Last updated: 22 August 2026
Summary
- You can apply from roughly three months before your period of stay ends. There is no reason to wait.
- The fee is 6,000 yen, or 5,500 yen online. The 500 yen matters less than not queueing at an immigration office.
- There is no universal document checklist – it depends on your status of residence, and students need a confirmation document from their school, so allow time to request it.
- Whether you can apply online comes down to one thing: having a My Number card. Without it, the counter is your only route.
- Permanent residence and residence card renewal cannot be done online. Those two are counter-only.
- On the expiry date itself, the online system will not accept you. That day means going in person.
- A fee increase is planned for October 2026, but as of 22 August 2026 it is not yet confirmed.
Extension of Period of Stay (在留期間更新許可申請) keeps your current status of residence and adds more time to it. Nothing about your job or school changes – that would be a change of status, a different application, covered in moving from a student visa to a work visa. It is also not the same as renewing the plastic residence card itself, which is its own procedure.
- When can you apply to renew?
- How much does a visa renewal cost?
- What documents do you need?
- Who can file if you cannot go yourself?
- It comes down to the My Number card
- What online filing cannot do
- Has the fee increase been decided?
- Frequently asked questions
- Q. When can I apply to extend my period of stay?
- Q. How much does it cost?
- Q. What documents do I need to renew?
- Q. How long does the screening take?
- Q. Can students file online themselves?
- Q. What if the decision does not come before my card expires?
- Q. Can I apply for permanent residence online?
- Q. I heard fees rise in October 2026. To what?
- In short
- Related reading
When can you apply to renew?
The date on the card gets closer and the unease starts. Far fewer people know when they are actually allowed to act.
If your period of stay is six months or longer, you can apply from roughly three months before it expires. With a special circumstance – hospitalisation, a long business trip – offices will sometimes accept an application even earlier.
That three-month window exists because screening takes time, and because being called back for a missing document is normal. File at the last minute and the entire cushion disappears.
One more thing worth knowing, because it removes most of the fear. If your application is filed by the expiry date, you may stay in Japan while it is being decided – a grace period of up to two months. Let the date pass without filing and you lose your status of residence outright. The deadline applies to filing, not to being approved.
How much does a visa renewal cost?
6,000 yen on approval, or 5,500 yen if you applied online. At a counter you pay in revenue stamps. The fee went up from 4,000 yen on 1 April 2025, so older articles and forum posts will quote the wrong number.
| Application | At the counter | Online |
|---|---|---|
| Extension of period of stay | 6,000 yen | 5,500 yen |
| Change of status of residence | 6,000 yen | 5,500 yen |
| Permanent residence | 10,000 yen | Not available |
| Acquisition of status of residence | No fee | |
You pay only when it is approved. Nothing is due when you file, and nothing is due if the answer is no.
What documents do you need?
Something to say before the list. There is no single set of documents that applies to everyone. The Immigration Services Agency asks for “an application form and materials according to your activity in Japan (your status of residence)”. A student and an engineer submit different things. Any page handing you one universal checklist is already wrong.
That said, some items are needed whatever your status.
| Always needed | Detail |
|---|---|
| Application form | Downloadable from the agency’s site |
| One photograph | 4cm tall by 3cm wide. Taken within 6 months, no hat, plain background, sharp |
| Passport | Presented at the counter |
| Residence card | Presented at the counter |
| The fee | 6,000 yen on approval (5,500 yen online) |
On a student visa, two more items are added: a declaration covering how your living costs are paid, and a confirmation document issued by your school. The requirements for enrolment and academic transcripts sit inside that school document.
This is the real reason to start early. You cannot produce the school’s paperwork yourself. You have to ask the office and wait for it, and if that lands during exams or a long holiday, the wait stretches. The three-month window exists because of this queue, not in spite of it.
Screening takes its own time. The standard processing period is two weeks to one month, longer if something is missing and you have to file again.
Who can file if you cannot go yourself?
Applications may be filed by you, a legal representative, or an authorised agent (certain staff members, lawyers, and immigration lawyers). In special circumstances a relative or someone living with you may file instead.
One line is worth reading carefully. “Being busy with work, or commuting to work or school” does not count as being unable to appear in person. Being busy is not a reason to send a family member. If your school or employer has staff authorised to file on your behalf, that is the route to ask about.
It comes down to the My Number card
Online filing is not reserved for company staff and immigration lawyers. Foreign nationals can use it themselves. There is a condition attached.
