Japan announces residence fee reduction guidelines

The Immigration Services Agency of Japan has released guidelines regarding fee reductions for foreign residents following an upcoming increase in residence procedure fees. The new guidelines state that reductions will be granted to individuals who are in financial distress comparable to those requiring public assistance under the Public Assistance Act and who require humanitarian consideration.

Under the new rules, refugee applicants must be receiving ‘protection benefits’ to qualify for a reduction. However, because such benefits are only provided to a subset of refugee applicants, it is expected that the majority of applicants will be ineligible for the reduction. Refugee support groups have expressed concern that the scope of relief is too limited.

The fee increases are scheduled to take effect on October 1. Currently, the fee for changing or renewing a residence status is a flat 6,000 yen. From October, fees will vary based on the permitted period of stay, ranging from 33,000 yen for a one-year period to 75,000 yen for stays of five years or longer.