The legislation would raise the statutory cap on permanent residency application fees from 10,000 yen (US$63) to 300,000 yen, with the actual fee expected to land at around 200,000 yen, according to sources cited by Kyodo.
Fees for extending or changing residence status, currently a flat 6,000 yen, would rise to between 10,000 yen and 70,000 yen depending on the length of stay. The final amounts will be set by government ordinance within fiscal 2026.
It would be the first revision to the legal ceiling on immigration fees since 1982, The Japan Times reported.
The bill, which must still pass the Diet, also establishes the Japan Electronic System for Travel Authorization (JESTA), a pre-arrival screening system similar to the U.S. ESTA.
JESTA would require visitors from the 74 countries and territories currently exempt from short-stay visas to register online before traveling to Japan. The Immigration Services Agency said the system aims to prevent terrorism and illegal employment. Airlines and ships would be required to deny boarding to travelers without authorization. The government aims to launch JESTA in fiscal 2028, with full mandatory rollout by March 31, 2029.
The fee increases come as the number of foreign residents in Japan has hit a record 4.13 million at the end of 2025, a roughly 50% increase in just four years, according to the Immigration Services Agency. The government said the higher fees are needed to cover rising costs for visa processing, digital infrastructure, and support services for foreign residents.
But only about 60% of the projected 225 billion yen ($1.42 billion) in additional annual revenue is earmarked for programs related to foreign residents, such as Japanese-language education and consultation services, GaijinPot reported.
The remaining 40% will fund unrelated domestic policies, including free high school tuition and the elimination of the provisional gasoline tax rate, according to Unseen Japan.
The current fees took effect only in April 2025, when the government raised permanent residency applications from 8,000 yen to 10,000 yen and renewals from 4,000 yen to 6,000 yen within the existing legal cap. The new bill would raise the cap itself to allow far steeper increases.
A reduction and exemption system will be introduced for humanitarian cases and financial hardship, but eligibility for permanent residency fee relief will be limited to spouses and children of Japanese nationals, permanent residents, and special permanent residents, The Asahi Shimbun reported.
In her Feb. 20 policy speech at the opening of the 221st session of the Diet, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the legislation aims to “prevent the entry of foreign nationals who are undesirable for our country while facilitating smooth entry procedures for visitors who pose no issues,” Unseen Japan reported.
The policy shift comes amid a deepening labor crisis. Japan faces an estimated shortage of 11 million workers by 2040, according to the Recruit Works Institutedriven by a rapidly aging population and a declining birthrate. The country has increasingly turned to foreign labor to fill gaps in sectors like construction, nursing, agriculture, and food services, even as the government invests heavily in AI and robotics as longer-term solutions.
Critics argue the fee hikes could discourage the very workers Japan needs most. Many foreign residents hold one-year visas requiring annual renewal, and the new fee structure would multiply their costs several times over.
In 2023 alone, foreign workers in Japan sent back over 700 billion yen in remittances, according to GaijinPotsuggesting that large numbers are working on relatively modest incomes.
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