It’s about to get a lot more expensive to visit and live in Japan – here’s why

Is Tokyo on your 2026 travel list? Well, we’ve got some not-so-great news: travel to Japan from July 1 is becoming a lot more (as in, five times more) expensive.

In the first revision to its visa costs since 1978, Japan is quintupling visa fees for tourists and business travellers starting next week. 

So, how much will travellers have to pay? A single-entry visa for one-time visitors will increase from ¥3,000 (£14) to ¥15,000 (£71), while a multiple-entry visa, for those who visit Japan many times a year, will shoot up from ¥6,000 (£28) to ¥30,000 (£141). 

The Japanese government says it’s the first time fees have been revised in nearly half a century, and that the increase reflects decades of inflation and exchange rate shifts.

Price hikes for permanent residents

It’s not only tourists who can expect to dig deep – the new fees are part of a wider immigration overhaul. Japan’s upper house passed legislation in May that raises the cap on fees for longer-term residents. Permanent residency applications could eventually cost up to ¥200,000 (around £1,050), up from ¥10,000 (£47) currently. Very steep.

Visa-waiver exemptions

Travelling to Japan from the UK soon? You can breathe a sigh of relief, as the July visa updates don’t apply to British passport holders. However, the relaxed entry rules won’t last forever. By 2028, Japan plans to roll out JESTA (Japan Electronic System for Travel Authorization), similar to the US ESTA or the UK’s ETA. It will eventually require visitors from 74 visa-waiver countries to register before travelling. 

Fortunately, 2028 is a long way off. You’ve got years to factor JESTA into your holiday prep, right alongside mapping out Tokyo shopping hauls and double-checking the etiquette for bowing to Nara's deer. 

New rules and fees for travelling to Japan

The hike in visa fees comes after Japan announced a tripling of departure fees, also applicable from July, as well as a slew of new penalties for unruly tourist behaviour like littering. If you want to make sure your holiday funds actually go toward shopping instead of penaltieis, check out Time Out’s guide to Japan's new rules to avoid surprise on-the-spot fines or unexpected departure taxes.

The government insists none of this will put tourists off, and given Japan has been breaking visitor records for the past few years, they’re probably right. 

📍 Check out Time Out’s guide to Japan’s most underrated destinations

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