Japan increases permanent residency fee for foreigners by 20 times

As reported by The Insider, the fixed fee for extending or changing temporary residency status used to be 6,000 yen. Now the amount depends on the period for which the documents are requested: a residence permit for a period of one to three years will cost 48,000 yen, and for a period of six months to one year — 25,000 yen.

For Japanese permanent residency, the requirements for income and pensions are also being tightened. Anyone seeking permanent status must demonstrate a stable income at or above the national average for a long period of time.

Japan’s immigration service explained this by saying it wants to make sure the applicant can secure a stable source of income in the long term and will not become a burden on society. The new criteria will also include a requirement to know the Japanese language.

Most of the new criteria will begin to apply to applications submitted from April 2027. The changes related to the minimum income level will take effect earlier — for those who submitted documents for a residence permit in April of this year.

In July, Japan raised visa fees fivefold for the first time since 1978. At the time, authorities said this was necessary to reflect inflation and exchange rate fluctuations.

Sources

• Material: theins.ru