Asia · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
Japan Tightens Permanent Residency Rules, Raising Fee To 200,000 Yen
Permanent residency fee increased twentyfold to 200,000 yen, effective Oct 1, 2026. Applicants must prove income at or above Japan's average, plus pension and Japanese-language requirements.
Why Japan raised fees.
8 of 10 outlets skipped it: permanent residency guidance assessed against average household income.
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Same story, two versions
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The New York Times
“Ms. Takaichi, a hard-line conservative, said the policies were necessary to quell rising concerns among Japanese citizens about a recent influx of foreigners;”Read the original ↗
TTimes of India
“The government has linked the fee increases to the rising administrative burden of managing a growing foreign population.”Read the original ↗
NYT foregrounds public anxiety, while Times of India foregrounds administrative burden.
Fee Hike Takes Effect
Japan tightened rules for foreigners seeking permanent residency by raising the application fee to 200,000 yen from 10,000 yen, with the new fee taking effect on 1 October. Tokyo’s main immigration bureau reported waiting times of more than seven hours as long lines formed outside immigration offices earlier this week. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the government was responding to public anxiety and a sense of unfairness as Japan’s foreign resident population grows, writing that it was working to ensure policies toward foreign nationals are “orderly” and that both Japanese citizens and foreign residents can live safely and securely.
Yujie Chono, a 22-year-old American-born university student waiting in fluent Japanese, said he had been waiting for five hours to file his paperwork before the price spike. Japan’s new permanent residency requirements also demanded that applicants prove their annual income is above average and that they can carry casual conversations in Japanese.
Income, Pension, Language
Japan’s revised permanent residency rules required applicants to demonstrate a stable income at or above the Japanese average and to meet new pension and Japanese-language requirements. The BBC reported that from 1 October the fee varies according to the duration of stay sought, ranging from 10,000 yen for three months or less to 75,000 yen for five years or more. The BBC said Japan’s foreign resident population surpassed 4.12 million at the end of 2025, marking a record 9.5% increase from the previous year.
Micaiah Stevens, who had been living and working in Tokyo for 10 years, said his “immediate reaction was that foreigners were being treated a bit too conveniently,” and he questioned the long-term plan. Japan’s changes also set pension expectations tied to someone who has paid pension insurance for 30 years, while financial assets could be taken into account where expected pension benefits fall short.
Debate and Next Steps
Japan’s government framed the tightening as a response to anxiety about immigration, with Sanae Takaichi writing that “some members of the public may feel a sense of concern or unfairness” as the foreign resident population grows. The BBC reported that from April next year permanent residency applicants will face further requirements, including basic Japanese language proficiency. The BBC said the fee increases were part of a series of changes under Sanae Takaichi that aimed to manage Japan’s rapidly growing foreign population.
The New York Times reported that critics said the measures were hurting Japan’s ability to address labor shortages, while the article said the government increased fees by 2,000 percent amid “anxiety” over foreigners. TJapan’s tightening followed earlier steps, including a five-fold increase in visa fees for all foreigners in July, described by authorities as meant to “reflect inflation and exchange rate fluctuations”.