Japan residency pathway score cut after permanent residence fees jump

We cut Japan's residency pathway score from 5.0 to 4.6 on Country To Live. On 1 October 2026, permanent residence applications rose from 10,000 yen to 200,000 yen, and applicants now need income at or above the average Japanese household. Status changes and stay extensions, which used to cost a flat 6,000 yen, now scale with the length of stay.

This is a data call for people comparing how hard it is to stay. It is not a decision on one file, and it is not legal advice.

What changed on 1 October

• Permanent residence got much more expensive. The BBC reported the application fee is now 200,000 yen (about $1,270), twenty times the old 10,000 yen charge. People queued for hours at Tokyo's main immigration bureau to file before the hike.
• Renewals and status changes are no longer a flat fee. The same report says the old counter fee was 6,000 yen. From 1 October it runs from 10,000 yen for three months or less up to 75,000 yen for five years or more. Hardship cases and people designated as refugees can get a discount.
• The income bar is in force now. Applicants must show stable income at or above the Japanese household average. Data released in July put that average at 5.75 million yen for 2024.
• More tests start in April 2027. Basic Japanese and an expected pension near 30 years in the employee pension system come in then. Assets can be weighed if the pension figure falls short. Those rules are not in this score yet.
• The path is narrower, not closed. Work and study routes still exist. We cut 0.4, not a full point, because the door did not shut.

Where 4.6 sits among peers

Residency pathway on Country To Live is how open a long stay looks for a typical mover: fees, income tests, and whether permanent status is a realistic later step. 4.6/10 keeps Japan in the harder half of the catalog. It does not say a job offer cannot still lead to a visa.

Read the Japan country page, then set it beside South Korea or Singapore. Japan vs South Korea and Japan vs Singapore put the pathway next to jobs and cost. All country scores show where 4.6 lands in the full list.

Practical checks

1. Price the fee for the stay you actually want. A one-year extension and a five-year extension are no longer the same bill. Add the permanent residence fee only if that filing is in your plan.
2. Check income against the household average before you assume permanent residence is next. The 5.75 million yen figure is the 2024 average cited in July. Confirm the live guideline when you file.
3. Keep April 2027 separate. Language and pension tests are announced, not yet the rule for today's applications. Use compare for Japan if you are weighing a city against another country, not only the fee table.

We will update again if the April 2027 tests land harder than advertised, or if the fee schedule is rolled back.

This note explains our editorial scoring only. It is not legal, immigration, or relocation advice.