This article explains Japan’s new fee for permanent residence permission (eiju kyoka, 永住許可), for readers living in Japan who are preparing or considering an application.
From 1 October 2026, the fee you pay when permanent residence is granted rose from 10,000 yen to 200,000 yen, twenty times the old amount. It is charged per person, so when a whole family applies, the total grows with every member.
Who carries the heaviest burden? Who qualifies for the reduced fee of 20,000 yen? And what should you check before you apply? Zagdim asked Kuniyuki Shishido, Representative Partner of Torikani International Gyoseishoshi Corporation, an immigration practice, for a practical view.
In short: for applications received on or after 1 October 2026, each person pays 200,000 yen when permission is granted. Applications received on or before 30 September keep the old fee of 10,000 yen, even if permission comes later. The 20,000-yen reduction is limited to spouses and children (and similar relatives) of Japanese nationals, permanent residents and special permanent residents, and they must also meet two conditions: financial hardship and a need for humanitarian consideration. If you plan to apply, the most useful thing to do now is check that your tax, pension and health insurance have all been paid on time.
How Much Has the Fee Risen, and Which Applications Does It Cover?
For applications received from 1 October, each person pays 200,000 yen on permission. According to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA, 出入国在留管理庁), the fee for permanent residence permission (counter applications) rose from 10,000 yen to 200,000 yen under Article 25(1) of the amended Immigration Control Order, effective 1 October 2026.
| Item | Before | From 1 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent residence (counter application) | 10,000 yen | 200,000 yen |
| Permanent residence, eligible for reduction | — | 20,000 yen |
Table: based on the ISA poster and reduction page (October 2026)
What counts is the date your application was received, not the date it is granted. Applications received on or before 30 September 2026 pay the old 10,000 yen even if permission is granted after 1 October. If you filed by the end of September and are still waiting, the increase does not apply to you.
The fee is paid only when permission is granted. Counter applicants pay, as before, with revenue stamps (shunyu inshi, 収入印紙). The ISA notes that revenue stamps can be bought with cash only, and asks applicants to buy the amount shown on their notification postcard in advance, at a larger post office where possible, before collecting their result. For a family applying together, that means preparing a substantial sum in cash.
The same revision changed the fees for changing status of residence and extending a period of stay, which now depend on the length of stay granted and range from 10,000 to 75,000 yen at the counter. On the ISA poster, permanent residence is listed for counter applications only.
Who Is Hit Hardest?
Families applying together feel it most. The fee is charged for each person granted permission, so the total rises with every member. Kuniyuki Shishido explains: “The burden is especially heavy when the whole family applies for permanent residence. For a family of four, for example, the fees paid at the time of permission alone come to 800,000 yen in total. For families with several children, or where one earner supports the household, this is likely to be a very heavy burden.”
Based on the ISA’s published amounts, here is what different households pay when permission is granted:
| People granted permanent residence together | Received by 30 September (old fee) | Received from 1 October (new fee) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | 10,000 yen | 200,000 yen |
| 2 people (e.g. a couple) | 20,000 yen | 400,000 yen |
| 4 people (e.g. a couple and two children) | 40,000 yen | 800,000 yen |
Table: calculated from ISA amounts (counter applications, no reduction applied)
For example, a couple working in Tokyo with two children had planned to apply together in autumn 2026. If their applications are received on or after 1 October, the fees come to 800,000 yen in total once all four are granted. Had they been received by 30 September, the total would have been 40,000 yen. The difference depends only on when the application was received, not on when permission is granted.
If your whole family plans to apply, it is worth budgeting for this payment alongside preparing your documents.
Who Qualifies for the 20,000-Yen Reduction?
Very few people. It is not a general discount for lower-income or larger families. According to the ISA, the fee for permanent residence can be reduced to 20,000 yen, but with two layers of limits:
- Who you are: among permanent residence applicants, only spouses and children (and similar relatives) of Japanese nationals, permanent residents or special permanent residents can be considered.
- Your circumstances: you must be found to be in hardship comparable to a person requiring public assistance under the Public Assistance Act, and to need humanitarian consideration. The ISA’s Q&A states that both must apply; meeting only one is not enough.
“The fee is not reduced simply because someone’s income is low or their family is large. … In practice, the cases in which the reduction actually applies are likely to be very limited.”
Proof must be submitted with the application. The documents the ISA lists vary by case, for example a certificate of receiving public assistance, or the latest year’s income tax certificate (including a certificate of non-taxation) together with a copy of your bank passbook. The online residence application system does not accept reduction requests, so anyone seeking the reduction must apply at the counter.
