- Japan will keep Certificate of Eligibility applications free when the immigration fee overhaul begins October 1, 2026.
- Residence filings, including change of status and permanent residence, will cost ¥10,000 to ¥75,000 in person under the new grid.
- Applications received on or after October 1, 2026 follow the new fees; earlier filings keep the old JPY 6,000 charge.
Japan will leave Certificate of Eligibility applications free when its immigration fee overhaul starts on October 1, 2026. The COE stays at zero, even as other filings move onto a new price ladder.
The new charges hit residence-status applications filed with the Immigration Services Agency of Japan: change of status, extension of period of stay, and permanent residence. Those filings now sit under one October reset, but they do not all move the same way. The old counter fee was JPY 6,000. The new schedule runs from JPY 10,000 to JPY 75,000 in person and from JPY 10,000 to JPY 65,000 online.
The government adopted the change by ordinance on August 25, 2026. Applications received on or after October 1 fall under the new schedule, while earlier filings keep the old fee even if the decision arrives later. That date line is the divider. The move also sits inside a broader immigration update tied to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act and related procedures, which reshaped how the agency handles these filings.
Free toolREAL ID Requirements Checker toolJapan also keeps consular visa fees separate from immigration filing fees. Those charges apply abroad at embassies and consulates, not at the immigration counter. They run on their own timetable and under their own paperwork. They are not part of the October filing grid.
Full waivers remain narrow under the revised system. Diplomatic and official visa holders are the only full exemptions, while other applicants can only seek reductions. Those lower rates can trim the bill, but they do not erase it. The list is short.
The new residence grid now tracks how long a stay is authorized for
The grid replaces the flat fee with a ladder. Short permissions sit at the low end, and longer ones climb in steps. Online filing stays cheaper in every band. The pattern is visible once the numbers are lined up.
| Filing category | In person | Online |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 3 months | ¥10,000 | ¥10,000 |
| Over 3 months to 6 months | ¥18,000 | ¥15,000 |
| Over 6 months to under 1 year | ¥25,000 | ¥21,000 |
| 1 year | ¥33,000 | ¥27,000 |
| Over 1 year to under 3 years | ¥48,000 | ¥42,000 |
| 3 years to under 5 years | ¥64,000 | ¥56,000 |
| 5 years or more | ¥75,000 | ¥65,000 |
At the bottom of the grid, the two filing channels are tied at ¥10,000. The next steps widen the gap, with the counter fee rising to ¥18,000, ¥25,000, and ¥33,000 while the online fee moves to ¥15,000, ¥21,000, and ¥27,000. The longer periods climb again to ¥48,000 and ¥42,000, then ¥64,000 and ¥56,000. The middle bands keep climbing. By the longest band, the gap reaches ¥10,000.
One filing jumps to ¥200,000
That filing carries the biggest jump. The in-person fee rises from ¥10,000 to ¥200,000. That is a twenty-fold increase. No other line moves like this, and no other fee in the schedule comes close.
Visa fees abroad moved on a separate schedule
Japan's fee reset sits inside a broader immigration update tied to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act and related procedures. The embassy rate change came first, on July 1, 2026. Single-entry visas cost ¥15,000, and multiple-entry visas cost ¥30,000. Those charges belong to visas issued abroad. They are separate.
Online filing softens the rise, but only partly. It matches the counter fee at the shortest band. At the longest band, it saves ¥10,000. That is the largest discount in the grid, and it is the one people will notice first.
