The Upper House’s passage and enactment of a bill that will significantly raise the fees for foreign nationals to obtain residence status is sending shock waves through low-income foreign households in Japan.
The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Japanese Communist Party opposed the revision of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law on May 29, arguing that it “places an excessive burden on foreign residents and strengthens exclusion.”
The fee for renewing residence status, currently a uniform 6,000 yen ($38), is expected to rise to around 30,000 yen for a one-year period of stay and about 60,000 yen for a three-year period.
The fee for permanent residency permission is also set to increase, from the current 10,000 yen to around 200,000 yen.
REVERBERATIONS IN KOBE
At “Masayang Tahanan” (Happy home), a Filipino community group in Kobe, inquiries have surged as reports surfaced about the possible fee hikes. In less than two months since the start of this fiscal year, the group has handled about 40 consultations, roughly half the total for the entire previous fiscal year.
These inquiries include questions such as “How much will we have to pay?” and “When will the increase take effect?” according to vice representative Flora Kawaguchi, who is affectionately called “Fhoy Kawaguchi” among the Filipino community members.
She said that few people have access to accurate reporting and misinformation is also spreading.
Many of those seeking advice are single mothers who have divorced Japanese spouses. Of these, many are also survivors of domestic violence.
“They are raising children and cannot work much,” Kawaguchi said. “Some have become mentally unstable due to domestic violence and cannot continue working.”
Those with an unstable income tend to be granted shorter periods of stay, making annual renewal necessary in many cases.
“For such people, having to pay 30,000 yen every year is extremely difficult,” Kawaguchi said.
She also worries that some may hesitate to divorce their Japanese spouses, even in harmful situations, to continue living in Japan with their children.
INCREASES COMING THIS FISCAL YEAR
The Immigration Services Agency will set the exact fees by Cabinet order based on the length of stay, with increases to be implemented within the fiscal year.
Foreign nationals must obtain a residence status corresponding to the purpose of their stay to live in Japan, and must renew it periodically.
Under the current law, the upper limit for fees related to these procedures is uniformly set at 10,000 yen.
However, the revised law raises these caps to 100,000 yen for extensions or changes of residence status; and 300,000 yen for permanent residency permission.
The actual fees to be charged will be determined later.
For extensions or changes of residence status they are expected to rise from the current 6,000 yen to roughly 10,000 yen to 70,000 yen depending on the period of stay.
For permanent residency permission, they are expected to increase from 10,000 yen to around 200,000 yen.
The Immigration Services Agency explained that the reason for the revision is that costs related to foreign-resident policies have grown due to the increase in the number of foreign nationals, and that it is therefore appropriate to require foreign residents, as beneficiaries, to bear the cost.
Opposition parties criticized the government’s stance of placing the burden solely on foreign nationals, arguing that “realizing a multicultural, inclusive society also benefits Japanese society.”
Some also pointed out that asylum seekers should not be required to bear such fees, noting that some countries such as Britain and Germany do not require them to do so.
FEE REDUCTIONS, EXEMPTIONS UNDECIDED
The Immigration Services Agency plans to create guidelines regarding those eligible for fee reductions or exemptions. However, the guidelines will target recognized refugees, and those currently applying for refugee status are unlikely to be included.
In the Judicial Affairs Committee of the Upper House, a supplementary resolution was passed calling for consideration to ensure that fee levels “do not impose an excessive burden relative to the living standards of foreign residents” and that the scope of reduction or exemption eligibility is not unduly narrowed.
The Immigration Services Agency said it would also take into account comparable fees in other countries, presenting examples from seven nations, including those of Europe, the United States and South Korea.
However, Sakura Uchikoshi, an Upper House lawmaker and a CDP member, expressed distrust toward the agency, saying that it “did not attempt to explain that some countries do not charge fees to children or asylum seekers.”
Although fee reductions or exemptions may be available for those in economic hardship, specific eligibility criteria were not clarified during Diet deliberations. Both the amounts of the fees and the criteria have effectively been left to the discretion of the Immigration Services Agency.
Atsushi Kondo, a professor at Meijo University who gave testimony as a witness in the Judicial Affairs Committee of the Upper House, cautioned that “these matters cannot be determined arbitrarily by administrative discretion.”
He added, “It is desirable to establish standards that take into account the rights set out in international human rights treaties, such as the right to family life and the best interests of the child.”
(This article was compiled from reports by Takuya Asakura and Yuki Nikaido.)
