Overview
- The cabinet approved a fivefold rise in consular visa charges that takes effect for applications filed on or after July 1, raising single‑entry fees from 3,000 to 15,000 yen and multiple‑entry fees from 6,000 to 30,000 yen.
- The increases apply to travellers who need a visa and do not change entry rules for most short‑stay, visa‑exempt visitors such as Germans who can enter for up to 90 days without a visa.
- Officials say the move responds to decades of inflation and a weak yen that have reduced fee revenue in foreign currencies, and that the new income will help cover the cost of immigration work.
- The visa hike is part of a wider reform that raises legal fee caps for status changes, extensions and permanent residency applications and also creates a digital pre‑travel system called JESTA planned around 2028.
- The government expects the extra revenue to pay for more immigration staff, better IT and language programs and to strengthen enforcement against illegal stays, while analysts and travellers will watch how higher residency fees affect migrants and future fee rules set by cabinet order.