The Japanese government has approved a major increase in visa fees for Nigerians and other foreign nationals, marking the country’s first adjustment to visa charges in nearly five decades.
According to local media outlet The Japan Times, the decision was approved during a Cabinet meeting on Friday. The new fees will take effect for all applications submitted from July 1.
Under the revised structure, the cost of a single-entry visa will jump from ¥3,000 ($18.60) to ¥15,000 ($92.99), while a multiple-entry visa will increase from ¥6,000 ($37.20) to ¥30,000 ($187.97).
Speaking after the meeting, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said the review was necessary due to inflation and changes in exchange rates over the years.
“The current visa fees were introduced in 1978. We have now reviewed them to reflect economic realities, including inflation and currency fluctuations,” he said.
Motegi added that the government does not expect the increase to have any immediate effect on tourism.
The fee hike follows legislation passed by Japan’s parliament last month allowing the government to raise visa and residency-related charges significantly. The bill, which had already cleared the Lower House in April, is aimed at helping authorities cover the growing cost of managing the country’s expanding foreign population.
Before the amendment, the maximum fee for residency status changes, visa extensions and permanent residency applications was capped at ¥10,000. Under the new law, those ceilings have been raised to ¥100,000 and ¥300,000 respectively.
Actual charges will be determined through future Cabinet orders, but government proposals indicate that fees for residency status changes and stay extensions could rise from the current ¥5,500–¥6,000 range to between ¥10,000 and ¥70,000. Permanent residency application fees are expected to increase from ¥10,000 to ¥200,000.
The government plans to fully implement the new fee structure before the end of the 2026 fiscal year on March 31, 2027.
Officials say the additional revenue will be used to strengthen immigration administration, expand Japanese-language education programmes and improve efforts to tackle illegal overstaying.
Japan’s foreign resident population reached a record 4.13 million people at the end of 2025, prompting calls for increased funding to manage migration-related services.
Authorities also argue that the revised fees will bring Japan closer to what many Western countries currently charge for similar immigration services.
For comparison, visa renewal fees in the United States range between $420 and $470, while Germany charges between €93 ($107) and €98 for certain immigration services.
