Japan has raised visa fees for foreigners for the first time since 1978, increasing them fivefold. The new tariffs will take effect on July 1 and, according to the government, are meant to reflect inflation and currency exchange rate fluctuations. This was reported by the BBC, writes UNN.
Details
From July 1, the cost of a single-entry visa will rise from the current 3,000 yen ($18.69; £14) to 15,000 yen, while a multiple-entry visa will cost 30,000 yen instead of 6,000 yen.
The revision of visa fees — the first since 1978 — was adopted to "reflect inflation and currency exchange rate fluctuations," Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Friday.
We do not expect this to have an immediate impact on inbound tourism
The Japanese yen has been steadily weakening since 2021 and is currently near 40-year lows.
This, along with the post-pandemic recovery in travel, has led to a sharp increase in tourism: last year, a record 42.7 million foreign tourists visited the country.
In May, Japan's upper house of parliament passed a bill to raise other fees for foreigners.
Under it, the maximum fee for applying for permanent residency will rise to 300,000 yen — 30 times the current limit of 10,000 yen. The cost of changing residency status or extending a stay will also increase to 100,000 yen, compared to the current 10,000 yen.
Supporters of the increase explain that Japan should bring its visa and immigration fees closer to the levels of other G7 countries.
For comparison, in the United States, the fee for non-immigrant visas ranges from $185 to $315, while in the United Kingdom, a standard short-term visa for up to 6 months costs £135.
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