Extending your period of stay 在留期間更新許可申請
Want to stay longer with the same status of residence? Apply to the immigration office before your period of stay ends. The fee changed on October 1, 2026.
Deadline Before your period of stay ends (from 3 months before, if your period of stay is 6 months or longer)
Cost ¥10,000–¥75,000 at the counter, depending on the period granted (from October 1, 2026)
Where Immigration office for your address, or online
Last verified 2026-10-09
Who needs this
Residence card holders who want to keep doing the same activity (same status of residence) after the end date on their card. Changing to a different status is a separate application.
Steps
- Check the end date of your period of stay It is on your residence card. If your period of stay is 6 months or longer, you can apply from 3 months before it ends. Everyone must apply before it ends. If you applied in time, you can stay while you wait for the result, up to 2 months after the end date.
- Prepare the form and documents for your status of residence The application form and the documents are different for each status (work, student, family and so on). The official procedure page lists them by status.
- Apply at the immigration office, or online People living in Tokyo apply on weekdays at the Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau (Konan, Minato-ku) or its Tachikawa Branch Office (in Kunitachi city, by bus from Tachikawa Station). People living in Arakawa, Adachi, Katsushika or Edogawa ward can also apply at the Matsudo Branch Office (Matsudo, Chiba). Some people can apply online instead.
- Wait for the result, then pay the fee Counter applications: a postcard tells you the fee, which you pay with revenue stamps (収入印紙). Revenue stamps can be bought with cash only; ideally buy them in advance at a large post office. Online applications: an email with a payment link, sent from an address ending in @service-dgft.com, tells you the fee. Pay at a convenience store, or by bank (Pay-easy at an ATM, or internet banking; not at a bank counter).
- Receive your new residence card Counter applicants collect it at the immigration office. Online applicants can choose to collect it at a counter or receive it by mail.
What to bring
- Application form 在留期間更新許可申請書 — download the form for your status from the official page
- One photo Must meet the official size rules. Everyone aged 1 or over needs one (for residence cards issued from June 14, 2026). Some cases need no photo; check the page for your status.
- Passport and residence card To show at the counter
- Documents for your status of residence Listed on the official page for each status
Official links
Every link below goes to an official source. We show the domain so you can check it yourself.
- Extension of period of stay — who can apply, when, documents by status, fees, where to apply (Japanese; the site offers machine translation)
- Fees for residence procedures revised from October 1, 2026 — all amounts (poster, PDF, English)
- Fee revision — Q&A on paying the fee, and contact list (leaflet, PDF, English)
- Online applications — fees, convenience store or bank payment, and the official sender address of payment emails (Japanese)
- Scams pretending to be the Immigration Services Agency — how to check a fee payment email (Japanese)
- Special period — staying while your application is pending (Japanese)
- Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau — offices, areas covered, hours (Japanese)
Common questions
- How much is the fee?
- For applications received on or after October 1, 2026, it depends on the period of stay you are granted. At the counter: 3 months or less ¥10,000; over 3 months up to 6 months ¥18,000; over 6 months but less than 1 year ¥25,000; 1 year ¥33,000; over 1 year but less than 3 years ¥48,000; 3 years or more but less than 5 years ¥64,000; 5 years or more ¥75,000. Online: ¥10,000, ¥15,000, ¥21,000, ¥27,000, ¥42,000, ¥56,000 and ¥65,000 for the same periods, plus a payment fee of ¥330 (periods under 3 years) or ¥550 (3 years or more). If you receive a specified residence card (特定在留カード), an extra fee may be added. Applications received by September 30, 2026 pay the old fee (¥6,000 at the counter, ¥5,500 online) with revenue stamps, even if they were made online.
- Can the fee be reduced?
- The fee may be reduced if you are in financial hardship comparable to people who need public assistance (生活保護) and need humanitarian consideration. A reduced fee is ¥10,000 whatever period you are granted. Reductions are not available for online applications, so apply at the counter and ask the immigration office.
- My period of stay ends before I get the result. Can I stay?
- If you applied before your period of stay ended, you can stay with your current status until the decision is made, or until 2 months after the end date, whichever comes first. Do not wait until the last day.
- I got an email asking me to pay the fee. Is it real?
- If you applied at the counter, the fee is shown on a postcard and can only be paid with revenue stamps. For online applications, the email with the payment link comes from an address ending in @service-dgft.com, and the emails sent when you choose a payment method and when payment is completed come from @veritrans.jp. The Immigration Services Agency says that any other email asking you to pay this fee is a scam, and that it never asks online applicants to pay by credit card or QR code or sends them a paper payment notice.