From 2026, Japan plans to hike visa and immigration-related fees by as much as five to ten times, depending on the category. Extensions, status changes, long-term stays and permanent residency applications are all in the firing line. For decades, Japan ran one of the cheapest immigration fee regimes in the developed world. A visa extension cost less than dinner in Tokyo. Permanent residency fees were almost quaint, but that era is ending and quite abruptly.
Officially, the explanation is dull and bureaucratic: fees haven’t been revised since the late 1970s. Inflation happened, immigration volumes exploded, administrative costs went up, etc. Now, Japan wants its fee structure to look more like the US, UK and Schengen countries.
What’s also true is that Japan has been quietly overwhelmed by post-pandemic tourism and rising foreign residency, without updating the systems needed to manage either. Airports are creaking, and immigration offices are understaffed, which makes processing times long. Digitisation is partial at best. Raising fees is the fastest way to fund fixes — and to thin the herd. Countries rarely admit this, but visa pricing is policy.
Short-term tourists may see modest increases, but they’re not the main target. Japan still wants visitors — preferably in large numbers, spending freely, leaving promptly.
The real pain lands on:
Students extending stays
Workers switching visa categories
Freelancers and dependents renewing annually
Long-term residents applying for permanent status
A permanent residency application that once cost pocket change could soon cost the equivalent of a return domestic flight. Visa extensions that feel routine will start to feel punitive. Japan is saying: If you’re staying, prove you’re worth the paperwork.
Zoom out and Japan isn’t an outlier — it’s late to the party. Across Europe, visa and residency fees have risen steadily. The UK treats immigration like a luxury tax. What’s different is that Japan built its foreign-resident ecosystem on low-cost access for years, especially for Asian applicants.
Japan is struggling with success. Kyoto, Tokyo, Osaka — all grappling with crowd management, housing pressure and local backlash. Raising visa fees doesn’t solve overtourism directly, but it changes the economics of lingering. It discourages serial renewals. It nudges short-term workers toward sponsorship-backed jobs instead of casual arrangements. It filters out low-commitment long stays.
There’s no beating the hike once it’s in force — but there is outmanoeuvring it. Applications filed before the new fee structure kicks in will be processed under the old rates. Anyone planning a status change or long-term extension should move early. Longer visa validity reduces renewal frequency. Fewer renewals, fewer fees. Japan isn’t “closing its doors.” Tourism will remain aggressively promoted. Long-term presence will become more expensive, more deliberate, more selective. For travellers, this changes little beyond budgeting. For residents and aspirants, it changes the calculus entirely. Japan is still one of the world’s most compelling places to live, work and wander. It’s just done pretending that access should be inexpensive.
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