For most families applying together, the realistic approach is to budget 200,000 yen per person. If you think you may qualify for the reduction, check the eligibility rules and documents on the ISA’s reduction page first, then decide how to apply.
What Should You Check Before Applying?
Above all, that your tax, pension and health insurance were not just paid, but paid on time. The ISA’s Guidelines for Permanent Residence (revised 24 February 2026) list the proper fulfilment of public obligations as a requirement: paying tax, paying public pension and public health insurance premiums, and making the notifications required under the Immigration Control Act. The guidelines add that even if a payment has been made by the time you apply, failing to pay within the original deadline will in principle count against you. The ISA published a further revision of the guidelines on 1 October 2026, which in principle applies to applications made on or after 1 April 2027. It likewise states that failing to pay taxes and public charges such as health insurance and pension properly in the past (for example, having been subject to delinquency enforcement) will in principle count against you even if nothing is outstanding when you apply, and that this is in principle reviewed per household.
Shishido also stresses that timing matters as much as payment: “When it comes to your payment record, what matters greatly is not only having no arrears but having paid on time. These days it is common for an application to be refused even if a payment was just one day late, so we recommend paying well ahead of the deadline rather than at the last minute.”
Based on the public obligations in the guidelines, a quick self-check before applying:
| Item | What to check |
|---|---|
| Tax (e.g. resident tax) | Every instalment paid by its deadline |
| Public pension | Premiums paid by each deadline |
| Public health insurance | Premiums paid by each deadline |
| Notifications under the Immigration Control Act | All required notifications made |
Table: based on the public obligations listed in the Guidelines for Permanent Residence
The weeks around a job change are when things slip. Shishido explains: “When you change jobs or leave a job, your pension and health insurance have to be switched over and the way you pay resident tax changes, so it is reassuring to check in advance that no procedure or payment has been missed.” Keep a close eye on bills and deadlines during any change of employment.
Going through your payment records instalment by instalment before you file is the most direct preparation you can make.
The Bottom Line
Permanent residence has gone from a small fee to a household expense that needs planning. The 20,000-yen reduction covers only a narrow set of cases, so most applicants should budget 200,000 yen per person. What you can control is whether every payment was made on time.
If you are weighing when your family should apply, or are unsure whether your payment record could be a problem, tell Zagdim about your situation and we can arrange a suitable specialist for you.
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Key Terms
- Permanent residence permission (永住許可): permission for a foreign national to live in Japan without a time limit.
- Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁): the agency under the Ministry of Justice that handles entry and residence.
- Revenue stamps (収入印紙): government stamps used to pay official fees.
- Received date: the date the ISA accepts your application; it decides whether the old or new fee applies.
- Person requiring public assistance (要保護者): under the Public Assistance Act, a person who needs public assistance.
- Public obligations (公的義務): tax, public pension and health insurance payments and immigration notifications reviewed in a permanent residence application.
About This Article
Information was checked on 3 November 2026. Fee amounts, the effective date, the received-date transition rule, and reduction eligibility and documents are drawn from the Immigration Services Agency’s announcement page, poster, reduction page and Q&A. The household figures in the second section multiply the published fee by the number of people and assume no reduction. The public obligations are from the Guidelines for Permanent Residence (revised 24 February 2026). The ISA notes that people who receive a “specified residence card” at the time of permission may also need to pay that card’s issuance fee; this is not included in the figures above.
The views that the reduction applies only in limited cases and that a single late payment can lead to refusal are Kuniyuki Shishido’s, based on his practice; the ISA has not published statistics on either. The expert’s comments are his own professional views. Quotes were confirmed by the expert in Japanese and translated by Zagdim. This article is not individual legal advice; please consult a professional about your own situation.
References
Immigration Services Agency of Japan, 令和８年１０月１日付け在留許可手数料の額の改定等について (Revision of residence permission fees from 1 October 2026) / Immigration Services Agency of Japan, poster on the fee revision from 1 October 2026 (PDF) / Immigration Services Agency of Japan, 令和８年１０月１日以降における在留許可手数料の減額措置又は免除措置について (Fee reductions and exemptions from 1 October 2026) / Immigration Services Agency of Japan, Q&A on the fee revision of 1 October 2026 / Immigration Services Agency of Japan, 永住許可に関するガイドライン (Guidelines for Permanent Residence, revised 24 February 2026) / Immigration Services Agency of Japan, 永住許可に関するガイドライン (Guidelines for Permanent Residence, revised 1 October 2026; applies to applications from 1 April 2027)