You need a My Number card and a smartphone with the Mynaportal app installed. Without those you cannot even register to use the system. Which means that for anyone without the card, online filing does not exist. It is the counter, 6,000 yen, and the queue.
The gap is 500 yen. Small, on paper. The part that actually costs you is the trip. Regional immigration offices are few and open on weekdays only. If getting there means losing half a day of classes or a shift, that is worth considerably more than 500 yen.
The card is quietly becoming necessary elsewhere too – identity checks for phone contracts changed as well. If you do not have one, applying for it before your renewal comes due is time well spent.
What online filing cannot do
It is convenient rather than universal. You can file an extension of period of stay, a change of status of residence, and a certificate of eligibility application.
Permanent residence and renewal of the residence card itself cannot be filed online. Both are counter-only, so if you are applying for permanent residence, plan on going in person.
And here is the trap that catches people. On the expiry date itself, the online system will not take your application. That is stated plainly by the Immigration Services Agency. Put it off to the final day, open your phone, and there is no route there. That day means travelling to the office with jurisdiction over your address.
One change arrived in January 2026 as well. If you enter the grace period without having extended the validity of your My Number card, you can no longer submit documents through the online system. Your residence card and your My Number card expire on separate dates. Check both.
Has the fee increase been decided?
A draft cabinet order would raise these fees from 1 October 2026. The public comment period closed on 3 August 2026.
Here is the precise position. As of 22 August 2026 the order has not been promulgated. Comments have been collected and the outcome has not been published. Some articles state exact new amounts. Until the order is promulgated, the amounts are not fixed, so this page does not print them.
You can still prepare. At the previous increase, in April 2025, the date the application was accepted was what counted. Applications received by 31 March kept the old fee. If the same logic applies again, filing before the new rules take effect means paying today’s amount.
And you may file from roughly three months before expiry. If your period of stay ends between autumn and the end of 2026, September is worth using. Even if the increase never arrives, filing early costs you nothing.
Fees and procedures were checked on the Immigration Services Agency website on 22 August 2026. Rules change – always confirm on the official site before you file. Official sources: Immigration Services Agency, Extension of Period of Stay / the same agency on online applications
Frequently asked questions
Q. When can I apply to extend my period of stay?
If your period of stay is six months or longer, from roughly three months before it expires. With a special circumstance such as hospitalisation or a long business trip, an office may accept an application earlier.
Q. How much does it cost?
6,000 yen on approval, or 5,500 yen if you filed online. Nothing is due when you apply, and nothing is due if the application is refused. The fee rose from 4,000 yen on 1 April 2025.
Q. What documents do I need to renew?
There is no single list that applies to everyone – the agency asks for materials matching your status of residence. Whatever your status you need the application form, one photograph (4cm by 3cm, taken within six months, no hat, plain background), your passport and your residence card. On a student visa, add a declaration of how your living costs are paid and a confirmation document from your school, which you cannot produce yourself, so ask early.
Q. How long does the screening take?
The standard processing period is two weeks to one month, longer if a missing document sends you back. As long as you filed by the expiry date, you may stay in Japan while you wait.
Q. Can students file online themselves?
Yes. Foreign nationals can use the online system directly, but it requires a My Number card and a smartphone with the Mynaportal app. Without the card, the counter is the only route.
Q. What if the decision does not come before my card expires?
You can stay. As long as the application was filed by the expiry date, you may remain in Japan for up to two months while it is decided. The deadline applies to filing, not to approval.
Q. Can I apply for permanent residence online?
No. Permanent residence and renewal of the residence card are counter-only. Online filing covers extension of period of stay, change of status of residence, and certificate of eligibility applications.
Q. I heard fees rise in October 2026. To what?
As of 22 August 2026 that is not settled. Public comment on the draft order closed on 3 August and promulgation is still pending. Some articles quote exact figures, but nothing is fixed until the order is issued. If it worries you, file before the change takes effect.
In short
- File from roughly three months before expiry. Leaving it late removes your cushion
- 6,000 yen, or 5,500 yen online. Payable only on approval
- No universal document list – it varies by status, and students need their school’s confirmation document
- The My Number card decides whether online is open to you. Without it, counter only
- No online filing for permanent residence, residence card renewal, or on the expiry date
- File in time and you may stay while waiting – a grace period of up to two months
- The increase is planned but unconfirmed as of 22 August 2026
