Japan puts a high price on permanence

Japan has decided that permanence should cost more — much more. Foreigners applying for permanent residency now face a fee of 200,000 yen, a 20-fold jump, and the paperwork comes with tighter demands on income, pensions and Japanese-language ability. Bureaucracy, it seems, has discovered both inflation and a sense of purpose.

The new fee took effect on 1 October. Before that, non-permanent residents paid 6,000 yen each time they applied to change status or extend their stay. From now on, the charge for residence applications depends on the length of stay sought, ranging from 10,000 yen for three months or less to 75,000 yen for five years or more. Applicants in financial hardship, and those recognised as refugees, will receive discounts.

The rush was predictable. Earlier this week, long lines formed outside immigration offices as applicants tried to beat the higher fees, and Tokyo’s main immigration bureau reported waits of more than seven hours. That is what happens when policy is announced with the sort of timing that encourages people to queue before dawn and complain by lunchtime.

The fee rise is part of a wider shift under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who has made immigration one of her priorities since taking office in October last year. In July, Japan introduced a five-fold increase in visa fees for all foreigners, its first such rise in 50 years. Officials said that was intended to reflect inflation and exchange-rate fluctuations.

The political calculation is obvious enough. Japan’s foreign resident population reached more than 4.12 million at the end of 2025, a record and a 9.5% increase from the previous year. At the same time, the country’s ageing society is increasingly dependent on foreign workers to fill labour shortages. One can see the tension without a policy brief: Japan needs people, but it also wants to look as though it is choosing them carefully.

Takaichi has already acknowledged the public mood. In a post on X days before the residency fee increase took effect, she said the government recognised that some members of the public may feel concern or unfairness as the foreign resident population grows. She added that the government was working to ensure that policy toward foreign nationals remains orderly and that Japanese citizens and foreign residents can live safely and securely.

The new rules do not stop at money. Aspiring permanent residents must now have a stable income at or above the Japanese average. Data released in July put average household income at 5.75 million yen in 2024. Their expected pension benefits must also match those of someone enrolled in the employee pension system for 30 years, although financial assets may be considered if the pension calculation falls short.

Language will soon become another hurdle. From April next year, applicants for permanent residency will also need basic Japanese proficiency. Local media reported a surge in enrolments at Japanese language schools and in people signing up for the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test.

For people already living and working in Japan, the message is plain: the door is still open, but the threshold is higher, the rules are tighter and the price of entry has risen sharply. That may satisfy those who want more control over immigration. It will do little, however, to disguise the fact that Japan’s economy still leans on foreign labour even as its politics grows more cautious about admitting it.

Written by Andreas Hofer andreas.hofer@alpineweekly.com