Foreign nationals applying for permanent residence in Japan will face a significant increase in fees from October, with the cost rising from the current 10,000 yen to 200,000 yen.
Fees for changing a status of residence or extending a period of stay will also increase, with the highest charge set at 75,000 yen under new rules adopted by the Japanese government on Tuesday (August 25).
For applications submitted at administrative office counters, the new charges will replace the existing flat fee of 6,000 yen. The amount payable will depend on the length of permission granted.
Applicants receiving permission for five years or more will pay 75,000 yen, while those granted permission for three years to less than five years will be charged 64,000 yen. The fee will be 33,000 yen for a one-year period and 10,000 yen for stays of three months or less.
The revised fees follow changes to Japan’s Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, which was enacted in May. The legislation sets maximum charges of 100,000 yen for changing status or extending a period of stay, while permanent residence applications can be charged up to 300,000 yen.
However, the legislation leaves the final fees to be determined through a government ordinance.
Following public feedback, the government also expanded the categories of foreign nationals who may qualify for reduced fees under humanitarian considerations.
Initial guidelines from the Immigration Services Agency proposed fees of 10,000 yen for temporary-stay cases and 20,000 yen for permanent residence applications, but applicants had to meet both financial hardship and humanitarian requirements.
Under the revised approach, financial hardship must be at a level comparable to that of recipients of welfare assistance under Japan’s Public Assistance Act, while applicants must also be considered in need of humanitarian consideration.
The humanitarian category has since been expanded to include foreign nationals who are solely responsible for the care and upbringing of their biological children who are Japanese nationals or special permanent residents.
It may also apply in cases where refusing permission for the applicant to remain in Japan would be considered inhumane.
Special permanent residents are foreign nationals who lived in Japan before the Second World War, lost Japanese citizenship after the war and their descendants.
