties NISA to how long is left on your residence card (在留カード).

What do I need to open a NISA?

The National Tax Agency says that when you file the NISA application (非課税口座開設届出書), you must show an ID and give your name, date of birth, address and My Number (マイナンバー / 個人番号).

What to have ready:

• Residence card (在留カード), front and back, still valid. Brokers such as 三菱UFJ eスマート証券 list it as the ID for foreign nationals.
• My Number card, or another document that shows your My Number.
• Your Japanese address, as on your residence record (住民票).

How much can I invest, and what is tax-free?

The current NISA started in January 2024. It has two parts.

When you sell, the purchase cost of what you sold goes back into your lifetime limit from the following year.

Outside NISA, gains on listed shares are taxed at 20% (income tax 15%, resident tax 5%), plus a reconstruction surtax of 2.1% of the income tax. That comes to about 20.315%. NISA removes this Japanese tax on gains and dividends. Foreign withholding tax on non-Japanese products can still apply, as Interactive Brokers Japan notes on its NISA page.

What happens to my NISA if I leave Japan?

This is the part that matters most for foreign residents. The answer depends on why you leave.

The FSA’s Q&A limits the exception to a temporary departure for an unavoidable reason such as a transfer order (転任の命令等のやむを得ない事由). One broker’s departure guide, from 三菱UFJ eスマート証券, spells it out: own-reason departures, study abroad and voluntary volunteering cannot continue. It asks for a copy of the transfer order (異動辞令書).

When holdings move out of NISA, their value on the transfer date becomes the new purchase price. Gains after that are taxable, and you cannot move them back into NISA.

Brokers handle the details differently:

• SBI Securities lets customers keep NISA holdings (Japanese stocks, foreign stocks, funds) after a transfer-type departure since January 1, 2025, if they do the paperwork first.
• Rakuten Securities allows continued holding of funds, US stocks and other foreign stocks with the continuation form. While you are abroad, you cannot buy or sell, and withdrawals go only to your registered bank account.
• 三菱UFJ eスマート証券 blocks all trading while you are abroad, and says US stocks cannot stay in NISA if you move to the US.

Foreign stocks or funds may not be allowed to stay if the destination country’s rules forbid it, SBI and Rakuten both warn.

If your securities add up to ¥100 million or more and you lived in Japan for more than 5 of the last 10 years, the exit tax (国外転出時課税) treats them as sold when you leave and taxes the unrealized gain. That is rare, but ask a 税理士 if it could apply to you.

Is NISA worth it if I may leave Japan in a few years?

NISA does not lock your money in. You can sell at any time, and gains while you are a resident are tax-free. The risk is the move itself: if the account is closed on departure, holdings move to a taxable account at that day’s value, and some brokers block trading once you are a non-resident.

So the practical question is timing. If you know you will leave, find out from your broker what it lets non-residents do, and decide before departure whether to sell inside NISA while the gains are still tax-free. We can’t tell you what to do with your own money. A 税理士, or a tax adviser in your next country, can.

Can US citizens use NISA?

NISA is a Japanese tax exemption. The IRS says US citizens are taxed on worldwide income and must report foreign financial accounts above the threshold (FBAR, and possibly Form 8938), even if the accounts earn nothing taxable. A NISA does not by itself change that.

Brokers also add their own rules. Rakuten Securities publishes separate restrictions for US citizens, green-card holders and US residents. 三菱UFJ eスマート証券 asks customers moving to the US for a FATCA declaration. If you are a US person, ask the broker before opening an account and get advice from a US-qualified tax adviser.

Which brokers offer NISA in English?

As of October 2026, we found one large provider with an official English NISA page:

“Not found” means we could not find an official English NISA page, not that staff never help in English. We could not open Monex’s (マネックス証券) website to check. Read the Japanese terms on forms carefully: つみたて投資枠, 成長投資枠 and 非課税口座.

Interactive Brokers Japan notes that only one NISA can be held at one broker per year, and that to move your NISA there you must apply by September 15.

More guides

Opening accounts here? See banks that open accounts for newcomers. Planning to leave Japan? Read the pension refund (脱退一時金) guide. Paying income tax here? See furusato nozei for foreigners.