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From 1 October the fee for a renewal or status change is not only larger but paid differently, and the online route carries a settlement surcharge the hardship reduction cannot reach.
The Immigration Services Agency warned on 24 September about fraudulent emails demanding residence application fees, days before online applicants start paying by convenience store or bank transfer.
Applications accepted on or before 30 September keep the current fees. From 1 October a renewal costs between ¥10,000 and ¥75,000, and permanent residence goes to ¥200,000.
The Immigration Services Agency published the new fee schedule in late August. A flat ¥6,000 renewal becomes a scale running to ¥75,000, and permanent residence goes from ¥10,000 to ¥200,000.
Japan's international tourist tax went from ¥1,000 to ¥3,000 on 1 July, the same day consular visa fees rose five-fold. Both are charged on top of the fare.
Consular visa fees go to about ¥15,000 for a single-entry visa and ¥30,000 for a multiple-entry visa from 1 July 2026, the first revision since 1978.
The Diet passed the immigration bill on 29 May. It creates Japan's electronic travel authorisation system and lifts the statutory ceiling on residence procedure fees to ¥300,000.
The cabinet endorsed a bill in early March establishing a Japanese electronic travel authorisation for visa-exempt travellers, alongside a sharp rise in the statutory fee ceiling.
Worker intake targets, a naturalisation review and a fee overhaul were all settled before the year began. Here is what foreign residents in Japan should expect in 2026.