The Immigration Services Agency of Japan released draft guidelines on July 3 outlining a new tiered residency fee structure to replace the current flat 6,000-yen charge for refugee visa applicants. Support groups say the narrow criteria for fee reductions leave most refugee visa applicants without meaningful relief.
What the new fee structure means in practice
Under the revised system, fees will range from 10,000 yen for stays of three months or less, rising to 75,000 yen for stays of five years or more. The most significant increase applies to permanent residency, where the fee jumps from 10,000 yen to 200,000 yen. The government has cited rising administrative costs tied to a growing foreign population as the justification for the Diet-approved increases.
For refugee applicants, the financial impact compounds over time. After an initial two-month residency permit, applicants must typically renew their status every three to six months. With the average screening period running 22.5 months last year, most applicants will face multiple rounds of fees before a decision is reached on their case.
Applications submitted before October 1 will be processed at the current rate. Countries including Britain, Canada, France and Germany charge no fees to refugee applicants seeking to remain legally while their cases are pending, a contrast that organizations such as those tracking charities supporting refugees and displaced populations have consistently raised in policy discussions.
Refugee visa fee reductions fall far short, advocates say
The new guidelines allow fee reductions only for applicants who meet two conditions simultaneously: they must be receiving public assistance and must already hold recognized refugee or humanitarian protection status. For the far larger group with pending claims, a reduction applies only to those receiving public protection funds.
In fiscal 2024, just 710 of the approximately 12,000 refugee applicants in Japan were approved for those funds. The Japan Association for Refugees, a nonprofit that supports asylum seekers navigating Japan’s immigration system, issued a statement on July 3 warning of serious consequences.
“It is extremely limited, and we are concerned that refugee applicants who cannot pay the fees, and yet cannot return to their home countries due to fear of persecution, will involuntarily become undocumented,” the group said.
The association called for a reconsideration of the fee amounts and an expansion of the reduction criteria. The Immigration Services Agency said it aims to speed up the screening process to reduce the number of renewal cycles applicants face. Public comments on the draft guidelines are open until August 2, a window that nonprofits working on refugee resettlement and protection are likely to use to push for broader exemptions.