Japan Raises Permanent Residency Fee 20-Fold for Foreign Nationals
Story By Staff Reporter
Japan has raised fees for foreigners who want to live in the country. Permanent residency now costs 200,000 yen ($1,270; £955), twenty times the old price.
Applicants must also meet new income, pension and Japanese-language requirements.
Long Queues at Immigration Offices
Applicants lined up outside immigration offices earlier this week to beat the fee hikes. Tokyo’s main immigration bureau reported waits of more than seven hours.
Part of a Wider Immigration Overhaul
The fee increases are part of a series of changes under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Her government wants to manage the rapidly growing foreign population.
In July, Japan raised visa fees fivefold for all foreigners. It was the country’s first visa fee hike in 50 years. Authorities said the change would “reflect inflation and exchange rate fluctuations.”
Immigration remains politically sensitive and restrictive in Japan. Yet the ageing population increasingly relies on foreign workers to plug a labour shortage.
The foreign resident population passed 4.12 million at the end of 2025. That is a record 9.5% increase on the previous year. The growth has fuelled anxiety over immigration and social change.
Takaichi Responds to Public Concern
Takaichi has made managing immigration a key priority since she took office in October last year. Days before the hikes took effect, she posted on X that “some members of the public may feel a sense of concern or unfairness” as the foreign resident population grows.
“To address these concerns, [the government] is working to ensure that its policies toward foreign nationals are orderly, and that both Japanese citizens and foreign residents can live safely and securely,” she wrote.
New Fees for Other Residents
Before the hike, non-permanent residents paid 6,000 yen each time they applied to change their residency status or extend their stay.
From 1 October, the fee depends on the length of stay requested. It ranges from 10,000 yen for three months or less to 75,000 yen for five years or more. Applicants facing financial hardship and refugees receive discounts.
Tougher Rules for Permanent Residency
Aspiring permanent residents must now earn a stable income at or above the Japanese average. Data released in July puts average household income at 5.75 million yen as of 2024.
The rules tighten again in April next year. Applicants will need basic Japanese language skills. Local media report a surge in enrolments at Japanese language schools and in sign-ups for the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test.
Applicants’ expected pension benefits must also match those of someone who has paid into the employee pension system for 30 years. If expected benefits fall short, officials can consider the value of financial assets.
Foreign Residents Push Back
Micaiah Michaela-Spence has lived and worked in Tokyo for 10 years. The 37-year-old could not compile the necessary documents before the price hike. He still plans to apply, but he questions the new measures.
“My immediate reaction was that foreigners were being treated a bit too conveniently. We’re being asked to make more than the average Japanese person, pay a significantly higher fee, just to be able to work in Japan and provide taxes,” he said.
“There’s already a significant language and cultural barrier that prevents some talent from coming over. This just doesn’t strike me as a plan that was thought out to the long term.”
The two direct quotes from Michaela-Spence and the one from Takaichi are long, and quoted text should stay word for word. If Yoast still flags sentence length, paraphrasing parts of those quotes would bring the percentage down further.
Reporting based on original coverage by BBC.
