Published: October 1, 2026
It's official. As of today, Japan's residence procedure fees have been revised under a Cabinet Order amending the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act enforcement order — the largest fee change in the system's history, and the one we flagged in July when the enabling law passed. The Immigration Services Agency's official announcement confirms the details.
Three headline changes:
- Permanent residence: ¥10,000 → ¥200,000. A twenty-fold increase.
- Extensions and status changes: no longer a flat fee. The old ¥6,000 is replaced by a sliding scale of ¥10,000 to ¥75,000, determined by the period of stay you are granted — a structural first for Japan.
- The government fee is up to ¥10,000 lower for online applications — before a small online payment-processing charge (¥330 or ¥550).
The Full Fee Table
For changes of status and extensions of period of stay, the fee depends on the period granted (not the period you request — you find out with the decision):
| Period of stay granted | Counter application | Online application | Until Sep 30, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 months or less | ¥10,000 | ¥10,000 | ¥6,000 (¥5,500 online) |
| Over 3 – 6 months | ¥18,000 | ¥15,000 | |
| Over 6 months – under 1 year | ¥25,000 | ¥21,000 | |
| 1 year | ¥33,000 | ¥27,000 | |
| Over 1 – under 3 years | ¥48,000 | ¥42,000 | |
| 3 – under 5 years | ¥64,000 | ¥56,000 | |
| 5 years or more | ¥75,000 | ¥65,000 |
Online applications additionally incur a payment-processing fee of ¥330 or ¥550 — e.g., the ¥65,000 online fee costs ¥65,330 or ¥65,550 in total.
And for the other procedures:
| Procedure | Until Sep 30, 2026 | From Oct 1, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent residence | ¥10,000 | ¥200,000 |
| Certificate of Eligibility (COE) | Free | Still free |
Who Pays the Old Fees — the Transitional Rule
Per the ISA's official Q&A: applications received on or before September 30, 2026 are charged at the old rates, even if the permission is granted after October 1. If you filed your PR application in September, you will pay ¥10,000 at approval — not ¥200,000 — however long the processing takes. (For readers who followed our July advice to file before October: that decision just saved you ¥190,000.)
Anything received from October 1 onward is under the new schedule. The fee is paid when the permission is granted — by revenue stamp for counter applications, and now by convenience store or bank transfer for online applications.
The Strategy the New Structure Creates
Because the fee scales with the granted period, some arithmetic worth knowing:
- Longer periods still win. A single 5-year extension costs ¥75,000; five consecutive 1-year renewals now cost ¥165,000 (5 × ¥33,000) — plus five rounds of paperwork. Since the period granted now determines the fee, ensure the application fully documents the factors Immigration considers when determining the period of stay — stable employment, clean tax and social insurance records, consistent past filings.
- Online is the discount channel. The government fee is ¥3,000–¥10,000 lower online at every tier above 3 months, before the ¥330/¥550 online payment-processing charge. Applications we file for clients go through the online system where eligible, so the lower fee applies automatically.
- The 3-year-to-5-year jump matters for PR too. Under the February 2026 guideline revision, from April 1, 2027 PR applicants generally need to hold the maximum period of stay available for their status, subject to transitional rules — and the 5-year grant that typically satisfies this now carries the top-tier fee. Plan the sequence, not each step.
- Hardship provisions exist. Where the economic-hardship criteria are met, the fee is reduced to ¥10,000 for a change of status or extension and ¥20,000 for permanent residence. Reduced-fee applications must be made at the counter rather than online — conditions are set out in the ISA's Q&A.
Where the Money Goes
The ISA states the additional revenue funds four areas: digital transformation of the immigration system, refugee protection, countermeasures against illegal residence, and integration support programs for foreign residents. It is part of the broader "orderly coexistence" policy direction we covered in our 2026 policy overview — the changes shift a greater share of the cost of immigration administration onto users of the system.
What This Means in Practice
- If your renewal is coming up: budget for the new amounts, apply online where possible, and ensure the application fully documents the factors Immigration considers when determining the period of stay — the fee difference between a 1-year and a 3-year grant now compounds in both money and effort.
- If you're planning permanent residence: the ¥200,000 fee is payable at approval, so it affects everyone granted from here on (unless you filed by September 30). On eligibility, holders of a 3-year period of stay can still apply under the current interpretation until March 31, 2027 — and a transitional exception allows certain applicants who hold a 3-year period on that date to satisfy the requirement after April 1, 2027, subject to conditions.
- If you're an employer: the per-renewal cost of your foreign workforce just rose by up to 12.5 times. Longer grants and clean compliance records are now a measurable budget item — something our corporate immigration support manages across a workforce.
Sources: Immigration Services Agency, "Revision of fees for residence permissions effective October 1, 2026" (official announcement and leaflets); ISA Q&A on the fee revision; Cabinet Order partially amending the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act enforcement order. Fee amounts verified against the official schedule as of October 1, 2026. Professional service fees are separate from these government fees — see our fee schedule.