Japan to Raise Residence Permit Fees for Foreign Nationals Sharply as Costs Mount 

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To address the rising costs of accommodating a growing population of foreign residents, the government is moving ahead with a major increase in fees for residency-related procedures. 

Under a draft cabinet order presented by the Immigration Services Agency on July 3, the fee for permanent residency permits would rise twentyfold, from ¥10,000 to ¥200,000 (about $62 to $1,235), while fees for renewing periods of stay would increase more than tenfold in some cases, from ¥10,000 to over ¥100,000 (about $62 to over $617). 

How Japan's Fees Stack Up Globally 

The current fee for permanent residency—which allows foreign nationals to remain in Japan indefinitely while retaining their original nationality—is particularly low compared with major Western countries: $2,000–$2,600 in the United States, roughly $4,000 in the United Kingdom, and $1,100–$1,700 in Canada. 

Even compared with countries with relatively modest fees, such as Germany ($148) and South Korea ($136), Japan's rate is less than half.

Fees for work-eligible statuses of residence, separate from permanent residency, are also higher elsewhere—for instance, France charges roughly ¥58,000 ($357) for a one-year stay. While systems differ too much for a direct comparison, many countries set their fees higher than Japan's.

Flat Fees and Millions More Residents

Officials cite ballooning costs of accepting foreign residents and note that Japan's fees have long lagged those of other countries. One immigration official described the change as "an appropriate adjustment of the burden, made in anticipation of rising costs tied to policy on foreign residents."

The number of foreign residents in Japan has continued to climb, driven in part by government policies aimed at expanding the labor force, with especially sharp growth since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

By the end of 2025, the total reached roughly 4.12 million, an increase of more than a million over five years. Despite this, the cap on fees for accepting foreign residents had remained at ¥10,000 ($62) since 1981.

Revenue Set to Jump Tenfold 

According to the Immigration Services Agency, annual fee revenue has totaled only a few billion yen. However, the agency estimates that the new fee structure could bring in ¥69 billion ($426 million) to ¥92 billion ($568 million) from status changes and renewals alone, with the total reaching as much as ¥94 billion ($580 million) if permanent residency is included. 

Beyond covering the roughly ¥23 billion ($142 million) in actual costs tied to expected application volumes, the additional revenue is intended to fund Japanese-language education, consultation services, refugee-status screening, and other measures supporting what the agency calls "orderly coexistence" with foreign residents.

Major Western countries similarly set their fees with such policy funding in mind, an immigration official said, adding that Japan's previous fee cap had been so restrictive it failed to cover even the direct costs of processing applications. "The new fee level is broadly in line with those charged in other countries," the official said.

Concerns From the Field

Some industries that rely heavily on foreign labor to address workforce shortages have voiced concern.

"There's no question the fee hike will hurt efforts to secure workers," said one figure in the elderly care industry. "Facilities are likely to end up covering the cost themselves, and that burden won't be small."

A representative of a supervising organization in the Kanto region that supports the acceptance of foreign workers in the construction industry expressed similar worries, saying he fears companies will scale back hiring of new foreign workers, potentially leading to longer hours for those already employed.

A Call for Clearer Justification 

Keizo Yamawaki, a professor of migration policy at Meiji University, said it is understandable that fees for renewing residency status and for permanent residency are being reconsidered, given the rising costs associated with policy affecting foreign residents. 

But he cautioned that "an increase of this scale calls for a more thorough explanation of its rationale, including from an international perspective."

He noted that Japan's active acceptance of foreign workers in recent years has been driven largely by the economic benefits to a country facing labor shortages. 

Yamawaki added that "environmental improvements and Japanese language education benefit not only the foreign residents themselves, but the companies that employ them, local communities, and Japanese society as a whole."

Policy on foreign residents, Yamawaki said, is at a turning point. "Beyond strengthening screening systems and digitizing residency procedures, the measures that will be needed going forward will carry significant costs." He argued that the discussion should move beyond what foreign residents themselves should bear, to include how companies and the government ought to share that burden.

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Visas to Japan to Cost Up to 10 Times More Under New Government Plan

(Read the article in Japanese.)

Author: Kota Kuwahata, Wataru Utsugi, The Sankei Shimbun

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