The Immigration Services Agency published a warning on 24 September about fraudulent emails impersonating the agency and demanding payment of residence application fees. It issued the notice because the way online applicants pay changes on 1 October, and an unfamiliar new step in the process gives phishing a plausible cover story.
Why the warning arrives now
Through the end of September, an applicant who files through the residence application online system pays the fee with revenue stamps, the same as at a counter. From 1 October, online applications are paid through a settlement agent designated by the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency, by convenience store payment or bank payment.
That inserts a new event into the process. Once the examination finishes, an email arrives carrying a payment link. No applicant has seen a real one before, and that is the gap the agency is warning about.
The fee amounts change on the same date. Applications accepted on or before 30 September are charged at the current rates whatever date the decision lands, and the full scale is on our page covering the 2026 fee changes.
What a genuine payment email contains
The agency gives three checks.
Sender domain. A real message comes from an address ending in @service-dgft.com or @veritrans.jp. Nothing else is the agency or its settlement agent.
The addressee line. A genuine email shows the applicant's online-system authentication ID together with the name registered on that account, not a generic greeting.
The order ID. It is built from the applicant's residence card number or passport number plus the application receipt number, so a real order ID matches documents the applicant already holds.
The email also goes to the address registered on the online system account. A message arriving anywhere else deserves suspicion on that basis alone.
What the agency says it will never do
The notice states plainly that the agency will not ask for payment by any route other than convenience store or bank settlement. Credit card and QR code payment are not part of the system, so a request for either is a reliable sign of fraud.
The agency also says it does not charge anything beyond the statutory application fee. An expediting charge, a penalty, or a deposit is not something the agency asks for at all.
Costs the real system does add
The genuine flow is not free of extras, which is why an unexpected small surcharge is not itself proof of fraud. The settlement agent adds a handling charge on top of the fee, between ¥220 and ¥550 depending on the amount, and it is the same for convenience store and bank payment. The agency also notes that some convenience store chains do not support the service.
That charge is stated up front as part of the payment. It does not arrive later as a separate demand.
Counter applications are unchanged
Anyone filing at an immigration office window keeps paying with revenue stamps, before and after 1 October. No payment email is involved, so an applicant who filed in person and receives one should treat it as fraudulent.
The agency's standing advice for window applicants is to buy stamps at a post office beforehand rather than rely on an immigration office's own stock. At the October amounts, up to ¥75,000 for a five-year grant and ¥200,000 for permanent residence, that advice carries more weight than it did.
Applicants claiming a hardship reduction, ¥10,000 for a status change or extension and ¥20,000 for permanent residence, have to file at a counter, so they are outside the online payment flow entirely.
What to do before Wednesday
If you have an online application in progress and expect a decision in October, write down the two legitimate domains now, while there is no email in front of you pressing you to act.
If a payment message turns up and anything about it looks wrong, do not open the link. Log into the residence application online system directly and check the application status there, and contact the immigration office handling the application if the two do not match.
Anyone still deciding whether to file before Wednesday should read the extension and renewal requirements rather than the fee table. An application that is not ready does not get cheaper by being early, and the fee falls due on approval.
Sources: Immigration Services Agency — fraud impersonating the agency, Immigration Services Agency — online application fees and payment method from 1 October 2026, Immigration Services Agency — October 2026 fee revision, Immigration Services Agency — fee reductions and exemptions