So Japan just announced a pretty massive change: visa fees are going up 5x starting 1 July 2026.
If you’re scrolling past headlines wondering “wait, do I need to worry about this?”, short answer: probably not, if you’re just planning a holiday. But there’s more to the story, so let’s break it down properly.
The TL;DR
- Visa fees are jumping 5x from 1 July 2026 (first change since 1978 — yes, almost 50 years).
- The departure tax you pay when leaving Japan is also going up — from ¥1,000 to ¥3,000 — and that one hits everyone, visa or not.
- If you’re from a visa-exempt country (Malaysia included, for short trips), this mostly doesn’t affect you.
- It’s part of a bigger shake-up that also touches long-term residency fees.
Now let’s get into the details.
So what’s actually changing?
Here’s the new fee table — old vs. new:
Quick note on that departure tax; it’s not a “visa thing,” it’s a “you’re flying or sailing out of Japan” thing.
Everyone pays it, regardless of nationality or visa status. It’s already baked into your ticket price, so you won’t be handing over cash at the airport.
If your flight is booked but departs on or after 1 July 2026, you’ll pay the new ¥3,000 rate; booking date doesn’t matter, departure date does. Kids under 2 and some transit passengers are exempt.
There’s also a separate, longer-term shake-up happening to residency fees:
These are legal ceilings, not the final fees; the actual numbers get confirmed later via Cabinet ordinance, sometime before March 2027.
Earlier estimates floated something like ¥10,000–70,000 for status changes and around ¥200,000 for permanent residency, but nothing’s locked in yet.
How did we get here? (The timeline)
- Oct 2025 — Nikkei first reports Japan is planning to raise visa fees.
- Mar 2026 — Cabinet approves a bill to raise the legal ceiling on residency fees — first time since 1982.
- Apr 2026 — Bill passes the House of Representatives.
- 29 May 2026 — House of Councillors passes it, 186 votes to 58. It’s now law.
- 19 June 2026 — Cabinet approves the actual new fee schedule.
- 1 July 2026 — New visa fees and departure tax kick in.
- By March 2027 — Residency fee changes roll out in phases.
Okay but why though?
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi basically said: it’s been almost 50 years, inflation happened, the yen weakened a lot, and the old fees don’t even cover what it actually costs Japan to process visas anymore.
Fair enough. A few other things are going on too:
- Tourism is at an all-time high. Japan welcomed a record 42.6 million visitors in 2025. That’s a lot of paperwork for immigration to handle.
- More foreigners are living there too. Foreign residents hit a record 4.13 million by end of 2025, which means more admin work tracking everyone’s status.
- The money has to go somewhere. Combined with related fee hikes, officials expect roughly ¥300 billion a year in extra revenue — earmarked for digitalizing immigration, catching overstayers, and funding Japanese language programs for foreign residents.
- Catching up with everyone else. Japan’s visa fees have been weirdly cheap compared to other G7 countries for decades. This basically closes that gap.
Funny enough, even before the fee hike, visitor numbers actually dipped 3.6% in May 2026, partly thanks to fewer tourists from China.
So Japan’s betting that a fee bump won’t scare people off and honestly, given how popular it remains, they’re probably right. Some commentators also tie this into Japan’s ongoing struggle with overtourism in its most popular spots.
How does Japan compare to everyone else now?
Even with the hike, Japan’s single-entry fee is still cheaper than the US or UK. The multiple-entry fee now lands roughly in the same ballpark as those two though.
For permanent residency, the proposed ¥200,000–300,000 range would still come in under the UK’s £2,885 charge and is in the same neighborhood as the roughly $1,440 the US charges.
What’s JESTA and should I care?
Even if you’re visa-exempt, change might still be coming your way eventually. Japan’s working on JESTA (Japan Electronic System for Travel Authorization), basically Japan’s version of the US ESTA or Europe’s ETIAS.
It’s expected sometime in fiscal 2028 and would require travellers from the 74 currently visa-exempt countries/territories (US, UK, Canada, most of Europe, etc.) to register online before flying in, probably with a small fee attached.
Nothing’s confirmed on cost or rules yet though, so don’t stress about it for now.
Who actually gets hit by this?
Here’s the bit that matters most: the 5x visa fee hike only applies if you actually need to apply for a visa.
If you’re from one of the 100+ countries that require a visa for Japan — China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc. — yes, you’ll feel this directly.
If you’re from one of the 74 visa-exempt countries (US, UK, Canada, most of the EU, and yes, Malaysia), you don’t apply for a visa for short trips, so this part doesn’t touch you.
The departure tax, though? That one’s coming for everyone, regardless of passport.
Wait, does this affect Malaysians?
Good news: for most of us, no.
Malaysia’s had a visa-exemption deal with Japan since 2013. If you’ve got a biometric (ICAO-standard) passport which basically every Malaysian passport issued since 2017 is, you can visit Japan for up to 90 days, for tourism, visiting family, business meetings, whatever, without applying for a visa at all.
When would a Malaysian actually need a visa (and get hit by the new fees)?
- Staying longer than 90 days
- Going for work, study, internship, or to join family as a dependent/spouse; this needs a long-term visa with a Certificate of Eligibility
- Your passport isn’t ICAO-compliant (rare these days, but possible with older passports)
There’s also a neat detail: the Embassy of Japan in Malaysia notes that Malaysians are exempt from certain visa fees even when a visa application IS required — so the actual cost might vary depending on what you’re applying for. Worth double-checking with the embassy directly if your situation isn’t a straightforward short holiday.
The one thing that WILL hit every Malaysian traveller: the departure tax going from ¥1,000 to ¥3,000. Doesn’t matter if you’re visa-free or not, flying out of Japan after 1 July 2026 means paying the higher amount.
Bottom line: short trip, normal passport? You’re basically unaffected; still visa-free, just a slightly pricier ticket out. Long stay, work, study, or an older passport? That’s when this actually matters to you.
So… what should Malaysian travellers actually do?
- Don’t panic — most short trips are completely unaffected.
- If you DO need a visa (long stay, work, study), budget for the new rates and check exactly which type you need.
- Always double-check with the Japanese Embassy or Consulate in Malaysia before applying — fee exemptions and requirements can vary by case.
- Keep half an eye on JESTA down the road — it could eventually mean a quick online form before you fly, even visa-free.
The bottom line
Japan’s giving its visa fee system its first real update since 1978 — fees up 5x, departure tax up 3x, and bigger changes coming for long-term residents down the line.
It sounds dramatic, but for most short-term travellers (Malaysians included), the actual impact is small: a slightly pricier flight out, nothing more.
The people who’ll really feel it are travellers from visa-required countries and foreigners settling in Japan long-term. Either way, if a Japan trip is on your radar, it’s worth knowing the numbers before you book.
