Japan increases single-entry visa fee from ¥3,000 to ¥15,000, effective from July 1

.….multiple-entry visa will increase from ¥6,000 to ¥30,000.
….revision becomes the first in 48 years

The Japanese government has decided to increase single-entry visa fees from ¥3,000 (N25,290), to ¥15,000 (N126,000) for foreign nationals.

Multiple-entry visa will increase from ¥6,000 to ¥30,000, based on a revision following a Cabinet order and will take effect from July 1.

The decision, represents the first adjustment to visa fees in 48 years, with the last change occurring in 1978.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Foreign minister explained to a news conference on Friday. He said,

“The current visa fee was set in 1978, and we have recently revised it to reflect inflation and exchange rate fluctuations since then,”

“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 added.

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The decision follows the enactment of a bill by the Upper House last month, which allows visa-related fees for foreign nationals to increase by up to 30 times their current rates. This legislation, which passed the Lower House in April, aims to generate additional revenue to help cover the administrative costs of managing Japan’s growing foreign population.

Before the bill was passed, the legal maximum fee for altering residency status or extending a period of stay was capped at ¥10,000, which was also the maximum charge for permanent residency applications. Following the revision, these statutory caps will be raised to ¥100,000 and ¥300,000, respectively. Within these new legal limits, the actual fees are determined by Cabinet orders.

The government has proposed increasing the fees for changing residency status and extending stays from the current range of ¥5,500–¥6,000 to between ¥10,000 and ¥70,000.

Meanwhile, the fee for permanent residency applications is set to rise from ¥10,000 to ¥200,000.
Ministers aim to introduce these changes before the end of the next financial year on 31 March 2027.

The extra revenue will be allocated towards administrative services for Japan’s foreign resident population, which reached a record 4.13 million at the end of 2025 as well as expanding Japanese-language education and strengthening measures against individuals who overstay their visas.

The government justified the increases by stating that Japan needs to align its visa and residency charges more closely with Western nations to establish a more robust immigration system.

Ngozi Ekugo

Ngozi Ekugo is a Senior Correspondent at BusinessDay. She holds a Masters in management from the University of Lagos, an undergraduate from University of Lagos, and is in an alumni of Queen's College. Shes currently an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM). She has a brief experience at Goldman sachs, London in its Human Capital Management division. She is interested in human capital development and is leveraging her varied experience across sectors to report labour and global mobility trends for stakeholders to make informed decisions.