Japan moves to raise residency fees for foreign nationals from October
Draft rules set fees by length of stay, lift permanent residency applications to 200,000 yen, and offer cuts for hardship and humanitarian cases.
- Japan plans to increase residency fees for foreign nationals starting in October to cover rising administrative costs.
- Fees for extending a temporary stay or changing status will rise from a flat 6,000 yen to a tiered system costing between 10,000 and 75,000 yen, based on the duration of the stay.
- The application fee for permanent resident status will increase significantly, rising from 10,000 yen to 200,000 yen.
- Discounts will be available for certain online applications, and fee reductions will be offered to individuals facing financial hardship or requiring humanitarian consideration.
Japan on Friday (July 3) published a draft cabinet order to increase fees for foreign nationals applying to change temporary residence status or extend their authorised stay, with charges rising from the current counter fee of 6,000 yen to as much as 75,000 yen.
The Immigration Services Agency said the new fees would depend on the length of the stay approved.
Applications for permanent resident status would face a much steeper rise, increasing from 10,000 yen to 200,000 yen.
The agency aims to introduce the higher charges in October after a public comment period that began on Friday.
The measure forms part of a May revision to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act and is intended to help cover administrative costs linked to the sharp increase in foreign residents in Japan.
Under the draft, counter fees for status changes and stay extensions would be 10,000 yen for periods of up to three months, 18,000 yen for more than three months to six months, 25,000 yen for more than six months to under one year, 33,000 yen for one year, 48,000 yen for more than one year to under three years, 64,000 yen for three years to under five years, and 75,000 yen for five years or longer.
Applicants filing online for periods of more than three months would receive discounts ranging from 3,000 yen to 10,000 yen.
Permanent residency applications, however, would be accepted only at service counters.
The agency also issued guidelines on fee reductions.
Applicants facing financial hardship comparable to welfare recipients under the Public Assistance Act, as well as those requiring humanitarian consideration, would have fees cut to 10,000 yen for stay extensions and temporary resident status, and to 20,000 yen for permanent resident status.
The revised law caps fees at 100,000 yen for stays and temporary resident status, and 300,000 yen for permanent resident status.
The actual charges will be set within those ceilings.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
