Japan’s Stricter Residency Rules, Higher Fees Spark Exclusionism Concerns

Japan’s stricter permanent-residency requirements and higher residence-related fees took effect Oct. 1, with the government saying the measures are aimed at “coexistence with foreigners who follow the rules,” despite concerns that they could amount to exclusionism.

Japan has tightened permanent-residency requirements and raised fees for residence-related applications as the government seeks to strengthen its immigration system.

Anxiety is also spreading among foreign residents that the route to permanent residency has become considerably narrower, Sakura Iwamoto reported for Mainichi Japan.

“A situation has arisen in which the public feels uneasy about acts by some foreigners that deviate from laws and rules,” Justice Minister Takashi Yamashita, who oversees the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, said at a recent news conference in response to a question about stricter policies toward foreigners.

Yamashita said it must not become harder for foreigners who contribute to society to live in Japan because of the actions of some people.

He emphasized that the tightening of permanent-residency requirements and increases in residence-related fees are part of the government’s “basic line” toward realizing a society “in which Japanese and foreigners prosper together.”

Japan’s Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act sets three basic requirements for permanent residency: good conduct; sufficient assets or skills to make an independent living; and a determination that the person’s permanent residence is in Japan’s national interest.

The government revised its guidelines on Oct. 1, making the independent-livelihood and national-interest requirements stricter.

Under the revised livelihood standard, annual income of about ¥3 million for a single person, which had previously been regarded as a benchmark, is being replaced by a requirement that applicants consistently earn more than the average income for Japanese households.

The Mainichi report cited an average of about ¥4.5 million for single-person working households.

Other requirements will take effect later.

The government plans to apply a pension-related requirement from April 2027, under which applicants must be expected to receive future pension benefits comparable to those of someone who earned the average income and contributed to the employees’ pension system for 30 years.

From April 2027, failure to pay taxes and other obligations will also be assessed negatively under the revised national-interest criteria.

A mechanism allowing permanent-residency status to be revoked in certain cases involving deliberate nonpayment of taxes or serious offenses is also scheduled to begin at that time.

At the same time, residence-related fees increased sharply.

Applications for permanent residency now cost ¥200,000, up from ¥10,000, while fees for changing or extending residence status vary according to the length of stay granted.