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Japan tightens permanent residency rules for foreign workers

Japan tightens permanent residency rules for foreign workers

Rule Changes

Income, language, pension and revocation hurdles reshape Japan's path to long-term settlement

October 18th, 2026: Agency plans higher salary floor for highly skilled visas

Overview

Updated Oct 20

Japan's revised permanent residency guidelines were published October 1 and apply the income test now, requiring earnings above the average Japanese household, adjusted for household size. Language and pension checks start in April 2027, and the application fee rose from 10,000 to 200,000 yen.

The Immigration Services Agency plans to raise the minimum salary for two of the three highly skilled professional categories from 3 million yen by the end of March 2027. Specific Skills No. 2 holders, who can seek permanent residency around 2027, rose sixfold to 18,295 by June 2026. Japan's foreign population is a record 4.12 million, and 56.3% of Japanese oppose more immigration, up from 35.6% in 2024.

Why it matters

Japan's shrinking workforce needs immigrant labor, but the new rules may drive away the skilled workers the economy depends on most.

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Key Indicators

5.75M yen
Average household income benchmark
2024 overall average household income; the threshold is adjusted for household size. A single working household averaged about 4.4 million yen.
4.12M
Foreign residents in Japan
Record high as of end of 2025, about 3% of total population.
56.3%
Japanese opposing more immigration
Up from 35.6% in 2024, per University of Tokyo Institute of Social Science survey.
20x
Permanent residency fee increase
Fee rises from 10,000 to 200,000 yen starting October 2026.
18,295
Specific Skills No. 2 holders
As of June 2026, up from 3,073 a year earlier. Holders can seek permanent residency around 2027.

Voices

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People Involved

Sanae Takaichi
Sanae Takaichi
Prime Minister of Japan
Leading the rightward shift in immigration policy
 Hiroshi Hiraguchi
Hiroshi Hiraguchi
Justice Minister of Japan
Announced visa fee increases in August 2026
RH
Risa Hagiwara
Professor of Economics, Meikai University
Commenting on the policy-labor tension
A(
Abdul (pseudonym)
Tech engineer in Tokyo
Preparing PR and citizenship applications; considering leaving Japan

Organizations Involved

Immigration Services Agency of Japan
Immigration Services Agency of Japan
Government Agency
Enforcing the income test from October 1, 2026; language and pension rules start April 2027; plans to raise the salary floor for two highly skilled professional categories by end-March 2027

Japan's immigration enforcement and visa administration agency.
Sanseito
Sanseito
Political Party
Anti-immigration opposition party gaining ground

Far-right party campaigning on a "Japan First" platform.
Japan Innovation Party
Japan Innovation Party
Political Party
Coalition partner of the LDP

Right-wing party in the governing coalition with the LDP.

Timeline

November 2025 October 2026

11 events Latest: October 18th, 2026 · 3 weeks ago Showing 8 of 11
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Agency plans higher salary floor for highly skilled visas

    Latest Policy

    The Immigration Services Agency plans to raise the minimum annual salary for two of the three highly skilled professional categories from 3 million yen, aiming to revise the relevant ordinance by the end of March 2027.

  2. Income test takes effect for permanent residency

    Regulation

    Income requirement takes effect, including for applications filed since April 2026; fee rises to 200,000 yen. Language and pension tests are set for April 2027, when revocation for intentional tax non-payment or serious crimes also begins.

  3. Visa fee increases take effect alongside PR changes

    Regulation

    Residence visa fees now vary by stay duration, from 10,000 yen for three months or less to 75,000 yen for five years or more. Permanent residency fee set at 200,000 yen.

  4. Government details PR revocation mechanism, effective April 2027

    Regulation

    Permanent residency can be revoked from April 2027 for intentional non-payment of taxes or social insurance premiums, or conviction for offenses such as theft, fraud or murder. The Immigration Services Agency says revocation is not automatic. For a first offense or where family or humanitarian reasons apply, the default is a change of status to Long-Term Resident.

  5. Al Jazeera reports foreign workers reconsidering Japan

    Report

    Coverage highlights skilled workers weighing exits and the tension between labor needs and public sentiment.

  6. Foreign Policy analyzes PR rule impact on key sectors

    Analysis

    Report notes income threshold disqualifies workers in care, hospitality, agriculture, and manufacturing sectors.

  7. Immigration Services Agency details PR rule changes

    Regulation

    Agency publishes revised PR requirements: income above household average, pension credits, language proficiency in phases.

