The Japanese government has announced a significant increase in visa fees for foreign nationals seeking entry into the country, marking the first revision of such charges in 48 years.
The fee hike, approved during a Cabinet meeting on Friday, will take effect for visa applications submitted on or after July 1.
Under the revised structure, the cost of a single-entry visa will increase fivefold from ¥3,000 ($18.60) to ¥15,000 ($92.99), while a multiple-entry visa will rise from ¥6,000 ($37.20) to ¥30,000 ($187.97), according to a report by the Japan Times.
Japanese authorities said the increase reflects economic changes that have occurred since visa fees were last adjusted in 1978.
“The current visa fee was set in 1978, and we have recently revised it to reflect inflation and exchange rate fluctuations since then,” Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters on Friday.
Motegi said the government carefully considered the implications of the increase and does not expect it to negatively affect tourism.
“We made this decision after carefully considering various factors, and we do not anticipate that it will have an immediate impact on inbound tourism,” he said.
The development follows the passage of a bill by Japan’s Upper House last month that significantly raises the statutory limits for visa and residency-related fees. The legislation had earlier been approved by the Lower House in April.
The measure is aimed at generating additional revenue to support the administration of Japan’s growing foreign resident population and to strengthen immigration management systems.
Before the bill’s enactment, the maximum fee for changing residency status or extending a period of stay was ¥10,000 ($63), while permanent residency applications were capped at the same amount. Under the new law, those ceilings have been increased to ¥100,000 and ¥300,000 respectively.
Government proposals indicate that fees for residency status changes and stay extensions could rise from the current range of ¥5,500–¥6,000 to between ¥10,000 and ¥70,000. Permanent residency application fees are expected to increase from ¥10,000 to as much as ¥200,000.
Officials said the revised fee structure is expected to be fully implemented before the end of the next fiscal year on March 31, 2027.
According to the government, proceeds from the increased charges will be used to address the administrative demands created by Japan’s expanding foreign population, which reached a record 4.13 million residents at the end of 2025. The funds will also support Japanese-language education programmes and enhance measures against illegal overstayers.
Authorities further argued that the revisions would bring Japan’s visa and residency-related fees closer to those charged in several Western countries.
For comparison, visa renewal fees in the United States typically range from about $420 to $470, while similar charges in Germany range between €93 ($107) and €98.
The fee increase represents one of the most significant changes to Japan’s immigration cost structure in decades and is expected to affect thousands of prospective visitors, workers, students, and long-term residents seeking entry into the country.
