---
title: "Japan Tightens Rules for Foreigners Seeking Permanent Residency"
description: "Application fees rose twentyfold to 200,000 yen, and applicants must now show above-average income and conversational Japanese"
author: "rews desk"
published: 2026-10-01T04:31:15Z
modified: 2026-10-01T05:53:25Z
url: https://rews.cc/a/japan-tightens-rules-for-foreigners-seeking-permanent-reside-85fd5a
language: en
tags: ["immigration", "politics", "takaichi", "residency", "economy", "asia"]
publisher: "Rews (https://rews.cc)"
---

# Japan Tightens Rules for Foreigners Seeking Permanent Residency

*Application fees rose twentyfold to 200,000 yen, and applicants must now show above-average income and conversational Japanese*

By rews desk · October 1, 2026 · https://rews.cc/a/japan-tightens-rules-for-foreigners-seeking-permanent-reside-85fd5a

## In brief

- Japan raised permanent-residency requirements on Thursday, with application fees up 20-fold to 200,000 yen
- Applicants must show above-average income, conversational Japanese and pension benefits matching 30 years of contributions
- Hundreds queued at a central Tokyo immigration office to file before the fee increase
- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi cited citizens’ anxiety and pushed for “orderly coexistence” with foreign nationals
- The changes should not immediately force anyone out of the country

Japan tightened the rules for foreigners seeking permanent residency on Thursday, raising application fees 20-fold and adding income and language tests as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi moved to deliver on her pledges to curb immigration.

The rules, which take effect in stages, require applicants to show an annual income above the national average and the ability to hold casual conversations in Japanese. The application fee jumped to 200,000 yen (€1,116) from 10,000 yen (€56) on Thursday. At one immigration office in central Tokyo, hundreds of people stood in line, hoping to finish their paperwork before the increase took hold.

Among those waiting was Yujie Chono, a 22-year-old university student born in the United States. He told the news agency AFP, in fluent Japanese, that he had waited five hours to file. “I understand that over-accepting foreigners might dilute Japan’s unique culture,” he said. “But at the same time, given its low birth rate and aging population, Japan has to accept foreigners.”

The squeeze comes despite a fast-aging population and labor shortages across many sectors. Opposition to immigration has grown anyway, fed by programs to recruit overseas workers, anti-immigration sentiment on social media and false claims that have spread widely, among them that a large share of Japan’s welfare payments goes to foreigners and that they have made the streets less safe.

Earlier guidelines set no specific thresholds for income, pension or language skills. Applicants must now also show expected pension benefits equivalent to those of someone who has paid into the system for 30 years, and demonstrate an “understanding” of Japanese social rules.

Ms. Takaichi, whose Liberal Democratic Party won a supermajority in February, said the government had to answer public unease. “As the number of foreign residents in Japan increases, the government is facing the fact that some citizens feel anxiety and a sense of unfairness,” she wrote in an extended post on X on Sunday, adding that she was pushing for “orderly coexistence” with foreign nationals.

Immigration dominated last year’s upper house election, in which the “Japanese-first” Sanseito party rose sharply by describing immigration as a “silent invasion.” The Liberal Democrats later tightened the rules for business manager visas, and entrepreneurs who fail to meet the new conditions can be forced to leave the country.

Experts and many business leaders warn that Japan needs more foreign workers to sustain its economy. “Japan should stop viewing foreigners merely as a temporary labor force and instead promote their long-term settlement by expanding Japanese-language education and improving their treatment,” the business daily Nikkei said in a recent editorial.

Thursday’s changes may keep some people from applying for permanent residency. They should not, on their own, force anyone out.