  8. Specific Skills No. 2 holders reach 18,295

    Data

    The number of foreign workers on the skilled-worker visa rose from 3,073 at the end of June 2025, according to the Immigration Services Agency. An agency official said the growth was one reason to keep permanent residency hard to obtain.

  9. Diet enacts bill raising visa fee caps

    Legal

    Bill raises maximum visa fee caps tenfold; PR permit fee cap rises from 10,000 to 300,000 yen.

  10. Cabinet agrees on stricter immigration measures

    Policy

    On January 23, the Takaichi administration approved a package of stricter measures for foreign nationals, including longer naturalization residency requirements and a new Employment for Skill Development program to replace the Technical Intern Training system in April 2027.

  11. Japan establishes Headquarters for Foreign Nationals Policy

    Policy

    Government creates a coordinating body for foreign national policy under the Takaichi administration.

Scenarios

1

PR applications plummet after new rules take effect

Likely Resolves by Q3 2027

Discussed by: Foreign Policy; Meikai University economist Risa Hagiwara

The income threshold above 5.8 million yen excludes workers in care, hospitality, agriculture, fishing, tourism, and manufacturing, where average salaries run under 5 million yen. The 200,000 yen fee adds another barrier. If FY2026 applications fall sharply, Japan's rural labor shortage deepens and employers in affected sectors begin lobbying for exemptions.

2

Japan relaxes PR requirements after labor complaints

Possible Resolves by Oct 1, 2027

Discussed by: Bloomberg Opinion; DW reporting on labor needs

If labor shortages in care, manufacturing, or agriculture become acute, employers and prefectural governments could press the Immigration Services Agency to ease the income or language tests. The government might also expand Highly Skilled Professional exemptions, which already cover the language requirement.

3

Foreign resident growth stalls below 1%

Possible Resolves by Q1 2028

Discussed by: Al Jazeera; University of Tokyo survey data

New restrictions could deter new arrivals and push some current residents to leave. If the foreign population growth rate falls below 1% annually, Japan's dependency on immigrant labor becomes a binding constraint, forcing a national debate about the tradeoff between immigration limits and economic capacity.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

1955–1973

Germany's Gastarbeiter program (1955–1973)

Germany recruited Turkish, Italian, and southern European workers to fill industrial labor gaps, expecting them to rotate home after fixed stints. The program halted with the 1973 oil crisis, but hundreds of thousands of guest workers stayed.

Then

Many guest workers formed permanent communities despite their temporary status, creating immediate integration challenges.

Now

Germany spent decades debating citizenship policy, ultimately reforming its nationality law in 2000 and adopting a points-based immigration system in 2005.

Why this matters now

Japan's guest worker programs face the same unresolved question: whether temporary recruits become permanent residents or leave, and what happens when the policy shifts.

February 2014

Switzerland's anti-immigration referendum (2014)

Swiss voters narrowly approved a constitutional amendment limiting immigration through quotas, rejecting the EU free-movement framework. Roughly a quarter of Switzerland's residents were foreign nationals at the time.

Then

Switzerland negotiated with the EU to soften implementation, introducing local hiring preferences while avoiding direct quota violations.

Now

The referendum strained EU relations and created persistent institutional friction that shaped Swiss politics for years.

Why this matters now

Japan's rightward shift mirrors this tension: voters expressing hostility to immigration while employers and the economy depend on immigrant labor.

2011–2015

Singapore tightens foreign worker policies (2011–2015)

After the 2011 general election, in which immigration dampened the ruling party's vote share, Singapore raised foreign worker levies and reduced dependency ratio ceilings across multiple industries.

Then

Some labor-intensive businesses automated or relocated; construction and marine sectors adapted to smaller foreign workforces.

Now

Singapore retained a selective foreign worker system that prioritized higher-skilled migrants while tightening access for lower-skilled labor.

Why this matters now

Shows how a government can tighten foreign worker rules without immediately losing its entire foreign workforce, but only by accepting economic adjustments.

Sources

(27)
+21
Al Jazeera CNN Foreign Policy The Japan Times Sarabangla English Deutsche Welle Komichi Japan Bloomberg The Herald Business BBC News Nippon.com The Mainichi Kyodo News The Japan Times TKG Immigration Consulting Office Seoul Economic Daily Nairametrics Visa Japan (English) Amie International Administrative Scrivener Office Immigration Services Agency of Japan Yomiuri Shimbun Nikkei Asia The Japan Times The Mainichi Nippon.com The Japan Times Nippon.com